rkao

My wife's lease on the Lexus is just about up and we were just discussing yesterday finally taking the GL450 soon for a test drive before placing an order as it seemed a fait accompli that the GL would be the replacement when she asked me if we should test drive the Cayenne as well...

It never really dawned on me that the Cayenne S could be an interesting comparison for the GL450 as we'd only thought about the X5 4.8i and because the BMW's towing capacity is much lower than the GL's and is much smaller, we'd decided against it.

The Cayenne is rated to tow 7,700 lbs. so would work great for my track car and trailer and that satisfies one of the key criteria for consideration - even if it has less interior volume than the GL.

Had anyone else on the forum considered the Porsche?

Before taking either for a test drive, my gut feel tells me that the Cayenne would be a better 'driving' SUV than the GL, though probably rate poorly in terms of relative utility compared to the MB.

And from the pricing point of view, a well equipped Cayenne S seems to fall right around the same price level as a well equipped GL450; though in typically Porsche fashion one can indeed tick off enough boxes on the options list to bring a Cayenne S comparable to a GL550 in terms of MSRP! Or the Cayenne GTS would also fall close to the GL550 in terms of price after some options.

Any feedback would be appreciated...and I'm looking forward to taking comparison test drives in both soon.

BlownV8

No, they are not really comparable cars. If you are looking at an ML or X5, then yeah, you should check out the Cayenne.

Drive both and get the one with the best extended warranty and is the best for your needs. The Cayenne is a good car but I didn't even give it a thought and I've been a Porsche owner for the last 14 years.

LEOSOPHIE

I am getting tired of agreeing with you, I keep a Carrera parked next to my GL.

oinick

The Cayenne is a great vehicle. It is comfortable, stylish, well built and well engineered, and quite capable as an SUV even off road. But it is not really comparable to the GL. It lines up better against the X5 or the ML, and especially against the Toureg (spelling?) on which much of its chassis architecture is based.

I looked at a Cayenne and compared it to the ML 320. I think the ML 320 is better overall for my use (town and highway with very little off road use) and certainly cheaper compared to the Cayenne.

The GL is significantly bigger and compares more with the LX 470, Land Cruiser, and Escalade.

But you can't get past the cache that the Cayenne carries: it is the Porsche of SUVs.

StevethePilot

Nope. It's fast as hell, small as hell, expensive as hell - drive it and you're in hell!

Seriously, for that money you could get two of what it's made from - the VW Touareg - and get it in diesel to boot! You're comparing apples and skydiving penguins.

STP

PS It's ugly as hell as well. Jeremy Clarkson agrees with me.

oknish

What are your other needs besides tow capacity, Roy? Those could help a lot with your decision. Do you need 3rd row seats? What about driving feel - do you prefer sportier ride or ??

Even though Cayenne and GL are SUVs, they are very different cars.

03LX470

I drove a 2005 Cayenne S for 2 years. Its a great SUV that will give you the enjoyment of a sedan but the height & room of a SUV. The interior fit & finish, materials, etc. are superior to the GL. Mine was quite reliable as well.

I was done with the Cayenne driving it for 2 years I wanted something different and I just fell in love with the GL. It makes its presence felt when parked due to its size.

If you are not in love with the GL for any particular reasons and dont need a large SUV, go for the Cayenne. Make sure you get the larger 20 or 21 inch wheels + the hyrdaulic suspensions to really experince how much fun you can have in a SUV. Of course, you will sacrifice comfort with the larger wheels as the rubber on the 20" or 21" Cayenne wheels is much less than the rubber on the 20" or 21" GL wheels.

And since we are on the subject, and if fun in a SUV is your objective, go for the Cayenne GTS (due to be launch in a few weeks).

03LX470

As for the sound system, the bose in the cayenne is wow.

The HK in the GL....well...lets not discuss it...

85mm

The cayenne design really grew on me, especially the newest models. I love the olive green color. The new v6 also got great reviews. This would have been my wife's main car so the v6 would have been fine. So I breifly looked at getting a base cayenne but two things squashed it. First my wife really wanted the GL. Second, the GL had much more attractive lease numbers. The other thing was I told myself that my first Porsche wasn't going to be a cayenne.

