Cayenne S review

[Clod Reed]

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[Luminated67]

Technically this isn’t a review, it’s just a Porsche dealer doing a video.

 

[Clod Reed]

Fooled me ….almost bought one

 

[Luminated67]

Fooled me ….almost bought one

Dodged a bullet there.

What am I saying, I have bought one

 

[Fun TC Driving]

However one wishes to refer to the video, IMO worth watching. It’s interior definitely look look more upscale than our Macan EV’s does.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

I am looking froward our local dealer getting a S for test drives in the new future. Already scheduled for one… I have two main questions that I want (need) to answer from that drive… I am pleased that both our current Macan EV Turbo and the Cayenne EV S have RAS to assist in my evaluating its comparative handling,

1) Comparing it to our current Macan EV turbo which I often drive “spirited Porsche style,” will the S feel just fine or do I feel it does “not have enough juice?” I think it will be just fine (a $15K savings to us), but need to confirm that.

2) Our Macan handles very nicely, even when spiritedly attacking Porsche corners on a road I drive very often, e.g., one whose every curve I know before I enter it. My salesperson already agreed that while my test drive road is a little bit out of the way, that my test will be down it and back. I am pleased the S tester also does not have PAR, and will take it down that road to answer my question of whether I “need” the $7,790 option PAR or if it too handles very nicely without it— for I have am pleased to drive our Macan spiritedly down that road.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

I just re-watched he OutOfSpec Cayenne EV S review which while here earlier, is repeated here. With Push-to-Pass & Sports Chrono being standard on the EV S as shown wiithin the video @ 27:56, the S has tons of juice in the P-t-P. My S drive test is tomorrow so will double confirmation that, now expecting that it will show we could avoid the +$15K for the Turbo — lol allowing us to get lots more options and still be ahead.

 

[Luminated67]

On public roads the Turbo is WAY BEYOND what anyone needs from an SUV but there’s that devil inside some of us that feel we would be missing out not having all that power. Those are the ones being chauffeured around because they have lost their license.

 

[Clod Reed]

I just re-watched he OutOfSpec Cayenne EV S review which while here earlier, is repeated here. With Push-to-Pass & Sports Chrono being standard on the EV S as shown wiithin the video @ 27:56, the S has tons of juice in the P-t-P. My S drive test is tomorrow so will double confirmation that, now expecting that it will show we could avoid the +$15K for the Turbo — lol allowing us to get lots more options and still be ahead.

The problem is when you spec an S with loads of options….you end up with S with like £40,000 + ($54,140..00)of options . . This quickly mounts up when you factor in whats already is included with a turbo …18way seats ..carbon interior package BOSE® Surround Sound System,HD-Matrix LED headlights,PTV Plus ,to name but a few …my dilemma was each time I specced an S it cost nearly as much as a turbo so turbo it is ….well that’s how I justified it to my wife….
and picture this scenario (a car passes you on the freeway and your wife says thats the same car as ours and with begrudging whisper your utter those immortal words “No that’s the TURBO” as you fail to keep up with it ……..SOLD

 

[Wivenhoe]

I’d be interesting to see what the insurers say the cost difference between all 3 are. In my case, my Coupe base costs less than my Macan 4S. When I was deciding whether to go with the S it was early days and the price difference between base and S was significant. As Matt found, even getting a quote for a turbo was difficult - one insurer insisted on the car being in a gated community or posts in the drive. I think it has eased now that Porsche provided the correct info to the Fede setters.

One thing for sure, your wife won’t be seeing too many cars coming past in your turbo.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

My wife and I just came back from our S” model test drive. It was very, very impressive and its interior was, as noted by several earlier posts, extra-luxurious compared to our Macan EV. We LOVED the Cayenne’s flow screen and several of its other interior niceties.

