porsche cayenne s tow rig?

[scott_fx]

Hey guys,

i'm looking into a new suv for daily driving and towing the boat. I was looking at some used range rovers but they just seem to be too unreliable. I then started researching the cayenne s and they seem to have a great reputation and are reliable. the towing specs on it are 7700 lbs which should be more then enough for my needs. does anyone have any experience with this vehicle?

[skicrave]

I've spent a few time in one, and also in a Toureg (same chassis). With adaptive air suspension they are actually pretty great tow vehicles. Brakes are definitely up to the job (thanks to the Porsche inspiration) so for towing your VLX it should be great.

It wouldn't be my first choice if I towed A LOT, but if I wanted a nice daily driver that could also tow a boat without breaking a sweat it's a good choice.

[Cougar1]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

[scott_fx]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

Ill look into the vw but since I sold my motorcycle and now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

Thanks for the feedback so far!

[gregtay]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

Ill look into the vw but since I sold my motorcycle and now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Also.. the Touareg TDI V6 hit dealship this weekend.

[skicrave]

...now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

I'm not sure performance is the best word to describe a 3 ton vehicle, even if it is a P-car.

[scott_fx]

...now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

I'm not sure performance is the best word to describe a 3 ton vehicle, even if it is a P-car.

How about 'relative performance'? .

[DONTW8]

I have no experience with a Cayenne S. I am however on my 3rd Carrera and very active in the local Porsche Club. I'm the local treasurer, on the board, have lead several one day drives, done some autocross, etc. Porsche club is my most consuming activity after the Athletic club.

We have a few Cayenne owners in the club. One of them does not own one of the sportscars but only the Cayenne S. He manages to keep up with us on our local tours over circuitous highways on public roads. Let's just say that our pace is spirited in the most secluded spots.

We also own an 2007 E350 4matic car that we ordered new. You can now find them for half off as the expensive car market has absolutely tanked. We really love the Benz and it is the best car we've owned in a long list of expensive cars.

The Cayenne S is the best handling SUV on the planet. The maintainence cost is higher than maybe a GMC but once you get spoiled by Porsche handling you really don't want to drive anything less.

I have a Duramax that is a great tow rig because it will tow 15000 pounds. And it doubles as the camping vehicle and so on. It rides and handles like a truck. I would love to find an excuse to move to an ML 550 or a Cayenne S but it just doesn't make sense for me as I already own the Carrera 4S and the E350 4matic which satisfy my great handling, braking, accelerating, car needs.

Used German SUV prices are in the tank. If I did not already own 2 good ones I would definitely look for a good used ML 550, X5 4.8i, or a Cayenne S probably in that order. If you search long and hard enough over a month you can find one at a price not more than a Sequoia.

If you buy one I would reccommend having an auxilluary (sic) transmission cooler installed on anything you buy.

Go For It. Or as my vanity license plate says: DONT W8

[radnevrad]

Best tow rig on the planet. Luckiest guy...my wife loves Porsche's and Malibu's! Funny story...we tow to Washington every summer. First trip towing with our Cayenne S and we run into Johnny Law. Proud to say we got a ticket towing UP a hill in the fine state of WA. Chelan County Sheriff thought he was doing the protect and serve thing.....bright sunny day, dry road, tooling along the river, family getting excited to see relatives, etc. His $250 ticket cost the state thousands in lost business that I diverted to other accounts in other states.

Whoever wondered about calling the Cayenne S a performance vehicle hasn't put their right foot down in one. A true testament to engineering skill. Something us Bu owners appreciate. Like the man said.... DONT W8.

[scott_fx]

Best tow rig on the planet. Luckiest guy...my wife loves Porsche's and Malibu's! Funny story...we tow to Washington every summer. First trip towing with our Cayenne S and we run into Johnny Law. Proud to say we got a ticket towing UP a hill in the fine state of WA. Chelan County Sheriff thought he was doing the protect and serve thing.....bright sunny day, dry road, tooling along the river, family getting excited to see relatives, etc. His $250 ticket cost the state thousands in lost business that I diverted to other accounts in other states.

