atrac7

Lately the discussion between my wife and me centers around a bigger vehicle for the future. This means moving towards an SUV, which i am generally against. However...the Cayennes from Porsche in the 2012-2014 era have started to look a bit appealing. Seems like it is a very good balance of space, speed and handling. I am particularly fond of the GTS models.

I am sure I can't expect Lexus like dependability on this front, but does anyone here have thoughts on switching over to the Porsche brand? Or thoughts on why I should just stay with the Lexus guys? I do seem to hear very solid things from Porsche in terms of reliability, which always surprised me given the usual track record of German makes.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Porsche is up there in reliability with Lexus so I don't think thats a issue, I personally really like the Macan.

UDel

911's are reliable, Cayennes, not as much, at least it used to be that way. My cousin got one of the original Cayennes used and it was a money pit, so many expensive issues in such little time he only kept it for a few weeks and got rid of it.

Why does your wife think you need a bigger vehicle or SUV over a GS? Is it really needed, will you be going off roading? It is only a 5 seater so you can't fit any more people in it then your GS. I think if you are concerned about cost of ownership and possible headaches it may not be a good idea to go with a Cayanne over a GS. A MDX is a 7 seater and will cost much less to buy and own, they get very good fuel economy too.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Porsche is a money pit, anything German is a money pit.

Lexus ranks the most reliable brand
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...y-of-surprises

Lexus ranks among some of the least cost of maintenance over 10 years with only Scion and Toyota ahead of it.
https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...y-maddy-martin

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

my neighbor owns a 2010 cayenne GTS and it's a lovely vehicle. his wife primarily drives it, and it has almost 130k on the odo.
he tells me he has not spent that much on maintenance other than the normal stuff such as brakes (which are expensive, brembos).
I would imagine the newer gens would be equally reliable.

but nothing beats lexus reliability and low depreciation!
why not look into a GX or an LX?!

eddie420

Gas guzzlers!

OneFunGS

^ Looking at $120K plus cars and you're worried about gas??

My dad has a Porsche and I am looking at the Panamara Sport Tourismo. They are insanely reliable in the MECHANICS of the car. Does that mean they are flawless? Not by a long shot. Little things pop up. But the problem with that is the "little things" have big price tags if you can't fix it yourself. Also, it is to be noted that (at least in our area) the Porsche dealer will not work on cars that are over 10 years old. So ask about that as well. It is a factor about how long I keep the car at this point.

atrac7

No off roading on this one. We just realized it is more convenient to have more space, even if the seating amount is the same amount of people. Also, both of us are transplants in the Dallas area, so many of our friends/family visit out of state with no car. I am often driving them around, and the GS can be cramped at times in the back. Couple this with easier to get in/out when having a child.

The GX and LX have zero soul in my opinion. The only reason I am even entertaining an SUV is because models like the Cayenne have been known to still have athletic DNA. They are still calibrated with the driver in mind rather than just simply hauling kids.

Luckily I would never pay the 120K+. My range is more around $40k-45k mark I am seeing some good deals at times popping up for these older models. I was actually looking at the Panny as well since it is quite roomy in the back. But it just looks to be a bit out of my range for specs/models i would like

MikeLucky

I bought my wife an Infiniti QX60 and we traded in our Sequoia becuase we didn't need anything that large anymore. The QX60 is pretty fantastic. Good performance and still has a 3rd row. If you don't need a 3rd row, I would look at the new QX50 with the variable compression turbo engine. Infiniti is doing some really great stuff right now.

er34

First of all, "SUV" and "athletic" don't belong in the same sentence. You can't defy physics no matter what car manufacturers try to tell you. No amount of suspension wizardry will inspire confidence around corners when you are sitting 3 feet off the ground. Straight line, sure these things can be smoking fast.

Second, the "soul" of an SUV is in off-roading, especially with the GX and LX which still carry real body-on-frame chassis unlike the Cayenne which is really just a crossover. It's only in North America that people somehow think driving in a high horse SUV makes them "safer" and therefore most SUV spend their lives hauling kids.

atrac7

I disagree with your first statement...semantics aside on if we call it "cross over vs SUV": Go and look up reviews (or better yet, take a Cayenne GTS/Turbo with their PASM air suspension + torque vectoring AWD for a test drive). Will it be better than a low to the ground sedan? No. But it can STILL be athletic with all of the performance features that some of those cars have. Now...if we are talking about the vanilla models of the Cayenne (i.e. simply the Cayenne base model, or the S with no suspension options), then yes...they are just good for straight line driving for the most part.

When I say soul, I mean spirited driving. I think the word soul can be interpreted in many ways here. And the Porsche Cayenne has proven that it CAN do that. Again, the GTS and its V8 roar from both its engine and exhaust system has been known to raise the hair on people's necks. For me, the primary intent of my thread was geared more towards the reliability aspect of these cars as I have already confirmed that the Porsche Cayenne is not just a grocery hauler. The performance on those cars are real.

AJLex19

Damn never heard of such a thing from a dealership / brand! Is there a reason that a Porsche Dealership refuses to work on a Porsche vehicle that is 10 years old? I imagine that dealers would be the ones Porsche owners would feel most comfortable taking an older Porsche with a problem (e.g. non mechanics like navigation, radio, parking sensors, etc.) to get serviced...

mjeds

I always laugh at people that make comments like this. wanting and being able to afford an expensive car doesn't mean someone has to be flagrant with the expenses that go with the vehicle. Wealthy people aren't typically wealthy because they are foolish with their finances. They are wealthy because they are frugal.

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

get a 3~5yr aftermarket warranty. done.

jonathancl

JD Power Three Year Dependability Study

This is owner survey data, but it's the only statistical indicator that I have found that can speak to brand quality over time.
Lexus has been at the top of the list for at at least fifteen years, and Porsche has climbed to position two over the last five.