CarNut01

desmotesta

In my case, its my wife's daily driver but we both shopped for the car and were involved in the decision making process.

We needed an SUV and shopped around and test drove a lot of cars. From Audi Q7 to GL450 and Land Cruisers to smaller SUVs like MDX and X5s etc (Domestic cars were never an option). Nothing really made us tick. I was at the Porsche dealer to pick up parts for my car and wife decided to drive a base Cayenne.
She was disappointed with the lack of power and handling, I guess she expected more out of a base Cayenne.
Sales person had her test drive a 958 GTS and she was sold. She said none of the near-dozen cars we had tested came anywhere close to the GTS.
In my specific situation, she is a bit different than most other women I know, she is a good driver, has a heavy foot and has always been interested in car. she is an ex-motorcycle road racer and has somewhat different expectations from her daily driver.

All I can say is that I have never driven a car that has so many different personalities. Leave the PASM in soft and it drives almost as soft as a base cayenne. Quiet and plush. Press the sport button, drop air ride all the way down and wake up that exhaust and it becomes an angry sports GT. Fold away seats and it can haul a lot of cargo, can tow close to 7000 pounds (more than my buddy's Ford F150)

For us, there was no other choice. We will probably keep this car for several years to come.

Kirill

Cayenne is great all around car, I had 2006 Cayenne S for almost 10 years and 100K+ miles and I recently got 2014 Cayenne GTS - It's the first time I stayed with same Make/Model.
the only real contender in a running for me was G class - but it's more expensive and not as comfortable and I like to drive to Cayenne to mountains to ski - about 15 hour drive,
then were GLC - small trunk, X5s - I didn't like the inside, Audi - I absolutely hate my local dealer, Range Rover - I heard the quality is bad, but I never even drove it, Jaguar F-Type - I was interested, but didn't even go to see it - its too new to say anything about reliability.

jlusby

So my story is closer to desmotesta, except for that motorcycle road racer part (how cool is that!), in that it is my wife's DD and so we she wanted something that could carry cargo when necessary, carry 4 to 5 adults/kids, tow the boat, but most importantly be something fun to drive. She had gone from an A4, to M3, then a Tahoe and finally a Ford Expedition EL. But as the kids have grown and one off to college the need for the really big SUVs was gone. She first test drove a Turbo and loved the acceleration, then drove a new GTS and loved the looks but was missing a little of that acceleration, and then settled on a CPO'ed Turbo S. I can only tell you that after have driven that for the last 6 months, I am still blown away by everything about the vehicle. It is an incredibly comfortable (we have the 18-way seats) highway cruiser, a rocket at the stop lights and handles like a sports car, even though it weighs as much as it does. My DD is a 2003 M5, that I absolutely love, but I know better than to ever try to race her again. I tried it once and it was embarrassing how small she got in front of me

I recently helped my Mother-In-Law purchase a new SUV. Her number one priority was reliability. We drove the Acura, the Audi, the Infinity, and finally the Lexus RX. For her it was the Lexus (she has owned Toyota's and never had an issue), and I get that. It is nice, it is new, has all of the bells and whistles and is a really, really nice vehicle. However, the one thing that they all lacked (including our former SUVs) was soul. That thing that gets your heart rate up when you turn the key and hear it start. My neighbor that lives behind us came shortly after we got the CTTS to see what the heck that sound was. My M5 has the Dinan exhaust and while it may be a German car, it has a decidedly un-German sound to it. He knew this was not the M5, but commented that it has a great sound as well. I still need to get the bypass pipes, but that is for another day.

In the end, for us it holds everything we need (including moving our daughter into her dorm) and is able to tow the boat. She says it is the best vehicle she has ever driven. 6 months in, it has been completely reliable, and our local Porsche service has been really positive as well. So, you can look at the others, but if you are a driver, or love driving your vehicle, I don't think you could find a more complete SUV.

Good Luck

offagain

To be fair, if you come to the discussion threads about a particular model / car, you are going to get positive responses!

Mine is positive too, but with a few cautions. Firstly I really love the car; its swift, fun, comfortable, can haul stuff and has the added quality bit that I want. In general its impressively reliable (my wife's Chevy Malibu has got constant things failing on it, though is covered under warranty - more on that in a moment), but it does have some issues - namely this transfer case / differential problem! I have the 2011 model which does seem to be impacted the most, though there does seem to be issues with early Macan's too! This is not good. Its an expensive part, seems to go bad in all sorts of conditions and lets see if they have really fixed it. For something that is so good elsewhere, its really disappointing to see this. I got mine for a great price, under book - now I have fixed everything, I have paid about the normal book price. Lesson learned. As everyone else will say, go CPO or get a really good warranty - if you go new, get the Porsche warranty and extend it if you are keeping the car longer.

Thats the negative part. Positive part - its smooth, quiet, can do the luxury car thing well and is utterly impressive when you get it out on the interesting roads. You can haul stuff in it and its impressively roomy inside. Its actually a great all-round vehicle. I had the misfortune to have a rental Tahoe last year for a business trip. Brand new with all of the latest toys and it was terrible. The engine (which the rental agent explained was the 'powerful V8') was truly underwhelming and struggled on even the slightest incline. The ride was nasty and even at the speed limit on Colorado roads, felt unsettled and really vague. The interior was no better than my wife's Malibu and other than being a little higher, I was shocked at how bad it was! Sorry for Tahoe owners out there, but they might sit in the same generic category, they are totally different vehicles!

