RESP

Before you Yea or Nay on the PASM and/or air suspension - What kind of roads are you regularly driving on?

We have some road features which make PASM & AS a nice to have option:
- Frost heaves
- potholes
- snow & ice build up
- some excellent on and off ramps (we are allowed to have some fun )

If all you are doing is driving well maintained highways and roads, you may be better off without the PASM & AS.

I use the normal setting 80% of the time with the AS set high in the city and low on the highway.
When I get to some more interesting curves and ramps, Sport and low.
Also excellent on mountain roads.

The window shades are good when you want to block more of the sun for rear seat occupants (which don't have the capability to know they are being fried. I.E. babies, dogs, groceries)
Also good for adding a layer of security so nosy people can't see you have stuff in the back.

The rear seats do move forward, allowing you to get the back seats closer to the passenger in the front.

sebis

I made some updates to the selection, I may be going back and forth on some... like window shades and of course PASM.

As far as the roads I am driving, we are talking Houston freeways, it could be worse. The only "off road" adventure I am currently taking is the 1400 feet of dirt road from the gate to the cabin on our weekend land. But I can negotiate that even in my Mini so the air suspension is not needed. The only times I had to use the air suspension lift on the ML was when the ATV didn't start one cold morning in November and had to retrieve a deer from the back of the property.

As far as towing and roof rack, I have a tractor and a side-by-side at the cabin but it never occurred to me to do my own towing, when service is needed I simply have the shop picking those up. The ML came with roof racks included but never used them other than washing the roof (I am past that phase anyway... getting old). Now the kid may change all of this, so maybe I will get them both.

Great feedback everyone, this is a very useful forum.

gnat

The hitch (either trailer or hitch platform) and roof rack become important based on how much you plan to travel and how much stuff you'll carry. Unfortunately the way they cut the rear hatch you lose a bunch of space for those "pack it to the hilt" trips. For us "the family" includes 3 50lb dogs so even in better designed SUVs we still need extra space so they have room to move about and not be on top of each other.

I too never used my roof rack on my previous vehicle before the kid, but I knew space was going to be an issue going in so I made sure I had all the options possible to help in that regard.

On the sunshades, since a kid is involved I highly suggest you get them. My Escape (predecessor to the P!g) had a similar tint on the rear windows and he would still get pretty hot over the summer. While we were in FL for the holidays I rode in the back and (given how open the mesh is) was impressed over the noticeable difference on me between the shade up and down. Definitely money well spent in my opinion. My only complaint is that the shade has to come all the way down to open the window, so you can't have the shade up and crack the window for some air flow (kinda important when you've been stuck in a car with 3 dogs for 20 hours!).

endless_corners

Why does the shade have to come down? I have driven multiple times with my shade up and window cracked or half down. Didnt seem to bother the shade at all. Is the 958 rear window / shade setup differently than the 955/7's? (if you know)

philg3

Porsche gives much better value in Packages versus individual options. For my 2013CD on order, I went for the Premium Plus package because there's a lot of stuff thrown in. Depends what you want, but if you want the backup camera, parking assist, power steering plus, rear window shades, and 14 way seats with memory package, it's all there plus a lot more (lane change assist, ventilated seats, special light package, and rear seat heating). Personally, I didn't care about the ventilated seats, special light package or rear seat heating, but it's essentially thrown in free if, instead, you were to order the ones you want individually.

Went for the BOSE plus HD radio (not the Bose Package), because didn't want the CD changer in the 2013 CD. My wife's 2012C6 has the standard audio package, and the sound just isn't very good -- the BOSE in my current 2004CT is much better. One thing to think about is it's my understanding that to get traffic data in your NAV, you need Sirius with a subscription that includes that data (was told that by Service Mgr on my 2012V6 -- even though there are traffic options on the NAV screen). As far as the HD radio is concerned, I know it has the ability to receive traffic data, but doubt Porsche has worked out the integration for it to talk with the NAV at this point.

BTW, never used the roof rack on my 2004CT, but the hitch is handy, if nothing else -- a bike rack. PASM with air is nice, but like Sebis, tried to keep price to $70K. Below is what I ended up with:

Price Type RETAIL Pricing Status AVAIL Total Order$ 70,980
Port Of Entry SWA San Diego - U.S. Delivery

BSEMDL BASE Cayenne Diesel Y 55,750
BDYCLR N4 Dark Blue Metallic 790
TOPCLR N4 Dark Blue Metallic 0
INTERI MC Standard Interior Luxor Beige 0
OPTION EXT TPMS Y 0
OPTION 1D6 Trailer Hitch w/o Ball 650
OPTION 3FE Moonroof 0
OPTION 1N3 Power Steering Plus 0
OPTION C1Q 18" Cayenne S III Wheel 390
OPTION 1NP WheelHbCvr w/ColorPorscheCrest 185
OPTION 2ZH Heated3-spokeMultifuncSW 0
OPTION 9VL BOSE(R) Surround Sound System 1,690
OPTION PE5 14-way Power Seats-Memory Pkg 0
OPTION Q2J 14-way Power Seats-Memory Pkg 0
OPTION 2C4 Memory Package for Electric St 0
OPTION 3PN Memory Package for Electricall 0
OPTION PU3 Premium Package Plus 10,180
OPTION 3Y8 ElecRollupSunblindRearSideWind 0
OPTION 4A4 Heated Seats Front and Rear 0
OPTION 4D3 Seat Ventilation Front 0
OPTION 4L6 Auto Dimming Interior Rearview 0
OPTION 6XT Automatically Dimming Exterior 0
OPTION 7B6 12-Volt Outlet in Rear Center 0
OPTION 7T1 PCM with Navigation Module 0
OPTION 7X8 ReverCamera-ParkAssisFrontRear 0
OPTION 7Y1 Lane Change Assist (LCA) 0
OPTION 8EA Bi-Xenon(TM) Headlights w/PDLS 0
OPTION 9MB Dimmable Interior LED Lighting 0
OPTION QV3 HD Radio(R) Receiver 370

gnat

I don't know how the 955/957 shades function, but in the 958 you "raise" the window after it is already up to raise the shade. The first time you lower the window lowers the shade all the way.

If there is a way to lower the window with the shade up, I'd love to know as it didn't jump out skimming the manual.

Edit: from the interactive manual

speed21

Ruffled leather is truly awful to sit on and wears unevenly. It's like sitting on a screwed up sheet. That one is a oncer you'd never do to yourself again.

Agree PSP is a must have.

Sounds logical.
Agree the auto dims and nav are nice features you wouldn't want to live without if you can help it. Bi Zenons are also a good feature. Im assuming you have got the 14 way seats with memory package? If not i'd get them.

When i look at how the dealers spec their floor stock here most of the cars have the pana roof, light comfort package, clock, 14 way seats, roof rails and 19" wheels. That speaks volumes. The car has to at least look and feel the money.

The car definitely looks better on the outside with the rails whether you plan using them or not. You can't add rails after and a lot of buyers want the car with them on. As you have the moon roof in the package it possibly wouldn't cost a great deal to upspec to the panoramic. Like myself i rarely use the panoramic in my wifes current BM but it's a nice feature that changes the entire interior feel. My cayenne now on order has it. The car feels roomier inside and lighter....much nicer. Drive one with it and then one with just the moon roof and you will know exactly what i'm talking about. The comfort lighting is also a nice visual feature for the interior as is the clock/compass. I couldn't imagine a cayenne without the PCM nav system, front and rear park are def must haves and if you can swing the camera i'd get that as well.

I hear what one member sebis says about the Bose but if he says that then i can only imagine what he'd say about the base sound system if it were in his car lol. The Bose is an absolute dream in comparison. Chalk and cheese. Sure you could live without it if you were in a hurry for a car and were left buying floor stock, but as a custom order i personally wouldn't miss out on it. Once you are in the car for a few weeks some things will remind you just how badly you missed the options on the orders list. You only get one go at it and time will remind you of what you should have got. The hardest part is always having to pay for it lol. Funny thing is though once you're in the car you never look back....and you don't have the level of regrets.

