Everyone we know with a new Cayenne loves their Porsche truck, but how long do they hold up to the stresses of daily use? The 957 Cayenne is now seven years old, and that's for the newest one. Essentially a sheet metal update on the same underpinnings as the original 955-generation. The subject of this video is the base model with a 3.6-liter VR6 sourced directly from chassis-mates Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. That engine was given 290 horsepower in Porsche and really isn't too bad at getting the 5000-pound monster up and going. Sure, if you're looking for a speed machine, the S/GTS/Turbo would be better served, but as a workaday kind of vehicle, the base car does well enough.
Given the fact that co-host Todd and his wife have racked up 65,000 miles over the time period of their ownership, and the worst problem they can think of is the electrically adjustable seatbelt height mechanism, then that seems like a pretty decent ownership experience. If you were looking for a decently upmarket and comfortable daily commuter with room for five adults and a few of their things, this seems like pretty decent anecdotal evidence in the Cayenne's favor.
Every Porsche we've owned has easily run well past the 100,000 mile mark, and they've all been reasonably reliable (well, aside from that one time a 944 ate a timing belt...), and there are thousands of examples of super high-mileage VR6 engines out there in everything from Golfs and Audi TTs to this Cayenne. There is always a chance of a used car purchase going awry, but we'd be comfortable recommending a base model Cayenne to any of our non-enthusiast friends, even those who are particularly hard on things. The worst thing we can find to say about the 957 Cayenne is that the soft-touch interior trim pieces scuff easily and make parts of the interior look a bit poor. If you can live with that, maybe go test drive one.