Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Porsche has a six and a stick, just like you’d want your 911 to be outfitted. This one however is a Cayenne, so let’s see if if its kit and its price makes you fit to be tied.
High mileage was what seemed to barely doom yesterday’s tail-wagging 2004 GMC Sierra Denali. In fact, it came down to a razor-thin 50.1% Crack Pipe loss! Yeah, it was that close.
A quarter million miles does seem like a lot, but when some of those were covered with the rear wheels turning left and right as well as around, it’s quite the feat.
Hey, do you like Porsche’s Cayenne sport utility wagon? You should, because while it may have diluted the German sports car maker’s brand, the Cayenne’s introduction and subsequent rabid sales response provided Porsche with a much needed influx of cash. That allowed for them to release—what has it been now, 300 separate derivations of 911?—plus a couple of generations of Boxster and that wonderful toy, the Cayman.
Here we have a 2008 Cayenne outfitted not in soccer mom express train form but with a base V6 with six speed manual for your enjoyment. Porsche has long offered the Cayenne with a slew of different engines, from this gas six, to naturally aspirated and turbo-equipped V8s, to hybrid and even diesel engined variants.This however, was the bottom rung on the Cayenne’s ladder.
The V6 thankfully gained both displacement and horsepower in 2008, clocking in at 3.6-litres and 290-bhp respectively. That power is routed to all four wheels through a full time AWD system that doles out 32% of its torque to the front wheels and 68% to the rears. The chassis to which all of that is bolted has long been considered one of the best in the biz.
This one rocks 128,000 miles on the clock and a black on black color scheme that’s both elegant and dimensionally shrinking. These refreshed first-gen models still look pretty contemporary as well.
Dealer offered and described as a one-owner car, this Cayenne comes imbued with options, but lacking a big screen in the center stack, belying its actual age. Fresh oil, new front brakes, and replaced wiper blades are among the attractions and the car presents reasonably well in the photos.
There is some obvious wear on the interior surfaces, most notable in the image of the air vents. That surface flaking seems to be a common issue with VAG products of this era at both ends of the price scale. Alternatively, the carpets look clean and unfaded, the seats seem worthy of your ass, and all the lights that are supposed to light up apparently do.
On the outside, the car shows no sign of any major work needed, and the five spoke factory alloys appear clean and to have never met a curb.
But what’s really unique about this Cayenne is that drivetrain, which with its six and stick should imbue the car with a level of engagement lacking in the automatic editions, right? Well, if you’ve got to have a stick, these are pretty much your only choice, but there’s a reason these are relatively rare.
The V6/six-speed combo is not exactly the smoothest drivetrain Porsche has ever built. Plus, at over 4,700 pounds it takes the 290-horse V6 a lot of effort to make this fat lady sing. The six speed may allow you more input on choice of gear and what’s to be done with your left leg, but it also has a reputation for being notchy, rubbery, and suffering from overly-long throws. Also, don’t expect that just because it’s a six it will get good gas mileage, it won’t.
That being said, it’s a stick-shift Porsche and those are seemingly getting rarer and rarer these days. This one let’s you row your own, and bring along the whole gang to applaud your prowess. The cost to do that is $12,993. That’s high for a Cayenne of this era and mileage, but then this is a stick which, if you want it you’ve got to have it.
What’s your take on that stick and this Cayenne’s $12,993 price? Does that seem like a good deal? Or is this a Cayenne with a price that’s not so hot?
You decide!
Mercedes Benz of Tampa FL, or go here if the ad disappears.
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