I love my Panamera Turbo, but the addition of a third child negates the reason I bought the car in the first place, which was to shuttle my little ones around. I am now considering trading for another vehicle and was wondering if anyone made the switch to a Cayenne after Panamera and if it was still satisfying. I am digging the idea of towing capacity and larger trunk space. However, I have heard the Cayenne doesn't have folding seats, is this true?

 

I'll be honest with you, the rear seats are very good for two occupants, add an extra and it's getting tight, especially if car seats are involved. You would be better served by something that has the third row seating, with seatbacks that fold up easily. The storage space in the Cayenne is actually quite small I find. Towing capacity is really good for the Cayenne as well (around 7700lbs). How old are your kids?

 

i personally never understood how the panamera is priced above the cayenne,

cayenne
-more seats
-more room
-hauls stuff
-more metal
-same options available
-same HP
-same engines

the panamera is just smaller, sedan that holds less cargo and people.

 

The backseats DO fold down, but not totally flat. My wife can sit in the back between my 2 sons in their car seats comfortably.
I have not owned a PTT but have driven one and I think you will notice the PDK is far superior to the tiptronic otherwise you might enjoy the sensation of how aggresive you can drive while sitting up so high.

 

The backrows also can recline to some extent and be moved back and forth for a few inches. Two features that do not exist on many two row SUVs. One thing to consider would be to avoid the 18-way seats that have a prominent sculpted side bolsters for the passengers on either side making for too snug a fit for the center passenger on the second row. I have attached a picture for you on the 18s. The 8-way and 14-ways do not have those bolsters. Let me know if you need pics of those.

 

Keep the panamera and buy a minivan...the money that you will burn on the trade you can pay for the minivan....it might even pay for in full...IMHO....cheers!

 

I know we will get flamed for this but I agree, our minivan has all the luxury amenities as any car I have had. When I drive it, I feel carefree about anything bad happening to it with parking, kids eating in the car, or tracking dirt into it. Thus it makes driving the CTT kind of restrictive. I dont miss the performance because I dont expect any.

 

No offense, but I'd sooner lose all the money from my Panamera before I'd drive a minivan, lol.
We already have my wife's Lexus LX570 for full-on family duty but I am looking for something sportier/powerful for myself that I can carry the 2 small kids and baby in a pinch.
Keep the comments coming. I'm actually seeing more arguments to just keep the status quo, lol.

 

It really depends wholly on your lifestyle. If the third kid means 80% or more of your total miles are in a five seater, don't buy the minivan... be prepared for plenty of mess in your Cayenne.

If you have room for another vehicle and still get to drive your regular car plenty of miles, you can stay put. In my house it also had much to do with what the Mrs. wanted, which was isn't a bad thing.

Be careful with the kids.

 

sorry. i need to learn to read what's in a man's garage before commenting. seems like your going to be covered. Do what you believe is safest for the kids.

 

Some very good advice there for you. I can attest to that. I had the perfect set up: Two 911s and a minivan. With a 9 and a 11 year old and long trips, the 911 was not very practical although my kids were putting up with all the shoehorning that they were being subjected to all the time. I felt guilty hence started using the minivan more often depriving me of the Porschness to the drive. Now have sold the minivan and entering into a Cayenne next week. The main reason for the Cayenne was the fact that 80% of my drives are with my family. As much as the first gen Cayennes are superb .. the current gen seem to have more Porscheness to it. Atleast that's what "they" all say. I have never been a "SUV guy" and always felt that it was crazy that someone would spend that sort of $$ for a SUV rather than a true sports car. Now I am eating those words (or thoughts). If you want to have fun and give your family a nice ride why not spend $$ and get a true sports car of all SUVs (the CS) or the super car of all SUVs (the CTT). The base C is also supposed to be very good although I have personally not driven it.

 

roni, w00tPORSCHE, you guys make good points.

I don't mind the mess in the car. If keeping my cars clean was a priority, I would never have had kids, lol. I bought the Panamera specifically for my family as I use the GT3 and my classic for "special time", although I take my son to school in it quite often. I clean my cars regularly and make sure there's no materials that permanently stain. Otherwise, mud, food, etc. it all comes out. I owned SUV's for 15 years until I bought the Panamera, only to have my plan foiled by the new addition.
If I do go for a Cayenne, it has to be the Turbo or nothing.
My next concern is whether it is wide enough to accommodate a baby seat and two more little ones.

 

I can speak on behalf of baby seats in Cayenne's fairl well. My fingers received more scrapes/cuts/bruises trying to get a car seat in my Cayenne than they would in a vice with blades on it. To top that point off, the amount of room leftover for front seats and in the back row period, was pretty minimal. I'd say get a MB Minivan if its that big of a deal to have a nicer vehicle.

 

my 2 cents, 3rd generation cayenne's have a ROCK HARD middle seat. Its a waste of space and unless your middle passenger is a mouse, they will NOT be comfortable. V1 and V2 cayenne's had a much more comfortable middle seat.

If you want a real people-mover focused vehicle, and don't mind driving a space-ship, go look at he R350 Mercs. 7 passengers and loads of gadgets. If you want some extra muscle, find an older (2007) R500.

 

i bet that if porsche makes a minivan ...everyone here will tell you to go and get the minivan....IMHO.. cheers!!