RDMcG

The Cayenne GTS was purchased new in May 2022 to replace my 2008 Cayenne S which had over 310000km on and is still going fine at 340k with its new owner. The GTS has just hit 30,000km and is an occasional rather than daily driver.



Unlike the older car, I put a full spec on the new one, so it came with full leather, Burmeister sound system, panorama roof, torque vectoring, heated and cooled seats, heated windshield, towbar etc. Porsche 18-way seats are amazingly adjustable and remain comfortable over long driving days- in my view an essential extra. Sadly had to opt for resale silver as the available standard colours were all blah and did not need the hassle of a special colour. Interior was specced at pale grey and navy trim.

RDMcG

I had ordered the car prior to the new hikes to higher prices and of course the luxury tax:

RDMcG

So, designed for comfort, Canadian winters and general hauling. Not yet sure how much towing I will do with this one but with 7700lb capacity it will be adequate, same as the old one.



I did off-road the old one and did lots of towing, but I tore the rocker panels off it on a bad canyon run, so I will not do that with the new one. I will restrict myself to the cheap and cheerful Jeep.



I also ordered a second set of slightly smaller winter rims with full snows to deal with the normal Canadian weather. I never spec all seasons.

I have also a Panamera ST Turbo which is a handy long distance highway cruiser, but in general is is a bit limited because of luggage ( well, dog) capacity as the dog can only travel in the back seat. (The dog votes for the Panamera as superior transport however.)

RDMcG

The two cars are somewhat different in terms of drivability. In summer conditions the Pana is definitely tighter and has sharper steering ( and heavier). It is also much quieter and much quicker. I ran that car at 180MPH on the autobahn and it is rock solid.



The less powerful V8 in the Cayenne is so loud on start with such a massive rumble that a few people asked me if I had an aftermarket exhaust. It is much quieter once on the road.





However in very bad winter snows the Cayenne is a much better choice as it is shorter, higher and can be raised on the air suspension far more than the Panamera. I had a recent trip through a big storm in New Mexico with the Panamera and at the time was wishing I had brought the Cayenne.

RDMcG

Reliability has been 100%-no failures. However, I had a fairly mild stone chip on the windshield which immediately cracked. The heated windshield option is nice but definitely not worth the money - I do a lot of long trips and stones do happen. However, replacing a heated windshield is stratospherically expensive in my view and I will not see one again. The last time I had one of these was in a Buick in 1990 and it just kept cracking , now that I come to think of it.

RDMcG

My wife prefers the Cayenne due to its higher stance and is much easier to enter and exit. I am no fan of the overly complex Porsche interfaces and the shiny touch screens . Once I have set up seat memory etc I rarely go there, defaulting to AppleTalk and Waze for my normal interface.

RDMcG

In general I tend to drive this type of car into the ground and dispose of it when it is at a very high mileage. Will see if the GTS has the same durability as the prior car. There will be better, faster electrified cars coming along- I assume that the Cayenne will follow the Macan into the EV world, but for me the ability to jump in the car and drive 12-1400km in a single day is essential, so the newer cars will not be relevant for a while.



Overall, it is plenty quick, great for mixed conditions and immensely comfortable and so far completely reliable.

Bud Fox

Since you keep these for the long term, do you PPF the entire front? Rustproofing?

RDMcG

Full PPF and ceramic including ceramiic on the wheels. ( the old car got zero and showed no rust at all interestingly.). Panamera also. I have a season ticket to the Refinery. No other rustproofing.

vetfever

Jealous of the amount you drive!

RDMcG

Couple of interesting trips coming up...detouring into Arkansas when I go to retrieve the Panamera from AZ in April so I can see the Eclipse ( saw it superbly in Tennessee in 2017) and then up the the very strange Lane car museum in Nashville plus some other oddball stuff. Sending the 992RS to Europe in August to do an event in Zell an See and my typical Nürburgring and Spa trip with it. Gotta keep moving..........

vetfever

Sounds delicious 👍

IXLR8

I love reading stories like that BUT do you have an Excel spreadsheet to see what you spent maintaining it? That would mean a lot.

A friend with his V8 Cayenne spent over a grand to replace a $10 o-ring. Nuts and fire the engineer.

RDMcG

The new car is warranted and I prepaid the service for the first three years, so costs apart from the windshield are nothing. I do not spreadsheet the costs and do 100% of my service at the dealer so not particularly cheap. The old car was pretty buttleproof apart from:
-camshaft lifters at about 220,000km...this was a big job and about $7000 as I recall. A/C compressor failed at about 250km and I had part of the muffler replaced at around 280km. Apart from that engine and transmission are completely original. The headlight covers glued up and turned yellow but that was just polished up to complete clarity at the Refinery. Lots of tires and oil changes..
-

Overdraft

Could you share with us please how you will send your RS to Europe and the cost? I would love to do that with one of my cars one day.