-JT-

Hi everyone. Just wanted to share some of my first thoughts after picking up new Cayenne Coupe two days ago for those of you waiting impatiently for your deliveries and interested in others’ first impressions.

It’s a base 340hp model with standard black exterior, standard mojave beige and black interior. Options (packaged in my territory a little bit different than uk or us from what I’m reading here on forums) include:

- tinted rear windows
- model designation deleted in the back
- black matte porsche logo on the rear light strip
- black quad exhaust sport tips (no PSE)
- 90 liter gas tank
- 21 rs spyder wheels with painted extended wheel arches
- PDLS LED headlights
- interior mirrors package
- parking assist with surround view
- comfort access package
- 2+1 rear seat bench
- air ioniser
- ambient interior lightning
- heated front seats and driving wheel
- smartphone compartment with Qi inductive charging
- fire extinguisher
- BOSE surround system audio.

I’m coming from 3 consecutive BMWs (2, 5, 4 series, each was a 3 year lease) but fell in love in Cayenne Coupe press release photos then watched all first drive / reviews that I could find on internet and - as I wanted to try an SUV and really hated the direction BMW took with their recent design (I mean for me as a BMW fan it is hard to look at new x5, x7 or 7 series) made my mind and decided to go for Cayenne Coupe.

First things first: CC driving dynamics is excellent. It’s a comfortable, big car but move very lightly given it’s size and mass. It picks up a pace effortlessly but make no mistake it’s not a rocket - not underpowered at all but if you are after the sports part in SUV I think you should go for the S model.

I was not looking for that (I mean for me unless you go for a top spec higher end variant with plenty of sport options it’s rather funny to pretend that Cayenne is something that it’s not), was tired of my recent daily driver’s noise and harshness (bmw 440xi gc with mperformance exhaust and engine kits and couple of other minor mods, which was 420hp mean machine for autobahns but to stiff and lound for family trips thats for sure). As a result I find my first couple of drives to be just perfect in terms of chasis behaviour, suspension reactions in all modes, steering or braking capabilities and performance results.

Kickdown reaction is excellent when car is on the move, slight delay when moving from the standstill but really overall just fine and better than anticipated. Without PSE the car is quiet and will be excellent highway long distance machine (did couple of 100 / 140 / 200 km/h runs on a private road to check noise levels).

The best thing I guess is the precision of steering, body control, suspension (it’s steel not air with PASM as standard in all Cayenne Coupes). Tried a standard Cayenne with air suspension before deciding on my order and actually didnt like its artificial feel (just a personal opinion, I can see why others may like it) - and artificial (or more and more numb) feeling of a steering / suspension is something that distanced me from BMWs in recent years.

Exterior design and present is 10 out of 10. I really thought that it will be one of most beautiful cars on the roads currently but seeing it in person first in the dealership when I waited impatiently for 5 months for production and delivery and finally having a chance to admire my own from every angle / at various distances and with different lighing - it’s just majestic really love it. Had a black car in the past so I know that I will suffer in terms of fighting an uneven battle to keep it clean but will do my best.

Interior is good / very good - leather isnt like my merino individual in bmws of course, but definitely better quality then expected (reading these forums you could think that base interior is some kind of disaster but - exept for a plastic harsh dashboard material - it really isnt). After couple of very nice bmw interiors I realised that it’s not at all important to me so non-leather dash will not bother me at all.

Ambient lighting is nice as well but in beige car I’d say it’s less necessary than in a black or dark brown one in my view. Sport seats are perfect and side bolsters / support makes your driving position even greater. Steering wheel has a fantastic leather quality and perfect thickness / feel.

Just before the pick up I went out and bought miniSD sim card with data package and I was right in doing so because the car came with no data plan / connectivity whatsoever which is just stupid with such expensive car. Tried to create LTE / 4G data connection using my iphones personal hotspot but it didnt reconnect automatically when restarting the car so I’m glad I was prepared with the external sim card with dataplan. Immediately after putting it in - LTE / 4G connection was up and active, google earth / maps came alive, some updates popped up and PCM was ready to be played with.

I mean - technology / infotainment in this car is simply amazing. All screens are fully adjustable, you can configure home screen the way you like (including auto start stop button in the place you like it), carplay works excellent as well - all in all adjustability.

Well - will post some more in couple of days. If something is not clear apologies for my English, it’s not my first language - will be happy to respond to any questions and finally: lurking here on this forum for last couple of months was a pleasure, the community here is great and you’re keeping all the discussions civilized - thanks for every poster and all Porsche fans for great technical (and all other) insights you are providing here! Cheers.

Socialpro

Awesome write up!! But ... where are the PICS??!!

-JT-

Willigetacoupe

Thanks for the write up on the Coupé. I have been waiting to hear what an owner thinks rather than a reviewer. I placed my order for a base Coupé in September and don’t know whether I can wait until May US delivery. I am glad to hear that you are blown away by the looks and handling of the Coupé. That is what keeps me from canceling my order. Please update any new driving experience info including other people’s reaction to the car. And of course pics.

uniqueMR

Thanks for write. Now do justice, need PICS

hjk3

So how is the outward vision compared to a normal Cayenne given the more sloped A pillars and smaller rear glass?

PTS

Beautiful car, congratulations! We Americans are quite envious!

03clyde

VERY nice!! Enjoy.

-JT-

Visibility in all directions but rear is really good, although I dont have much of a comparison with other suvs / suv coupes.

Rear one is quite bad. Also I was surprised that rear view mirror is quite small and I noticed that I play around with it much too often, just trying to find the perfect position.

cometguy

Nice write-up, JT. Where are you located?
I'm curious: how do you find the Cayenne's infotainment system to be relative to that in your most recent BMW (and what year model was your most recent BMW)?
And I, too, am interested in hjk3's question above, regarding rear-window visibility for the driver.

-JT-

I’m located in Poland.

BMW’s production date was July 2016. So it had middle-sized infotainment screen with carplay (bluetooth connection), very good navi, some apps but no touch screen and analog only dash.

500RJC

You mentioned earlier in the thread a slight delay when accelerating from stop, do vehicles in your country have the stop start tech? If so try turning it off, it may help.

-JT-

yeah, I meant with auto start stop turned off. It still gathers its thoughts with slight delay, but zi think it’s just a characteristic of turbo v6 which is a little bit different from inline-6 that I’m used to. Just to be clear it’s really minimal and does not bother me.

twitch54

great looking, nice write up, thank you. it's a shame it's not a 'real' coupe !!