Hold on here; I didn't realize we get to help Stream pick a car. This is exciting! Now what should Stream get... Gotta think about it.

I've thought about it; this one is supposed to be like riding on air!

 

What about this one? Very smooth ride, although the cruise control is a little wonky.

 

From my experience with talking to many Porsche dealers and owners, the Porsche vehicles are the most configurable vehicles to suit anyone's needs. It can be downright exhausting having to decide which choices to go with.

 

That might be a good problem to have same goes with bespoke Bentleys and Rolls-Royce options...

 

Agree. The Porsche configurator is excellent for this. The exhausting configuration process can be saved so the user can come back to it later. Multiple configurations can be created and compared for option content vs price.

As someone correctly mentioned earlier in the thread, stitching options are available for all Cayenne models from base to Turbo GT.

From a luxury optionality point of view, the Cayenne/Bentayga platform offers @Streamliner everything he wants.

And good news for V8 lovers, the V8 has been re-introduced on the Cayenne S variant in model year 2024. This should make new customers happy whose previous vehicle had a V8……….

 

Chassis, being that you're now a Cayenne owner, what are your thoughts on the facelift model? I like the exterior changes, but the interior is a mixed bag to me. Not a fan of the new gauges, shifter, or leather color pattern. And the pricing definitely seems higher. Wife and I checked out the Cayenne before the GLE and liked it a lot, but the price tag was a hard swallow and ultimately killed the deal. Also looks like they got rid of the Graphite Blue/Chalk interior which was the best one besides the expensive Truffle leather.

 

Fully agree that the facelift interior is a mixed bag. I have a pre-facelift 9Y0.1, and am of the mind that the interior design (subjective) is better on .1 than .2. Others on rennlist agree. Leather-in-color is reduced in .2 and the instrument panel is less attractive because of the instrument cluster and the “passenger display” which means a video game in front of the front passenger. The “Bic shaver” Taycan-style shifter on the instrument panel functions in a similar way as MB Direct Select but to the eye the Porsche shifter looks bad imo.

.2 exterior is an improvement. V8 on the S model is an improvement. New interior leather colors Barrique Red, a green and a plum/purple look great.

Price with Porsche will never be justified vs other brands. The Porsche tax is real and if you want a Porsche you have to pay it. I configured an S using the 2024 configurator, with all of the options on my car, and found the increase amounts to 4% per year. Not unreasonable in my opinion, especially considering the 2024 S has the 4.0TT V8 and my 2020 S has the 2.9TT V6 which is an awesome powertrain btw. Some of the a la carte option prices aren’t bad. Hard to give examples, you have to play with the configurator.

Separately, rennlist guys mentioned base 911 prices in the early 70s until now, and again the annualized price increase is 4% per year over 50+ years. No one can complain that Porsche is gouging on the increases. The price level at which they participate is higher than all other non-exotics. Separately, the 911 has a true cult following so prices are going through the roof for certain models for example 964. The summary with price and Porsche is that if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

 

Apparently there’s a standby mode feature but turns off all the alarm and security function. However, it allows you to have the car parked for 7 weeks and still able to start it.

 

Is the new refreshed Cayenne going to have a Cayenne Turbo Model?

 

There’s a feature that I found burried in the vehicle setting called “Standby Mode”. It lets you save the battery for 7 weeks for long term parking purpose. Maybe it is typical that battery drains after 2-3 days if you don’t have it in standby mode. It’s still inconvenient but its an option. I wish they make it automatic when the car has not been driven for two days to automatically go to standby mode.

 

Yes, “coupe” body only, but looky-looky at that base price!

 

The Turbo GT is positioned above the Turbo.

9Y0.1: base, eHybrid, S, GTS, Turbo, Turbo GT
9Y0.2: base, eHybrid, S and Turbo GT. It is expected that either GTS or Turbo will be introduced a year or two from now, as was the case for the GTS on 9Y0.1

I built an S580 and a Cayenne S with as close to the same options as possible and the prices were $7,000 apart. $140k for the S580 and $147k for the Cayenne S. Both have V8 engines. Cayenne S has no hybrid system.

