I was going to order a 2013 or 2014 ML350 BT, when out of curiosity, I test drove a 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel.

What a fun vehicle to drive. Everything just seemed right. The vehicle drove smaller than the ML, was more agile, and sporty but also seemed to not give up anything on luxury. To my surprise it gave a non-fatiguing ride, which I predict would be very good on long trips (like the ML).

Anybody go from a recent model Cayenne to an ML? Or from an ML to a Cayenne? Please share your experiences.

The Porsche is at least $12,000 more (similarly equipped). The Porsche dealer is 40 minutes away, while the Mercedes dealer is 10 minutes away, which is a concern of mine.

Which one will hold up over time and be very reliable is also very important.

I have owned MLs since 2000, so please feel free to talk me back into an ML

The Cayenne does have an edge on sport. The look is love it or hate it, and seems a little long in tooth to my eyes. Besides the MLs newer aesthetic, it's biggest plus is value, as you've noted. Porsche has the art of options down to a science and the base price ratchets up very quickly to the point it feels like you're getting screwed.

To whether purchase an M-Class or a Porsche Cayenne. I like them both and have test driven both quite extensively. To be honest, I feel it is hard to justify the extra 8-10 dollars for similarly equipped vehicles. Furthermore, I am in the same situation with distance. The Benz dealer is 20 minutes away and the Porsche dealer is an hour away. I do love the feel of the Cayenne and I do love the interior but the extra time and money would eventually start to bother me.

I owned several early generation model Cayennes and to date have owned 10 different Porsche models from Cayennes, two Cayman S, a Panamera 4 and several 911 variants including a 2012 911S. The Cayennes handle well and most of the early problems have been tweeked out BUT Porsche customer service plain out sucks adn is why I would never buy another of their vehicles. I have had near zero problems with my 2013 ML and am fairly confident MB would stand behind their product if I did -- trust me when I tell you as a long time customer of Porsche they WILL NOT. After countless issues with my 2012 911S I sold it after several months at a substantial loss and would never consider another Porsche product nor buy from my local Porsche dealer. Best of luck whichever way you decide to go!

Thanks for the replies. All good points. Tstires, can you please comment on the driving experience comparison between your present ML, and your earlier Cayennes. Most importantly, have you enjoyed driving the ML just as much as the Porsche?

When you say customer service is poor at Porsche...could you give some examples. Its posts like yours that could sway me back to the ML.
Thanks

Regarding ride quality the Cayennes were a much stiffer ride (mine did not have air suspension) and accordingly felt more stable going into corners at relatively high speeds vs. the ML which has a relatively soft ride. The early Cayenne transmissions had rough and harsh shifts at times whereas the ML is butter smooth in shifting. Late Cayenne models I understand shift much smoother as Porsche has constantly revised the transmission software. Years ago Porsche had top notch customer service and would go out of their way to make a customer happy. As they became a mass market manufacturer under the ownership of VW they kept their exclusive pricing and adopted the mass market customer service approach of VW. After spending over $110K on my 10th Porsche, a 2012 911S I experienced nothing but constant issues and recalls with the vehicle and asked to speak with the regional customer representative after the dealership overheated the engine to the point of warping heat shield etc. during the last repair attempt. I was told by Porsche "customer care" that Porsche representatives only return customer calls or meet with customers if they decide to and that only messages could be left. More than seven months after calling and sending a letter to the President of PCNA I have yet to receive any response whatsoever. Last fall I traded out of the 911S into a Maserati and will never look back. The ML is a solid truck and from all indications built by a company that still values its customers.

Interesting. Guess I may scratch the Cayman S off the list for my M3 replacement in the next year or so.

