Joseph O'Reilly

the x3 with the c.313hp diesel has the element of surprise in its favor-no 958 is expected to be "very slow" by most other drivers. i have the old generation x3 diesel with 286hp, and though it looks like a slug, i swear it is more fun and feels faster than my old 996 turbo around town, with all that low end grunt.

speed21

I've never driven one but I'm told the X3 with the twin turbo straight 6 diesel absolutely flys. My wife's X3 is the last version and is only a 3 litre petrol 6 which still pulls really well from the standing start, but the the way the thing handles is unbelievable, but that's the start and finish of it. The ride on anything other than a billiard table road surface is terrible. Look at the bright side....in so far as the looks, ride, fit and finish the Cayenne has it all over the BM X3 especially the GTS which I think is the best looking SUV on the road today, especially in the right colour combo with the turbo wheels.

But i do hear you on the CDS V8 twin turbo 4.2. There is little doubt that massive 860nms is bound to kick the beast along at a rate even the X3 will (hopefully) struggle with.

So you're saying the GTS can't keep with the Diesel X3 from a standing start up to 150? Or is it in the in gear acceleration once the car is going that the X3 pants's the GTS everywhere? Surely the GTS has it somewhere? It seems to go pretty hard.

Galion

hehe, I didnt want to admit that the wifes X3 feels faster around town than my 991Carrera too it kicks you in the butt from 1,500rpm without any lag, awesome!
Thats why I now favor high performance diesel engines, I cant wait to drive the new V8 diesel Cayenne.

speed21

Geez this kind of talk is definitely swinging me away from the petrol 8 GTS now altho i am so drawn in by its look...and then its package. It's a nice car, sounds good and drives so well. Hmmm. But if it it's going to get trounced everywhere then that's a game changer. Can't GTS compete against anything without having to wring its neck?

Galion

I am not proud of this but Ive raced my wife a few times, the 3.5D X3 not just feels faster, it is faster from 0 to 140-150 km/h, maybe two or three car lenghts, then the X3 looses its breath and the GTS pulls away pretty easely up to 260 km/h, but the best part is when driving relaxed at legal speed arround town, as you said, the X3 flys. Also true that the X3 looks horrible and the ride is harsh, but not harsher than my GTS.
If I can get my hands on a facelift Cayenne V8 diesel (early next year?) with the SportDesign package, the GTS would be gone, but hey, thats just me.
I agree that the Cayenne is the most beautiful SUV today.

speed21

I'd agree the way the X3 handles it's certainly a surprise package. Shame about the ride though. It has the lower weight working to its favor vs the Cayenne so the Cayenne is gonna need some power to make up for that. If what you say that the X3 is giving a 996tt a hard time then where would the V8 GTS come into the show? Sounds like it's in for a constant spanking by a few of its lesser rivals. Yikes. Handn't considered that although that said the Cayenne is hardly a match for any 911 once on the go.

After test driving the GTS the other day, which i felt went pretty damn hard for what it was, i got back into my 997tt and sheesh it was like an F1 go cart. I doubt there is any SUV out there that would have a realistic chance up against against a thoroughbred sports car. At the end of the day a Cayenne is basically just a really nice looking comfy well behaved truck which primarily sees recreational use. I mean who would really bother taking it to a track anyway?

speed21

Shizer this is not good news. Maybe i better let my sales guy know right now not get too excited about getting that GTS into me.

By sound of things you feel the X3 is the better car to drive in every way? Surely the GTS shines somewhere other than its looks?

Galion

Absolutely not, I would take my Cayenne GTS over the X3 any day, for me its all about Porsche image, agressive looks, a sport oriented ride and of course an excellent build quality, but cant deny the fact that todays high performance diesels are a fantastic.
If I had the choice of a 382hp V8 Diesel Cayenne with 850nm/2000rpm back when I ordered my GTS, I would have gone with the Diesel hands down, the X3 3.5d was an eye opener to me.

speed21

Phew I was getting worried there. But i'm certainly hearing you loud and clear on the GTS vs the CD8. It may be back to the drawing board with the wife. I have a standing order for the CD8S so maybe i best stick with that by sound of it and just put up with the wife hassling the crap out of me until June.
Other thing is the GTS has no wait and is 10K less vs the other. lol Life's never easy...

Btw does your GTS have the PTV or PDDC?

Galion

No PTV or PDDC, just the STD air suspension, maybe omitting PDDC is the reason for the harsh ride on my GTS, I had an 11" S before, w/AS and without the aditional nannies and it drove like a dream .

speed21

So do you feel the better handling of the GTS is not worth it?.... or is the handling not a great deal better than the standard S to make the sacrifice in ride quality worth the exercise?

Mike in CA

speed, while I personally wouldn't have spent extra for a GTS over an S, if the CD8S had been available when I got my Cayenne, I would have very seriously considered it. The only thing that would have given me pause is the lack of PDCC on the diesel as I think it's a real plus to handling. But the diesel has a lot of other things going for it. BTW, if you're faced with a choice between a Cayenne GTS or Diesel S, life must actually be pretty good....

Galion

IMO, its not, I was sold on the aggresive looks of the GTS, the alcantara headliner, the fantastic sound (have to say that I got rid of the sound symposer gimmick) and the great deal as a whole package with all the extras, but I dont like a harsh ride in an SUV, no matter how sporty it is.
Please dont get me wrong, the GTS is fantastic as any other Porsche, but I already have a 911 with a firm ride and go kart feel, If that wasnt the case I might be a happy camper.
My perfect ride would be a Diesel S with the the GTS looks and the STD AS.

speed21

Mike.. well going by what Galion is saying it does sound like the ride in the GTS has its shortcomings which present a few months into the ownership. I guess the novelty of anything can wear off and then it gets back down to the basics of what keeps you interested and satisfied in the type of car it is.

I'm inclined to agree that an SUV is never going to be a 911 therefore, why live with a compromised ride that's essentially out of character for this type of vehicle anyway. Horses for courses iykwim. But who's to say what i may like or, hate later on.

I think it's always good to have a great handling SUV, which the Cayenne has certainly proven itself to be, and more than just adequate even in the base hydraulic set up....the pasm even (slightly) better again.

I imagine if body roll needs to be controlled further to give an even better/sportier/connected handling experience to the driver then the PDDC would (for me) prove the better solution than say a stiffer set of coils which may make the car feel "sportier" however, not necessarily make it any nicer or better to drive in the general driving situations and the manner which you generally drive this type of car in anyway.

Re the CDV8S i did ask the dealer here yesterday about whether the PDDC was available as an option, and was told no. This sadly seems to go against the option list available for the S vehicle although that said the list doesn't actually include the V8DS on it, just the V8S. Maybe the next product/s brochure will give more clarification on the PDDC but at this stage it does look like that's not an option for the V8D based of the current advice unfortunately, although the V8D does get the latest awd technology carried over from GTS anyway and the coil rates and shock valving would have also changed to accommodate the different weight in the front end, and the massive torque delivery. 850 is a lot of nms to control.

I've still spec'ed PTV plus on my order anyway as the dealer says this is a really worthwhile option. All i got to do now is get the GTS out of my head and the wife off my back. Easier said than done...

endless_corners

i wonder if its just a packaging issue.. where standard PDCC parts don't fit with all the v8 diesel undercarriage business going on down there.