Help with options
Discussion
Hi all,
I have a visit to Porsche planned next week and will be ordering a new Cayenne hybrid. So many options to choose and pretty happy with my choices but would like opinion on a couple of things.
Firstly air suspension is it worth the upgrade and cost. I was thinking it is due to the crap state of Uk roads but would like some reassurance.
Secondly dynamic chassis control. Thinking big heavy car so reducing the roll might be worth it but never had it and never missed it. An expensive option so again thought and experiences welcome.
Finally any ‘must haves’ just in case I’ve missed them would be useful.
Thanks
I have a visit to Porsche planned next week and will be ordering a new Cayenne hybrid. So many options to choose and pretty happy with my choices but would like opinion on a couple of things.
Firstly air suspension is it worth the upgrade and cost. I was thinking it is due to the crap state of Uk roads but would like some reassurance.
Secondly dynamic chassis control. Thinking big heavy car so reducing the roll might be worth it but never had it and never missed it. An expensive option so again thought and experiences welcome.
Finally any ‘must haves’ just in case I’ve missed them would be useful.
Thanks
I've owned four Cayenne Hybrids in various colours and specifications. Our current one is Carrea white and the first and only Cayenne we have owned without a Panoramic roof. All our previous Cayennes were Jet Black with one Dark Grey and all had Panoramic roofs. All had PASM with only one with Air Suspension.
My advice based on my experience is to get one with no larger than 21'' wheels and PASM Steel is a must have. I prefer this configuration to Air as Its less floaty and gives better feedback. I also notice my current one without Pano roof handles better than all the others probably due to a combination of extra weight at the highest point and slightly less torsional rigidity.
Our White one with no Pano roof is much much cooler on a hot day compared to our previous Black ones with the Glass roof, its truly transformative in this regard, night and day !
It handles incredibly well on PASM Steel suspension, 21'' rims and no Pano roof and personally wouldn't pay extra for all the expensive extras such as RAS and PDCC.
My advice based on my experience is to get one with no larger than 21'' wheels and PASM Steel is a must have. I prefer this configuration to Air as Its less floaty and gives better feedback. I also notice my current one without Pano roof handles better than all the others probably due to a combination of extra weight at the highest point and slightly less torsional rigidity.
Our White one with no Pano roof is much much cooler on a hot day compared to our previous Black ones with the Glass roof, its truly transformative in this regard, night and day !
It handles incredibly well on PASM Steel suspension, 21'' rims and no Pano roof and personally wouldn't pay extra for all the expensive extras such as RAS and PDCC.
Thanks Taffy that’s really good info and interesting. Watching vids from Nick Murray, don’t waste money on air suspension and Mat Watson, air suspension is a must have shows the differing opinions of people on you tube. Always a bit suspicious of vids made by people who are getting paid as I wonder if they are incentivised unlike people on here
Horses for courses and all that but my experience - owned our Cayenne for 3 years and have tried numerous others, plus have a Panamera with various options the Cayenne doesn't have:
- Air suspension was a deal breaker for me, I like the smoother ride at higher speeds.
- Pano roof is worth having, I don't drive it hard enough to notice the difference, I have a Panamera Turbo for going quickly in, the Cayenne is the family car.
- Surround is very helpful, particularly in multi storey car parks where this is a risk of damaging alloys (I don't have it on my Panamera, I wish I did).
- I didn't particularly like PDCC and unless you're driving at speed, it didn't add much for me.
- Full leather is much better than partial, the dash and tops of the doors are a bit cheaply finished otherwise.
- 14 way seats are fine, I don't see the point in the 18s we have.
- Bose is ok, Burmester much better but by no means a 'must have.'
- I like the adaptive cruise, Innodrive of very limited use in my experience.
- Soft close doors are not huge money but make the car feel more premium, not to mention the child lock is just a button on the driver's door rather than fiddling around with switches, or worse still forgetting to set it and having a 4 year old opening doors at random times.
- Comfort access very useful, another thing I wish we had.
- PDLS is good, PDLS+ is extremely impressive.
- 21" wheels max.
- I like blind spot assist, night vision for me is a waste of time.
- I don't find the A/C in the Cayenne that great, so ventilated front seats are pleasant to have.
- 4 zone A/C probably depends on whether you'll have fussy rear passengers, I'd spec it next time.
- rear window blinds are amazing if you have small children who sleep in the car.
It really depends on how you'll use the car. We use our Cayenne for family duties so it doesn't often get driven spiritedly particularly and personally, I don't enjoy going fast in SUVs. If it's a one car household and you'll be using it alone for longer, faster journeys, then maybe features like PDCC might make more sense for you but the vast majority of the options I think are worth having are focussed on ease of everyday use.
- Air suspension was a deal breaker for me, I like the smoother ride at higher speeds.
- Pano roof is worth having, I don't drive it hard enough to notice the difference, I have a Panamera Turbo for going quickly in, the Cayenne is the family car.
- Surround is very helpful, particularly in multi storey car parks where this is a risk of damaging alloys (I don't have it on my Panamera, I wish I did).
