The X3 is going to my granddaughter so my daughter went out to get a new 2013 Land Rover LR4 that see had been looking at. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on you point of view the same dealer in Cary, NC has three stores Porsche, Land Rover & Audi.

So the blue LR4 gets passed by & a 2014 Cayenne gets a walk around, a test drive, a phone call to me is the Porsche OK to buy & a check to the dealer. So we have added what was called in the MB-CLA thread a boring German interior.

 

I never understood the complaints about the Acura buttons -- look at all of the buttons in that Porsche. And it looks like Porsche is including little plastic man replicas of the German auto worker too. Nice ride. What are those two handles for?

 

Kevin...That is a great looking SUV!! I am envious...Can't wait to see how she enjoys the drive and how it fairs as far as reliability. I sat in one a few months ago at the Porsche Dealership and really could get used to driving one of these

I see your daughter is doing well - Must be a great moment as a father to see their kids being successful

 

They are grab handles. The little guy has been moving from SUV to SUV for awhile, have no idea what it is. It has more buttons then I like but not a deal breaker. Most of the ones below the shift lever are ride & trans control units.

When I saw them I expected some "like the TL" comments so will have a small portion of Baked Crow, Thank You Very Much.

Looks like they are into redundancy in the controls. Info from the main screen can be ported over to the small round screen that is part of the main cluster. Its just peeking out between the right inside of the steering wheel & the center position tach. Also most of the stack button functions can be on the steering wheel, go figure.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Agree. We have 3 daughters & always felt it was our main responsibility to prepare them for life. With all three it was well worth the tuition & we are very pleased that they grew up to be good people.

 

The Cayenne is an awesome vehicle, esp the Turbo and GT trims. A few of my friends have the Turbo and Hybrid, and it really turns heads.

The new Porsche interiors definitely have a plethora of buttons, esp in the center console area. I'm not about to count buttons, but a cursory look would suggest the button count in the TL and the new Porsche's to be similar in quantity. Other than that, I find the interior of the Porsche to be quite nice.

I will second Weather's comments. Congratz to your daughter on her purchase. To be able to afford a Cayenne speaks volume on her success in life. Congratz!

 

Buttons are better than touchscreens because, after you learn where the are, you don't have to take your eyes off the road.

 

Good color choice also

I really wanted a Cayenne, but in the end it was a mattter of remodeling or buying a new car.

 

Congrats to your daughter on the Cayenne, best of luck.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the rear end, but despite this, I would still buy it if I could afford it. I also agree with the color choice. Looks great!

Hopefully I can be as successful as your daughter if I work hard enough in school!

 

I like Porsche but not Cayenne, the traditional Porsche design language doesn't translate well onto an SUV IMO. Something else I don't like about Porsche (I realized this while pricing out my poor man's boxter s, which ended up being 80K), is the interior color scheme setup. If you want something that isn't a bland, one color slab of grey/black or tan you have to pay extra. For example on Acura an umber interior with a black dash is standard, for Porsche that's extra. Same color steering wheel, seats and dash is too boring for me.

What did she like more about the Cayenne than the Range Rover?

 

Back to back drives were a big factor.

 

Congrats Kevin and to your daughter, This with a manual tranny is my wife's dream SUV.

 

Btw, what's that clear plastic like figure in the center console, between the grab handles? Looks like a toy!

 

Personally, I'm glad Mr. Marco got over his image issues and finally put a real picture of himself up.

 

Its a soft plastic poseable thingy with magnetic feet. Don't remember where it came from but has been in various family cars for years.

 

Sweeeeeeeettttt! I adore big, powerful SUVs. Such a sucker for them.

 

Nice one. Congrats. Love Cayenne.

 

My wife lusted after these for a while until she realized they didn't have a 3rd seat.

 

Was not an issue in this case, two very large Old English Sheep Dogs reside the backety back. They also have another SUV that’s a 3 row model if they need to haul more people than a typical TL will hold.

 

Like it. Congrats!

Oh, and yes, the center stack has too many buttons...but the interior makes up for that fact in so many ways.

 

Awesome ride.

 

I'm wondering how much time you've spent in one. Anyone who's been in a Cayenne... especially a Turbo or GTS variant... would never utter these words.

Complaining about Porsche (or any high end auto maker) options is like bitching that maintenance on a Ferrari is $15k compared to $350 for an Acura. Gotta pay to play my friend...

 

BTW, nice ride OP. Enjoy it

 

Looks good! Love the blue!! Your daughter has good taste.

 

Agree I would also be very happy with less buttons. That being said the interior overall is richer than my 335is by quite a bit.

 

None, no need to wonder. What does my lack of seat time have to do with my overall opinion of the exterior aesthetics? Never mentioned performance

That's a standard layout/option across any auto maker I can think of other than Porsche, including Exotics. Having a two color interior (upholstery/dash) and an extra charge for painted center caps is ridiculous. I'm not talking about standard headliner vs alcantara. News to me. Hey guys guess what, a Cayenne is now an exotic.

 

^ True... but it goes waaay beyond looks. I know they are subjective... but ride in one and you'll see it's all Porsche.

And yes, Porsche is generally considered a high-end auto maker. Funny though, I went through my post and didn't see where I said the Cayenne was an exotic. In fact, the word exotic was not used anywhere. But whatever works for you

 

You mentioned Ferrari, Ferrari is synonymous with exotic. If the purpose of your comment was to blow hot air, at least be consistent. Maybe Cadillac would've been a better choice to parallel maintenance cost of a "high-end" auto maker vs low end? Though the margin is small between A - C.

 

Porsche is known for pricey options & if that’s bothersome to anyone there are other makes that are less pricey, my Expedition Limited EL was considerably cheaper. The 6,000lb Ford was a much better deal by the pound than the 4,800lb Porsche was. That is if you buy cars by the pound.

That being said the two tone interior choice or non-choice is not a big deal one way or another. Have one in the 335is but not in the 135is. Back in 06 got the TL instead of the TL-S because I thought the two tone interior on the TL-S was a bit over the top & I did not like the waffle wheels.

The important thing to me is not getting all anal over what is available & what each piece costs but that my daughter is happy with what she picked out & bought since she is the one that's paying for it

 

Very nice Kevin!

I love the stick man by the shifter.

 

Ahhh... you're one of those people. Got it and noted.

Yes, the Ferrari was a slight exaggeration used for the example but the point itself remains the same. Feel free to sub in Caddy, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Range Rover, etc. and so on...

 

Amen. When we were younger (not that we're old) it was all about the deal. Now it's really about getting what you want and being happy with it. Oh, you want a button instead of a knob for fan control... $250. Used to be like ... now it's like screw it... replace all the knobs!!

Good on ya. Hope your daughter enjoys it. I'm sure she will!

 

I'm realizing that and it's very true. When you're able to have the disposable income to really put into a depreciating asset you decide less on compromising, more on your wants.

 

My parents live just a few miles away from the Cary Auto Park

Congrats on the Cayenne! I love that color

 

Nice looking vehicle, that interior is amazing

 

I bought my Acura there & all three of my kids have bought cars from them, its a big place.

Two of my daughters also live in Raleigh & work in Research Triangle Park, the third is down off 85/40 in Stoney Creek just south of Elon U where she teaches.