Crown

DoubledDoubledDoubled:

Congratulations on the very special car! The exterior colour is the best you can get from limited Cayenne colour range and is really understated. I wonder what Porsche is suggesting to do to maintain that alcantara wheel as it is now? Because with time it gets more "polished" which is not so nice - I have this problem in my CSL.

I had an Alcantara steering wheel in my C63 too and it held up quite well...surprisingly. I try to wash my hands before I drive the car (fat/dirt buildup from the hands influence the Alcantara look and feel a lot) and so far, this "strategy" has worked pretty well. I also try to avoid to drive my car immediately after I used hand cream.  If you have sweaty hands, I suggest using leather gloves, especially in summer. They feel great, they look nice and they provide that special grip you need when driving fast. I am not talking about pro grade racing gloves but those nice classic thin leather gloves (see photo).

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

RC Congratulations!
 

I look forward to testing the Cayenne GTS, because I think it's much more fun than the turbo for quick throttle response and sound.

I love that you have put seats (very comfortable), which come in alcantara series I do not like anything.

One question: what do you prefer sports steering wheel in leather or Alcantara?

By the way I'm thinking and seeing that you mention the GTS consumption are far superior to those I obtained with the Turbo.

RC:

DoubledDoubledDoubled:

Congratulations on the very special car! The exterior colour is the best you can get from limited Cayenne colour range and is really understated. I wonder what Porsche is suggesting to do to maintain that alcantara wheel as it is now? Because with time it gets more "polished" which is not so nice - I have this problem in my CSL.

I had an Alcantara steering wheel in my C63 too and it held up quite well...surprisingly. I try to wash my hands before I drive the car (fat/dirt buildup from the hands influence the Alcantara look and feel a lot) and so far, this "strategy" has worked pretty well. I also try to avoid to drive my car immediately after I used hand cream.  If you have sweaty hands, I suggest using leather gloves, especially in summer. They feel great, they look nice and they provide that special grip you need when driving fast. I am not talking about pro grade racing gloves but those nice classic thin leather gloves (see photo).

Driving fast cars with leather gloves is a real pleasure. I'm driving with gloves very often... I think with alcantara wheel it's a must! t

I fully agree on the gloves, especially in summer. I usually use them when driving outside the city and/or on the track (which unfortunately becomes an exception lately).

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

RC:

DoubledDoubledDoubled:

Congratulations on the very special car! The exterior colour is the best you can get from limited Cayenne colour range and is really understated. I wonder what Porsche is suggesting to do to maintain that alcantara wheel as it is now? Because with time it gets more "polished" which is not so nice - I have this problem in my CSL.

I had an Alcantara steering wheel in my C63 too and it held up quite well...surprisingly. I try to wash my hands before I drive the car (fat/dirt buildup from the hands influence the Alcantara look and feel a lot) and so far, this "strategy" has worked pretty well. I also try to avoid to drive my car immediately after I used hand cream.  If you have sweaty hands, I suggest using leather gloves, especially in summer. They feel great, they look nice and they provide that special grip you need when driving fast. I am not talking about pro grade racing gloves but those nice classic thin leather gloves (see photo).

Those are nice ! where are they from?

Amazon...  

I don't know where I bought mine, it was decades ago. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

There is nice shop on eBay:

http://stores.ebay.com/THE-PEPPER-GLOVES-STORE?_rdc=1

SportCarGroup:

There is nice shop on eBay:

http://stores.ebay.com/THE-PEPPER-GLOVES-STORE?_rdc=1

Good tip, there are some very nice ones there. Also the prices are very affordable, I might get one even if I don't have a sports car yet. At least I'll have the proper gloves once I can finally get one 

Fuel consumption of 26.9 l / 100 km after driving as fast as possible most of time for a distance of over 150 km, with top speed of 235-240 kph (winter tires). Ouch.  It is interesting that I never read a car magazine mentioning over 16 l / 100 km for the Cayenne GTS. 

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Its like in Turbo really

artur777:

Its like in Turbo really

Yep... 

On the other hand, I can get the GTS under 15 l / 100 km in the city if I don't use "Sport" mode, if I keep the engine shutdown automatic turned on and if I don't drive it like a Porsche is supposed to be driven. 

So someone who cares more about fuel consumption than performance/drive feel, should get the S Diesel.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Was it this weekend? I passed the Fernpass on Friday at about 17h and on Sunday at about 16:30 back. 

