I'm having a slight issue, no dealers around me have base Coupes for me to test drive. I know I should upgrade to an S but that's not really what I'm looking for at the moment. How is living with the base engine? Is it powerful enough? I looked on youtube but everyone had S's or Turbo's. So I would like to hear from real owners.

 

Base is a single turbo while the S is a twin turbo. I am not a fan of the base engine especially due to the turbo lag. I really hated that engine in the 2019-2021 Macan S.

If possible go for S. If not, you have options like Pedal commander and Chrono package to overcome the turbo lag. Chrono package has a center button called sprots response button, which give you full power for 20 seconds.

 

I drove several base Cayenne's as loaner cars while my TurboS Hybrid was being diagnosed - I got to compare the base vs. S in back to back trials as I switched loaners - S all the way for me - if you can and S or Hybrid Coupe - the base isn't gutless, but lacks an urgency - I especially feel the difference at highway speeds when you want to overtake - the base again lacks urgency once you're at 70/80 mph and ask it to have more to overtake that truck…

I'd get an S or Hybrid as the minimum standard, but that's just me.

 

The base is more than good enough. I’m on my second one and it’s terrific. But it all depends on what you want in a car and what you want to spend. I wanted a practical SUV that was fun to drive and could haul my family on vacation weekends. The car is perfect for that. Would an S be faster? Sure, but so what? In the end, it’s an SUV.

 

GoAPR tune with warranty.

 

This guy has no problem with the base. He also reviews S etc just do a search.

 

Same for us. Highway, road trips, towing my track car, light off roaring. All in comfort and style with great handling. Need all 340hp, just press the pedal farther. Put the $10k savings from an S into all leather interior and Air / PASM.

 

This is a current video for the '22 base. The back half of the video talks about how it feels and may be helpful for you.

 

I feel the same way. As you can see, asking that question on this forum gives you conflicting answers for understandable reasons. What many feel might be turbo lag I believe is poor normal transmission shift decisions. I've found that when I put mine in "sport" mode the delays in power are mostly removed. 35K miles and 2.5 years later I am considering other options to improve that like Peddle Commander. It really all depends on your goal for the SUV and the money you want to spend to accomplish that goal.

 

If the Base seems fine to the OP, buy it. If you can’t find Base and S coupes to drive, test the SUV. I drove both and am into performance. The Base was adequate but not exciting. The S offers decent performance. I tested a GTS as well and did not really think it offered much more than the S in terms of straight line performance (most of my driving is on highways that are relatively straight so the handling benefits of the GTS aren’t as critical to me). I would love a Turbo but the car is really for my wife and she saw no point in spending 25% more so we compromised on the S.

 

This is an interesting review that’s new to me. On balance, having a 2022 base myself, I don’t have much to disagree about what the review says. It misstates the “facts” a few times - eg, the base car is faster than this guy says it is (it’s 5.9s w/o Sport Chrono and 5.6s with, 0-60, rather than 6.2s like stated in the review; note that the tested car did not have Sport Chrono). And the review would have been more informative to the uninitiated if it had explained what options the tested car had and didn’t have, and what at minimum I believe many would agree it should have.

If you’re considering a 2022 base, my minimum “really want to have” list of functional (not aesthetic) options for a base car is: Sport Chrono, at least 20” wheels (the tested car had 21s, and my car has the same 21s because IMO the car handles slightly more crisply and feels more planted than my 2019 did with 20s, though the 20s were more than fine), premium package plus (to get adaptive matrix headlights, more adjustable seats, blind spot monitoring, those rear seat hvac controls and air vents seen in the video, and some other creature comforts), Surround View (to get cameras all around, making the car easier to park; the tested car did not have this option), and heated steering wheel. From this short list of “gotta have” options - which bumps the car’s MSRP to over $86k, the list of other options, including aesthetic ones, is enormous (for instance, that red leather interior in the video). Some people have a more extensive “must have” list that includes adaptive cruise control, HUD, lane keep assist, Innodrive, rear wheel steering, sport suspension, and on and on. But I don’t find adaptive cruise control and the other electronic options, including air suspension, to be necessary (the regular steel suspension is very compliant and comfortable as long as you do not pump the tires up to “Full Load” pressure or take the car off-road; I keep my tires at “partial load” pressure after deciding Full Load with the steel suspension was a bit too harsh on the crappy roads where I live).

 

Porsche sells a lot of base Cayenne year after year. So, a lot of people must be happy with it. You won't know until you drive one, despite all of the opinions here (including mine). I found the base engine too laggy driving at city speeds which involve slowing down and then speeding up a fair bit. Some people say just use sport mode (which helps), but in the end, the base just didn't seem very responsive to me. You might find it totally suitable though. Airfare seems inexpensive in the US; can't you just fly to a centre that has one and test drive it? Any used ones on dealer lots/Auto Trader for sale you could try? I think trying before you buy would be your best bet.

 

The problem is there is no inventory. I don't want to wait to very long. I would get an S if there where any for sale lol. I called about an S all the way out in CA and they said they would charge me 15-25k over MSRP. That's insane. The base I'm looking they're charing me 2-3k over MSRP. I'm coming from a GTS Panamera. But I really miss my Cayenne. I had a 955 S ( I know very old) But I loved that truck and drove it everywhere. I never drive my Panamera, I've put less then 300 miles on it in the past year. I took my Panamera in for service the other day and they had a Cayenne Coupe tucked away in the corner brand new. I feel in love. It was basic black on black but it was stunning.

 

Yep, it's a big problem now. I keep getting letters and emails from my local dealer offering a really nice trade-in value for my current Cayenne and when I actually responded two weeks ago and asked about a 2022, I was told they didn't have any and I would need to order one and wait until maybe October to get it.

 

Yes! and I'm wondering if the 23 model will be out by then? And I fear that October isn't going to be October. I feel like it's going to keep getting pushed back.