[KRS_SN]

Lovely looking car and the driving experience as you describe it sounds delicious.
My personal gripe against porsche is that they never catered to people needing 7 seats.

[davyk31]

They do cater for anyone needing 7 seats, they will happily sell you a 5 seater Cayenne and a massive choice of 2 seater sports cars. 7 seats no problem 😀

[KRS_SN]

You do have a point...Could happily pap the inlaws off to the 2 seater porsche.

[Bryans69]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

You do have a point...Could happily pap the inlaws off to the 2 seater porsche.

It's kind of what we do when my parents come over. 4 in the van and 2 in the MGF. No need for 5 or 6 seater

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Had a quick drive over to my office in Reading so only some initial thoughts so far...
The ride comfort is superb, like nothing else I've ever owned really. Yet throw it at a few bends and roundabouts and the thing just dives round and pivots so quickly that it initially surprised me. I'm guessing that is the Rear wheel steer coming in to play.
The performance is astonishing, with a few seconds of the throttle buried puts you well in to 3 figures. But I rather enjoyed the overall serenity of driving it generally than the outright speed of it. The V8 woofle is really rather splendid, so whilst it doesn't have the sports exhaust, the cultured rumble seems in keeping with it's overall character as a consumate long distance companion. Tomorrow I am heading up to Manchester and then the rest of the way back home on Wednesday, so plenty more opportunity to get to know it.
The journey over was at 23mpg, so not too far behind the X3 M40i, which would have been around 25-26mpg for a similar journey.

And the brakes are ginormous and very impressive at stopping too!

Your V8 rumble comment reminds me of my dear departed 5.0 XJ. Sharp looking Cayenne, although I could forgo the panoramic sunroof. I have a general downer on sunroofs. I must have been a tank driver in a former life.

Does the adaptive cruise have a normal cruise setting? One of the reasons I find adaptive cruise all but unusable in the US is the way other drivers chop in and out of your following space on any remotely busy highway.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by agentorange

Your V8 rumble comment reminds me of my dear departed 5.0 XJ. Sharp looking Cayenne, although I could forgo the panoramic sunroof. I have a general downer on sunroofs. I must have been a tank driver in a former life.

Does the adaptive cruise have a normal cruise setting? One of the reasons I find adaptive cruise all but unusable in the US is the way other drivers chop in and out of your following space on any remotely busy highway.

Yes, I think you change the mode it's in.

[C320]

Congrats on the new motor, I love those!

I was quite close to getting a Cayenne Turbo about a year ago until I had a change of heart and decided that I'd go all out with the 911 and get an XC90 as the family wagon.

If I could do both it would be awesome but the 7 seats in the XC90 do come in handy for us, especially during the school holidays for with the kids, their cousins & friends etc

[Alscoob]

Tengocity How was the drive home then, did it exceed expectations ?

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Tengocity How was the drive home then, did it exceed expectations ?

The drives to get it back up here were very good thanks. The sheer grunt is addictive, with a nice blend of that slug of torque that a good diesel engine has, but with V8 presence and character, and a top end that only a petrol engine can have. The way it catapults down a road gives a chuckle every time!

The refinement and comfort is everything I'd hoped for, and all the tech seems to work well. The dash is much more appealing than the current generation of BMW ones, though I do miss the idrive rotary controller.

The pleasant surprise has been the fuel consumption, which averaged 23.5 mpg on way up road. The X3 would have been around 26mpg so that's not too much worse off given I used the power plenty of times and cruise was set to mid to high 80s once I'm north of Preston.

Mrs T took it out for a drive when I got home Wednesday evening and loved it too. Realised in the first mile that it's in a different league to the X3, which she had liked.

Once I had it on our local roads, which are typical British bumpy B-roads the quality of the suspension set up really shines, and I still amazed at how it stays so flat when cornering yet soaks up bumps with ease.

[stefan4]

I know what you mean with BMW, I’m just over it. Great cars but I’m just a bit bored and they don’t have the ‘want’ factor for me at the moment. If I was to do a modern bmw I think I’d get hold of an f80 again or a previous gen m2 comp and mod them.

