Porsche Cayenne (2003 - 2009) 3.2 V6 5d Tiptronic Owner Review

I've owned my Cayenne for three and a half years and it has been a fantastic ownership experience so far. The seats are really comfortable and has lots of kit - fully electric leather seats including lumbar support (great for my bad back!), Tiptronic gearbox, satnav and cd changer, electric folding door mirrors and even a 'rest' function, so that the heaters stay on for your passengers on cold days, with the engine off, if you are just stopping at the shops for example. Driving is lovely - my favourite ever car purchase for comfort, although it is quite crashy over bumps and potholes and you feel the uneven roads a lot more than most other cars. Air suspension option might help with this but that would be a pricey maintenance item if it goes wrong. Reliability has been ok,but a few things have needed repairing - not unexpected given the age of the car now. Main items were the alternator needed a refurbish and the window motors both rusted over time and failed, they were replaced but an expensive item for what it is. A few other niggles but nothing major so far (fingers crossed!). MPG average over three years is about 22-24mpg. I went for the 3.2 as it is built by VW and doesn't have the reliability issues of the Porsche 4.5 engine. However this means that it doesn't have a huge amount of torque for its weight and will hunt for gears more than you'd expect. It feels its age as a driving experience, my wife is used to newer cars and hates driving this, calling it clunky - which is probably a fair description! Overall for me however, it has been a fabulous car and my favourite ever car purchase. I love it, particularly the comfort and auto gearbox, which as a tall person with back problems is a real plus. For what they cost now, I think it is unmatched for value for money!