When shopping for a new car the heart wants what it wants, but sometimes your bank account has other feelings. So as much as you may want a brand new Porsche Cayenne, you may have to ask yourself some tough questions. Will it be reliable? How much are repair costs? And overall, is a Cayenne worth the money? Luckily our friends over at Car and Driver have done some extensive and very grueling research so you don’t have to. They got roughly $80,000 of brand new 2019 Cayenne, and over the next two years put it through its paces to see how it held up. And with very few caveats, they were pretty impressed.
The Cayenne’s Specs for 2 Years of Adventure
Since the folks over at Car and Driver knew that the car was in for more than a little abuse over the next 40,000 miles, they made sure to prep it for adventure. Instead of having to take it in for more frequent Porsche Cayenne brake jobs, they went with the then-new Porsche Surface Coated Brake system. They also kitted it out with a trailer hitch, 14-way heated seats, as well as the Sport Chrono package and adaptive dampeners to keep the driving experience interesting. Because it’s a Porsche—and of course it has to look good—they sprung for the Biscay Blue metallic paint.
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
It seems that in general, after 40,000 miles, there wasn’t too much to complain about. And when you have driven a car for that long, no news is often good news. The Cayenne held up well, with pandemic road trips all over the eastern US, from the car’s home base in Michigan, to more than one trip to Florida, as well as the Smoky Mountains, Virginia and Nashville. The Cayenne was comfortable, sporty and did everything that was asked of it. One somewhat grudging review in the Porsche’s logbook said: “If every SUV drove like this, I’d be telling everyone to buy them.”
Everyone’s main complaints seem to be focused on either the transmission in general and the engine stop-start feature in particular. Both were slow to react, especially while, for example, preparing to come to a stop at a red light, which would then turn green. The engine would turn off while braking nearly to a stop, but when the gas pedal was pressed again, the transition was jarring. The writers admitted that no other Cayenne that came through the office had this same foible, but the glitch on their 40,000 mile Cayenne was never able to be reproduced by their dealer despite being an issue noticed by many test drivers—and thus was never fixed.
Thinking About a Cayenne? Survey Says: Do It
If you have been thinking about a Cayenne but weren’t ready to make the commitment, this may be the push that you need to pull the trigger. After 40,000 miles of cruising, towing, and adventuring, the Cayenne was still running almost as it was pulling off of the lot for the first time. The Cayenne is designed to do a little bit of everything with both comfort and style, and 40,000 miles later it still does it well.
For more information and all of the details, check out Car and Driver’s wrap-up of the test, including rants and raves, costs, and all of the updates throughout the past 2 years.
