Ultimate Bargain Porsche: Why The First Generation Cayenne Is Much Better Than You've Been Told

Bought a new one in 2004, kept it 12 years and did 120,000 miles. Never let us down once, easy to drive, comfortable and an absolute tardis.

These are, indeed, underrated. My first project at Style Porsche was to help finish the interior and then production use it, involving many trips to Wolfsburg to liaise with VW Design who were working on the Toureg. I later did the exterior facelift with Steve Murkett, designer of the original, correcting (IMHO) the too narrow “face” of the first iteration and reducing the CD from .42 to .35. Long time ago, but cool project! These were a huge step for SUV dynamics and the Turbo was a real giggle to drive!

As greek i can tell u that Cayenne Mk1 was a landmark of our golden age of ΠΑΣΟΚ. We used to buy them as business 4x4 pickups from european subsidies while we pretended to cultivate and breed our fields and goats. There was literally villages that Cayenne was the best seller while in germany i guess it was a turbodiesel vw jetta.

Had three Cayennes, and covered a collective 289,000 miles trouble free. Bloody marvellous. Easily the best large SUV.

2004 3.2V6 A great car that has turned out to be far cheaper to keep running than expected over the last 5 years! This is because almost all the parts it's needed are common to VW Touareg, Audi Q7 and various other cars!

I have a 2006 955 Turbo S, and LOVE it. I can afford a replacement, but seems silly as I don't think there is anything on the market that is that much better to justify spending $150k+ on. I love the look of the 955 Turbo S, much more than more current models, and firmly believe that these will be collectable in time. Great review and look forward to the more detailed version.

Always wanted one of these, I remember when they had just launched and one pulled up alongside then proceeded to do a passable imitation of a rocketship, at the time seeing such a big car have acceleration like that was startling, left a permenant positive impression 😁 there's quite a few of them being used as actual off roaders these days too which results in some interesting modified ones

Thanks for putting this video out! I bought a 2006 Cayenne Turbo S with 125k miles on it last summer, site unseen, here in the States. I had my eye on the CTTS for a few months with the plans of modifying it into a proper overlander/offroader. Since acquiring I had to do a decent amount of sorting: electrical gremlins, EVAP fault rabbit hole, rear tailgate struts, parking brake strut, etc - all the usual suspects. Now that the PCCM from Porsche Classic has been released, I'll have a working PCM again. I then did a 3" lift with 1/2" sub-frame drop, coilover conversion from air suspension, side runners, and roof rack, all from Eurowise for the E1 Cayenne. New 19" wheels and 32" tires to make it look the proper off-road part. Finished it off with an XPEL Stealth (matte) PPF over the black exterior with factory black accents (no chrome). So have in essence created what my road shop calls The Batmobile. I love it so much now that it's sorted and converted. If you're looking to invest a bit to get it all sorted, these are wonderful machines. And I for one love the looks. They have a real road presence 20+ years on from the initial release, and don't suffer from the bulbous, swoopy look of the second gen, which look like something from a Kia or Hyundai designer. Looking forward to the follow up video when you have more time with it after sorting!

I have one and absolutely LOVE it!! 2006 Cayenne S. Titanium version. Grey/Black interior beautiful interior. LOVE LOVE LOVE this car! 2 years of ownership and love it as much as the day I bought it. I sold a Yukon Denali XL to buy this and glad I did.

9:39 Photo credit is a class act. You are a gentleman, JM.

Just came back to let you know that your assessment of this car was directly responsible for me going out and buying a 2006 Cayenne Turbo S the other day. It has been sitting for the better half of a decade and is an absolute rat but I very much look forward to restoring it!

I've owned a UK Cayenne Turbo for over 5 years. My wife loved it so much that we took it with us and put it on a German plate when we moved there. It's been quite reliable even though we did have the known issues like the drive shaft that needed refurbishment (EUR 300 at a specialised shop), the battery that needs replacing every year and the oil consumption. When we bought it it had 120k miles and we put another 100k on top before we sold it. It still drove fine but we wanted something a little more sensible with the gas consumption.