I was at a freeride camp in Pitztal and you?

AM
www.aldo-yachting.de

ALDO:

Was it this weekend? I passed the Fernpass on Friday at about 17h and on Sunday at about 16:30 back. 

I was at a freeride camp in Pitztal and you?

 

Leermoos...we were a group of six (two cars) but my son and me didn't go skiing, we had some skidoo fun close by (usually from 16 years on but we had a private session with a guy we know there and after I signed a waiver, it was OK to take my son with me).  Snow was horrible, for skiing and snowmobile fun, so we left early at around 4 pm...I saw only a black Panamera from Italy but no white one.

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

On Saturday we had great fun and great snow. Sunday was horrible, strong wind blowed the powder away and created avalanche risky parts on the lee side.We had three smaller avalanches, one of us even activated his ABS.

AM
www.aldo-yachting.de

ALDO:

On Saturday we had great fun and great snow. Sunday was horrible, strong wind blowed the powder away and created avalanche risky parts on the lee side.We had three smaller avalanches, one of us even activated his ABS.

Ouch. Yes, snow was horrible, my wife is a pretty good skier but at some point she stopped and was afraid to continue (there was so much ice) and her friends had to convince her to continue.

Me and my son had a great day though, we were driving with the skidoo around a prepared snow ground, so it was quite nice. Unfortunately, due to his age (he wasn't supposed to drive with me because he is too young), we had to stay on the flat course but we still enjoyed it.

Glad you made it home safely. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

26.9L/100km!!

I thought the C63 was a thirty beast but this is off the charts!

BMW 1 M + C63. 

derder:

26.9L/100km!!

 

I thought the C63 was a thirty beast but this is off the charts!

For the past two days, I have been driving in a "normal way" (no sudden acceleration from standstill, etc.), I do not use the "sport" button and I leave the automatic engine shutdown system do it's job. Current fuel consumption in the city: 13.8 l / 100 km. Never achieved that with the C63, not even close to it. 

However, it is quite "painful" for me to drive with the "sport" button turned off and without trying to provoke that sexy exhaust/engine sound all the time. I guess I am going to switch to my normals ways in a day or two, I just wanted to see how much less fuel consumption a change in driving behavior causes. Apparently there is a huge change. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

Great review RC (I only just noticed it today).  Lots of good information.  Interesting comments about the PDCC.  Please let us know if you experience any downside to that option. I seem to recall someone on Rennteam saying they had many problems with PDCC and were constantly replacing sensors associated with the system.

Great looking car!    

Thank you, Gary. 

So far, I am very happy with the Cayenne GTS, it is the perfect winter car and a very good family car. I drove the Panamera this Saturday again and while I love using it on the Autobahn, I prefer the Cayenne for the city and country roads. I came to the conclusion that a Cayenne Turbo S would have been the perfect choice for me and I will surely take this into consideration when the next car choice is due in aprox. three years. The Panamera Turbo S is extremely fast but it feels heavy and the overview is bad. I have been at the BMW Museum/BMW World in Munich and parked the car in their underground garage and when I exited, I had difficulties with exiting because everything was so narrow that I couldn't see anything. Horrible. A guy with a 7 series right in front of me opened his window to see how much room is left...I was laughing about that at first but when I had to exit myself...  Really great, BMW. The Porsche Museum garage exit in Zuffenhausen is much more driver friendly.

To make it short: I started to understand why the Cayenne is that successful in Germany but the Panamera isn't. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

congrats on the GTS, RC......

i think you should have tried the ML63 as well.....i am not a Mercedes guy neither....but the 63 series even now with the 5.5 engines really are good cars.

intouch1:

congrats on the GTS, RC......

i think you should have tried the ML63 as well.....i am not a Mercedes guy neither....but the 63 series even now with the 5.5 engines really are good cars.

I testdrove the ML63 and while the engine/exhaust sound is very good, it feels like a SUV, not a sports car. The Cayenne GTS can really fool you. Also, Mercedes actually knew what I paid for my C63 ...so I couldn't sell it back to them for the same money.  

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

intouch1:

congrats on the GTS, RC......

.....i am not a Mercedes guy neither....but the 63 series even now with the 5.5 engines really are good cars.

Not a Mercedes guy after yr SLS ,GLK etc ??   I more and more like Mercedes and believe that they have bounced back quite nicely across all types...way better than 5 years ago.

SLS, GLK???  Never owned one.