Can’t fault moving to the Porsche stable though, can’t see the car as the adds been removed but look forward to the collection pictures.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by stefan4

I know what you mean with BMW, I’m just over it. Great cars but I’m just a bit bored and they don’t have the ‘want’ factor for me at the moment. If I was to do a modern bmw I think I’d get hold of an f80 again or a previous gen m2 comp and mod them.

Can’t fault moving to the Porsche stable though, can’t see the car as the adds been removed but look forward to the collection pictures.

This might sound odd, but what I love about the Porsches is that they are so well sorted that modifying doesn't really cross my mind like it used to. Bar the odd bit of missing spec, like no auto-dimming mirrors, or rain sensor function on my 911, the exhaust, suspension, brakes, are all spot on.

My F82 had to have exhaust, suspension, brakes all changed for it to drive like I wanted. The odd bit is that I kind of miss that side of things, and it's perhaps what gave the F82 such character!

I wouldn't rule out having another in future, and I'd totally use it as a modifying platform for my own entertainment!

It just always seem more acceptable to me to mod the hell out of a Mcar than a Porsche.

[Tengocity]

Life has been busy so not had much time for forums unfortunately. Currently convalescing after an operation so thought i'd use my time wisely...

A 4 month update on life with the Cayenne for those interested!

5500 miles done in that time, used mainly as our daily driver if dogs not invovled, and for long journeys down south from Scotland, of which I've done a couple and Mrs T has done one.

All in all very happy with the car, and it's really nailed what I wanted - all the speed and effortless performance of my old M4, with luxury,long distance ride comfort and refinement, and dynamics to make it enjoyable to drive in a spirited manner, wrapped up in an eminently practical bodyshape, that can handle some rough roads with aplomb.

I actually don't think there's another car I could have found that gets all those in the right balance better for me. I could have traded off some performance and handling for more fuel economy or not so good handling, but I've got it right for my preferences.

Talking of econmomy, the average in our time is currently 22mpg, which compares with 23.5mpg for M4, 28mpg for 340i, and 24.8mpg for X3. At an absolute level it's clearly not great, but relatively speaking for a 2.2 tonne SUV with a V8 and 550PS I think it's pretty impressive!

The 90 litre tank gives it a great range so that offsets things nicely on the biggest pain for me, which is range anxiety on a long moptrway trips!

The handling is quite remarkable, and when you see how together it is when you properly hustle it, never ceases to surprise. I really wanted a car with air suspension, rear axle steer, and PDCC (active anti-roll bars) and I am sure that's a large part of what allows it to corner so flat and hard, remain agile with direction changes in a way that surprises your brain all the time. It's more that it does this whilst remaining unruffled over shitty roads, soaking up all the lumps, bumps and dips in a way that none of my other faster cars were. It rides better than our Discovery, whilst handling way better than anything short of the sports cars I've had.

Mrs T really like how it drives, and her oly gripe is that the touchscreen and tech isn't as good as idrive, which is fair comment. I've got used to it, and because I prefer Waze over anything else, then running in Carplay is fine for me.

The engine is indeed a peach, with the same effortless torque of a big diesel, yet still has a top end. And of course it has a V8 burble that exudes character, so every mundane drive feels a little bit special. Because most of our long trips are work ones, and covered at 45p per mile, and we don't do that many personal miles (benefits of WFH with no regular commute) the specialness is worth the cost.

It's a big car so plenty space, and that's been utilised a few times- 3 guys plus 3 sets of clubs, 2 trolleys, and luggage for a golf weekend all dealt with fine, and really sums it's breadth of ability. I'd really love a M3 touring, and I'm sure it would take most of that load, and handle even better, whilst being even quicker, but it certainly wouldn't cosset like this does on a long trip, and in the recent torrential rain and floods I would have been stuck a few times in a saloon round these parts, so the ride height has been used as well.

It's now on winter tyres, and am sure it'll be great in the slippery conditions, though I'm curious to see how the power and torque affects that. It's not set up like an M car, so not something that makes you drive like a twat, so I'm sure it will be fine, but can't help but think that it could be quite interesting if you get a bit greedy with the throttle.