- I didn't particularly like PDCC and unless you're driving at speed, it didn't add much for me.
- Full leather is much better than partial, the dash and tops of the doors are a bit cheaply finished otherwise.
- 14 way seats are fine, I don't see the point in the 18s we have.
- Bose is ok, Burmester much better but by no means a 'must have.'
- I like the adaptive cruise, Innodrive of very limited use in my experience.
- Soft close doors are not huge money but make the car feel more premium, not to mention the child lock is just a button on the driver's door rather than fiddling around with switches, or worse still forgetting to set it and having a 4 year old opening doors at random times.
- Comfort access very useful, another thing I wish we had.
- PDLS is good, PDLS+ is extremely impressive.
- 21" wheels max.
- I like blind spot assist, night vision for me is a waste of time.
- I don't find the A/C in the Cayenne that great, so ventilated front seats are pleasant to have.
- 4 zone A/C probably depends on whether you'll have fussy rear passengers, I'd spec it next time.
- rear window blinds are amazing if you have small children who sleep in the car.
It really depends on how you'll use the car. We use our Cayenne for family duties so it doesn't often get driven spiritedly particularly and personally, I don't enjoy going fast in SUVs. If it's a one car household and you'll be using it alone for longer, faster journeys, then maybe features like PDCC might make more sense for you but the vast majority of the options I think are worth having are focussed on ease of everyday use.
Mosdef said:
Horses for courses and all that but my experience - owned our Cayenne for 3 years and have tried numerous others, plus have a Panamera with various options the Cayenne doesn't have:
- Air suspension was a deal breaker for me, I like the smoother ride at higher speeds.
- Pano roof is worth having, I don't drive it hard enough to notice the difference, I have a Panamera Turbo for going quickly in, the Cayenne is the family car.
- Surround is very helpful, particularly in multi storey car parks where this is a risk of damaging alloys (I don't have it on my Panamera, I wish I did).
- I didn't particularly like PDCC and unless you're driving at speed, it didn't add much for me.
- Full leather is much better than partial, the dash and tops of the doors are a bit cheaply finished otherwise.
- 14 way seats are fine, I don't see the point in the 18s we have.
- Bose is ok, Burmester much better but by no means a 'must have.'
- I like the adaptive cruise, Innodrive of very limited use in my experience.
- Soft close doors are not huge money but make the car feel more premium, not to mention the child lock is just a button on the driver's door rather than fiddling around with switches, or worse still forgetting to set it and having a 4 year old opening doors at random times.
- Comfort access very useful, another thing I wish we had.
- PDLS is good, PDLS+ is extremely impressive.
- 21" wheels max.
- I like blind spot assist, night vision for me is a waste of time.
- I don't find the A/C in the Cayenne that great, so ventilated front seats are pleasant to have.
- 4 zone A/C probably depends on whether you'll have fussy rear passengers, I'd spec it next time.
- rear window blinds are amazing if you have small children who sleep in the car.
It really depends on how you'll use the car. We use our Cayenne for family duties so it doesn't often get driven spiritedly particularly and personally, I don't enjoy going fast in SUVs. If it's a one car household and you'll be using it alone for longer, faster journeys, then maybe features like PDCC might make more sense for you but the vast majority of the options I think are worth having are focussed on ease of everyday use.
Thanks for the heads up and the vast majority of your thread is aligned to my thinking but nice to have it confirmed.- Air suspension was a deal breaker for me, I like the smoother ride at higher speeds.
- Pano roof is worth having, I don't drive it hard enough to notice the difference, I have a Panamera Turbo for going quickly in, the Cayenne is the family car.
- Surround is very helpful, particularly in multi storey car parks where this is a risk of damaging alloys (I don't have it on my Panamera, I wish I did).
- I didn't particularly like PDCC and unless you're driving at speed, it didn't add much for me.
- Full leather is much better than partial, the dash and tops of the doors are a bit cheaply finished otherwise.
- 14 way seats are fine, I don't see the point in the 18s we have.
- Bose is ok, Burmester much better but by no means a 'must have.'
- I like the adaptive cruise, Innodrive of very limited use in my experience.
- Soft close doors are not huge money but make the car feel more premium, not to mention the child lock is just a button on the driver's door rather than fiddling around with switches, or worse still forgetting to set it and having a 4 year old opening doors at random times.
- Comfort access very useful, another thing I wish we had.
- PDLS is good, PDLS+ is extremely impressive.
- 21" wheels max.
- I like blind spot assist, night vision for me is a waste of time.
- I don't find the A/C in the Cayenne that great, so ventilated front seats are pleasant to have.
- 4 zone A/C probably depends on whether you'll have fussy rear passengers, I'd spec it next time.
- rear window blinds are amazing if you have small children who sleep in the car.
It really depends on how you'll use the car. We use our Cayenne for family duties so it doesn't often get driven spiritedly particularly and personally, I don't enjoy going fast in SUVs. If it's a one car household and you'll be using it alone for longer, faster journeys, then maybe features like PDCC might make more sense for you but the vast majority of the options I think are worth having are focussed on ease of everyday use.