Whoever wondered about calling the Cayenne S a performance vehicle hasn't put their right foot down in one. A true testament to engineering skill. Something us Bu owners appreciate. Like the man said.... DONT W8.

these were the replies i was hoping to hear! Well if the guy buys my corvette next week i'll start looking for one. asap.

[scott_fx]

how about reliability and maintenance? have you had many problems with it? At the price point i'm looking at, the suv's have about 40-50k miles on them

[radnevrad]

We drive a lot. 3 years and 100k miles in we reloaded. The reliability factor wasn't. The vehicle performed from day one and never had an issue. Maintenance seemed fair and reasonable. Quality costs and our dealer had loaner Porshche's when we needed a vehicle. (rare) FYI, speed rated tires are highly recommended and are not cheap. We toyed with the idea of a Turbo, but ultimately went with another S. You should be able to do really well on a mid-milage used unit. Climb in one and start smiling. Back to the Malibu analogy!

[Tedro]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

Ill look into the vw but since I sold my motorcycle and now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Also.. the Touareg TDI V6 hit dealship this weekend.

Wonder what its (Touareg TDI V6) tow capacity is? Also, how reliable are those Touareg's? I had a Passat and I loved it but it had a few electrical issues.

Handled great though and great gas mileage.

I have been looking for a sportier and slightly smaller vehicle than my Yukon to tow with. I'm afraid the price of the Porche would exclude it.

Also, those things can be pricey to fix.

[scott_fx]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

Ill look into the vw but since I sold my motorcycle and now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Also.. the Touareg TDI V6 hit dealship this weekend.

Wonder what its (Touareg TDI V6) tow capacity is? Also, how reliable are those Touareg's? I had a Passat and I loved it but it had a few electrical issues.

Handled great though and great gas mileage.

I have been looking for a sportier and slightly smaller vehicle than my Yukon to tow with. I'm afraid the price of the Porche would exclude it.

Also, those things can be pricey to fix.

funny you say that, everyone i know (4 people ) that has had a vw or an audi has had either electrical and/or transmission issies

[DONTW8]

how about reliability and maintenance? have you had many problems with it? At the price point i'm looking at, the suv's have about 40-50k miles on them

The maintenance costs at a dealer can be high for a Porsche, but.......

Find your local Porsche Club. Go to a meeting or two. Here in Bend our local club keeps two independent Porsche repair/rebuild/refurbish shops busy. They work for 60 cents on the dollar and are genuine factory trained Porsche mechanics that used to work for the local dealers.

We have Porsches in our club from 1956 to 2009. The old ones are getting rebuilt and the 4 year old & older ones are having the oil/tranny/brake fluids changed. Your local club members will know which shops do the best work for the most reasonable price. This is one of the many reasons to get involved with your local PCA.

[Todd34]

funny you say that, everyone i know (4 people ) that has had a vw or an audi has had either electrical and/or transmission issies

We have a VW and have had many electrical and other issues. I will never buy another one and if the wife wasn't so attached to the one we have, it would be long gone!

Todd

[scott_fx]

on the way to the gym this morning a cayenne pulled up next to me. on look at the front rotors had me sold. those things are massive!

[wakeup]

My brother had a brand new '08 Turbo (bought late 07). Sold it in a little more than a year. He said it was way too small for his liking. But he is coming from owning several Landcruisers so take that with a grain of salt. The back was very very small and with a few tailgate activities we did, we had a hard time getting everything in the back with four adults. It drove very nice! He did not pull a boat with it though.

The best advice he said he could give you is to talk to other cay owners and if buying used do a thorough check on the history, maintenance and recalls and make sure everything is up-to-date. The more little goodies your cay has, the more visits you'll have to the dealer. Plus some of the early models really had some maintenance issues (not all, but many). His visits were every other week for about 3 months with over a dozen defects, some of which surfaced yet again before he sold it. All under warranty but he got tired of the trips and driving loaners.