[KRS_SN]

Incidentally watched savagegeese's cayenne review yesterday

https://youtu.be/UbZGslxYF4s?si=RgygJsmflyIf3vr5

'Nothing quite like it which rides and handles like it in its class' . He thought the facelift improvements are minimal and price tag is huge and a pre facelift one is brilliant value for money.

[Bryans69]

Nice write-up.

Never liked them when they came out, thought the looks were 'challenging', but it has definitely improved with newer models, and if I was in the market for a large SUV, and I had the budget, would probably be top of the list.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Bryans69

Nice write-up.

Never liked them when they came out, thought the looks were 'challenging', but it has definitely improved with newer models, and if I was in the market for a large SUV, and I had the budget, would probably be top of the list.

Have to say I'm with you. Never liked them, never wanted one... but now they have definitely grown on me and would be on my shopping list now if I needed a petrol car that big.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Bryans69

Nice write-up.

Never liked them when they came out, thought the looks were 'challenging', but it has definitely improved with newer models, and if I was in the market for a large SUV, and I had the budget, would probably be top of the list.

You mean the original one from 20 years ago? Certainly wasn't a looker!

I think the Gen 2 is the best looking one, but the current one is fairly inoffesive, and that's fine for me.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

Incidentally watched savagegeese's cayenne review yesterday

https://youtu.be/UbZGslxYF4s?si=RgygJsmflyIf3vr5

'Nothing quite like it which rides and handles like it in its class' . He thought the facelift improvements are minimal and price tag is huge and a pre facelift one is brilliant value for money.

That was a decent watch, hadn't seen their stuff before. I had a good look round hte new one recently, and quite honestly it seems to offer little over the old one as a static object. If the dynamics are better then they must be out of this world! However, I'm not someone who can afford a new one, and so I think an approved used one with the right spec is absolutely cracking VFM.

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

You mean the original one from 20 years ago? Certainly wasn't a looker!

I think the Gen 2 is the best looking one, but the current one is fairly inoffesive, and that's fine for me.

I had a 955 a long while ago and would have loved to get 22mpg

I wasn't initially in love with it and decided to get shot after a month, but for many reasons ended up keeping it for 3 years. It had the standard steel spring set up and can echo your thoughts, it seemed to defy logic on how well it drove on a twist B road blast while still seeming kind of refined on a cruse. So your current version must be far improved by comparison.

Winter tyres on it and in fairness it would go just about anywhere, snow, ice, slush was never an issue. Drove in a field on 2 occasions (for fun), one it was just wet deep mud, the other was a good 12" of snow snow neither wasn't a problem, the mud was a little harder but it still came out.

If the budget fitted together with running costs I would consider another.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

I had a 955 a long while ago and would have loved to get 22mpg

I wasn't initially in love with it and decided to get shot after a month, but for many reasons ended up keeping it for 3 years. It had the standard steel spring set up and can echo your thoughts, it seemed to defy logic on how well it drove on a twist B road blast while still seeming kind of refined on a cruse. So your current version must be far improved by comparison.

Winter tyres on it and in fairness it would go just about anywhere, snow, ice, slush was never an issue. Drove in a field on 2 occasions (for fun), one it was just wet deep mud, the other was a good 12" of snow snow neither wasn't a problem, the mud was a little harder but it still came out.

If the budget fitted together with running costs I would consider another.

Attachment 3337306

I actually don't know what's more impressive- that we've averaged 22mpg, or the ride and handling balance?!

What I will say about the handling is that despite how good, impressive and capable it is, it never feels like a sports car. It covers ground rapidly, without ever feeling dramatic. It's fun, in an indirect way, rather than fun in a visceral sense. So I can't imagine going for a drive in it for the sake of it, like a I would a sports car, and no matter what, there would always be a desire for a sports car to run along side it.

[Scoobyd]

Nice 4 month review, Terry. In the first instance, I'm just glad to hear you still own it after such a long time Sounds like a great upgrade to the X3 and good to hear it's ticking all your boxes.

Hope you recover well from the op you've mentioned on the other thread.