SF_

My wife talked me out of an e63s wagon, and now I'm looking to order a Cayenne base. I had a 2008 Cayman S, so this won't be my first Porsche, but that was a long time ago, and a very different car. Thought I'd share my build so far to see if there's anything obvious missing. I'm going back and forth on colors and leather, but I have two small kids and don't really want to be worried about the interior all the time. I'm coming from a full size Range Rover, so looking forward to some improved driving dynamics.

Quartzite/Black standard int., +aluminum trim
21in RS wheels
Prem Pack Plus
Gloss black window trim and roof rails
Tow hitch
PASM
Insulated glass
heated steering wheel
soft close doors
sun blinds

Phillip Berk

My buddies Mom picked up a loaded Cayenne base couple months back, and I mean loaded, everything you have there besides tow hitch, plus PSE and lots of other stuff. It was a very nice car don't get me wrong but even for her it was not sporty enough or fast enough. She came from a 2015 RR sport supercharged. She just recently picked up a loaded S E hybrid which is a decent amount quicker then her base model but still not exactly crazy Dynamics. If you are looking for a sporty suv I would consider going S and up and get options like PSE to make it a little more fun and sporty feeling. the Base is really underpowered in my opinion.

SF_

Ahhhh, don't say that! The RRS V8 is quick, but I'm coming from a full size RR diesel, so the base Cayenne is a nice improvement over that in terms of dynamics.

Phillip Berk

ah so coming from a full size diesel then ya itll def be a tad bid quicker I think, I would still try and push for an S if possible, since you were looking at e63 wagon you clearly want some speed. or an E hybrid as well. Granted if you get a base you can go do an exhaust and tune and be very quick and fun at the same time.

SF_

I had a feeling joining this forum would be expensive Was on bimmerpost for years, my last BMW was the f10 M5. Haven't been impressed with anything from that brand for a while. E63s lost out because we live in San Francisco and my wife thought a car that goes 0-60 in 3s is useless if you rarely get to 60, and the fact I drive a lot slower now that we have kids for some reason. I also decided I didn't want to be punished with the stiff ride. I still think it's an awesome car. Turbo and S may be overkill for our situation as well, driving around the city, with a road trip to Socal or Tahoe a few times a year. Wife wanted a Volvo(!), so I think we've met somewhere in the middle.

erko1905

I'd advise against 21in wheels unless you live somewhere with super smooth roads (ie not tristate NY/NJ/CT).

I'd recommend air suspension and PDCC. You might want to drive a car with one or both to get a feel for whether it's worth it for you.

Base isn't too slow unless this is your main "sporting" car, whatever that means for you. I can move pretty fast w the base Cayenne, but I do have a different car for proper speeds.

TeutonicCarFan

OP what did you end up doing? I have a full size RR (2017) diesel. Great for roadtrips (comfort and driving position) but clearly sluggish. I am debating getting 2021 RR with supercharged v6 (faster) but since new RR coming out in 2022 I believe? This may be silly. So currently on the cayenne s mindset, but can't seem to option one less than 110k. That is same as new RR and I believe RR better driving position, presence and comfort (cayenne sort of blends with every other midsize). I did have a macan s before kids and that was a fun car.

SF_

You have the same RR as me. I ended up ordering a Cayenne S with a build price of $110k. There's a lot I like about the RR, but I'm never very excited to drive it. Once I drove the CS my decision was easy - it's a really fun car. The driving position of the RR is great, but it was never a major selling point for me, and sitting a few inches lower in the Cayenne will be fine. The RR was mostly impressive on a road trip to Tahoe last year where the snow was particularly bad, but I imagine the Cayenne will handle it ok, and we only head up there 2-3 times per year. I added full leather, air suspension and insulated glass to my build to give it a more luxurious feel and expect road trips to be equally comfortable as compared to the RR. If I stayed with Land Rover I would have gone with the RRS V8 because the RR V6 will still have uninspiring driving dynamics even if a bit better than the diesel. If I had room for two cars, I would consider a RR V6 with a Cayman or Carrera. Hope this helps - I'll do a full compare when the car arrives next month.

TeutonicCarFan

Yes sounds to be similar position. I just picked up an xc90 for the wife to back to thinking about what to get. At this point I think will so with cayenne as I had great experience with porsche in the past. Air and thermal/noise insulated glass are def the first options I click. Since wife has the 6 passenger xc90 thinking maybe I go cayenne coupe to get something completely different as I won't have the strollers and stuff. I will say diesel rr to outerbanks (12h trip) was pretty impressive- rr may not have any driving dynamics but put it on the highway and it is great. Let us know when it comes in.

SF_

I've had the CS now for a few days, and just turned in the RR TD6 - here are some initial points of comparison.

At a high level the RR feels like a truck/SUV, while the CS feels like a tall sedan. The CS feels much closer to my old 2015 M5 than the RR in terms of driving dynamics. In fact, I think it feels and sounds better than the M5. I won't say too much here because they are so different, but the CS gains so much more in terms of dynamics without really giving up comfort - I do have the air suspension, but could be true for regular PASM.

The driving position and seats are very different. The seats in the RR really don't have any side bolstering, while the 14-way on the CS feel much sportier and supportive. In the RR you sit on top of the car, in the CS you sit inside of it - again, a much more sedan like experience.

I think the quality of the interior is much better in the CS - I have the full leather interior. In the RR you see areas around the wood trim that are very sharply cut or don't fit as snugly, the leather doesn't seem as nice, and you get the sense that tolerances are not as tight at Land Rover. The infotainment is much worse (although not a fair comparison for the RR from 2017). Everything feels a bit nicer to touch in the CS - the steering wheel is much better, the doors close with a higher quality feel, the buttons have a nice feedback.

You lose some room with the CS. A rear facing child seat in the back intrudes into front passenger space, while in the full size RR you never think about it. The door openings are tighter, so getting the kids in and out of their seats requires a bit more effort (barely, but some). The rear bench is also not as wide, so having someone in between two cars seats won't be as comfortable. The rear cargo area is also smaller in the CS, but I haven't done a box test or anything. In general, the RR has a feeling of spaciousness in the cabin, which you lose in the CS.

The RR was never really the right car for me. I always wanted to try one, but having a large interior, or off-road capabilities was never that important. I'm much happier with the CS.

Russian Mafia

I have a 2020 E-Hybrid. In Sports Chrono it's effectively a sports car. Way fast and handles crisply. After the energy tax credit it's not much more than the base and it comes with Sports Chrono standard.

TeutonicCarFan

SF
Thanks for your reply. Sounds like you have a great truck there! The rear seat space is definitely the only thing that had been keeping me going RR , but now don't need rear facing and if we do again then we are fine with wife's suv. Porsche does seem better quality than the RR which is odd to say.

pbon

If you were looking at a new E63 AMG S wagon, I’d go take another look. If it was not the new model then it would not have the same driving dynamics. I just bought a 21 Cayenne S, after 2 drives in a base, 4 drives in an S and 1 drive in a GTS. I don’t know why you would want a base if you were looking at any E63S. I would look at the S — at least when you put your foot down, something that is more than adequate happens.

I’d skip the 21s and go for the 20s. Better ride, much more common tires if you ever need to buy them. Also better in snow with standard all seasons (assuming snow is a possibility since you want a heated wheel). I like all your other options. The PASM is a good minimum suspension upgrade.

Sport Chrono gives you one more level, sport plus, but I don’t think it is essential. Were I speccing one for myself rather than a compromise for my wife, I would probably add one or two more suspension options like air suspension, PDCC, maybe rear wheel steering, sport Chrono.