To SUV or not to SUV. That is the question. These days there are more non-truck SUVs and some that blur even that distinction. I'm going to look at three of the newest: The Volkswagen Tourareg, Porsche Cayenne S, and Cadillac SRX. I had the opportunity to drive the first two together, so I'll describe that experience, then I drove the Cadillac some time later and I'll look at that one last. Note that the ones I drove were all V-8s. And I'll also point out that I didn't get off city streets with any of them. But since that's where most vehicle purchases these days are driven here in Los Angeles, it is appropriate.
The Volkswagen and Porsche were developed as a joint project by the two companies in Germany. So the "platforms" are the same. If you're pretty far away, they even look pretty much the same. Walking up closer, though the impression is of a big station wagon in both cases. The Touareg definitely looks like a member of the VW family -- conservatively handsome and in good taste. From the front, the Cayenne looks like what an editorial cartoonist would draw if he wanted to make fun of a 911. It is pretty ugly.
Walking around the two, I can look at the window stickers. The Touareg base price is $41,000. With navigation, premium plus package and air suspension, the bottom line is $53,000. Going over to the Cayenne, the base price is $56,000. Yikes. Options are more extensive so I got tired of writing and came up with a total price of just under $67,000. Double yikes! That's a difference of $14,000. Is the Porsche that much better? Well, it does have the crest on the hood and the commoners can tell the difference at a glance.
Going inside the two, the VW wants very much to look like a luxury car and succeeds as only VW-Audi seems to be able to do these days. Everything looks nice and feels good. The switches are silky smooth and nothing looks cheap. Well, almost nothing. I folded the rear seat down and was astonished to find bare edged carpeting and painted metal underneath. It was almost like VW never intended you to fold the seat down. The Porsche is a bit different inside. The designers here wanted it to look sort of like a Porsche and sporty. They've accomplished their goals well, but it doesn't look nearly as expensive as the Volkswagen.
Before I drive away, let's look at the specifications. The Porsche has a 4.5-liter 340 horsepower (310 ft-lb of torque) V-8 to propel 4950 pounds. The Volkswagen uses an Audi-sourced V-8 of 4.2 liters that develops 310 horsepower (302 ft-lb of torque) to push its 5300 pounds. I wonder why the VW is so much porkier than the Porsche. Both use an Asin-sourced 6-speed automatic. And both have dual-range all-wheel drive systems that are supposedly quite capable off-road.
Driving the VW off, you're aware that you are driving a high SUV, but definitely a luxury one. It feels very much like a luxury car with a soft, but well-controlled ride. When the road curves, it does far better than you'd expect for something that is over 2.5 tons. But also you're aware that can't defy physics and really doesn't want to change direction a lot. It doesn't behave like a BMW M3. Not at all. It does feel pretty big driving it around. The suspension is adjustable and this was in the sportiest setting. Surprisingly, the little harsh bumps are felt through the suspension and into the seats. Up to speed, it again seems like a luxury car. Quiet and composed.
Back to the lot and drive the Porsche away. Hmmm. It seems a LOT like the Volkswagen, just a bit more well controlled. Both have engines that are quite well noise suppressed, so they sound pretty much the same too. The Porsche definitely feels sportier than the VW, but it isn't enough lighter to avoid the laws of physics when it comes to changing direction. I believe it was one of the German auto writers who said that Porsche seemed to be able to train a bear to dance Swan Lake, but why would you want to? The Porsche seemed to be a little noisier at speed too, but that probably was due to tire choice. Both used all weather tires on fashionably huge wheels.
Back to the lot for another walk around. This time for a close examination. While they were designed by the same team, they are built in different factories. VW seems to have a slight edge on quality of paint and panel fits on the outside, but Porsche is close. Inside the difference seems to be bigger, but Porsche still is very good.
Which one would I pick? There simply isn't enough reason to pick the more expensive Porsche for me. On the other hand, I doubt that many people would really comparison shop these two. If you are going to buy a Porsche, you are going to buy a Porsche and don't consider anything else. That isn't true of Volkswagen buyers (with very few exceptions, Matt). I wonder what they consider instead of the Touareg?
A couple of months later, I find that I'm looking at a Cadillac SRX. How does it differ from the Germans? On the outside, it looks like folded paper rather than rounded sculpture. To me that "look" is getting dated. It is more subdued here, however, compared to some other Cadillacs. The Caddy is 3 inches narrower than the VW and 7.7 inches longer. (This puts the Cadillac about half way between a 5-Series and 7-Series BMW in length.) Both are about the same height. That extra length allows Cadillac to offer a third row seat, which the V-8 I am looking at didn't have. The 4.6-liter engine in the SRX develops 320 horsepower (315 ft-lb of torque) and drives the vehicle through a 5-speed automatic. It weighs "only" 4400 pounds.
The price of the V-8 SRX starts at $47,000 and ended up at $55,000 -- right in the thick of things with the Germans.
The interior of the Cadillac tries to look fashionable where the VW luxurious and the Porsche sporty. It succeeds at looking much better than other GM executions, one of the best in fact. Alas, they still have a way to go to get to Volkswagen quality of look and touch. All three have more buttons than I would like. To a one-time driver, they all are confusing and impossible to use if you're driving in traffic.
All three seemed to have comfortable seats front and rear, but that is impossible to evaluate unless you have an hour or more time in the seat. I didn't.
Driving the Cadillac seemed to put it in direct competition with the Germans. The power delivery of all three seemed interchangeable. The SRX is probably the fastest because with pretty comparable power, it has less weight to carry around, but has only a 5-speed transmission. The ride is pretty similar to the others, and seemed to be sportier like the Porsche. Ride smoothness was very good over bit and little bumps. Noise at speed was subdued, but by memory seemed to be louder than the VW.
The choice of all three? It isn't easy. The real issue here is comparing them to a luxury sedan. A Mercedes E500 starts in the mid-50s as does the BMW 545i. While you can get awd in those, you don't get the capability of the SUVs we're talking about. And you certainly can't carry as much in the sedans. There is a penalty in mileage, of course, but these are very comparable to the sedans in normal driving. On a curvy mountain road, the sedans would leave the bigger, taller wagons pretty quickly. Then, if you're going to Mammoth skiing in the winter, the Touareg is the choice, with the SRX next. Oh, no, I'm wrong, aren't I? You need to impress the other skiers at Mammoth with the Cayenne!