One more comparison of the interior. The mbtex leather dash on the GL looks great but you later notice that they use much lower quality plastic on the doors. The cayenne has this odd lumpy texture on their dash that can be fixed with the full leather option.

alboogiee

I drive the Touareg which the Cayenne is based off of, I have the V8 which is (I think) the same engine as the S. New with MY2007 are the FSI engines, the base V6 has as much power as a MY2004-06 V8. The interior has about as much space and cargo room then a Ford Escape. Be prepared for electrical gremlins and frequent dealer visits...also I would suggest buying stock in oil . The upside is that truck it is fast as hell... in comparison to other SUVs. But as most here have said, the Cayenne is more of a competitor for the ML then the GL. If you really want the larger car check out the Audi Q7, that is also based off the Touareg/Cayenne but is longer/larger. It has 3rd row seating, however I'm not sure of the off road capability and towing cap.

BlownV8

I came out of a CL with the Bose system and the HK in my GL blows the Bose system out of the water. I've also had the Bose system in two other E classes and the HK in the GL blows those out of the water too.

Maybe the people complaining about the HK system are having issues? In fact, I'd say it's the best sounding stock stereo I've heard in any car. I'm very impressed with the audio in my GL. There are other issues that need to be addressed but, IMHO, the audio is not one of them.

rkao

Thanks for all the replies so far...definitely food for thought.

Firstly, yes, the Cayenne's size is probably a better comparison for the ML and X5 classes than the GL - save for the far better towing capacity.

We like to have the 3rd row seating but we use it only a few times a year when our two <20 lbs. dogs come with us on a road trip, otherwise the 3rd row seat remains stowed away.

We've had a full size SUV in the Lexus LX, but we don't like the ride quality and the lack of rigidity due to the body on frame construction - and the new LX570 is just HUGE! The GL is definitely still a full size but a more manageable unibody frame packaging than the LX, which is one of the reasons why we liked it so much after checking it out in the showroom. But my wife has also expressed a preference so driving a smaller vehicle on a day-to-day basis for errands with our daughter and around town...so these are admittedly opposing needs!

So GL wins the 'utility' part of the SUV consideration hands down, and the Cayenne would win the 'drivability' part of the comparison from the overall size perspective.

I am what PCA considers to be "between Porsches" right now - and I was one of the purists who lambasted Porsche for going after this segment of the market. I have had the chance to have a brief drive in a Cayenne Turbo a couple of years ago and was absolutely 'blown' away by the power and the handling - no car with that much weight and size should drive and handle like that.

And admittedly, I actually don't mind the facelifted Cayenne so much, especially after the S got a nice bump in bhp last year...

So yes, the Porsche holds a certain cache and the larger driving fun quotient holds great appeal; and the sheer number of GL's that travel our neck of the woods (NE New Jersey, metro NY area) makes the Cayenne a more distinctive choice. But the final decision would come down to the: 1) test drive; and 2) the lease numbers.

And again, the comments have been really great so please do keep 'em coming!

oknish

This topic came up in mine and LeoSophie's discussion also and our common opinion was that while GL drives like a small, is not too large on the outside, yet has more than enough room inside for 7 to be comfortable. I would recommend letting the wife take a couple of test drives in GL and let her park/pull out etc. I am pretty sure she will find it fit her needs for small outside but large inside. All the best.

Chicky Monkey

The Cayenne is too small for me.

The GL is almost too small for me! More than once I have wished for the GL to be a bit bigger.

I drove an 03 Landcruiser for a few years and loved it. I'm not as picky about the ride or handling because I thought it drove really nice and I love the size. For me it was the perfect size. I haven't seen the newly redesigned 570 or LC though.

Best of luck with whatever you go with!

Nevada Jack

I sat in the new Cayenne Turbo the day the first one was delivered to the dealership prior to ordering my GL550. I found it small and almost felt cramped in the drivers seat. Narrow footwell and I was not too impressed with the dash layout and material on the dash. Rear room was also small and behind the seat was not very useful because of how small it was.

I could not drive it because the Turbo was just for show in the showroom and the Cayenne S had not been processed yet. That interior (the S) was really sparse. I passed on a test drive later in the week because I was not that impressed. Now I know the Porsche option list is a maze of selections for almost anything but the Turbo is the top of the line and should have knocked my socks off but it didn't.