GregW -- I loved my Cayman S (I had the very first 2006 generation) and than a 2009 with PDK and loved both of them and had very few problems. If you are lucky enough to have a vehicle with no problems you would absolutely love the way the Caymans handle BUT in the event issues arise you would quickly discover what I mean about how dismal Porsche now is when it comes to dealing with its customers. Enjoy that M3 -- had a 330 coupe a few years back which I loved except I kept bending rims.

tstires --

I too have owned several Porsche cars, and have enjoyed them quite a lot. I currently own a 997 GT3 that is an amazing machine. I have been fortunate though, not to ever have to go to Porsche with a major problem I needed help with. Im just curious, was this a dealer issue, or an issue only the manufacture itself could help with?

To the original poster, we quite frankly preferred the Cayenne over the ML, but it didn't really matter in the end, as we felt we really needed the extra space the ML offers. Lets be honest, its a pretty great problem to have, choosing between these two. The ML is by all accounts an amazing machine, and we are very much looking forward to our BluTec arriving in the next 6-8 weeks.

pb12 --

The dealer is definitely a bottom of the barrel dealer with virtually no competition within a two hour driving radius which is why they are still in business. My issue with Porsche was there absolute unwillingness to even have meaningful contact with me as a long-term Porsche owner to discuss the myriad of issues I was having with the vehicle and dealer. They lost a long-time lucrative customer who would likely have purchased MANY more of their cars.

That's a shame, sorry to hear that. I'm sure I would have felt exactly the same.

Michael

My friend bought a Cayenne 2 years ago. The first maintenance cost him over $4000. He tied to sell it after 2 years and no one wants it. It was rate one of the worse SUV when I was doing my research before I bought the 13 ML350 BT. Forget it. It's not worth your time and money or you will be sorry.

I'm sorry, but that's a specious statement at best. Regular Porsche "maintenance" is never going to cost $4,000 on a new Cayenne. Was this a used car, that needed, say, new brakes or something of the like? And to say "nobody wanted it" is again, a Rediculous and hollow statement. Why? There is something missing From this story I would say.

Michael

It was a brand new 2011 Cayenne and the first maintenance. It happens 2 or 3 years ago to my friend. He was trying to sell it at a deep price cut and no taker so he traded in for BMW with huge lose.
Don't get me wrong. It's not Porsche but the Cayenne line has the reliability issue. It was ranked #13 amount the luxury SUV.

Here's further proof:

Consumer Reports says the Cayenne is bringing Porsche reliability down...

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/c...lity-down.html

I also tested drive a Cayenne before getting my ML. It is a nice luxury car, however it is small, and for the same configuration of the ML, it will cost $20-30K more. I also did not like the busy interior design, the many gauges at the instrument cluster, and the handles on the front seat, lol. The exterior is also boring and not exciting. Overall it lacks the grand and substantial feeling the ML brings.

I wonder what additions the 2014 ML BT will bring? Will the 4 cylinder diesel be released, if so what gas mileage will it get? I wonder what model year ML will get the autonomous drive option (steering assist) that is coming to the 2014 S class? Could it be in 2015 or is it likely 2016? That option would surely sway me to the ML.

The 2015 Cayenne is getting a fairly good refresh. New led head lights, new nose and rear bumpers. A new camera that detects traffic signs and traffic lights for adaptive cruise control. It also may get a new diesel engine with a hp bumps from 240 to 300.

The Robb report just listed the Cayenne as very reliable.

A difficult decision for sure. That last 15k for the Porsche does seem very steep!

Porsche Cayenne is better than the ML is almost all aspects but you also pay $$$$ more as well, you can equip a 60,000 Porsche cayenne diesel with upwards of another 60k in options to get it close to "full option" that's $120,000. Allot of options on the Porsche that I wanted before I went with the GL350 were Ala Carte, not to mention the finance rates which were 4% higher. MB also has the strongest diesel V6 you can buy in any suv on the market today, although we will see the 300 hp engine from all manufacturers in the very near future.

I think the opposite, regardless of the $$$, lol

I had the base gas V6 958 Cayenne and I like the MB better.
The Cayenne VW sourced VR6 engine was nowhere near as refined as my wifes Benz 350, it was coarse, unbalanced and felt rough on acceleration.
It was slow arround town compared to the ML, torque numbers are weak in the low rev range.

