- suv 131,615
- 3,748 below average
- 6,994 great
- Cincinnati, OH
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- autoshopper.com
- 3,748 below average suv 131,615 diesel silver manual
2005 porsche cayenne review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. A porsche by more than name. introductionnearly three years after its introduction, the porsche cayenne no longer seems like such an incongruous idea. Porsche's sport-utility vehicle has quickly become part of the automotive landscape. The car-buying public has demonstrated its appreciation of the porsche brand beyond the company's familiar sports cars, and porsche dealerships are pleased by all the suvs moving off their lots. longtime porsche enthusiasts may have had the most difficult adjustment. For five decades before the cayenne, their favorite car company carved its niche among automotive giants with quick, agile sports cars built on values diametrically opposed to those represented by big, strapping suvs. The company's suv is technically slick and remarkably fast, as porsches are supposed to be, with on-road handling that belies (though does not defy) its mass. For style, pure performance and a balance of sport-utility virtues, the porsche cayenne is tough to beat. porsche hasn't been sitting still since cayenne's launch in 2003. For 2005, it has added useful standard equipment and introduced new option packages. The price spread across the cayenne line is more than $50,000. A loaded cayenne turbo can crack the $100,000 barrier, and that alone will knock it off most shopping lists. Yet even the well heeled can be value conscious. We might call them connoisseurs. Base prices span $48,200 from the least expensive to the most expensive, and with options the spread approaches $60,000. in 2004, porsche introduced a v6 model known simply as cayenne. For 2005, the cayenne 41,100) comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission for the first time, lowering its price $1800 compared to 2004. The v6 model prices cayenne in the thick of its luxury sport-utility competitors. cayenne is powered by a narrow-angle, single-cylinder-head v6 producing 247 horsepower, and comes standard with full-time all-wheel drive with a high- and low-range. The price includes leather seating with 12-way power adjustment, charcoal and micro-particle cabin filtration, heated retractable exterior mirrors, multi-function trip computer, a 72-watt 12-speaker stereo with cd, and insulated laminated privacy glass. New standard features for 2005 include a built-in homelink transmitter to open garage doors or turn on lights and an electronically latching tailgate that sucks itself shut once it's lowered to the latch. cayenne tiptronic 44,100) is identical to the base cayenne, except that it's equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission with porsche's tiptronic manual shift mode. Cayenne and cayenne tiptronic both come standard with sophisticated traction management and skid-control electronics. in addition to slick electronics and the latest-generation antilock brakes, all cayennes get luxury-grade passive safety features, starting with six airbags: dual-stage front and side-impact airbags for front passengers, and curtain-style head protection airbags on both sides of the cabin. All five seating positions have three-point belts with pretensioners to instantly tighten them and limit stretching on impact. The front belts also have automatic force limiters, reducing potential for belt-related injuries. the other two models are built around porsche's 4. 5-liter dohc v8 engine. The cayenne s 56,300) comes standard with the tiptronic automatic, and retails anywhere from $14,000 to $2,000 more than these luxury-class suvs: acura mdx, bmw x5 3. 0, cadillac escalade, hummer h2, infiniti fx45, lexus gx470, mercedes ml500 or volvo xc90 t6, not to mention that standard cayenne. The normally aspirated cayenne s delivers 340 horsepower (more than most of the suvs noted above) and adds several items to the standard cayenne equipment list, including automatic climate control with dual front-passenger settings and a 350-watt, 14-speaker bose stereo. porsche raises the ante considerably for the cayenne turbo 89,300). The turbo costs more than just about any suv on the planet, but with a twin-turbocharged version of the v8 and a whopping 450 horsepower, the cayenne turbo also delivers more power than any other suv. The turbo also adds adjustable air suspension with porsche active suspension management (pasm), a variable dampening system that uses five accelerometers and electronically controlled adjustable shocks to manage body weight transfer both on and off road. The turbo includes upgrades such as heated front and rear seats, electric steering wheel adjustment and park-assist radar warning front and rear. It's equipped with porsche communications management (pcm), a gps navigation system with integrated telephone and audio controls. Finally, the cayenne turbo has bi-xenon headlights that turn, tucker-style, with the steering wheel. most everything on the turbo (except the turbocharger) is offered as an option on cayenne and cayenne s. We've tested all models, but the most recent was the cayenne tiptronic with these extras: porsche communications management system 3,070); driver memory package 360); heated front seats and steering wheel 520); power glass sunroof 1,100); high-gloss light wood package 990); olive wood steering wheel 290); 19-inch cayenne design wheels 2,390); six-cd changer 650); and prosecco metallic pai. walkaroundwhat makes a porsche a porsche? The company insists styling is a crucial element, and it's easy to see porsche in the cayenne. The family resemblance is obvious in the cayenne's headlights and grille work, which closely resemble those on the 911 and boxster sports cars. Tastes in styling are subjective. More than one observer said it resembles a frog. Either way, the designer's handiwork has produced a 0. 39 coefficient of drag, impressive for a big suv, and good for limiting wind noise at high speed. cayenne is not a small vehicle. Measuring 188. 3 inches in length, with a wheelbase of 112. 4 inches, it's longer than the bmw x5 and mercedes m-class and a few hundred pounds heavier than either. Conversely, at 4785 pounds in its lightest specification, cayenne weighs 550 pounds less than a lincoln navigator, which is two feet longer. An inspection underneath this suv suggests that it's well engineered, perhaps over-engineered, compared to many mass-market sport-utilities. Apparently porsche engineers preferred not to take chances with their first suv, in the event that some owners actually drive it aggressively off road. in size, cayenne most closely matches volkswagen's touareg, which is no surprise, given that the two vehicles were developed jointly by porsche and vw. As a result of this cooperation, cayenne and touareg bodies are built at the same plant in bratislava, slovakia. Engines and other cayenne components are built by porsche in zuffenhausen, germany, and mated to the cayenne shells at a new assembly plant in leipzig, constructed exclusively for cayenne with its own pavement and off-road test tracks. these days ground-up vehicle development runs in the $1 billion range and that puts a small company like porsche (which sells 55,000 cars in a great year) at a distinct disadvantage, especially if it's venturing into new territory. Porsche had little choice but to find a partner in developing cayenne, and it chose the volkswagen-audi group, a company that has previously worked with porsche on cars such as the 914 and 924. As a result, both cayenne and touareg were created from the same basic blueprint. The standard cayenne even shares its v6 engine with the touareg. porsche was the project leader in the cayenne/touareg joint venture, and much of the work done on volkswagen's dime was conducted by porsche's contract engineering division, which accounts for a third of the company's business. Joint development was limited to the basic floor pan and some drivetrain components. Engine and suspension tuning, styling and all the finish work were the separate responsibility of each manufacturer. this auto-industry backgrounder is relevant to any consumer preparing to part with a substantial amount of money for a high-end suv, because if two vehicles share a foundation, they're likely to share a basic quality, or lack thereof. Porsche insists that cayenne is uniquely porsche, and as reviewers we can vouch for that. Anti-lock Brakes✔ Climate Control✔ CD Changer✔ Sunroof/Moonroof✔ Navigation System
6,994 Cincinnati, OHCincinnati, OH at autoshopper.com