Haha, very smart ... I’ve been daily driving a ‘19 base that I built for 16 months now and have a ‘20 S that just arrived at the dealership. I should be making the swap within the week and will report my initial impressions on the delta ... I did take the S out for a test drive before ordering but it was a very short loop and I didn’t dig deep at all.

The base was an $84k build and the S came to $115k so it should be interesting

 

Nice! Look forward to your assessment. May I ask, did you trade in your 84k retail base on the S? If so, what was the milage and what did they pay on the trade?

 

I am very anxious to hear on this also.

 

Yes, will be selling the base back to the dealer. Promise to keep you guys posted on first impressions and the trade-in

 

$56k for the base with 17k on the clock which i thought was fair, from the same dealer that sold me the vehicle. Wow, really big difference between the two... it's only been a few hundred miles in the S but here's my initial assessment -

The air suspension is a must have imo. Dampening in comfort is a leap better than the steel springs in the base. The stiffer modes are fun and the lower stance that the ride height setting provides changes the ascetics of the vehicle imo. The base with steel springs handled awesome, that's what drew me to the Cayenne in the first place but the S with air suspension is next level.

Spring for the full leather. Such a help setting the mood in a high five figure, low six figure vehicle. Even better if it's two tone imo. The base had standard leather and it's great but a little spartan in comparison.

18 way seats are SO much better than the 14 ways imo. Better comfort, you don't go sliding around, and they look awesome.

But to stay on topic, the powertrain in the S is worth the increase in price over the base. The base engine and transmission aren't the star of the show, it's about the handling, looks, cargo volume, etc in the base. The transmission (i know it's the same in both) in the S has much cleaner downshifts, seems to shift quicker, and Sport and Sport + modes are really enjoyable (i don't use the paddles). The engine sounds great and it's louder than I expected it to be with no sport exhaust and privacy glass package. it's a zinger and it feels and sounds great running thru the gears. The base has plenty of power, more than enough, but the S moves.

Hope this helps anyone vacillating between the two, I loved the base (it's the quieter of the two for sure) and you can't go wrong either way.