semi off topic: anyone drive a cayenne S?

I have a 2004 that I bought new in May of 03. I use this as a daily driver. It has been fun and troublefree, so much so that there are times when I could bring the Ferrari and end up bringing the "truck." Radio is phenomenal as well. Just be careful about which tires you get. I have the P Zeros and an extra set of wheels with all terrain tires for the snow. P Zeros are great for 3 seasons but will get you stuck in wet leaves in the winter

 

My wife drives a Turbo. We enjoy it. Def. needs winter tires.

Best

 

are winter tires going on the p4/5 for this season

 

Local Fchatter "glpellegrino" just got one and loves it. Drop him a PM.

Birdman

 

Birdman's right - Just picked up an '06 Titanium Edition CS. Drove it for a couple of days so far since it was delivered by Porsche Nashua. First observation is that it is the best all around car I've ever driven. My daily drivers have been 3 Lexus LS 4X0's, 3 Range Rovers, and 6 Porsches. It is the perfect combination of these vehicles and a great complement to the Ferrari. I've read that you should avoid the early Cayennes with teething and infant mortality problems. Nonetheless, this is the vehicle that catapulted Porsche to the top of the JD Power initial quality survey last year.

Porsche will skip the 2007 model year so the 2006 Cayenne's are deeply discounted right now. The guys at Nashua were great to deal with and have a state of the art facility.

Go for it.

 

I have countless clients with the Cayennes. They are a great SUV to drive. Heavy but very respondent to all driver inputs. Earlier models were a hit or miss for problems. Most of the major problems were electronic related. I have only seen one with an engine or tranny issue in 4 years. I love the car's interior and the visibility. Parrallel parking in this truck is a breeze thanks to the large side mirrors tilting mirror feature. Bad points include terrible gas mileage and extremely fast tyre and brake wear. I would say go for the turbo if you can afford it, it is an amazing vehicle for how much it weighs. This is a real SUV, not an on road specialist. Very well built tank. Hope this helps.

 

I guess I'll be the lone dissenting voice here.

I had a 2003 Cayenne S and didn't like it one bit. Ended up having my wife drive it. I find it is neither an SUV nor a sports car but some weird hybrid of both. It is too tight and jiggly for a family/SUV type car and too floaty and bouncy for a sports {sporty} car.

Now have a Land Rover Sport (not supercharged) and find it much more comfortable to take the kids to school in. Not as fast, but much more comfortable...for fast and fun there's always the Ferrari in the garage.

There's a car for every purpose and the Cayenne just tries to be too many things. If you want a sports car, then a Boxster or 911 make excellent daily drivers. If you want a four door sedan, BMW has some oustanding offerings. And if you want an SUV try a Range Rover.

On a less subjective note, here's the list of what went wrong with the Cayenne in 3 years:
-4WD differential lock broke three times (car would go into 4WD low by itself and drivetrain would shudder on and off)
-front headlight assemblies had condensation and turning signals stopped working
-interior buttons on windows and steering wheel had paint peel off
-many jiggles throughout the body and drivetrain
-passenger electric seat stopped working
-radio/navigation went on and off on its own at random times (only happened a few times so was never able to diagnose)
-locking buttons on outside door handles popped off
-no key start/unlock worked inconsistently

Hope this helps

 

i have an '04 cayenne turbo. best car to commute to work in, period.

 

I've driven an S, it was the most fun i'd ever had at the wheel... although I am only 19

 

I've had 3, including a 600HP Cayenne Turbo. I've had them on the track and in the mud and over mountain ranges in Death Valley in 110 degree heat. I haven't had any out of the ordinary problems. Great daily drivers, handle great, the Turbo can easily take a 911 in the straight (I have a 997 too), and in the wet a CTS will outhandle a stock 911. They're excellent cars (no I dont work for Porsche). If I could have only 1 car that had to do everything reasonably well it would be the Cayenne S. I highly recommend going to Porsche Drving Experience if you want to full appreciate the car.

My 07 Cayenne S (black titanium edition) comes in 2 weeks so that will be the 4th one.

