now that i had sold my cayenne turbo about six months ago and have had my X6 50i for about 5 months, i had a chance to drive my ex cayenne yesterday....

i was amazed how 'different' it felt. ergonomics are much lighter. steering wheel requires far less effort and the brakes feel much lighter. the X6 has 1200 km's now and the cayenne has 23000 km's.

the cayenne feels far roomier inside. the pano roof giving a feel of much more space.

turbo lag on the cayenne is BIG compared to that on the 50i. actually in comparison the beamer feels NA.

the interior of the cayenne looks and feels dated compared to the X6.

that drive yesterday only confirmed how happy i am in the X6....not to speak of the coming X6M.

on a side note: bystanders basically do not react to the cayenne anymore. while i can see almost everyone turning after the X6, the cayenne seems to have blended in.....

Intouch. Thanks for the report. So are you saying that you like more the X6 to the Cayenne. Do i understand you correct.

I'm also about to change my CT 105'000 Km for the X6 35 d or X6 M. I'll get one on the 6th, the diesel one. I will see how it goes.

 Cayenne Turbo - Mini Cooper S - 997 GT3

yup i prefer the X6......

 I switched from BMW to Porsche and there is a mile difference (not to mention the difference in customer service) The X5m looks nice but I wouldn't change it for my CTT08. The Cayenne has been said to look..........X6 is worse IMO. Not that many X6' around here, probably explains a lot.

CTTS for me, the X6 is too small, the X5M doesn't look too well in the pics, certainly a good choice if you want to blend in. Good deals on the Cayennes in stock also. At the end of the day, the BMWs are not as exciting.

Delivery today!

I just returned from a short trip to Europapark which is around 350 km away from my home (mostly Autobahn). I blew away a Cayenne GTS (white with Stuttgart PZ license plates), I was surprised how slow the GTS is and I know that he tried...

Then, I met a red Audi RS6, from 190 kph to 250 kph, it drove away at the speed of a pedestrian walking fast but over 250 kph...bye bye RS6. My wife told me that the driver laughed when we passed him and at around 282 kph on the speedo, I had to break because traffic in front of me started to pile up.

I drove one Autobahn curve at around 260 kph on the speedo, it is incredible how stable the Cayenne is, not even my wife made complaints and she usually doesn't really like me driving too fast (especially in my 997 Turbo).

Bottom line is: the Cayenne Turbo (S in my case) is a marvelous Autobahn travel machine and I fell in love again. It is a horrible city car but for travelling with the family, there is no better SUV.

I'm having second thoughts about getting the X5 M, maybe I'm really going to wait for the second generation Cayenne Turbo (S).

Btw, regarding "looks": it is true, the Cayenne doesn't attracty too many views anymore but still...at the hotel at Europapark, people, surprisingly mostly young ones and old people, pressed their noses on the windows. There were two other new Porsche parked in front of the hotel, a Boxster and a 997 Targa...both for renting for guests. Nice service I guess.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

RC, I got excited by just reading your post! Lucky autobahn users

You can imagine what the Panamera Turbo S (when it comes) will be on the autobahn?

The Cayenne like all Porsches doesn't get old lookswise. It will draw attention  even after two models from now.

The X6 is like a SUV dressed for a carnival masquerade ball. Its costume little fancy and little funny. Underneath a decent car.

--
It's not where you're going, it's how you get there that counts

The X5M has it over all these other 500 + HP/5000+ pound  "  mega-station wagons/estates    " : in a pinch , it will carry seven pasengers to dinner or home from the kiddy soccer game .

Why you'd own one for any other reason is beyond me.

My 7 seater GL 450 serves our family kid duties fine , but at about the same rumored US base price of the not-very sporty feeling GL550 ,-and therefore $40K less than a comparatively rip-off priced Cayenne TT ,  I'd take the X5M anyday. If pricing is true, it's the deal of all these UTEs.

OTOH , speccing a new Z4 3.5 with all the bells and whistles put it , at close to $70K , not much less than a loaded new Boxster S- so bet a loaded X5M will be in the $110K range .

Since when Porsche and BMW are in the same price league anyway?

The Cayenne is priced higher than the other SUV, so in your mind it is amazing they sell any at all. Yet it is the most popular Porsche in the lineup... Go figure.

The Z06 is as fast as a 997TT...

The Nissan GT-R performance looks like a bargain.

It is also amazing Aston sells any cars at all then 

IMHO sometimes a car can be more than what it is on paper, and capitalism 101 says that if some cars were not priced correctly, they would not sell at all thus not exist.

