Quote:
sigs said:
I get a fair amount of amusement from folks calling the RAV4 (and similar vehicles) an "SUV." While I also personally prefer a faster ride than the Cayenne or the Cayenne S, and voted with my wallet to get such, it is simply not appropriate to compare these apples and oranges. While what you describe is impressive acceleration for that price and (assumed) Toyota reliability, I could spend a few thousand at the local custom shop on hopping up a Subaru 4x4 station wagon and have a vehicle that would do a more than respectable 0-60, would kick the stuffing out of a RAV4 on any slalom or road course, and be more worthy of the term SUV than the RAV4. Porsche, Toyota and others are simply proving that everything is a compromise when it comes to combining price, quality, creature comforts, reliability, off-road capability, acceleration, handling, etc., etc., etc. Each of us places a different priority on each of these factors, and if there was a vehicle close to the CTT, but with Lexus service and reliability, I wouldn't be on this forum (sorry, guys, but the only Porsche I'm wedded to is the 911; my CTT is "just another compromise"). We all "pays our money and takes our chances" on the factors most important to us, and the RAV4 just doesn't have enough of those factors to be considered together with ANY of the Cayenne family, IMHO.
I didn't mean to compare the RAV to the Cayenne in any way except straight line performance. Porsche is known for performance vehicles, end of story. The Cayenne and the Cayenne S are, in my opinion, major disappointments in the performance department. The V6 is VERY slow and the Cayenne S doesn't set the world on fire. The Turbo is the only model that really performs well. And upcoming models from other manufacturers may knock the turbo from the top spot.
Cayennes may out handle much of the competition around a track, but with their slow acceleration the competition will be so far in front of them initially it may take a while for the Porsche to catch up.
You can beat me up for my nagging about the 0 to 60 numbers and remind me that there is more to performance than just those numbers. But, I spend most of my time at the 997 forum and if the upcoming 997 turbo isn't faster 0 to 60 than some other competitors there are going to be a bunch of disappointed potential turbo owners.
As I have said over and over, if you are going to charge more than everyone else for your SUV it should be better in all regards. I would think the Porsche is superior to most in the following areas; overall handling and off road capabilities. I think the Porsche is worse than many in the following areas: straight line acceleration (Cayenne and Cayenne S) and reliability. I know you can, with after market parts, tweak many of the competitors vehicles to be faster, so there will always be a potentially faster SUV out there. I am only comparing factory built vehicles.
I obviously wasn't comparing the RAV to the Cayenne overall. All I said was that I was amused a vehicle at the bottom of the "SUV"(1) world could beat both the Cayenne and Cayenne S in acceleration.
(1) Toyota actually calls the RAV a "Recreational Active Vehicle"
Phil
and IMHO probably snow/winter driving especially when one does not want too much power to spin the tires and lose traction. 
