Just came back from my local Porsche dealer from a test drive in the new released (to Australia) Porsche Cayenne 3.0 diesel, this is the same engine the Touareg V6 TDI has.
If you compare apples to apples here are the basics:
- Engine same power and performance output.
- Suspension same set up except multi-link at rear to Cayenne.
- Tyres/wheels (or tires/wheels) Cayenne 235/65R/17 to VW 255/60R/17.
- Sound system almost the same except the Cayenne has MP3 capable system with additional 2 speakers.
- Spare tyre/tire space saver in VW but repair can for Porsche.
- And for the Australian market front fog lights are standard for the Cayenne.
I won’t go into the cosmetic layout of each as this is really a personal choice, I personally like the VW interior setup but maybe because I am used to it.
Now Porsche is selling the Cayenne at about $102,000 Australian dollars and VW have the V6 TDI at $76,000. So at about ¾ the price of the Porsche is the Touareg. To get your Touareg up to the Cayenne price you would need to tick just about all the options boxes available.
So is the Cayenne worth the premium? Well in my view, no. This is because I could not find any difference in driving both vehicles. I drove in my V6 TDI to the yard and jumped right into the demo Cayenne, so I was in the best position to judge the difference.
Driving around suburbia both the same, even on the freeway no difference. I was not able to go off road so can not comment on this one. So I think it all goes down in what you get for the money, well there was no difference. Both vehicles are the same spec (except for what I listed above). Options much the same for both and pricing about even. I will give this to Porsche though they market the Cayenne diesel more for off road than sports and as such offer a greater assortment of factory accessories for going off the road than VW has. Rear mounted spare tyre/tire is available for both in the Australian market. I think the spec sheet has the VW with an advantage in rear space to Porsche, but to be honest you would never know.
At the end of the day it was the same vehicle with a different body on each, if you are after the badge appeal than the Porsche has it as I got more looks driving this thing than the Touareg gets. The interior are great in both so this goes down to what you are use to (as in my case).
To sum up, I can’t fault any of the vehicles compared to each other. My only comment is the price difference on basically the same vehicle, a Porsche badge is not worth 25% more than a VW's in anyone’s book.
If you compare apples to apples here are the basics:
- Engine same power and performance output.
- Suspension same set up except multi-link at rear to Cayenne.
- Tyres/wheels (or tires/wheels) Cayenne 235/65R/17 to VW 255/60R/17.
- Sound system almost the same except the Cayenne has MP3 capable system with additional 2 speakers.
- Spare tyre/tire space saver in VW but repair can for Porsche.
- And for the Australian market front fog lights are standard for the Cayenne.
I won’t go into the cosmetic layout of each as this is really a personal choice, I personally like the VW interior setup but maybe because I am used to it.
Now Porsche is selling the Cayenne at about $102,000 Australian dollars and VW have the V6 TDI at $76,000. So at about ¾ the price of the Porsche is the Touareg. To get your Touareg up to the Cayenne price you would need to tick just about all the options boxes available.
So is the Cayenne worth the premium? Well in my view, no. This is because I could not find any difference in driving both vehicles. I drove in my V6 TDI to the yard and jumped right into the demo Cayenne, so I was in the best position to judge the difference.
Driving around suburbia both the same, even on the freeway no difference. I was not able to go off road so can not comment on this one. So I think it all goes down in what you get for the money, well there was no difference. Both vehicles are the same spec (except for what I listed above). Options much the same for both and pricing about even. I will give this to Porsche though they market the Cayenne diesel more for off road than sports and as such offer a greater assortment of factory accessories for going off the road than VW has. Rear mounted spare tyre/tire is available for both in the Australian market. I think the spec sheet has the VW with an advantage in rear space to Porsche, but to be honest you would never know.
At the end of the day it was the same vehicle with a different body on each, if you are after the badge appeal than the Porsche has it as I got more looks driving this thing than the Touareg gets. The interior are great in both so this goes down to what you are use to (as in my case).
To sum up, I can’t fault any of the vehicles compared to each other. My only comment is the price difference on basically the same vehicle, a Porsche badge is not worth 25% more than a VW's in anyone’s book.
