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Test drove both, I like the speed of Porsche (and the name) but I don't see a 15K price difference.



I have to agree that the Touareg somehow looks better than the Cayenne. Interior quality is the same (would be funny if it'd be different, it is the same supplier ).
There is however a huge difference regarding the engine setup, the auto tranny setup and suspension setup. It isn't actually possible to compare both cars. I drove the Touareg V8 and the V10 Diesel and I have to say the the V8 was somehow boring compared to the V10 Diesel which seems to have endless power and especially torque. The Cayenne S is a different story again, engine feels (and is) more powerful (there is a 1 second performance difference from 0-100 kph between the Touareg V8 and Cayenne S, from 0-160 kph or 100 mph, the difference is almost 3 seconds), not to speak about the sportier suspension setup and the more direct steering on the Cayenne S. If you owned a Porsche car (not Cayenne) before, you might understand what I'm talking about. And yes, finally you're also paying for the brand name Porsche but I don't find anything wrong with that. I'd say that 5000 bucks are for the brand name (I can live with that ) and 10000 bucks for the setup difference.

I'd also like to throw in a little comment on the looks of the Cayenne S (no offense taken!): today we saw a Cayenne S and a Cayenne Turbo sitting one next to each other. My wife doesn't like how the Cayenne looks from the front, she thinks it looks like a "raised" 911. When she saw the Turbo next to the S, she immediately asked me what car the Turbo is because it looks different. I never actually saw both one next to each other but my wife is right (as always ), there is a huge difference if you look at the front of both cars at the same time. The Turbo looks much more SUV-like than the S, it is highly interesting. Because of the bigger air inlets and the power domes on the front hood, the Turbo appears to look bigger from the front than the more subtle Cayenne S.
I really recommend having a look at both Cayenne from the front, it is really stunning what kind of difference it makes, especially if the color is a light one (not black or blue).

But to get back to the Touareg V8: you bought yourself a fine SUV, no doubt about it. But don't say I didn't tell you, you'll regret it in a few months that you didn't buy a Cayenne S. Why? Because Porsche cars have soul (no kidding!), they are special and a Volkswagen always stays a Volkswagen, as arrogant as this might sound. When I sold my 996 Turbo 7 months ago, I wanted to get myself a Cayenne Turbo for the family. My Porsche dealer didn't want to make me a good offer (apparently the Cayenne Turbo was selling good by that time) and I bought a Mercedes E55 AMG instead because I thought I get the same performance as on a 996 Turbo and be able to move the whole family too with it. What a mistake. The E55 was fun, it was powerful and it looked great but I never fell in love with that car. Drive feel was Mercedes-like, even if much sportier, the steering was still a bit numb and I couldn't feel attached to that car. Or to make it short: it was boring. I wish you well with your decision for the Touareg V8 but I'm afraid that if you really have petrol flowing through your veins, you'll get a Cayenne S sooner or later and loose a lot of money on the Touareg V8. Maybe you won't be as stupid as I was but I never make such a mistake again. I bite into the bitter apple and pay more money for a Porsche but I stay happy. Sounds weird, sounds dumb? Maybe. But I have to feel good in my cars, otherwise I would ride a bicycle.