Funny how we all have differing opinions.
Liked the steel springs on the Cayenne - good ride great handling. Couldn't afford air suspension.
V6 diesel was very quiet and smooth. Petrol had a raucous exhaust - could not bear to cruise the highway for long.
Looks !!! Reminds me of a toad. And they are noxious pests in Oz.

Glad I have the ML.

I looked at the V8, I drove the 400hp cayenne S and I was very very impressed, looked at the speedo and I was doing 150km when it felt like 90 in the car

I took the CD and ML BT out for another test drive. I would agree that the Porsche diesel engine does not seem near as refined as the ML. It seemed to vibrate and buzz. Not as smooth as the ML. The ML is very refined in every way. Maybe this is why Porsche is rumored to be developing a new diesel engine for the 2015 Cayennes.

I just am having a hard time getting used to the monsterous/high dashboard of the ML. It also has a hood "in view" of the road, which makes the vehicle feel bigger than it is and always reminds me that I am in a big suv.

The Porsche has such a nice low slung dashboard and clear view of the road.

1) Did you all get used to the ML's hood/dashboard heavy view?

I am also having a hard time getting comfortable in this model's ML seats. They don't seem as ergonomically shaped to my back as previous years, and they seem to rely more on air bladders, which doesn't seem to be a good substitute for proper seat contouring. The ML seats feel like a fairly staight back, without the comfortable curve in the seat like previous MLs. Could just be me though.

2) Anyone else have comfort issues with the ML front seats?

The Porsche 14 way seats are very comfortable as the air bladders don't even need to be activated to give proper contouring and support.

The Porsche has better road feel, drives smaller and has a better front view of dash and road. The ML seems more refined, lesser road feel, a bit more of a luxurious ride, better wind isolation.

For those that have owned both, or have extensive test driving experience of both vehicles:

3) Do you feel that the sporty drive characteristics of the the Porsche may be fun at first but will ultimately be a bit fatiguing in the long term...or is the ride nice enough or should I say close enough to the ML that it is a nonfatiguing vehicle on 2 or 3 hour trip? Around the city I think I would prefer the Cayenne due to its smaller driving feel and front road view.

I still love everything else about the ML (except for my concerns noted above).

I know this is a Mercedes forum and I do appreciate how the posters have given the pros and cons of both vehicles in a neutral manner.

I looked at the X5M, ML63 and Cayenne S. I eliminated the X5M early because of it would have been the third E70 for me and wanted a change. The Cayenne was nice but the S was going to be close to the ML63 in price, which was closer to the Cayenne Turbo in terms of performance. Also I couldn't get the Porsche salesguy to give me a quote - despite multiple attempts to start an order, he wouldn't return my calls or emails except to say that he was too busy. The Cayenne is also a little smaller - if you care about carrying capacity, this might be an issue.

I didn't drive the CD, however I did test the gasser because I really like the exterior aesthetics. The pricing not so much.

I prefer the higher dash over anything low. Low makes me feel like I'm in an econobox. Low is fine to get a more sporty feel but that was not my goal with buying a truck. Plus I preferred the ML interior overall.

Seats are great for me and everyone else so far. They do start out a little harder but soften with road time.

I agree with the ML feeling more refined. That is what I was looking for. The ML also feels more substantial without the feeling of driving American SUVs which feel like boats.

I even looked at the X5 despite being long in its generation. I still like the exterior looks however the interior felt ten years old. Ride was "harsh", steering was too tight and the truck never felt easy to just relax and drive.

The thing is, that is the point. The X5 is meant to be like that for someone looking for those attributes. Same with the Porsche and MB. All are similar shaped vehicles and they compete for the same dollar, but they are very different in many ways. I'm guessing that the X5 will get closer to the ML in terms of comfort, as the 5 Series have, because that is what sells with larger vehicles these days. The Porsche will likely always stay sportier.