Should i buy an early Cayenne for winter ?

orangecurry · 18 Nov 2013

Subaru Legacy Spec.B plus winter tyres.

93% of the time you want a 'car' with a low centre of gravity - so why buy anything else?

Unless you need significant ground clearance as well.

F15HAR · 19 Nov 2013

We were in a similar position a few years back, looking for something strong and reliable for winter transport suitable for school runs etc.
For the last 2 years we have run an 06 Cayenne 955, I know the styling isn't to everyone's taste but I don't have a problem with it....it's been reliable, comfortable, is a really nice place to sit on long drives, and is very capable off road as was demonstrated on the Porsche off road experience and we use Vredestein N rated M&S tyres all year round, and the build quality is great.
The 3.2 V6 seems to have the fewest issues of the early cars and is actually quicker than you might expect, although the fuel economy is less than you'd imagine too.
A 3.2 will average high teens to low 20's.
A 4.5 S will average mid to high teens and a Turbo returns 12-14mpg unless doing long motorway runs. Both seem to suffer from piston slap with higher miles, and early turbos over heated with plastic pipes that were later replaced with a revised alloy cooling pipe.
We had an X5 4.4 a couple of years back, it was 6 years old with 70k on the clock, gearbox failed, drive shafts failed, numerous electrical systems failed and cost more to repair than it was worth.
BMW X5's are made in South Carolina USA, Merc ML's are also built in the good ol' US of A and the build quality of both is not comparible with other BMW or Merc models..
Likewise with Jeep, the build quality and quality of plastics etc is pretty poor.
Range Rovers are without doubt very capable but are designed using Duplo blocks, the engines are slow and agricultural, and now unfortunately have an image of drug dealer/ gangster / footballer wannabe, they have issues with gearboxes and can cost a fortune to repair.
Any low price Cayenne would need a good warranty, we've just had the ABS pump replaced at OPC Newcastle and it was £2164, but that's the first thing it has needed since new.

MisterCorn · 19 Nov 2013

I ran a Touareg for 3 years, the V10 diesel, there are various horror stories about problems on these which can cost an absolute fortune to repair, but mine was fault free for the time I had it. It had absolutely monster torque and was pretty quick (0-60mph in 6s). The Merc and Range Rover which replaced it have both needed more money spending on them (seized brake caliper and various suspension parts on the Merc (£2.5k), gearbox rebuild on the Range Rover (£1.8k)). You can get a reasonable Touareg with a sensible engine for <£7k.

I do quite like the idea of a Cayenne Turbo to match the 911 turbo though, with the similar front ends. Unfortunately I've run out of space for more cars and suspect the Range Rover is better for towing anyway (that is what it was bought for).

MC

F15HAR · 19 Nov 2013

A VW Touareg would be a good option at the £7k price range as mentioned above, as the Touareg, Cayenne and Q7 are built on the same assembly line at VW's plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. The Cayenne and Q7 are then shipped off for final assembly, interiors fitting etc.
Our ridiculously overpriced new ABS pump is a VW part in a Porsche box..

I would imagine the 2.5 diesel would be quite sluggish as it's a heavy car, but perhaps ideal if your after a car for shopping and kids.

plavix · 20 Nov 2013

What's wrong with the Mini? :dont know:

Put winters on that and the Porker.

manicatel · 6 Dec 2013

Half thinking about changing our Freelander2 for maybe a Cayenne at about the £15k mark. The Freelander has been a great family/workhorse of a car but over the last year or so we've been hot with some pretty nasty bills for new steering rack, clutch, servicing, battery & a few other smaller niggles. Whereas my 987S is 2 years older, similar mileage & has been fault free. Going through the options ( the Mrs really likes the 4x4 style for her car) seems to be another Freelander, X5,Mclass,Grand Cherokee, etc etc.
Strike the Freelander/Disco on poor reliability, neither of us likes Beemers, an M class would have high mileage for our budget. So that seems to leave the Jeep, maybe a Lexus 4x4 or the Cayenne. Against the Cayenne is the mpg & road tax. I assume reliability is similar to the rest of the Porsche stable, ie much better than average, if not quite at Lexus levels.
Hmmm............................

Rockunrolla · 1 Jan 2014

UPDATE :thumbs:

Although allways overlooked them !!!!!

Bought a BMW X3 black 2.0D , had it remapped before i brought it home and its great ,, perfect winter run about 6 speed manual new winter tyres colour coded , leather. parking sensors , fast and av 40mpg ,

Very happy

niall · 17 Jan 2014

Rockunrolla said:
UPDATE :thumbs:

Although allways overlooked them !!!!!

Bought a BMW X3 black 2.0D , had it remapped before i brought it home and its great ,, perfect winter run about 6 speed manual new winter tyres colour coded , leather. parking sensors , fast and av 40mpg ,

Very happy

Congrats. I had a cayenne 3.6 and even it drank fuel! 40 mpg is amazing!

Should i buy an early Cayenne for winter ?

orangecurry

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F15HAR

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F15HAR

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manicatel

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Rockunrolla

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