Incidently, I get Christophorus magazine and interesting last 2 years the Cayenne has been Porsche's greatest seller, esp in the US. But sales for FY 2005/2006 (which ended July 31) was 13,217 Cayenne models were sold, which is a decline of 27% over the previous year. Posche says that falls within the range of vehicle life-cycle projections.

So that means new models are coming out, and the used-car supply is probably pretty good, which means you should be able to get a good deal on one now. Good Luck!

 

This is too funny, minus the fact that I don't have a wife nor kids, I too had a 2004 Cayenne S and was very unhappy with it for one year and then traded it in on a RRS HSE.

If I wasn't flying back and forth between the west coast and the east coast bi-monthly, I would have lemoned it because the navigation kept burning it's cds and out of the 9 months that i owned it, the navigation probably only worked around 3 weeks, despite it being replaced twice. Obviously, like all car companies, it was hit or miss and I think they missed with mine, oh well.

I too found the ride too harsh for an SUV and too soft for a sports car, although driving through Boston roads the last thing I wanted was a sports car. I also made the mistake of going with 20" (maybe 19") OEM sport tech rims, which only lasted about a month before they were bent beyond use and I had to replace them with 18". I was also dissappointed with the interrrior space, trying to fit three normal sized adults in the back was worse than the MBZ ML series. Good brakes though for a car of its weight

My RRS has been heavenly, it is the perfect size, comfortable for people in the back, good storage capacity, and feels more 'well-built'/sturdy. When I run over curbs in the RRS (hey i'll admit it, that is what suvs are for) I don't worry about the alignment being knocked off-center. 16 months of ownership and I haven't had a single problem, although this winter I plan on changing the tires out of convenience sake

 

I have a 2005 S and it is the best SUV I've ever driven. My wife drives it most of the time and she loves it also. My dealer says the problem with them is the buyers that think they are buying a Carrera. I agree!

 

Intheflesh -- first dont let anyone tell you the cayenne is not sporty, they are. They have a higher center of gravity than most cars so wont outperform a ferrari or a 911 but will most other cars. The air suspension is a big upgrade $$$, not sure if its worth it. I take my S off road alot and its very useful. As a grocery getter and ski mobile I'd so no to that.

The car is very electronic and I have had little odd things go wrong here and there, all replaced under warranty. I had one of the very first cayennes in early 04 and it definately has some problems but the 2 late 04 cars I've had have been solid. It might be a good idea to get one covered by warranty.

I use mine mostly in the snow for skiing, get some ice/snow tires -- I've plowed snow up to the bumper and the car just keeps going -- its heavy and the software amazes me (and I write software for a living).

Autocross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au0tu5Bha1s
100 mph in rain (overtakes 911 not shown)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uqcHcoY-tc
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I have an 04 Cayenne S and have loved ALMOST everything about it. The only complaints I've had is that the transmission is a liitle quirky. If I don't let mine warm up for at least 15 minutes in the winter, the shift from 1st to 2nd is very violent. I've had only minor issues with mine, headlights went out (recall), brushed aluminum stained easily on the outside (recall), and I think that's about it. I got the upgraded 20"turbo wheels on mine, and yes the tires do wear quite easily on them. It is a blast to drive, I find myself driving it the most out of all my cars. If you get the roof racks, they whistle excessively, especially with the ski, snowboard attachment in use, but you just have to turn up the INCREDIBLE sound system and it all goes away. Hope that helps...here's a pic of mine!
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Since this board isn't CayenneChat...I'll close with this photo to get back to Ferrari's.

Mine is an '06 Titanium with air suspension, panoramic roof, dark wood interior, heated seats, and a few other gizmos like satellite radio. Wife's Escalade xl is used for hauling the kids to the slopes...though now she only want's to drive the Cayenne...go figure...
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Smart lady!

 

so what happened intheflesh did you get/like the cayenne?

 

Smart man!

 

Thats a real nice Titanium edition you have there, I just picked up a black one last week. Congrats, you will love it.

 

yes please do, thanks