Yet, speaking candidly in terms of being the right vehicle for us, with all my biases and also based on the accurate analysis in Clod Reed’s post above, it was slower than our Macan EV Turbo (even in Sports Plus mode with Push-to-Pass engaged), and it did not handle as well — which I attribute to its extra 8” in length and its extra 400 pounds. To get it to handle as well as our Macan EV, we would need to add the $7,790 PAR option. Also the test drive model lacked the $3,340 Panachromic light-adjustable roof option,e.g., unlike all Macan EV’s which have a standard overhead shade. On our test drive while the sun’s heat from above was not an issue during the test, it coming in directly into our eyes at times (sometimes behind our sunglasses), would mean our needing to get the expensive Panochromic roof option.

Again, it is one fantastic vehicle in our opinion but to meet our specific and demanding option needs our S would be at $195,000. That is too much — especially for when on our curvy country road and bicycles being quite prevalent (Saturday morning, etc), several times I did not pull out to pass them when I would and could have done so safely in our Macan EV Turbo with its extra power. So do we get a $208K Cayenne Turbo (with comparable options to our planned $195K ”S”?

Time to re-think all of our plans, though we know our next vehicle will be a Porsche EV of some sort. One option which could work for us would be to get another Macan EV Turbo (for we fit just fine in it), then load it with every interior option available including Club leather and deviated stitching; even with those two and literally all other Macan EV interior visual upgrade options it has available, it still would be $43,000 less than our configured Cayenne EV S, and $56,000 less than our configured Cayenne EV Turbo.

Please do not overlook that we loved the Cayenne EV S. None of my post is critical of the Cayenne EV S for 98% of its potentail buyers but with our demanding option choices including my years of track experience, woud it be the right next Porsche EV for us? $208K for a Cayenne EV Turbo would be outstanding but it would also be a ton of money.

 

[mirto]

@Fun TC Driving did you get a chance to drive a car with and without PAR.

As for Macan vs Cayenne, if you don't really need the interior space, the Macan will always be the more fun vehicle I think.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

I have not yet been able to drive any Cayenne with PAR. The dealership’s 1st Turbo had literally not one option — yet sold immediately after we saw it in the showroom; likewise their second turbo also was without PAR, and it was sold to a customer the weekl it arrived; nor did the S today have PAR. I was also glad to hear that all of their soon-inbound Cayenne EV’s are also already sold.

LOL your comment, I have been re-playing on the Macan Turbo configurator the last hour. As ours was a CPO so what would choose this time for it would be different in at least twenty different ways, e.g., feeling very new to us. For those who missed my earlier posts in this and the Macan EV forum, even though ours was a first month of manufacture 2024 (VIN # 095), and it has been in for service for six times for software and four times for hardware component replacements, we absolutely still love driving it. As many automedia and members here have commented, a fun “hot hatch!”

 

[Luminated67]

I also bought a Macan Turbo a couple of years back but at the time Porsche UK were extremely uncompetitive with their PCP deals and in the end I collected my deposit and went else where. Like most here I too did the comparison between the Macan and the Cayenne, went out first in the Macan which was a 4S as that was their only demo and whilst it drove well enough it didn’t feel special and I hope this doesn’t come across badly. I don’t know if it’s a case that its main rivals have moved the game on since its release but both the iX3 and GLC felt more special inside, especially the GLC. When I switched to the Cayenne it felt like proper luxury again, ride, the comfort, the isolation from both wind and road noise were a marked improvement.

I agree with those saying the Macan handles better, its smaller, lighter and with the shorter wheelbase feels more nimble so unless you spend the silly money for the PAR you accept the compromise on handling the rest of the benefits on offer. In isolation and against its main rivals in its segment the Cayenne out handles them all even without PAR.

On an interesting note, comparing the Macan Turbo vs the Cayenne Coupe S on Porsche’s website all the Macan’s acceleration gains are made in the first 60 mph, beyond this the big Cayenne seems to match it blow for blow right up to the 125mph point. Maybe in the real world driving the difference between them is very small.