I like Mercedes, I actually like the new E63 AMG with AWD a lot, I think this car will put a lot of pressure on Porsche and also BMW. At some point, I don't think that BMW can ignore the demand for an AWD version of the M5 or M6.

More competition is always good but the ML63 is really too SUV-like, it doesn't feel too sporty, not even like a Cayenne Diesel.  It is more of your typical AMG brute power type of SUV, which is good for the GL63 AMG but not necessarily for the ML version.

You know what the biggest flaw of Mercedes and BMW is? Boredom. Their cars are often very boring, I can't help it.

Porsche always excited me and even my decision to get the C63 AMG Coupe PP was based on a rational (daily driver) decision rather than a spontaneous "wow...I want this car" decision. This is actually what happened when I saw the Cayenne GTS at my dealer, I wanted it badly. This never really happened with any BMW or Mercedes. Weird, isn't it?!

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

RC:

SLS, GLK???  Never owned one.

I like Mercedes, I actually like the new E63 AMG with AWD a lot, I think this car will put a lot of pressure on Porsche and also BMW. At some point, I don't think that BMW can ignore the demand for an AWD version of the M5 or M6.

More competition is always good but the ML63 is really too SUV-like, it doesn't feel too sporty, not even like a Cayenne Diesel.  It is more of your typical AMG brute power type of SUV, which is good for the GL63 AMG but not necessarily for the ML version.

You know what the biggest flaw of Mercedes and BMW is? Boredom. Their cars are often very boring, I can't help it.

Porsche always excited me and even my decision to get the C63 AMG Coupe PP was based on a rational (daily driver) decision rather than a spontaneous "wow...I want this car" decision. This is actually what happened when I saw the Cayenne GTS at my dealer, I wanted it badly. This never really happened with any BMW or Mercedes. Weird, isn't it?!

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

I would't say weird It's seem's more normal than weird, to me

Exactly the same emotions I felt when I got my CT. I was in the market for an SUV and was looking at getting a ML.

Was at a wedding and in the church carpark, I saw a Cayenne slowly reversing towards me. 

Within a month I had a CT parked in my garage. 

2003 Cayenne Turbo

i took one out for a quicky last week. the sound is good but seemed more remote than my GTS. the down shifts had that great new crackle.

the feel was nice and it did not seem any bigger. the manual mode of the auto was a joke. shift, wait a minute and it happens.  it appears that RC is right on this one, stick the dam thing in auto and drive it. in the end, it is  your foot on the gas that does the down shift the best - i assume that isn't too bad after a while.

i really like the new back seats and that you can get cargo without dancing through quite an excersize.

all in all though & given you can only get an auto SUV now, i really think that it is between 2 SUV's- the GTS or the new Range Rover.

2012 991 C2S -PDK / 2010 997.2 turbo cab manual, sold / 2008 Cayenne GTS Manual /2008 RS 60 sold /04 C4S sold - 08 Cayenne Turbo PDCC sold

The sound gets better (louder) with every km. 

Manual shifting is quite senseless, the manual mode doesn't work too well and the auto works nicely.

The Range Rover isn't really my thing, it is lighter now and it looks good but the Cayenne GTS still remains the sportiest SUV on the planet. I know however that some people prefer the Range Rover because they find it to be more exclusive and/or classy in a way or another.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Cayenne GTS (958), BMW X3 35d (2012), Mini Cooper S Countryman All4

I like the big RR too, but it's just too big for city parking. The RR Sport is ok, but the interior is a bit cheap. Will be intersting to see the new version. All in all for my needs the Cayenne is the best SUV on the market and I really think a nicely/sportie specced Cayenne is a very good looking car. The Cayenne is very wheel sensitive, they make or break the car.

2012 Cayenne S White/Espresso 

Ex: 993 Targa, 986S, 986 and 964 C2

"With its powder keg of an engine, the 35i seems an anomaly in its class. Even a 420-horsepower Porsche Cayenne GTS won’t beat this BMW in a drag race, and saddled with roughly 1,000 additional pounds, the Cayenne would be likely to lose a battle on the racetrack as well."

Quote from a NYT article extolling the virtues of BMW's new X1 crossover mini-SUV.  An apples to oranges comparison for sure, but nevertheless BMW buyers and dealers will surely crow about how this far cheaper SUV beats the GTS.

Also, sure to be compared to new Macan, which will enter this competitive segment soon.