Matrix LEDs are amazing - you’ll benefit hugely if you ever drive on unlit roads at night. Just leave full beam on all the time and watch the lights cleverly avoid other cars while lighting up the road like the light pod on a WRC car!
I love the adaptive cruise as well. Ours has probably spent more miles with it on than off in the last 4 years.
The option on mine that I wouldn’t bother with again is rear axle steering. You can feel the benefit in tight manoeuvres, and it makes the car feel more lively at medium speeds, but not worth the cost for a car with the Cayenne’s character.
On a more practical note, roofbars can’t be retrofitted and the folding tow bar is 3x the option price to retrofit. If you think you might ever need either, get them from new.
I love the adaptive cruise as well. Ours has probably spent more miles with it on than off in the last 4 years.
The option on mine that I wouldn’t bother with again is rear axle steering. You can feel the benefit in tight manoeuvres, and it makes the car feel more lively at medium speeds, but not worth the cost for a car with the Cayenne’s character.
On a more practical note, roofbars can’t be retrofitted and the folding tow bar is 3x the option price to retrofit. If you think you might ever need either, get them from new.
Thank you all for your opinions and suggestions, everyone has been very useful. Car now ordered and the wait begins. I am told first quarter of 2023 so if the rumoured face lifted version lands, at the end of this year, the timing looks spot on. After all your help it would be rude not to share spec so here goes.
Porsche Cayenne e-hybrid with following options
Chromite Black Metallic
smooth-finish leather Black-Bordeaux Red.
Comfort seats (14-way, electric) with memory package
PORSCHE’ logo LED door courtesy (Wife insisted ??)
Extended exterior package in Black
Air suspension
21-inch RS Spyder Design wheels highly polished with wheel arch extensions in exterior colour
Tinted LED main headlights including Porsche Dynamic Light System
Tinted LED taillights including light strip
Head-Up Display
ParkAssist incl. Surround View
Smoking package
Bordeaux Red seat belts
Side airbags in the rear
Homelink
May still do a final tweak before the spec is locked in. A few observations
HUD is bloody expensive compared to previous times I’ve had it but it’s something I find really useful.
Smoking package and none of us smoke. This was suggested by the dealer as it puts a lid on the opening just below the gear lever which smooths the look out.
No black seat belts. I hadn’t noticed this until it was pointed out so well done Porsche for bending me over and giving me a rogering by having grey belts as standard on a red and black interior meaning an additional £345 to get rid !!!
Having to pay for side airbags in a £90,000 car FFS
All in all though very happy and looking forward to my first Porsche after Mercs, BMW and Jaguars.
Porsche Cayenne e-hybrid with following options
Chromite Black Metallic
smooth-finish leather Black-Bordeaux Red.
Comfort seats (14-way, electric) with memory package
PORSCHE’ logo LED door courtesy (Wife insisted ??)
Extended exterior package in Black
Air suspension
21-inch RS Spyder Design wheels highly polished with wheel arch extensions in exterior colour
Tinted LED main headlights including Porsche Dynamic Light System
Tinted LED taillights including light strip
Head-Up Display
ParkAssist incl. Surround View
Smoking package
Bordeaux Red seat belts
Side airbags in the rear
Homelink
May still do a final tweak before the spec is locked in. A few observations
HUD is bloody expensive compared to previous times I’ve had it but it’s something I find really useful.
Smoking package and none of us smoke. This was suggested by the dealer as it puts a lid on the opening just below the gear lever which smooths the look out.
No black seat belts. I hadn’t noticed this until it was pointed out so well done Porsche for bending me over and giving me a rogering by having grey belts as standard on a red and black interior meaning an additional £345 to get rid !!!
Having to pay for side airbags in a £90,000 car FFS
All in all though very happy and looking forward to my first Porsche after Mercs, BMW and Jaguars.
Edited by Pmifa on Monday 29th August 07:45
Sounds like a lovely spec, fingers crossed the lead time stays as indicated. I was specking one up the other day and for the options I wanted, the Platinum saved about £4k on a like-for-like basis. The website didn’t let me choose my stereo however, so I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, or even offered anymore.
My only observation about the black (gloss?) interior package is that it gets lots of sticky finger prints and picks up hairline scratches, particularly if occupants are a bit clumsy with jewellery etc. That might not bother you but I probably wouldn’t have it again.
My only observation about the black (gloss?) interior package is that it gets lots of sticky finger prints and picks up hairline scratches, particularly if occupants are a bit clumsy with jewellery etc. That might not bother you but I probably wouldn’t have it again.
Pmifa said:
Thanks Mosdef and take on board about the black gloss but I’m a sucker for the look and most of the time it will be me only. The wife at some point though will use one of her rings as a can opener on the interior. Is it just my wife or do they all do it ?
It does look great, just not the best to live with for anyone with any kind of car related OCD! Re: wives...they all do it, same goes for trashing alloy wheels Gassing Station | Front Engined Porsches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff