Joseph O'Reilly

Picked up a blue S Diesel at the Leipzig factory two weeks ago, and here are some thoughts about it after the first 1000km. Although this car and a couple of the options arent available in North America, most of the options are available. Here's the build:

LE: Beige extended leather interior
1D2: manual prep tow hitch*
1G1: 18in collapsing spare
1N3: servotronic
1Y1: PTV+
2ZM: Mufu wheel
3B9: baby seat anchor front seat
3FU: pano roof
3S1: alu roof rails
4A3: heated seats front
4E7: automatic trunk
4X4: rear side airbags
7K3: air pressure monitor tires
7T1: PCM
7X8: rear camera
7Y1: lane change lights
8G1: PDLS plus*
8JE: PDLS
9JB: smoker package
9W1: telephone module*
AFZ: trunk mat
C1J: 18in Cayenne wheels
H9M: eagle all season tires
PA2: auto dimming mirrors
PE6: 18 way seats
PP6: light comfort pack
QU0: digi radio*
S9Y: leipzig pickup
UF1: universal audio connection
UN1: Aha
VC1: garage opener
VR2: side skid plates alu look (discontinued in 2014)
VW5: double pane windows

*i think these are not avail in north america


What is odd for the German market about the build is choosing the infrequently ordered PTV+ while skipping the almost universally ordered PASM and air suspension. The thinking was as follows: there were only air suspension test drive cars, and i wasn't impressed with the ride comfort or the degree of differences across the three pasm settings, so i decided to gamble on the steel springs without trying them. I mean, how bad could they be on a Porsche? And as this is my first new car, why not spec it in a way both as i want and in a way that would never be available in the used market? Meanwhile, I liked the concept of PTV+ on a high performance SUV, although once again there were no test cars with this option. The experience so far is mixed. Even on the 18in Eagles, the ride is very firm, and the chassis is sometimes sent bobbing over certain pavement imperfections. Yet cornering is superb, at least as good as on the testers- stays very flat and has huge grip. also doesn't pitch front to rear when mashing the accelerator the way the air riding tester did. yet it would be useful to be able to lower the vehicle to make getting out of the sport seats easier for geriatric passengers. Doing it over I probably would stick with springs, as they are ok (passengers seem less critical of the ride than i am), but skip the admittedly comfy, supportive, but very deep sport seats. PTV+ is something you wouldnt miss if you never tried it, imo.

Luxor beige looks good to me, and the quality seems top notch. the color makes sense for dry, sunny climates, but is going to be a challenge to keep nice between detailings in the peat bog rainforest that is western Germany. It isnt the perfect match to the beautiful dark blue exterior i had hoped it would be. It is a very yellow beige and slightly too strong a contrast to the "medium" dark blue.

As this forum is mostly for the US audience, I wont say much about the engine, except it's awesome. kind of an all in one solution: quiet gentle fuel sipping cruiser with "beast mode" whenever you want it. The test driver in leipzig remarked that it is in a class with the turbo, not the NA v8 petrol motors.

since lots of diesel owners on this forum are really interested in fuel economy and fuel prices, will mention i filled up for the first time at 1015km. it took 94.8 liters in the 100 liter tank (138 euro). so when it shows nearly empty on the instrument cluster, it seems to mean it!

I will try to come back with more impressions after spending more time in it. on the drive back from leipzig i thought the lane change assist is totally unnecessary, but a week later it saved my **** in a heavy rain when a little car was tailgating in the adjacent lane and it was too low, or the rain was too heavy, for me to notice. this rides pretty high and a lot of drivers in europe still have small cars that hide below it.

finally the leipzig pick up, as others here have said, is a great experience. highly recommended vs the stuttgart one because leipzig includes track time where you see first hand what an amazing vehicle this really is in terms of performace and off road capability.

grohgreg

I drove a Cayenne base V6 loaner for two days, and it was a real disappointment. The VR6 engine that makes Golf and Jetta boy racers salivate is simply out of place in a 5000 pound Porsche. Compared to my diesel, it's annoyingly noise under throttle. It also wants to downshift on hills and slopes far more often than my diesel. It's got 60 more factory horsepower than the diesel, but I sure don't know where they're hiding. Oh, and a real surprise is when it actually downshifts to maintain cruise controlled speed. That's never happened once with my diesel, perhaps the compression braking is sufficient. On my E-class, ABS braking always kept me within cruise parameters on down slopes.

And the 19" Goodyears suck. They were marginally over-inflated, but that can't account for the road noise and rough ride. I paid an extra $500 to have the P1 Michelin Latitudes put on my diesel when new, and now fully appreciate that decision.

I'm intending to trade my V6 diesel for the V8 diesel, if and when it ever comes to these shores. As I have accumulated a large quantity of oil and filters (due to the revised 5000 mile oil change interval) I'm hoping the V8 diesel uses the same stuff: 958 107 222 20 filter and 5W30 oil meeting C30 spec (currently using Pennzoil Ultra Euro L).

//greg//

gnat

If you are going to post about a Diesel S, you have to talk about the engine! The only thing likely to pry me out of my Diesel before its a rusting carcass is if they bring the S over.

I skipped the PASM on my diesel too and contrary to some loud views around here I haven't found it to be the worst decision of my life. I can certainly see where it has value, but those cases are extremely rare for me and after throwing mine around an AutoX course for a day I can say the steel suspension is quite capable and up to any task I'll throw at it.

Interesting view on the sport seats. One of my few regrets was that I dropped that option for some other things (that I turned out to hate so its doubly irritating). The 14 way seats are pretty good though (and about in line with BMWs sport seats in my wife's 328).

Greg, the VR6 is actually a very good engine in the 958. The problem is that you are used to (with your BlueSpark) twice the torque. I believe its a great engine option, but after having the tuned diesel I don't think I could go back. I don't think I could do the gas S either though, I just love that little oil burner too much

Needsdecaf

Great point Gnat, I agree with all of them.

With regard to the steel suspension, I will admit, I was trying to keep the price down. But also, I've had adjustable suspension in my last two cars and I'm kind of tired of it. There never seems to be a "just right" setting and I get tired of flipping through the modes. I usually leave it in the middle and just deal with it. My BMW is equally as advanced as the Porsche system with active anti-roll bars similar to PDCC and honestly, it leaves a lot to be desired.

With regard to the VR6, I agree that it's not terribly mis-matched, but also, it's not what many of us are looking for in a heavy truck. My MDX has simliar power figures and delivery RPM as the VR6, but it has a 5 speed auto, not an 8. So it doesn't hunt as much as the 8 speeder in the 958 does. The 958 offers better performance and fuel economy, but it is most definitely downshift happy.

I own a BMW 535 with the ZF 8 speed and never thought it downshift happy (quite the opposite actually) but that car has much more available torque in the lower RPM band so it doesn't need to downshift as much. I drove the V6, not seriously considering it, but just to see what it was like. It was fine, would get the job done, but the constant downshifting would drive me nuts. I love the fact that the diesel just goes. The 8 speed auto is a bit superfluous, but is a wonderful marriage nonetheless.

I had the same reaction as the OP on the 18 way seats. First thought was: "gotta have 'em". Look great, zillion adjustments, etc. Then I sat in them. Admittedly, I am not small at 6'2" and 235, athletically built. I found them TOO confining for my size. With the lumbar bolsters open all the way, they were still snug at all times, and a pain to climb in and out of. So while they look the cats pajamas, they aren't without their drawbacks.

Jon H

Impressive - 25.1 MPG (US) on the 1st tank.

I also went with steel springs and no PASM on my CD.
My 997.2 had PASM and I left it in normal mode 99% of the time.

I did order it with summer tires on 19's.
It came with P-Zero's.

Joseph O'Reilly

and the vr6 in the 955 is *extremely* incompatible with the body. when i drove that, i thought this is a vehicle that should never have been offered. transmission working its butt off to compensate for a woefully outmatched motor.

interestingly, the test driver in leipzig went out of his way to recommend the michelins you mention. i got some used 19in turbo wheels so will buy the michelins next "summer" and put those on. summer in quotes because i start to doubt there will be one here this year, so why next year either?

greg, as you have pointed out previously, the fuel quality over here is much better quality, (cetane 51 is a minimum norm and i tank 60 from bp/aral), and maybe for that reason the first oil change is 20k km. but let me check on the oil and revert.