For some people it is not only about money or the best deal around.

RC:

 

Btw, regarding "looks": it is true, the Cayenne doesn't attracty too many views anymore but still...at the hotel at Europapark, people, surprisingly mostly young ones and old people, pressed their noses on the windows.

The other day I had a Cayenne for the day. I had more thumbs up in town from the young , then in my Carrera ( I get none , which I like, BTW)

on the US prices you will have to add about 20k to have a fully loaded car.

scifrog....the point here really is just that porsche might get beaten at their own game. we will have to wait and see how the cayenne turbo 2.0 will stack up against the X5/6 M.

though all of us here are porsche fans, we simply have to admit that bmw is on to a winner with the X/M's

and fully loaded at 1pprox 105k it is a damn good deal.

 I agree, the X5 M seems to be a great deal and I may not resist this "temptation" myself.

The thing is: the Cayenne is in my opinion a "family" car or at least a "second" car. I don't know many people who drive a Cayenne as their solely car, so spending 120-150 k EUR or USD on a family car or "second" car is kind of a lot of money.

The Panamera could have been a nice alternative to a 997 AND the Cayenne but like I wrote before, I don't like the rear at all (saw a white Panamera on my way to Europapark and had the chance to view it while driving from all angles...I just HATE the rear) and the four seats (what the heck... ) are kind of a dealbreaker too for me.

I know that Porsche makes expensive products and I know that I have to accept to pay some sort of a premium when getting a Porsche but I'm not sure I want to follow this unwritten "rule" with my family car too. Sorry but if BMW can deliver the same performance and features at a 30% lower price tag...Hello BMW, goodbye Porsche. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

RC:

 Sorry but if BMW can deliver the same performance and features at a 30% lower price tag...Hello BMW, goodbye Porsche. 

Christian..i'm your ego ..remember times ago when you leave Porsche for Mercedes..

hahaha..think well before to leave sure for not sure..

only mi hint..

SciFrog:

Since when Porsche and BMW are in the same price league anyway?

The Cayenne is priced higher than the other SUV, so in your mind it is amazing they sell any at all. Yet it is the most popular Porsche in the lineup... Go figure.

The Z06 is as fast as a 997TT...

The Nissan GT-R performance looks like a bargain.

It is also amazing Aston sells any cars at all then 

IMHO sometimes a car can be more than what it is on paper, and capitalism 101 says that if some cars were not priced correctly, they would not sell at all thus not exist.

For some people it is not only about money or the best deal around.

The second gen Cayenne still has the cheap -grained plastic that reminds me of the first gen Boxster/996 ( you know the stuff on the dash of the '98s and '99s ) . The poor cabin noise control of tire rumble/thrum is primitive -would be unbearable on highways for my twice a month 4-10 hr runs to my Tahoe place . The handling of the Cayenne Turbo is no where as nice as a good sports sedan because of weight and sitting 20 ft up in the air . . And it only seats five and carries little more than a sports sedan when five are in the vehicle . 

So for me, at any price, it's doesn't make sense .

 All Cayenne TT have leather dash...

Noise? Don't know about that one but mine doesn't have that "feature". Unbearable? That is a strong word.

The trunk is much larger than any sedan.

A SUV will never handle like a really good sedan of course.

SciFrog:

 All Cayenne TT have leather dash...

.

Yeah, but check out the Kia level  "large grain " plastics around the doors, sides /finishers around door panels/seats/console ,etc. Porsche can do a LOT better than that on this model .

On on our woeful Norcal pot holed, rain grooved roads that pass as " highways ", the " whooshing" din is bad on the CTT's big tires , where other big SUVs with big tires must have more insulation to control that  when I've driven the competition.

SciFrog:

 

A SUV will never handle like a really good sedan of course.

I must disagree. I have driven the X6 3.5 and that thing handled like a car. I was amazed. Its performance was impressive also. I can only imagine what the X version moves like.
 

I have not driven a Cayenne but have sat in a few. The interior is nice but it is not worthy of the price tag. The materials and ergonomics are middle of the road. Simply put you do not feel special sitting in a cayenne. Range Rover kicks butt on the inside. 

And to top it off only the GTS version looks good imo.  Just like the butt ugly panamera most cayennes have way too big wheel wells for the wheels.

This is the kind of interior you should get on these priced vehicles;

that is luxury

Not vinyl and plastic or is the cayenne genuine naugyhide?