[gregtay]

I would second the comment about the Touareg. My wake partner has a 2004 (I believe) V10 Turbo Diesel with that fancy Air suspension and it pulls his monster Centurion like a dream. It automatically adjusts the ride height. 553 ft tq if I am not mistaken!! Twin turbo's are sweet and really pounds and we live in Colorado at 5900 ft. So we already are sucking wind with power loss.

Kevin

Ill look into the vw but since I sold my motorcycle and now I'm gonna sell my corvette the performance of the porsche is kind biting at my heels .

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Also.. the Touareg TDI V6 hit dealship this weekend.

Wonder what its (Touareg TDI V6) tow capacity is? Also, how reliable are those Touareg's? I had a Passat and I loved it but it had a few electrical issues.

Handled great though and great gas mileage.

I have been looking for a sportier and slightly smaller vehicle than my Yukon to tow with. I'm afraid the price of the Porche would exclude it.

Also, those things can be pricey to fix.

7700#'s (same as the V6 and V8 and the Cayenne.) The Cayenne and the Touareg are the same car.. just different interior and susp tuning (but basically the same running hardware and the same body.) We took a Q7 TDI (same running hardware and motor choices as the VW and Cayenne) home this weekend for an extended test drive.. LOVE the new motor.. tons our TQ... fast.. quiet... wonderful.. and around town we averaged 21MPG . I am either going to pick up an 09 V6TDI (I have to order one and wait 4 months to get the air susp option) or pick up an 08 V10TDI :-D

[Sandbagger]

The boat you are towing is probably 6,000-6,500 lbs and I believe the Cayenne is about 4,750 lbs curb eight so that boat is going to throw that vehicle around a little. Power will not be the problem. The towing rating on the Cayenne is I think 7,500 lbs but that is with a weight distributing hitch, only 5,000lbs with a dead weight hitch, again pushing the limit. Also, I am not sure the Cayenne has a tranny cooler or not, I would guess not.

If you are not towing long distance probably OK, but if it were me and I towed a lot I would consider a vehicle more specifically designed for the job.

[Sandbagger]

Also, I was in your exac situation, I sold my vette and my F150, and I wanted some extra HP so I went with a sierra Denali (curb weight like 5400 lbs), not a Porshe but it does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, not too shabby for a truck. I have towed my VLX and it does a way better job than my F150 did, very stable and plenty of power (and I am using a dead weight hitch, I probably should upgrade to a weight distributing hitch though).

But again, if you are not towing much you should be OK.

Edited May 5, 2009 by Sandbagger

[bigD]

I thought the The Cayenne and the Touareg and the Audi thing where the same thing with minor body and option differences, like GM Tahoe Yukon, and Ford Expedition Navigator...

[gregtay]

I thought the The Cayenne and the Touareg and the Audi thing where the same thing with minor body and option differences, like GM Tahoe Yukon, and Ford Expedition Navigator...

They are all the same.. the Q7 is a slightly different body (longer), but they are the same. And it's funny;.. people claim the Touareg is a GREAT tow vehical and discount the other two.. because one is a Porsche and the other is an Audi.. and they can't possibly tow.

I have done a TON of research and the Touareg/Q7/Pepper with the air susp and the V8 or the V10TDI or the new V6 TDI will out tow most big trucks. more power and yes, even more stable. I have a 2008 Armada LE today.. it tows really really well.. but i have also hooked up the Touareg for a test drive including the freeway and it felt even more stable... strange.. yes.. I know.. but there is a ton of technology that goes into these cars to make them great.... and it works (it's expensive technology!!.. but it works. The rest of the world understand two things: 1) you don't need a full size truck to tow safely and 2) Oil-burners are the way to go in just about every car.

[Killer]

you do you have to rob in order to get one? /jk (seriously though :P)

Edited May 5, 2009 by H20ski Dude

[DONTW8]

I agree that the Tourag, Q7, and Cayenne share the same basic body the Porsche has different suspension components. The brakes on the Cayenne a 345 mm diaemeter cross drilled and the VW are 308 mm diameter, I believe.

Porsches have the largest brakes against their competing brands such as BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, etc.