Joseph O'Reilly

ok fair point, i should talk about the engine, and i will after i drive it for a bit longer! but it was a no brainer vs the also excellent v6 diesel because it cost 16k more, which by porsche standards is a screaming bargain for the power upgrade (245 to 382 ps and 410 to 626 lbft torque) and 2 extra cylinders. look at the premium they charge to go from turbo 500ps to 550ps. i suspect porsch is understating the performance figures of the v8 diesel so that it doesnt exacerbate the problem they already have to dump their v8 petrols in markets whe the v8 diesel is available.

the sport seats are a compromise. great once you are in them, and they look sweet, but they are frankly a pain to get out of, at least from up high in the steel suspension models. so i hope that helps rid you of any regrets.

Jon H

Looking at my CD today I was wondering if anyone offers a shorter spring
set that would lower the body 20mm to 30mm from the stock height?

500

Sounds like a wonderful machine.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we take delivery of our GTS (yeah, we are part of the masses that are having the inferior petrol V8 dumped on us). Our spec is much more basic than yours though. The only real options are the two tone blue/black leather (no longer a regular option for 2014), PCM and park assist. Curiously I am not very excited. They are great machines but I guess I'm just not an SUV type. However, my wife will love it I think.

steve_Cayenne

Post duplicated

steve_Cayenne

Gotta agree with gnat here, I opened this thread salivating over all the exagerations and superlatives I was expecting to read about the engine ... how you need to wear a neck brace now ... and how you were able to pull semi trucks out of ditches! We definately expect you to come back with a detailed and juicy writeup of the engine, so we too can vicariously drive one, despite the Germans considering us unworthy

As for all the base V6 commentary in this thread, can't totally disagree, it is a matter of expectations and price paid. But puting it in sports mode really changes its character! Letting the VR6 rev a bit higher, and instant throttle response makes all the difference in pulling those horses out of the dark, instead of giving the impression of just lugging around struggling at low rpm all the time. And it does a great job of falling back to something that feels like normal mode, and then instantly and automatically snapping out of it when you need it. Don't understand why they did not make it the default mode!!!! Probably to be able to advertise 0.5 better fuel economy.

I also noticed at first it was shifting down when I would not have in a manual car, making it feel like it could not even keep up with basic highway speeds .. . I got used that, probably symptomatic of trying to optimism endless parameters with so many gears.

One annoying shifting pattern on sports mode is it will hold high rpm when you are done, so if I floor it trying to get by a car in traffic, and then am up against traffic it will hold 5500rpm for 5 seconds or so. Makes sense on a race track, but not in traffic.

Solstice

How different we are. I wish Porsche offered PDCC with the steel suspension. We have a 2013 V6 and I really don't have any complaints about the engine. We get about 19/27 mpg which is a nice surprise and the power is more than adequate for our use. We really like the Cayenne, it's a very comfy, safe and smooth commuter for my wife and a great road trip car for the family and outdoors vehicle. If there was one thing I could change it would be the suspension but not to PASM or air. I find it being a good setup for most "SUV driving" but there is definately body roll so PDCC would be great but since you can't have it other than with air suspension ( a $7k combo ) it's just too much $$$ in relation to the total cost of our low option VR6. However, it's my wife's car and she doesn't notice so I'll chalk it up as near perfect. Very happy customers.

steve_Cayenne

This is key! Are you buying a cayenne because your 911 is starting to bore you, and you are looking for a new thrill? Or are you just buying a great SUV!

Solstice

It's definately the latter for us but there is no denying that this is also a fun car to drive. It has comunicative stable steering that turns in very nice and a composed chassi and feels rather nimble for it's size. The engine has some pep as well and to me it's the body roll that is by a wide margin the first "non sporty" sensation. Long before the engine, tires or chassi gets out of shape. It would have been very nice to have PDCC but again, this is not my enthusiast ride even if I do take it for a bit of a run around now and then Overall, love it.

gnat

H&R has a sport spring for the 958 that claims a 1.2in drop all around.

KW also has an adjustable coil over option that claims 1.5-2.9in in the front and 1.2-2.3in for the rear.

I have no experience with either product beyond stumbling over their specs.