Toureg/Cayenne - Off Road
Discussion
As far as the Cayenne goes the best place to start is to buy one fitted with the advanced offroad technology pack (AOTP). This consists of underbody protection, side protection, a locking rear diff and detachable front and rear roll bars. You will still need a good set of off road tyres as well.
The Cayenne with the above equipment is pretty handy off road although I found the air suspension to be the weak point, I blew two air bladders and the compressor overheats when asked to do more serious off road work. The coil sprung version would not have these complications.
What makes the Porsche work off road is its biggest problem on road, the tyres. If you fit AT tyres then you severely compromise the on road handling and performance of the Cayenne which sort of defeats the purpose of having that type of vehicle. The solution as mentioned above is probably to have an on road and an off road set of wheels and tyres.
If you do take a Cayenne off road you will break lots of the plastic bits and generaly make it look a bit scruffy so be prepared for the even larger than usual depreciation when you come to sell it.
The Cayenne with the above equipment is pretty handy off road although I found the air suspension to be the weak point, I blew two air bladders and the compressor overheats when asked to do more serious off road work. The coil sprung version would not have these complications.
What makes the Porsche work off road is its biggest problem on road, the tyres. If you fit AT tyres then you severely compromise the on road handling and performance of the Cayenne which sort of defeats the purpose of having that type of vehicle. The solution as mentioned above is probably to have an on road and an off road set of wheels and tyres.
If you do take a Cayenne off road you will break lots of the plastic bits and generaly make it look a bit scruffy so be prepared for the even larger than usual depreciation when you come to sell it.
Edited by bigblock on Saturday 24th September 16:34
Are you referring to new or old model?
Previous incarnation Touareg very good off-road. Low ratio and lockable centre-diff as standard with lockable rear diff available as an option. Good clearance on air suspension. Also an impressive suite of electronics working behind-the-scenes. Porsche and VW really put a lot of money and effort into this platform.
17-inch and 18-inch wheels fit so plenty of AT-type tyres to choose from.
Previous incarnation Touareg very good off-road. Low ratio and lockable centre-diff as standard with lockable rear diff available as an option. Good clearance on air suspension. Also an impressive suite of electronics working behind-the-scenes. Porsche and VW really put a lot of money and effort into this platform.
17-inch and 18-inch wheels fit so plenty of AT-type tyres to choose from.
sinizter said:
Can either of these be modified to anywhere near a Land Rover Discovery's off-road abilities ?
Without spending more than the vehicle cost to buy in the first place.
To do what with??Without spending more than the vehicle cost to buy in the first place.
In fairness, both the Touareg and Cayenne are actually quite capable. Both can be had with adjustable air suspension and traction control.
This means on slippery stuff they are already pretty capable.
The only thing I don't think they can do is simulate lives axles. The LR's use the air system to act like lives axles off road, as when one wheel pushes up, it inflates the air bog on the opposite wheel and pushes it down. This keeps more wheels in contact with the ground more of the time and increases off road stability.
sinizter said:
300bhp/ton said:
To do what with??
Green laning and offroad tours mainly and pay-and-play sites.Sand dune bashing eventually.
Personally if it's pay and play sites I think you'd be better off buying the current SOTW or something similar and a set of good off road tyres.
In the dunes I suspect they could be could, plenty of power and with the right tyres. Only weight is against them.
Laning, again I don't see why not. Both on the right tyres are going to be capable. I think you most major issue is potential damage. They are big cars with loats of body work and big plastic bumpers. I'd be amazed if you could lane on a regular basis and not inflict damage to them.
I think this probably goes as a general rule of off roading though. Stuff does break and can get bashed, wet, covered in mud and so on. If you're pockets are deep enough to not worry too much about this, then they are capable.
300bhp/ton said:
In this country?]
Not the sand dunes ... but the rest of it.I expect some dings and dents - hopefully not entire bumpers falling off. The main problem would be availability of modified parts for off-roading I think, which Land Rover's always come out on top in this country.
These two would just be a whole lot better to drive around in, when not doing the above mentioned things as compared to any Land Rover offerings.
Pockets are not that deep, but I am hoping to only inflict minor damage green laning - some scratches and dents I can live with. And will probably help me become less fussy about where I park, and what is in the next bay.
sinizter said:
Not the sand dunes ... but the rest of it.
I expect some dings and dents - hopefully not entire bumpers falling off. The main problem would be availability of modified parts for off-roading I think, which Land Rover's always come out on top in this country.
Landy's are big business here in the UK and an even bigger aftermarket for Jeeps in the US. Modding either is very easy, so maybe something like a Grand Cherokee might be worth considering too.I expect some dings and dents - hopefully not entire bumpers falling off. The main problem would be availability of modified parts for off-roading I think, which Land Rover's always come out on top in this country.
That said, what sort of mods do you mean? With something like an LR3/Disco 3 there's only so much you can do at sensible cost. The air suspension means you can't just fit giant off road tyres and slap a lift kit on it. You'd need to start to re-engineer the car. The only thing you can do is likely buy some HD bumpers and maybe body armour.
The same applies to the Porsche and Touareg really, apart from some off road tyres. What sort of mods would you want to do?
I think the front bumper is likely to be a liability, even modded the thin metal bumper on my Disco1 still got in the way and was easy to damage.
sinizter said:
These two would just be a whole lot better to drive around in, when not doing the above mentioned things as compared to any Land Rover offerings.
Pockets are not that deep, but I am hoping to only inflict minor damage green laning - some scratches and dents I can live with. And will probably help me become less fussy about where I park, and what is in the next bay.
Have a look:Pockets are not that deep, but I am hoping to only inflict minor damage green laning - some scratches and dents I can live with. And will probably help me become less fussy about where I park, and what is in the next bay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXOpaCRWus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEXwIQxtI4o&fea...
300bhp/ton said:
sinizter said:
300bhp/ton said:
To do what with??
Green laning and offroad tours mainly and pay-and-play sites.Sand dune bashing eventually.
Personally if it's pay and play sites I think you'd be better off buying the current SOTW or something similar and a set of good off road tyres.
In the dunes I suspect they could be could, plenty of power and with the right tyres. Only weight is against them.
Laning, again I don't see why not. Both on the right tyres are going to be capable. I think you most major issue is potential damage. They are big cars with loats of body work and big plastic bumpers. I'd be amazed if you could lane on a regular basis and not inflict damage to them.
I think this probably goes as a general rule of off roading though. Stuff does break and can get bashed, wet, covered in mud and so on. If you're pockets are deep enough to not worry too much about this, then they are capable.
However, I would never take it around the local Pay & Play, or indeed some of the more tricky lanes that I take my Landy S3, as at the end of the day, it doesn't take much to mis-judge a descent or slippery turn & end up nudging a tree or rock. With the Landy, it really doesn't matter at all if another panel gets (more) bent. With the Twig, the cost of replacing a wing or door skin would make me wince.
Trust me, if you want to do Pay & Play, you'll have a hell of a lot more fun in £1 or £2k's worth of Landy / SJ / Jimny / Disco than you ever would in a nice shiny truck!
Gassing Station | Off Road | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff