2004 Porsche Cayenne Review

Specifications

Purveying Passion is Porsches Business

There are vehicles a person buys because of needs, and then there are vehicles a person buys because they just cant help themselves. Flights of passion are what Porsche cars and now, SUVs are all about.

While some have lambasted the legendary brand for entering the sport utility segment, others recognize Porsches need to expand its marketshare overall, and increase its bottom line so that it can continue building sports cars like the Boxster, 911 - in all its guises - and Carrera GT. After all, if it were not for the Cayenne, its quite possible Porsche would not have weathered the current drought in car sales and be gobbled up by a multi-make automaker - albeit 911 sales are up 20 percent in the U.S. as of April 2004.

But theres another argument for the Cayenne, and a better one I might add. Its simply the best all-round sport utility money can buy, at least from a drivers perspective. It handles with greater stability than some sport sedans and most competitive sport utilities, with only BMWs X3 and X5, plus Infinitis FX capable of giving it a run for its money on pavement. But none of these is at all capable in serious off-road conditions. Here, as previously reported in a special “Off-Road Test,” the Cayenne has few rivals as well, especially when optioned out with the driver adjustable air suspension (PASM).

So why an update review on a vehicle that has been thoroughly covered in a previous road test as well as a separate off-road test? Because of some good improvements Porsche has made since the Cayennes inception, as well as some problems that have cropped up along the way.

Lets start with whats good. Personally speaking, the Cayennes styling has really grown on me. I wasnt one of the naysayers in the beginning, mind you, but I cant say it floored me like the Boxster and 911 do every time one passes by. I really like it from the front end, as it pulls all the positive design cues from the car lineup and somehow makes them work in a much taller vehicle. Sure, its rounded fuselage and ovoid derriere is a little sausage-like in comparison to the many boxy SUVs in competition, but to its credit it is unique in the category.

As just mentioned, the Cayennes on and off-road handling has always been stellar, as has its engine performance. Of course the Turbo version is quicker than the S, but the S is still faster off the line than the majority of rival SUVs. Whats more, Porsche has recalibrated the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for even better initial performance. Where before it was merely quick, the S now rockets from standstill defying its rather substantial 4,949 pound curb weight. I especially like the steering wheel mounted shifter toggles, ideally placed at each side of the 9 and 3 oclock spokes for easy up and down actuation by the thumbs. Shifts are quick for an automatic transmission, rowing through all 6 forward gears as fast as your fingers can push one of the buttons or slap forward the console mounted gear selector. But you dont have to have the gear level slotted in the manual-mode position to actuate manual-type shifts. Even if in Drive, a tap on the steering wheel controls automatically allows manual actuation. Unlike some sequential-shift automatics, however, the Cayennes does not allow total manual control, but takes over shifting on behalf of the drive when the revs hit redline. It will also gear down on its own, even if in manual-mode, if the throttle is pressed to the floor. Personally, I think Porsche buyers would rather have full control of the transmission, unlike Volkswagen Touareg buyers who most likely appreciate the gearbox thinking on their behalf.

What has the Touareg got to do with the Cayenne? Just in case you arent aware, the Cayenne and Touareg were jointly developed by Porsche and Volkswagen, with the latter building pretty well the entire car for Porsche sans the engine (excepting V6 versions which ship with the engine included). Of course, Volkswagen is the ideal fit for Porsche, being that both companies were founded by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, and past cooperative efforts have led to the mid-engine 914, and front-engine 924, 244 and 968.

The result of this latest joint venture is a superb sport utility for Volkswagen, biased more toward luxury than sport, and the Cayenne, which is definitely targeting a sport-oriented SUV buyer. The differences on the outside are obvious, with only a very keen eye capable of seeing the similarities between the two. On the inside there is no resemblance either, with the VW boasting over-the-top luxury, including acres of beautifully finished wood, brushed aluminum and leather. It wouldnt be a Porsche if the Cayenne was trimmed out in planks of walnut, so the Weissach team instead covered the dash and surrounding surfaces in high-quality leather, while thin horizontal accents can be finished in a variety of woods and metals.

While Volkswagen does an exceptionally good job of perceived quality, the touchy, feely side of interior quality that sells cars on the showroom floor, the brand is plagued with actual quality issues. The new Touareg has been no exception, with unfortunate consequences for its strategic partner Porsche. While Porsche must be excited on one hand for the strong sales its new SUV has garnered and the added profits to its bottom line, it cant be at all happy with its recent plunge in J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS) - based on responses from more than 51,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2004 model-year cars, trucks, SUVs and vans surveyed after 90 days of ownership.

Porsche nosedived from an enviable 2nd place finish in the 2003 IQS to last place in the 2004 survey with 159 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). What happened? It can only be attributed to Porsches alignment with 10th place Volkswagen, also well below the industry average. In the nameplate rankings, Porsche fell from first place among all European automakers at 7th overall, to a worse than average 3rd to last placement, or 35th out of 37 brands, just ahead of Volkswagen (from 117 to 159 PP100). That means for every 100 new Porsches sold in 2004, there are 42 more problems than compared to ever 100 Porsches sold in 2003. Porsches sports cars, however, are among the most reliable in the business, hence the 2nd place 2003 score. As it seems, Porsche is guilty by association.

It should be taken into consideration that the J.D. Powers IQS is only one survey, albeit a large and significant one by the auto industrys most respected third party analyst. Personally, being a big fan of the Porsches SUV, I wanted to give the Cayenne the benefit of the doubt. But halfway through my weeks test the right rear turn signal stopped working. While a burned out bulb is hardly reason to pan a cars reliability, its the first time in about five years this has happened. After all, the cars I test are close to brand new, with none with more than 6,000 miles on the odometer. The Cayenne I was driving had weathered only 1,800 miles, so the turn signal should still be working.

My only other beef is a ruddy useless remote keyfob. Not only does it have to be in extremely close proximity to the vehicle to transmit a signal, but it has to be pointed at exactly the right angle to lock or unlock the doors. If you get the angle right, then it may or may not open the passenger side door and rear doors with the second click of the button. If you wait too long, or move slightly so it doesnt transmit properly, then it will lock the car again. Why? Well Porsche has designed the keyfob with only one button to both lock and unlock the doors, something that no other automaker does. This necessitates checking the door handle once locked as well, as with the remote being as fussy as it is sometimes the Cayenne doesnt lock at all. It can partially be remedied by going into the personal preference section of the Cayennes computer and setting all the doors to open at once at first click, but this overrides the safety feature of the vehicle opening up the drivers door on its own so that the unwanted cant sneak into an opposite door while youre getting in. Not worth the risk in most metropolitan areas.

To add insult to injury, the Cayenne adopts Volkswagens ridiculous rear liftgate setup, which doesnt unlock automatically when all the doors are unlocked. Instead you have to click and hold the remote “trunk” release, but once again not too long. If you do that it will pop open the glass hatch, which will need to be shut before opening the liftgate. If the car is running, however, you wont have the keyfob with you, therefore youll need to remember to click the door mounted remote for the back hatch before jumping out to get what-have-you out of the back. And I tried to override it in the computer as well, but to no avail. Maybe if I lived with the SUV for more than a week Id get used to these types of eccentricities, but why put us through such misery Porsche? Just a simple lock and unlock remote would be sufficient, with a nice button for the liftgate and another one for the glass hatch. Four buttons instead of two would alleviate major headaches. Then make it work from across the parking lot and youll have a lot more happy customers. Why make such a fuss about locks and remotes? Because its the one thing owners do more than anything else other than driving, and the Cayennes remote is the worst in the industry.

But when not cursing at the electronics, I still panged for Porsches Cayenne. Its just so good in so many other ways. Yes, initial quality and likely ongoing reliability are definitely suspect, so were back to a purchase out of passion argument. This is one which Porsche should win more often than not, given the Cayennes superb driving dynamics on and off the road, beautifully executed tactile quality, and overall functionality.

In the end there is nothing like the Cayenne currently available. Nothing that can do all it can do as well as it can do it. This will be the deciding factor for many prospective buyers.