My grandfather bought a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo about a month ago, my mom got a new Yukon XL Denali last week (or the week before) and my dad picked up his new E55 AMG on Thursday (which is when I found out about it).
I've driven the Porsche and the GMC, but my dad won't let me drive the E55 (yet) [:D]
The Porsche is an incredible car (well, truck). It drives better than anything else I've driven (which, admittedly, isn't much), including my grandparents' '97 SL500. The steering has excellent feedback, it stiffens up nicely at highway speeds, and for a car with 450hp, it is extremely docile. Basically, in terms of performance, it's a lot like the 560 when the turbos aren't spooled up; it's reasonably quick, but not exactly fast. However, if you put your foot in it and hold it there until it reaches about 2500rpms, you're in for a hell of a surprise. I didn't get a chance to really get on it, but it managed to hit about 50% of maximum boost a few times.
From idle to say 2000rpms, it's kinda dead. It moves more than quickly enough to keep up with traffic, and it has more than enough torque to do so without having to downshift, but it's not exactly real lively.
From 2000-2500rpms, it starts to wake up, and it becomes apparent that the thing has some power...
From about 2500-3000rpms, the turbos build enough pressure to register on the boost gauge, and it moves pretty damn fast.
Above 3000rpms can be summed up in 2 words: HOOOOOOOOOLEEEEEE S**T. There is just no way a vehicle as big as the Cayenne should be able to move that fast. It just flat out moves. I scared my grandfather because I needed to move over, and the person in that lane was going faster than I was, and the person in front of me was slowing down. So, I floored it and moved over. [:D] He thought I was going to rear end the guy in front of me. I didn't, but boy did that thing take off. [:D]
The GMC drives, well, like crap. It's not as bad as my grandparents' Range Rover (which they traded in for the Cayenne), but frankly, that's not saying much. The force feedback wheel I use on the computer has better feel than the steering in the Yukon does. It's not a slow truck in its own right (its got 325hp, 365lb-ft of torque, and does 0-60 in under 8s, so...) but in terms of "fun to drive"... in a word, it's... not. The Range Rover was bad. It was probably the worst car I have ever driven. The Yukon isn't nearly that bad, but it's not something I'd look forward to driving every day, either.
And now I just have to find a reason to get my dad to take the 560 in to the shop, so I can drive the E55 for a day... "No, dad, I won't drag race anyone, even BMW drivers that have it coming to them, I promise" [:D][:D]
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Anonymous Post on Carsurvey.org about the 560SEL: "It's the only car I've owned that I insisted on hand washing myself so I could admire its details and check out the condition, touching up occasionally where necessary. I miss it very much. I often used to sit in the garage and look at it. Wife and daughters thought I was mad."
You are very lucky! If my dad got a new E55, I would be washing it every day at the car wash farthest from my house! My parents are in the market for a new car as well. They are looking at the G-Class, Denali (same as you) and at various convertibles. We have to get rid of our town and country because the tranny blew and its really not worth getting replaced. My plans for a new car include possibly a new C230 Sport Sedan or a used G-Class in a year or two once I start my business. My passat is practically mint with only 74.5k miles on it and it is pretty fun to drive (its manual) but I really want a Benz![:D]
My mom thinks she needs a van, but I'm converting her to an E500 T. I read an article on the Sportec 911 GT2 with 700 hp, 3.4s 0-60, 218 top end... all I can say is wow. I wonder how they get all that power out of just 3.6 liters without frying the thing.
I wonder how they get all that power out of just 3.6 liters without frying the thing.
Very carefully. [:D]
It's not naturally aspirated, is it? (if it is, 700HP is one hell of a feat) Forced induction can work wonders for horsepower, and Porsche has a tendency to overbuild stuff the way Mercedes does (from what I've read), so you can get away with a lot more power than what they have from the factory...
I wonder how they get all that power out of just 3.6 liters without frying the thing.
Very carefully. [:D]
It's not naturally aspirated, is it? (if it is, 700HP is one hell of a feat) Forced induction can work wonders for horsepower, and Porsche has a tendency to overbuild stuff the way Mercedes does (from what I've read), so you can get away with a lot more power than what they have from the factory...
It's a TT powerplant, but still, 700? If I had that much money I'd get a TVR Cerbera Speed 12, 7.7 liters, 800bhp, 881nm, 3s flat 0-100km/h, 402 km/h top end... the list continues.
For a car you take to the track on sundays its reliable enough. I still doubt that the TVR is any less reliable than the Sportec GT2. HP/Liters=unreliability(in general).
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