I'm not knocking it as a machine, but the "value" is something I've never understood in VAG's pricing structure for the 3. If you want all of the options included on the VW, then yes it is a good value. If, however, most of the options are not something you would buy if given a choice then the value starts to drop.

For me because of a few specific options I "required" I was forced to the executive line. Because I could opt out of stuff I didn't want (pano, big rims, etc..) that brought the difference in the two to only $10k. That's still a fair chunk, but that was a fair price for me for all the performance/handling extras that are built into the P-Car. When you look at the Q7 the pricing gap further improves (to me) for the Cayenne.

For me I think the pricing should be another $10k less for the VW, the Audi is priced about right, and the Cayenne should be about another $10k more. I don't want to pay more for the Porsche and like how the pricing benefits me, I just don't understand why at least the Q7 owners don't look over to the other side of the dealership more often and buy the Porsche instead... (at least the VW buyers don't often have the competition in the same dealership)

 

Hello gnat, it may be the Size of the Q7 stops them from buying it. Some people need a third row seating and more space.
That's what stopped us from going the Audi route. We liked most things about the Audi, but didn't need as much vehicle as the Q7 offered.

As for VW not being in the same dealership... till recently, the 2 VW dealers in Edmonton were co-located with the up market family.
One VW dealer is VW-AUDI, the other was VW-Porsche.
A year ago the VW dealer left the Porsche premises to a new building.
The Porsche dealership is moving to a new building and location shortly as well.

When we looked at our Cayenne, we literally walked through a door in the showroom to enter check out the Toureg in the VW showroom.

 

gnat, a big plus on the Porsche is the customization. It's also a negative. The Touareg comes in three trims here but no customizing. You can get a TDI Sport for mid 40s easy...no sunroof, 18s, no leather but NAV and camera, etc. I think VW has it priced right. For me, I wanted everything VW put into the Exec trim.

So, as I shop for a Cayenne diesel, I am into the Premium Plus package but need to pay extra for HD Radio and keyless entry/start. That's crazy. Those items should be part of that package. CD changer standard? In 2013? That should be an option. This is my point as to 'value' in my eyes. The Cayenne is not a value proposition nor should it be. It's all about the fun factor and getting one just the way you like it...or in my case close to it.

Going to look at a lightly used ones that can be certified to 100k. They're starting to pop-up.

 

For me because I required some options the Exec trim would have been required (leather was one of them). Even more annoyingly if it weren't for those specific options that force me to the Exec trim, the base T would have fit everything else I wanted.

As I said, if you do want all the options in the Exec line, then it is indeed a good value compared to trying to get the exact same thing in the Cayenne. If, like me, however there are only pieces and parts that gap can reduce quite a bit.

And I agree some of the things Porsche doesn't make standard at this price point is weird (though since they are also things I don't want (other than a decent iPod interface) I'm also happy they don't).

 

What didn't you want on the Exec other than 20s and the Pano?

 

My bad, I forgot the Lux line which is where the Leather and heated seats actually come in. So that's actually a $15k difference between it and my configured CD (which is also the same as the difference between the X5d I spec'd).

To answer your question though, other than the heated and leather seats I wanted none of the upgraded features (though it turns out that I do kinda like the heated steering wheel but that is an Exec item and certainly something I can live without) and there are a handful of standards I didn't want either.

 

Interesting. I wanted the 20s, push button start and heated steering wheel. The Lux is the best value among the three trims.

On the Cayenne, I want the ventilated seats and don't care for the electronic sun shades...give me HD Radio. Want the Pano, too, which is kind of rare on the Porsche.