The car really should have the Bose as the base system. Do the test between a car with and without the bose and you will quickly know what i am referring to. Use the fader on the stock sound and then the Bose, and see just how poor the sound is especially coming from behind the front seats with the stock sound. It's a real let down....in fact a deal breaker for me personally. It sounds like a cheap radio. A car like this really deserves better. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 2014 update come with a few of these options as standard equip in the future. I mean a Bose system is hardly an expensive system in the sound market....and certainly not up there with the best.


Agree it's a rip but what are the options? The stock sound? Yikes. Good luck. Plenty do live with it. Glad i'm not going to be one of them.

Better do your comparisons in the new car then. Love to get your comments afterward.

gnat

It was a different name then, but we ordered it on our 996. 12 years on with the car spending it's entire life outside with no real care (e.g. no conditioner or strong cleaners) and it is still in good shape (just one spot in the back seat where I left a wet diving regulator laying on it for a few hours in the hot summer). I'm not entirely a fan of the look, but I'm happy with how it's worn compared to perforated seats of the same vintage that I've seen.

The different name and being skeptical of "ruffled" is what kept me from selecting it as I couldn't get confirmation that it was indeed the same look until I couldn't make any changes.

In the almost 3 months I've had mine the perforations have worn exactly as I feared and been little collectors of all kinds of crap. Even a full interior detail didn't get them all cleaned out properly. Just a very poor design decision in my opinion for a "utility" vehicle.

speed21

Do you have the 14 way seats or the standard seats? The leather is different. I've never experienced the holes blocking on my turbo seats. What's getting onto your seats? Ive heard of guys using cleaning products and conditioners that dry into the holes but it's best to avoid using that stuff.

Re the ruffled I always wondered about the fascination with the option of the ruffled leather but after a long drive in a car with it in was enough for me....very educational. It changed my whole impression. I never realised just how good the smooth swabs were to sit on. To pay for that as an option you'd really want to ride in a car with it first.

gnat

Mine are the 14-way and it's just general debris. The dog hair embedded pretty quick, lint and other "dirt" from pants, and someone gave us a present with glitter on it over the holidays and it's managed to be tracked into the car and has filled a bunch of the holes.

Normal methods of cleaning are not doing the trick and I dread the day liquid gets spilled.

We didn't want it for the look in the 996, just the lack of the holes. We've done 13 hour overnight trips to FL and 8 hour trips to NY and have never had a complaint about it bunching or doing anything funny.

speed21

Hmm. You may need to consider seat covers then. Can't say i've experienced those issues in my 911 thankfully although i do recall making a mistake of using leather conditioner in my previous 997S and some of the stuff dried into the holes and that took time to recover. Won't be doing that again in a hurry.

On the ruffled i guess user opinions vary. It's not my cup of tea thats for sure. The other thing I noticed with the ruffled is that it removes some of the seat depth between the swabs bolsters making for a less side bolstered supportive feel. The seat has a flatter feel and then you have that bunched up irregular feeling under your butt all the time. This loss of depth can matter where the seats aren't the sports seats with the higher bolsters.

gnat

Yeah I looked into that, but everything I've found so far either lets stuff through still and/or like you've pulled an ill fitting bag over your seats. I may prefer the ruffles for their practicality, but I do have some taste standards

endless_corners

I got used to my ruffles and never noticed any butt lumps. Now I like them.. but in a sarcastic going to the golf course kinda way.

speed21

I'm hearing you......putting covers on seats like this would be soul destroying.

So you got used to the feeling...."butt" over time?

endless_corners

I meant I got used to the aesthetics. Perhaps the ruffled seats are different on my '04.. neither my wife nor I noticed any discomfort. She says they are the most comfortable seats she has sat in of the car's we have had. They are 14 point btw.