If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know I'm a HUGE Porsche fan. And if you're following me on any of the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) you'll know that I recently got delivery of my Cayenne GTS 2014. I'd gone for a very funky white on white exterior (and by that I mean the car had white painted wheels) as my old Cayenne Turbo was black on black and since I'd seen the colour combo on the streets of Beirut last year, I'd absolutely fallen in love! When I went to order my car, I was going to take the black interior and have parts of the car painted red (as seen on another car in the showroom.. you can check out the picture of that on my instagram) but had been told for 2014 there was a special red-black interior. Basically my car, being one of the first getting delivered for 2014, would be one of a kind. To personalize it further, I had the sidestep customized to have my name on it, just as I did my older Turbo Cabriolet. I was so nervous to see how the entire thing would look put together, and thankfully, it was love at first sight.
I drove the GTS and loved the drive... it was similar to my old Turbo but a lot sportier. I got the delivery sometime in the middle of the week (probably a Wednesday?) and was intending to use it to partake in one of my favourite activities- going for a long drive alone, listening to loud music (seriously, it's like meditation for me). I got into the car, put on the radio and was slightly confused. In place of clear gorgeous sound I was used to from the Bose speakers (so good that I actually decided I didn't need to upgrade the system) there was a static-y sound that plagued practically every station I tried. Ok, so maybe I wouldn't be going for a drive. On parking the car and getting back in later that evening, I noticed all the entire screen of the entertainment system had switched to Arabic. Not good. When I reversed my car out, the passenger mirror pointed down as it does, but when I went into drive it didn't go back up. At this point, I was slightly freaking out. It was only the next day when I drove the car in the blazing afternoon sun did I realize the AC didn't cool as well as my old car. I picked up my Mother who pointed out that the vents just had air gushing through them, but were working more like a fan than an AC. Crap.
I didn't want a car that was going to have to go with a 100 Kms on it to the service center, as I figured that will be the start of many, many service visits for the rest of my time with the car. The Porsche guys though assured me they'd take care of my car and give me updates on it daily. In the meantime they even sent over a brand new Panamera 4S for me to use (gorgeous car, but not one I'd want). Over the next few days they called me every day as promised, to give me updates. Turned out the issue with the Arabic system and mirror issue could just have been a problem with formatting of the keys (since I had both of them in my handbag at that point that could have been a problem) and they "rebooted" the system to just be safe. They did however inform me that the radio now, due to placement of the antenna, had a lot of static, and this was normal and how all their cars behaved. I sort of realized that with the Panamera as well as the radio on that wasn't clear. For someone who LOVES music, especially to drive around listening to it, this was a problem. I told them I didn't understand how a newer car could be worse than my old car, and they offered me a full refund if I wasn't completely happy with it. They urged me however to stay with the car for another day and see whether it was something I wanted to live with.
I was comforted knowing a full refund was on the table and decided to give the car another shot. I got the car back, grabbed a CD and played with the bass and treble (which I wasn't able to earlier given everything had gone into Arabic) and decided I could live with only listening to CD's or my iPod in the car and to return it because of the radio was silly. I fell in love with the look of the car all over again and decided to keep it... till I used it in the blazing sun the next afternoon. My Mother and I had to make 2 trips to the mall and used the old Cayenne and the new Cayenne to see the difference... sure enough the new one just didn't cool enough.
This is my 4th Porsche in 7 years and till date I've had ZERO problems with any of my other cars. I intended on being a Porsche owner for life. Again, their service through this process was excellent and pain-free so I have no complaints on that front... but, unfortunately, the car had to go back. I asked to Manager herself to use the car and check the AC and even specified that if there WAS a difference, I would be most happy to wait for the exact replacement, but she said there was no difference in the AC of my new one as opposed to their test drive car. While I must specify there were no AC issues in the Panamera, I couldn't risk it and reorder a Cayenne only for it to maybe have that issue again especially since they specified it was working to Factory Standard. But I just can't wrap my head around the fact that the new car behaved that much worse than the old. The old one has held up THAT well, that despite having it for 4 years, my Mother actually decided to keep it since it had aged so beautifully. Try saying that about a Beamer or Merc!
As sad as they were to see me go, I was sadder to leave and give back this stunning car. The bigger problem is knowing that the newer one in some respects is a step back from the older, which may mean a sad goodbye to the company for good. Or at least for a long time!
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