[Gymkata]

I have been looking for the perfect SUV for my family for some time, and everything out there up to this point has had too many compromises vs what I specifically want. I picked up a 2013 Porsche Cayenne diesel less than a week ago. The Options I got are Meteor Grey Metallic paint, Cayenne S III wheels, Premium Package Plus, Bose® Audio Package, and WheelHbCvr w/Color Porsche Crest. I was very lucky to find almost exactly what I wanted after only a few days of this model in the U.S. The only thing I need to do now is install an aftermarket trailer hitch.

I actually don't have it in my garage right now, since there was a small scratch in the front bumper that is being fixed at the dealership right now. I have a Cayenne 3.6l V6 loner at the moment and can positively say that the difference between the two engines is incredible. After driving the diesel, I could never imagine driving the petrol V6 again.

I put about 150 miles on my Cayenne diesel in the first two days of ownership, and averaged 26+ mpg in mixed driving...even though the engine isn't broken in yet. While I wouldn't call the Cayenne diesel "fast", it does have phenomenal torque at all RPMs, and the proper gearing to make use of the power in all motoring situations. If you put it in sport mode at a traffic light, you only have to tap the throttle to jump to 10+ car lengths past the cars in other lanes within seconds. I have test driven many many SUVs, and this is the first one that I didn't want to get out of and would feel comfortable driving all day long. I have no doubt that 33-35 mpg is possible on road trips with this thing, which would mean you could get 800+ miles per tank if it is all highway driving. My daily driver is a Lexus ISF, and I mainly purchased the Cayenne diesel for my wife...I will still drive the Cayenne quite a bit myself though as my wife works from home and doesn't need to drive it daily.

 

[Cayenne_fan]

Going with the diesel Cayenne was definitely a great choice for obvious reasons...power & fuel economy which is something that can't be had as easily as with the petrol cayenne.

Amazing line up of vehicles! Love the IS-F, Lexus has really improved over the years.

 

[Gymkata]

Thanks...the ISF is a blast. It has a phenomenal performance to reliability ratio (if such a ratio exists...hahahaha...that ratio might have been invented with the NSX). I picked up 55whp with just headers and exhaust. The breathability of that 5.0l was VERY restricted from the factory. Lexus has come a long way in the last few years. My ISF is a 2008. By 2011, Lexus had put in a true mechanical limited slip differential and tweaked the suspension enough that in the Car and Driver Magazine lightning lap at VIR, the ISF matched the M3 time exactly to the 10th of a second. Not bad for the first generation of a "super" sports sedan. Anyway, obviously I love my ISF. I did test drive the 2013 Carrera S manual after my wife drove the Cayenne diesel home. That is the best balanced car I have ever driven...hands down. My decision now is whether I save money and continue to play around with the ISF, or drop some serious (for me) change and step up to the Carrera S. In regards to straight line speed, the Carrera S manual should be dead even with my ISF (the way it is currently setup)...Now on the track is another story. That thing is a beast, and wasn't picked as the Motortrend 2012 drivers' car of the year for nothing.

 

[Gymkata]

I'm going on a short road trip tomorrow (225 miles). I only have about 1900 miles on the Cayenne diesel so far. I will report back on my road trip impressions when I get back. I will also let you know how many miles I get on a tank (though I likely won't finish the tank on this trip unless I take multiple short trips from the resort during the vacation).

 

[Gymkata]

I am happy to report the Cayenne diesel is an AWESOME road trip vehicle. I drove from Baltimore, MD to the Pocano mountains in PA, took a short vacation, and drove back. This vehicle is pure magic for power, comfort, and fuel economy in the 75-80 mph range I was usually driving. Here are a few quick bullet comments explaining my fuel economy and the trip:
- 450 miles highway driving (mostly hilly/mountainous)
- 100 miles in and around town (mostly hilly/mountainous plus winter driving conditions)
- 700 lbs of passengers and luggage
- 30+ mpg there & 33+ mpg back

In a nutshell, I drove 556 miles on 3/4 tank under non-optimal conditions (extra weight, lots of hills, driving faster than speed limit, some city driving, etc). If I had driven like this until empty, it would equate to getting 740+ miles on a tank.

Realizing this, I'm pretty sure if you put it on cruise control at 70-75 mph on a flat surface without traffic you could probably get 36-37 mpg, which could yield a theoretical 950+ miles on a single tank of diesel. Crazy.

 

[Gymkata]

I don't drive the Cayenne myself too much since it is primarily for my wife. I drove the family to Annapolis on Christmas day and feathered the throttle much of the way there. It was about 5% city, 65% highway, & 30% back roads driving. My highway driving ranged anywhere from 65-95 mph. I was pretty impressed with the fuel economy to say the least.

 

[grohgreg]

Realizing this, I'm pretty sure if you put it on cruise control at 70-75 mph on a flat surface without traffic you could probably get 36-37 mpg, which could yield a theoretical 950+ miles on a single tank of diesel. Crazy.

Some folks do, but not in this country. Check out this Porsche UK webpage; 39.2 mpg combined city/highway. Granted, that's based upon the Imperial gallon, but that's still >32 mpg combined in this country. One of the big differences is in the fuel. By comparison, our diesel fuel sucks. Euro-diesel is formulated with a much higher cetane rating, their premium can run as high as 60. We having very little over 50 in this country, the majority of it being closer to 40. And in diesels - the higher the cetane - the more complete the burn. The more complete the burn, the more miles per gallon returned.