Mister Quickie

Understanding there's no comparison in performance, I'm wondering which is more reliable. The service dept. says he sees the S's in a lot more than the V6s but the V6 is a rebadged Touareg (no?) which is known for its' issues. Let's hear your opinions (tia)

niche

Curious myself...

Tex94

13.5k miles on my V6 and very happy. I did have a faulty starter about 5 months into ownership but I don't believe that is a factor of the engine. Cannot speak to the quality of the S...but if I were to buy again I would get the S

endless_corners

What generation of cayenne?

XR4Tim

Yeah, it's going to make a difference.
955, I'd say the V6 by a slim margin. 957, I'd go for the S.

Dennis C

The S is seen more frequently in service because Porsche manufactured many, many more of them than they did the V6. The V6 is no more a rebadged Touareg than the S. The major difference is the VW sourced engine. While most people consider it underpowered for a heavy vehicle like the Cayenne, it's not a bad engine. The S has lots of other upgrades, like bigger brakes and more standard features.

The downside of the V6, other than performance, is that it doesn't really offer much (if any) of an improvement in economy. It still gets terrible gas mileage. It was improved in the 957 and 958 Cayennes, but in the 955 it's not good.

barrios35

I agree. I own the Base 955 and bought the 6 for the gas mpg. Little did I know with was not that great to begin with. It drives awesome on the highway with the RPM's at the sweet spot but in the city it is slower than a minivan. Mine is ticking on 100,000 Mile on the dash soon. Been pretty much solid besides the usual suspects though so I can't complain and the wife drives it so the pick up does not bother me.

Mister Quickie

[QUOTE=Dennis C;10201738]The V6 is no more a rebadged Touareg than the S.QUOTE]

If that's the case, why buy a Cayenne (or Cayenne S during the years the Touareg was available with a V8) when you can get an equivalent (read less costly) VW?

Dennis C

Maybe that didn't come across the way I intended it...

I didn't mean to imply that the Cayenne S was essentially a Touareg, just like the V6. What I meant was that the Cayenne V6 isn't a rebadged Touareg, and neither is the Cayenne S. The Cayenne V6 doesn't have a different body than the S or the turbo. It's still a Cayenne.

If you look at the two cars parked side by side, it's pretty obvious that the Cayenne isn't simply a rebadged Touareg. If you drive them, it will become even more obvious. There are many, many, many key differences.

Do they share some parts? Absolutely. That being said, the driving experience, handling, power, brakes, interior, major body panels, etc are not shared.

If you can't see the difference and appreciate it - then I'm with you. Buy the less expensive Touareg. Once you really compare them, you'll see lots of differences.

steve_Cayenne

Call it subconscious, but I "feel" both DNA's when looking and driving my Cayenne. You do know that if you go digging around in the bowels of your Cayenne, half if not more of the parts are stamped "VW".

Like the offspring of two parents.

Call it a highly refined and improved Touareg, and the Touareg design does comes from an era where VW wanted to compete against the best of the premium brands (see Phaeton). While the latest Touareg has been a bit down-marketed compared to the previous one, per VW refining their niche in the market.

XR4Tim

Believe it or not, reliability is way higher on the V6 Cayenne than on the V6 Touareg. Common parts failures on the Touaregs do not seem to affect Cayennes to anywhere near the same degree, and that is taking into account the lower production numbers.

Mister Quickie

ok I did misinterpret Dennis the first time, I was wondering why my X's Cayenne V6 is bulletproof well over 100k miles as everyone's complaining about the Touareg.

After owning a 911, I don't expect any SUV to provide a driving experience that is going to wow me. There's just no arguing the practicality of the V6

mclaudio

So far, my 957 V6 has been much more reliable than my 955 V8. Bad ECUs, TPMS, scored cylinders, coolant pipe, etc...with the 955. Too many electronics hoopla to potentially go wrong made me get rid of it before warranty expired. Current 957 V6 is simpler and now own it out of warranty. Besides, its power is adequate for US roads and handling is more balanced with less weight in the front. Admittedly, I do miss the low end grunt of the V8 once in a while.

touareg

I own a 2004 Touareg since new and a 2005 Cayenne S. Trust me, other than the unibody, glass, doors, hitch and some suspension, that is about all these cars share, all the interior panels are different, electronics all different. Porsche took there own philosphy on finishing the beast. Things that count, such as the V8 engine, suspension, handling tweaking (the touareg rolls on corners like a lincoln sedan compared to my cayenne.)

I think the best analogy is Picasso and Leonardo both had the same canvas and paints, but both did great work respectively that was completely different.

I have maybe spent 600 dollars on unexpected repairs, this has been the most reliable car I have owned (Touareg and I have almost 100k on the clock)

The V6 is a modified VW engine. I believe the only difference from a physical perspective is the intake and headers on the first gens, gives it a few more ponies.

I still drive both cars regularly, and they feel the same but have quite subtle differences and I enjoy each for what it is. The V8 does have a nice 55 to 85 acceleration that can be useful on the highway. Due to gas saving shift points on the touareg, the Cayenne seems less peppy unless I am in manual mode. I imagine that is one of the things that makes the car feel slower in the town limits.

Turn of PASM and drive around for a trip, you will be suprised how different the car behaves.

endless_corners

When I drove a touareg v8 it felt so overboosted and vague in the handling dept.