Good morning folks,
First thanks to all of you who post on this site, it took me a long time to find a Cayenne site that I can use to research info.

I've been a BMW fan, and only after I've seen the new Cayenne 2011 did the Porsche started to grow on me. So for the last week or so, I've been reading everything I can on the Cayenne and comparing it to the X5.

The reason why I am writing this post is that I am sure some of you may have crossed this "comparison" bridge before, therefore I would value your opinion. Please let me know what advantages you believe the Cayenne may have over the X5 in terms of drive, ownership, maintenance etc.

I was looking at the 2011 X5D, with;
Sport Package
Premium
Comfort seats
Heated Front
Park Assist
Active Suspension

In the Cayenne I was looking at:
Base Model
Manual 6 (I enjoy gear shifting and makes me feel part of the car, but I'm not against Auto 8)
PASM
Park Assist
Heated Front
19" Turbo wheels
rear side bags
18 way sport seat/memory
Servotronic

Both vehicles would cost roughly the same to me due to my Diplo pricing with BMW (US Specs ) or USAA rate with Porsche dealers (-5.5% from MSRP plus options at invoice). My purchase timeframe would be summer 2011.

To me what I find important in a vehicle is descent acceleration (we currently drive a mini van and a 2008 BMW Z4, the Porsche 0-60 in 7.1 sec is ok on paper but would have to be seen ), need great handling, despise body role for turns or nose lift/drop on accel/stops. I'm a 65-80 mph driver on highway. We are all tall in this family; I'm 6'3", wife 5'9", kids 14,12,8. The Cayenne would be the primary vehicle for short to medium range trips for 4 people. Long trips would still take the mini van with all the gizmos and room.

Thanks in advance for your posts.

Brez

 

Brez,

Welcome to the site. I too compared the BMW X5 to the Cayenne, just different models of them. I didnt compare the X5D to the V6 Cayenne in my studies, but firstly I would say that a Diesel engine will be more torque than a petrol engine.

As far as vehicles go if you despise body roll you will not be happy with the basic X5. I think the X5 weighs 1000 lbs more than the Porsche and is set up more for luxury than performance.

Both cars are great in my book, and the X5 to me beats the older Cayenne models, however the 2011 interior setup and PCM blow BMW out of the water. Drive both of them and you will have a clear decision on your hands. The Porsche drives like a performance machine the BMW drives like a luxury machine. Whichever you are ultimately looking for will make that decision.

Best of Luck!

Ed

 

I too was in your same position- I did my reasearch and that led to- BMW spends mucho time in the shop. Build quality is sub par for what you would expect. Go spend some time at xoutpost and you will see what I mean. X5 is not made in germany, cayenne is. Porsche is one of the most well-engineered vehicles I have ever owned!

 

Have a neighbor whom I tried to sway Porsche...he went X5 and I have seen the car maybe a doz. times...otherwise it is a loaner 3 series parked on the driveway.

 

I cant speak for Porsche reliability, but have had consistent nagging issues with my X5d (2009) I will say the ride is very nice and the diesel engine is very strong. You do get a bit of turbo lag if just in the wrong rev range, but once you drive the car for a while, it is easy to figure out how to avoid the "nothing to everything" throttle.

Biggest complaint is BMW's inability to fix the problems with the car. Battery drains all the time (monthly at least) just from opening and closing the doors several times. BMW can not (will not) fix this issue. DVD nav required ejecting and reinserting the disk every time you started the car to work - dealer told me this is normal. ...Just a couple of examples.

I'm looking seriously at Cayenne to replace the X5. Also I think the interior finish is far superior in the new Cayennes. BMW's interior parts seem to wear/chip faster than any car I have ever owned so looks old fast and I really take care of cars. Frustrating...

 

Thanks for all the responses. First since handling is one of my priorities, both X5 or Cayenne will have to have the Active Suspension option. I have to admit that the X5 interior looks really blah (especially the rear "bench"), therefore whenever I went to the dealer I always felt that the X5 better be loaded with extra electronic gizmos that would "fill" the interior. In pictures, the Cayenne interior, is very appealling to me (without the need to camouflage the interior with electronic gizmos). My local dealers is suppose to receive a couple (unknown type) next week. Therefore will go and take a look at them.

My Z4 was built in the US, and so far, I did not require any maintenance on it whatsoever, but I will definitly acknowledge the fact that a lot of posters on Bimmerfest have annoying issues with the X5. For the Cayenne, all I seem to find here is potential oil burning issue on the V8?

For those of you with the 2011 model Cayenne, are the back seats roomier than the previous model, or does the 6.3" of slide mean that you have a choice of less 2nd row seating room but the max is still like 2010's?

Thanks
Brez

 

If you despise body roll and like precise steering response, I would suggest you test drive a Cayenne with/without PASM, PDCC and PTV but getting a Cayenne V6 with these options built in would be next to impossible. I am having a hard time finding these options on an already built Cayenne S.

 

If I were to go with the Cayenne, it would definitly be with PASM (PDCC and PTV although very good, I would not get), and more than likely be custom order since the usual packages in the US include stuff that I don't want. As well, I do like the Manual transmition which is not what a dealer wants on his/her lot!

I will test drive the CT since it comes with PASM and test drive a C without on the same route/speed and feel the difference in body roll and seats (18 way vs 14 way).

Brez

 

I like both....

 

I wouldn't bother getting the second iteration WITHOUT PVT. I could live without PDDC as it is annoying in slower off-road driving. PVT seems affordable compared with PDDC.

 

PS Yes, PASM air suspension is a must have for me.

 

hands down cayenne

 

Brez
I have had both. I love BMW's(and I even have a 325 that my sone drives) but I got tired of visiting the service dept so often. I have two Cayenne S, a 2010 and a 2011. The '10 has 17k miles on it and never has been to the shop other than for scheduled service once. It does not burn much oil. The '11 has nearly 3k miles on it and for a new design has been near flawless. It is consuming oil at rate of 1qt every 1300 miles. I don;t like that but I had an AMG Mercedes that cost twice as much and it used oil too. Got to take the bad with the good. I would suggest, and apparently the rating groups agree, that the quality is much higher on the Cayenne than the BMW. As far as the base model, I drove one this week a. This week I drove a 2011 and it drove fine with the V6, but Porsche name symbolizes performance and the V8 is stronger. All these vehicles will drive good, but my bet is that you will avoid the shop with the Cayenne.

 

Scott, coming from someone unbiased like you, who has owned and enjoyed both that is a very valuable post for folks like me who went for the CS without even thinking about cross shopping. Thank you. Is member JenK listening ?

 

I didn't buy anything yet......