Both builds had:
- top-level suspension (E-ABC and PASM/air susp/PDCC)
- rear axle steering
- top-level climate control (rear heated/ventilated seats, etc.)
- top-level level leather (Nappa and Club)
- all assistance systems (no Night Vision on S580, Cayenne S has Night Vision)
- Burmester high end audio
- extra cost paint
- and many other like-for-like options

Note the S580 has standard panorama roof (!) and the Cayenne can be optioned with no panorama roof (!). @Streamliner the Cayenne is for you!

19" wheels on the S-Class and 20" on the Cayenne S. I am fully confident a set of 19" wheels for the Cayenne could be negotiated dealer-installed.

Cayenne has all-season tires, not sure if the S-Class is standard with RFT.

The S580 has more luxurious rear seating options which caters to the livery trade. It also has heated door trim panels which are not offered on Cayenne.

Cayenne S has InnoDrive optioned, which is semi-autonomous driving. It is excellent. S580 doesn't seem to offer this.

In summary: the Cayenne can be optioned to highest S-Class levels (not Maybach), excluding rear seating features. @Streamliner I suggest you build a Cayenne on the configurator to your liking, and drive one with air suspension with the smallest wheels you can find in stock at a dealer. You will likely be surprised.

 

Uncertain. The thinking on rennlist is that GTS will be introduced in a year or so, which was the case with 9Y0.1. Turbo might not appear, or it might appear as a Turbo S model, as was the case for earlier platforms 955/957 and 958.

 

Regarding the 2024 Cayenne, it appears that the S model bumps you up to the V8, the wheels are different and you get red calipers. Is that pretty much it for about $15K extra, or am I missing something?

 

Yup feature been available since NTG 5.1 or 5.2 I think? The disabling anti-thief might not be an issue if parked inside a private garage, agree why can't the vehicle enter standby mode automatically after inactivity or at least prompt in the Mercedes Me app that it will enter standby mode and what will be disabled (anti-thief for example) or at least provide owners an option to activate standby mode in the app and warn them that standby mode activated, Mercedes Me will not be able to communicate with the car nor track the car.

 

What is the lease rate and/or money factor going on for that right now?

 

The S also includes aluminum sport pedals! It seems you have it correctly: V8 power and performance, red calipers with larger rotors, and aluminum pedals for $15k. I compared the standard features summaries which is available in the upper right of the configurator page.

 

I do not know. Lately I am a cash buyer and don't consider financing.

 

I see, fair enough.

 

So, I just dropped the car off to the local shop here in Germany and they said it's not normal that battery drains after several days and should not have to resort to Standby Mode. At first, they were reluctant to give me a loaner car but after expressing my discontent respectfully, they gave me an EQS since they don't have an S-Class on hand. Their excuse was it has to be an AMG in order to get a loaner car. I asked how come an A Class AMG can get loaner but not a $150K Mercedes S Class? As I was going to cancel my appointment, the head mechanic called someone on the phone and to my surprise they approved a loaner car for me.

 

Well, that being the case, If I go that way, I would definitely go with the base Cayenne. I don’t need the V8 and I actually don’t care for the red calipers or the sport pedals. And, I much prefer the ride & handling of my SL450 with the lighter V6 over a comparable SL550 with the heavier V8. When I drove an S650 Maybach, as nice as it was, I could feel the weight of that V12 up front. My guess is that the lighter engine in the base Cayenne will offer a nicer ride and more nimble handling.

 

I’m liking the new Cayenne. I’ve seen some reviews and it appears the comfort level with the new air suspension has been significantly enhanced. They’ve also kept rotary dials for the important functions so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road.

When it comes time to replace the S, I’m going give the new Cayenne serious consideration. I just don’t know if I want another SUV in the house.

 

Good thinking. Base Cayenne can be configured with 19” wheels and all the luxury goodies (full leather, air suspension, wood trim, electronic gadgets, etc) of the S. Knock $15k off the price and it ends up less expensive than a comparably equipped S580, and without a hybrid system and runflat tires.

Need to check if the upgraded audio system on Cayenne requires RFT because of a larger subwoofer under the rear load floor. My S with base Bose audio has a collapsible spare and jack, which was used during the Christmas break because I had a puncture in a blizzard on the OH TPK.

 

I priced out the Cayenne S here in Canada, with similar options to my S580 (pretty loaded), it came out some 35k (cdn) cheaper. I was surprised!

 

The S Class comes standard with MBs current semi autonomous driving system (Drivers Assist Plus Paclage) which imo is a little better then Porsche's version.