Car of the week: Porsche Cayenne

It might be uglier than a bottom feeder fish that has been hit in the face with a frying pan but did you know that the Porsche Cayenne is now 15 years old? And nowadays they represent a rather good second hand buy, I mean you cant argue that you get a lot of excellent engineering for your money.

How much?

What sort of money am I talking? $20,000 will get you behind the wheel of a well serviced, cherished example. Meaning that this side of a 986 Boxster the Cayenne is the cheapest modern era Porsche you can buy. And its important to point out that the Cayenne isn't a hulking great whale in Porsche clothing either, the companies first SUV stunned the world by actually driving like a Porsche too, so your not just buying a badge.

Performance

Performance ranged from brisk in the base V6 engined Cayenne to properly absurd in the Turbo S. I'm talking a 0-100km/h of just over 7 seconds in the V6, not bad for something weighing over 2 tonnes. While the updated Turbo S cracked the same sprint in 4.7 seconds! In the twisties it was impossible for Porsche to totally disguise the cars bulk but direct steering, stiff suspension and all wheel drive grip do their bit to deliver a entertaining steer. Both manual and auto where available, although I'd bet almost everyone chose the latter when they splashed out the $130,000+ for a new one back in the day.

Interior

Inside things are suitably Porsche, with a familiar instrument cluster, steering wheel and lashings of leather. All finished to the very highest standards, it is a bit of a button frenzy inside though, as was the theme in the mid noughties.

Reliability

Now the burning question, I bet your all asking. Won't a 15 year old used Porsche just break? I argue that no, with proper regular maintenance the Cayenne is more reliable than you might imagine. From the outset the Cayenne was over engineered. And as a company Porsche regularly top reliability charts across the globe. Sure when something does go bang the repair costs will be high, but buy sensibly and you could get yourself a performance luxury bargain. For some proof check out the Everyday Driver Youtube channel, one of their hosts has been doing a video diary on his experience of used Cayenne ownership and concludes that it isn't too terrifying.

That whole gag of once your inside you don't have to see it definitely applies to the first generation Cayenne, I doubt even the very judgemental internet will argue with me there. However, if you are in the market for a luxury SUV for less coin than a new Korean hatchback please take one for a spin. Get inside past the bottom feeder face and revel in what is quite an achievement from a one time niche sports car maker.

2003 Porsche Cayenne S: $17,990