While this isn’t a trick question, choosing to buy a Porsche Cayenne ultimately comes down to a couple of important factors.
First, you need to consider where you live. Unless you’re getting a diesel model, any older generation gasoline-powered Cayenne is going to have you pull into a gas station more often than you’d like, especially if used as an everyday family car.
So US buyers are most definitely at an advantage when it comes to used Cayenne ownership, compared to say, European buyers – obviously because of gas prices.
Then you need to consider running costs, which is tricky since not being able to afford purchasing a new one often means that you might balk at maintenance.
But according to the guys from Everyday Driver, the first generation Cayenne is a surprisingly reliable family car, especially if you go for the facelifted model. The car tested here was a MY2010, which means it came out about a year before Porsche introduced the second-generation Cayenne – it’s always smart to get your hand on a used car that was built during the end of that model’s run.
Bear in mind that if you do go for a base-spec Cayenne such as this one, you’ll need to understand that it was designed at a time when manual transmissions were still quicker than automatics – its 6-speed tiptronic gearbox is quick enough, but not in an impressive way. With around 290 horses, it will do 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 8.5 seconds, before maxing out at 141 mph (227 km/h).
During this review, the 2010 Cayenne will get compared to a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is a battle you’d expect the Porsche to win.
Would you rather have a used Cayenne or a newer, less premium, less dynamic rival?