I also considered an X5 when I was looking before I got the Cayenne. It was nice, but for the 2014 - 16 year range I was looking at, they were just not that great. Nice(ish) to drive, but having owned several BMW's in the past (325i, 123d, 330i - in Europe this is) the X5 had similar components and interior, but was a totally different car to drive - none of the sparkle or fun factor. I think they lost some of it! Didnt consider Merc and looked at Acura, but a friend did a great job of scaring me off those in a hurry....

Best question to ask a Cayenne owner - would you get another one? In my case, absolutely. Though watching a YouTube video of some guy in Texas who bought and ran for a year a 2004 Bentley Azure T got me thinking!

TXCOMT

Like others here, our '14 CS is the wife's DD. Sadly, she isn't an ex-racer of any stripe, nor does she have a lead foot. She's not even that particular or snobby, but after we grabbed our first Cayenne (and first P car...an '11 base), she was in serious like, since love is not a word she uses with four-wheeled objects. Anyway, when we saw a local P dealer advertise a CPO S last month, and there was a lot maintenance stuff to coming due on her '11, I figured we should make a deal. We never considered anything else because we've come to really enjoy that Cayenne. I figured it was unique among SUVs.

The wife is a stay-at-home mom, so our Cayenne doesn't get much of a workout (similar to many around this forum, I bet) driving around North Texas, but when I feel the need for speed, there's nothing like it! The S isn't nearly as cavernous as my DD, a '16 Ram Rebel, but they share several key attributes. Both are V8s and both have air suspension, yet one can haul stuff and the other can haul a$$! I like that the S is so capable; there's only three in my family, so we've plenty of room for trips but the S easy to maneuver and park, unlike those GM cruise ships made at Arlington Assembly across town! Even though it's white, it still stands out and you can't say that about most SUVs...and that's partly why I refuse to de-badge it unlike some owners on this forum.

I like a previous poster's comment about soul; I agree wholeheartedly. The thing just wants to be driven...and fast! Whenever I tire of the Ram ('cause a truck is a truck, after all), I can at least jump in the Cayenne and pretend I'm in a 911!

TXCOMT

sclemmons

skiahh

In 2013ish, we started looking for an SUV to replace the E320 Bluetec my wife was driving. Wanted something with AWD, taller, more cargo capacity. And diesel. We tested all the available diesels at the time (VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Jeep). Coming from the E320, the wife was comfortable in the ML320 Bluetec, but it handled like a boat. It was soft and "wallowed" compared to all the others, but a very nice SUV. And familiar, so it had a big plus going in. But she drove the Cayenne and it was all over. After that, none of the others matched up. The X5d came close, but not close enough. We got one in Sep of '14. For our family size - just one kid - it's the perfect size ute. With 2 kids, it'd be too small. With none, it's fine, and in no way overkill. Very surefooted, comfortable and, so far, pretty reliable.

In fact, I liked it so much, I traded my Boxster S for a '15 CD for myself. It was a used one because in December, a Boxster just doesn't command much in trade! lol

So now we have two diesels. I just drove to Seattle and back today. Average economy was about 31 mpg. At 75-80 most of the way.

Had a base Cayenne loaner last week. I would not get a base model. I'd probably go for the X5 or maybe a RR, though I haven't driven the RR yet, so that's just speculation. Nor have I driven the F-pace or the Stelvio, so they could be contenders vs the base or even S. But for me, the diesel is a perfect combination of performance (torque), comfort and longevity.

CarNut01

wkearney99

I've driven every sort of SUV you could buy back in late '16 and went with the Cayenne. There are too many of the X5 on the road, likewise the Q7. The RR handle like a bit of a boat, considerably looser than the Cayenne, but without the Porsche feeling at all harsh. The RR goes more for the plush/posh ride/image. Some folks like that. The F-Pace is more aligned with the Macan size-wise, it was perceptibly smaller inside. But Macan are FUN to drive, so consider it if the smaller size suits your actual needs (mine are better served by the Cayenne). The Stelvio and the Levante were not available at the time. I've since seen a Levante (but not driven) and it likewise seemed to have less interior space.

Personally I found the nav system in the MB to be downright unpleasant to use (and I'm a computer guy). The RR was less worse but felt dated. I've no idea if they've gotten better since late '16. The Cayenne nav changed for the '17 model year and enough to have made me wait for it when I ordered. The base audio is pretty lame, the Bose setup is better. The Burmester setup is a lot better but pretty pricey.

If the wife doesn't care about performance/handling then you may need to take a very close look at how the interior space fulfills her expectations. Porsche is not known for their interior storage cubbies or mini van features. Their designers put more emphasis on the driving experience, not on gizmos like cupholders, electric fold-down rear seats and storage bins. If your wife makes use of that sort of stuff in the ML it'd be good to see how the Cayenne would handle the transition. It'd be a crying shame to have her despise the vehicle, ignoring all of it's amazing benefits, only because she hates something trivial about it.

abiazis

Best automobile I have ever owned - 14 GTS......great SUV that is sporting.......

RAudi Driver

2011 Cayenne Turbo

Fast as hell
Handles amazing
Carries everything.