 MKW,

You obviously have never owned a Cayenne, so please vent your frustration on an other vehicle. I have driven/owned most other 4x4's and non comes close to the CTT, especially on the long run (we go often muscat to Dubai what is a 4 hr run and arrive at our hotel fresh ready to go out for a bite). OK the Cayenne doesn't have the technology the BMW has but still will do.

Again I don't argue that the CTT is value for money but saying that she is noisy, has rattles etc is utter nonsense. The RR sport is nice as well but doesn't come close to the speed and driving comfort the Cayenne has.

The ultimate SUV = range rover interior + BMW M mechanicals + Jeep Wrangler exterior

more RR pics to help the porsche int guys with some inspiration;

last one;

RR interior looks too much discontinuous IMO. All these colors used, are too much for my taste.

RR interior is nice indeed. But performance is miles away from Cayenne and BMW X.

X6 is not a full SUV, you should compare it to the RS6 or Panamera.

I am still waiting on real world compare of the X5M with the Cayenne (remember the ML63AMG?). The killer would be if the X5M gets the third row, no competition then!

Until proven otherwise, the Cayenne is still king. Not bad for a 6 year old chassis!

Markdsv:

 MKW,

You obviously have never owned a Cayenne, so please vent your frustration on an other vehicle. I have driven/owned most other 4x4's and non comes close to the CTT, especially on the long run (we go often muscat to Dubai what is a 4 hr run and arrive at our hotel fresh ready to go out for a bite). OK the Cayenne doesn't have the technology the BMW has but still will do.

Again I don't argue that the CTT is value for money but saying that she is noisy, has rattles etc is utter nonsense. The RR sport is nice as well but doesn't come close to the speed and driving comfort the Cayenne has.

Remember my comment about our local highways . California is broke . They can't afford to fix bad roads and barely keep up with pot holes. Those on this board who live in Silicon Valley can attest the section of  highway 101 between Redwood City and Mountain View a stretch that includes some of the biggest tech names incl Oracle and Google ) has about 1 pothole every 50 feet in all 8 lanes . The road surface in this area has this grittyness that brings out the tire noise in the Cayenne which I have not experienced in other brands .

I envy countries that have pot hole free and smooth roads - I remember those from my California childhood many decades ago-an era when our public schools were top ranked in the nation not near the bottom like today .

 Hi MKW,

Thanks for not biting on my other post, I was a bit over the top, obviously biast to my CTT. But again the suburb air suspension should make the roads better to ride on not worse, again I haven't driven much in California  so I do not know. What I do know is that I don't like concrete road much at all.

Still in love with my CTT and as the Panamera Turbo has been quoted at 72 THOUSAND Rial (about 185K$) I am sticking to my beloved CTT. Instead I have a GT3 coming in Jan (hi hi hi)

Markdsv:

 Hi MKW,

Thanks for not biting on my other post, I was a bit over the top, obviously biast to my CTT. But again the suburb air suspension should make the roads better to ride on not worse, again I haven't driven much in California  so I do not know. What I do know is that I don't like concrete road much at all.

Still in love with my CTT and as the Panamera Turbo has been quoted at 72 THOUSAND Rial (about 185K$) I am sticking to my beloved CTT. Instead I have a GT3 coming in Jan (hi hi hi)

Here's a timely follow up from today's local paper regarding the road I was talking about !

San Jose has second bumpiest roads in nation

 The RR or the RR Sports have nice/okay looking interiors, but believe me, quality and longevity is an issue. I own both so here's a bit of info.

The coating on the plastics come off after about 9 months and the white spongy thing they lined the lower half of the console and door handles with go saggy (yup, like it's aged badly) quite soon after.

The RR Sports is just too plasticky for my tastes but at least it lasts.

Under new ownership, I think they're addressing the problems but I don't know how well they'll do it. The positioning of the centre air vents on top of the console to make room for the LCD screen is not a good start. It's a HUGE car to cool/heat.

And now, let me get back to the point - I've spent a weekend with a Cayenne S and imo the build quality of the interior is better. It might not _look_ special but it looks like it would last. The only thing that kept me from buying it was (and still is) that the first Porsche I own simply has to be a 911 (or whatever they number it at the time). And no, I've never really warmed to the looks of the Cayenne.

As for the X6 or X6M, every time I think of buying one (which is admittedly rarely) I always end up feeling that I'm being conned into buying an X5 with less of practically everything...

 My 5 yead old Cayenne interior held really really well, very surprising.

The other very cheap thing about the RR sport was the green LCD with air con info, I don't know if they still have it but it had no place in a $60k car.