Automotive

I finally test drove the Cayenne GTS today, before I share my experience I have to say I liked Porsches, always thought they were nice and loved the look of the older Porsche Turbos (930, 964 3.0 and 993) and some of their racing/rally cars from the 70s and 80s but would I have bought one? Not really.

very practical and convenient, I have family members which are getting on in their years and it makes it very convenient for them to get in and out. If you have time Dr. if you could please share some pictures of your Cayenne with us.

an anti-radar camera behind the grill?

It monitors the speed of the car in front of you and charges up the break if there is a mismatch in speeds and helps you break sooner, pretty cool

I know the first models were supposed to be very good off road with a low range transfer box and a system similar to the range rover all terrain system.
I think the wheels and low profile tyres will limit it, but if it is as good off road as a range rover it truly will be the purists SUV.

G

Hi Graham,

Thanks for that explanation Salman. I love 4x4's, SUV's, snow motors, soft roaders or whatever anyone calls them around the world and i pretty much agree with you,, however, there are a lot of big posh 4x4's that are equally happy off road.
My brother owns 2 defenders and goes off roading with a club. He once watched a range rover sport go everywhere that his defender 90 went. He had big off road tyres and the sport had 20'' wheels and a bit of rubber painted on.
I think its just a case of how far you are willing to go in the more expensive suv's.
My suzuki xl7 went everywhere i pushed it despite all the plastic bumpers and i did push it quite hard most days across welsh mountains. That is the only reason i wish i still lived there.

Best
G

They could do this without dying?

A friend's Jeep.....

Yep, exactly that on a rock crawl in yorkshire. He did chew a tyre, but that was down to too much right foot rather than the vehicle itself.
My bro was very very impressed.

G

Though it makes some sense in the dry. Brave guy!

Physics can't be outmaneuvered. If there is no air cusion dampening the shocks that are typical for off-road driving, the energy of the shocks goes into coils, absorbers, and eventually the frame - if the car has one. Otherwise, the wheel bearings will have the joy to accept the energy coming from the car's big mass inertia in rough terrain. It works once, twice, maybe a couple of times. The repair workshop will thank the driver, the jobs are safe,

Regards,
Marcus

The Rangerover sport has the chassis of the discovery 3 which is ladder frame and the air suspension of the rangerover so it is designed to take a battering even though very few will.

G

... only with the added flexibility of level variation. That means the energy of the shocks is transferred into the frame in a spot where the air bellows are mounted to it. The more shock energy comes to the air suspension, due to a lack of air in the tires, the more stress is led into the frame.

Of course this might not be an issue if the car is replaced every two or three years, but I prefer owning my offroaders for a much longer time, two decades maybe. Additionally these considerations are important when dealing with a travel vehicle, since a crack of the frame is not nice when there is no welding opportunity within the next thousand miles. Being kind to your material saves a lot of money, which is why I rank the practical aspects of a large tire in front of the good looks of a large aluminum rim - which, btw, does not profit from the Range Rover's air suspension and is the first part to break.

Kind regards,
Marcus

I fully agree with you about the size of the wheels Marcus.
I've done a lot of offroading and i would go for big tyres any day. Big wheels with thin tyres effect road comfort as well.
I only really made the comment as my brother was so impressed with what this rr sport could actually do, but i would much rather have been in his 22 year old defender 90.

Best
G

I thought it was a sensor for extending the signal range for your blue tooth connection LOL

Regards,
ED-209

ps - The Cayenne GTS looks great in red.  Time to switch over from the G Wagon?

NO ED DONT DO IT !!!
The newer G Wagon is the epitome of the perfect off roader. Dont change it for a road rocket.  Please.

G

The G300 Professional is the Epitome of the perfect off roader

Yep, thats what i meant. In UK the only 2 models available in right hand drive are the amg55 and the 3 litre diesel. The diesel is probably the ultimate as it has road going comfort, sufficient speed and off road excellence.
The price is however, ludicrously high like a range rover.

G

the price is a bit steep which brings me to the 70 series Land Cruiser which I think is a bargain

Everything good is expensive especially in UK.
The V8 diesel Landcruiser is over £60k, the Range Rovers start at a bit more than that, but the G350 diesel is £85k!

I'd still buy one if i had the money though :)

GBP 60k? Oh WoW thats too much, the 3 Door V6 70 series as in post MY 2013 is around USD 36k in Q8.

We only get the v8 diesel lwb as used by the UN and the 3 litre diesel which is slightly smaller but still a lwb. I dont know what series these are i'm afraid.

G

hi salman, it's been a while ..
sorry couldn't resist posting a few of my old gwagen pics







as you can probably see, i'm a little bit partial to the older Gs
it's a truck, let's not compare it to an SUV..

I see your G-Tank is plowing through everything in sight LoooL and looking good doing it.

... is really bad! Better have your rubber boots ready. As soon as the car's body itself settles on the surface, the actual grip of the tires becomes irrelevant. I love the pictures! Yet, your G cannot be so old, since you already have the mrirors with integrated flashing indicators.

Regards,
Marcus

A trend in the last five years or so besides bluetoothing is Poking or getting Poked on FB LoooL

Hi Salman !