First, excellent delivery as always, James. Your intro to the car with the ‘impressively through the sunroof controls’ made me laugh out loud, literally. It just built from there. Hits particularly close to home as I have test driven several Cayennes. I am still the season of life that needs an SUV…for my work and for my family. But I have been hesitant due to the maintenance…..this has been such a great video. Entertaining and informative….as always. Thank you, again, James!

I have an 06 955 s. Owned and loved it for 6 years so far. I was getting ready to move on but ended up putting chunky a/t wheels and tires on it and fell in love again! Its brilliant in the snow and mud.

I had a Cayenne S 2005 for two years, between '12 and' 14, and I loved and enjoyed every minute with it. Almost no problems, only the AC fan gave up at one point but that was it, only regular maintenance. A great car.

I own a 2004 Cayenne S that I bought with 32,000 miles on it. It now has 70,000 and has sat in my driveway for a year and a half because I couldn't afford another repair yet. The car drives like a dream, handles beautifully too. That being said I think it could have been built a little better to prevent some of the issues I encountered. The coolant lines that run under the intake manifold are a plastic composite that inevitably become brittle, crack, and leak coolant onto the starter. Porsche has known about the problem for years but chose to ignore it. The drive shaft couplers wear out quickly and have to be replaced, the front differential becomes very loud and has to be repaired, the power steering pump had to be replaced, and now there is noise coming from the driver side valve cover area which has me concerned cylinder scoring and piston damage. I guess I was expecting the quality to be higher than it turned out to be. Then when Porsche fought in court to keep from having to repair or recall their vehicles for a known issue I was reminded that Porsche is really just a Volkswagen which are not known for dependability or quality.

I have had 7 of these cars over the period of 15 years. Both new and used ones. Among all 7, I have had pretty much every single problem imaginable: electrical problems, suspension failures, engine and gearbox breaks etc. And I have spend so much money repairing them, that I can't even count that far. And what am I driving now? A 2011 Turbo with 220.000km. And I love it! And I don't care, even if it costs a lot to run. There is simply no better car for a cross-continent commute from Berlin to Marbella in total comfort, safety and speed. 20 litres per 100km on Autobahn on a long journey is well worth it. James, buy one now!

Great video, i was hoping you'd eventually do a video on them, lve had a 2009 cayenne for five years now, still only on 71k, immaculate black inside and out n still feels like new..... Im starting to yearn for a 5.0 mk6 mustang (since your video) but like you said its annoyingly good, , fast and far more agile than it looks, its been faultless and I still love it as much as the day i bought it..... oh and i let people out, just to see the shock on their faces 🤣

Your presentation style is getting better and better. Detailed, but not dull and woven in are anecdotes with flurries of creative language. All not easy to do whilst trying to drive. Hats off to you. I opted for the other money pit, l322. So far 1 year in it’s been brilliant and I love it.

Great video James. I had one of these, a Cayenne S 2004, a few years ago to scratch an itch and as a stop gap car............I kept it 18 months ! When you drive one, you cannot believe how well they handle for such a big car. As an all round car it's excellent value at this price point. I got mine from a Porsche specialist and they did a bore check for me. Mind you, there was always the whiff of coolant after a run. The coolant tank never went down and the dealer couldnt find a leak, so kept on driving it. I think (as you state) the running costs are a bit high. 15mpg average for me, just over 20mpg on a run. Front brake pads were expensive from memory, £200 upwards if memory serves. Plus random electrical issues, like the tailgate not opening everytime and the central locking failing to open the O/S/R passenger door. Only found that when I opened the door and the alarm went off. Then realised the rest of the car was locked! Would I have another? Yes, definitely, but a later model 957 GTS or 2011 onwards as that has a better inside. But thats £££££ more. Keep up the great videos P.S. I still have a 986 I bought 6 years ago and it still feels special when i go out in it.