To add insult to injury, the Cayenne adopts Volkswagen's ridiculous rear liftgate setup, which doesn't unlock automatically when all the doors are unlocked. Instead you have to click and hold the
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| The Cayenne adopts Volkswagen's ridiculous rear liftgate setup, and combined with the wacky fey fob it's a recipe for frustration. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
remote "trunk" release, but once again not too long. If you do that it will pop open the glass hatch, which will need to be shut before opening the liftgate. If the car is running, however, you won't have the keyfob with you, therefore you'll need to remember to click the door mounted remote for the back hatch before jumping out to get what-have-you out of the back. And I tried to override it in the computer as well, but to no avail. Maybe if I lived with the SUV for more than a week I'd get used to these types of eccentricities, but why put us through such misery Porsche? Just a simple lock and unlock remote would be sufficient, with a nice button for the liftgate and another one for the glass hatch. Four buttons instead of two would alleviate major headaches. Then make it work from across the parking lot and you'll have a lot more happy customers. Why make such a fuss about locks and remotes? Because
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| Yes the Cayenne does have its problems, but nothing that can't be immediately erased from the memory banks once behind the wheel. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
it's the one thing owners do more than anything else other than driving, and the Cayenne's remote is the worst in the industry. But when not cursing at the electronics, I still panged for Porsche's Cayenne. It's just so good in so many other ways. Yes, initial quality and likely ongoing reliability are definitely suspect, so we're back to a purchase out of passion argument. This is one which Porsche should win more often than not, given the Cayenne's superb driving dynamics on and off the road, beautifully executed tactile quality, and overall functionality.
In the end there is nothing like the Cayenne currently available. Nothing that can do all it can do as well as it can do it. This will be the deciding factor for many prospective buyers.
