2003 Porsche Cayenne Turbo with Porsche Tequipment review

No, your eyes don’t deceive you – this is an original ‘E1’ Porsche Cayenne you see before you.

While we focus on new cars here at CarExpert, Porsche Cars Australia threw us the keys to this very special first-generation 2003 Porsche Cayenne Turbo to showcase its Porsche Tequipment accessories range by Porsche Classic.

Some 22 years ago, this very vehicle was one of the first Cayenne Turbos to be sold through Porsche Centre Melbourne, bought by a fastidious owner who kept it maintained for 16 years at Porsche’s Australian head office site.

It was sold privately in 2019 to its second owner, also a client of Porsche Centre Melbourne, who then relocated with the vehicle to Queensland, where the vehicle continued to be maintained exclusively at Porsche Centre Brisbane.

Porsche Centre Melbourne was then contracted to create a classic off-road build, and this particular vehicle was sought out as a prime candidate, namely because of its full Porsche service history and rare options such as the tailgate-mounted spare wheel carrier.

Porsche Cars Australia says a minor restoration of this well-maintained example was conducted before it was turned into this bush-bashing show car, focusing on “the suspension, engine, and other perishable components to ensure the vehicle’s optimal performance”.

Furthermore, an 111-point inspection was also completed. All of this restoration and preparation work was completed by the Porsche Classic team at Porsche Centre Melbourne.

How much does the Porsche Cayenne cost?

Back in 2003, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo was priced at $203,400 before on-road costs, which equates to around $346,321 in today’s money accounting for inflation – not far off the Cayenne Turbo GT’s price in 2024 ($370,600).

If you were looking to recreate one of these builds, according to the classifieds you can get into an original Cayenne for as little as $6000-$8000, which frankly is quite a lot of car for the money.

Both the Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo were powered by V8 petrol engines, which as we’ll get to a little later makes for a smile-inducing experience behind the wheel… until you have to head to the petrol station.

Should you want the latest and greatest iteration of the Cayenne Turbo, you can get into the plug-in Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid from $297,600 before on-road costs for the conventional SUV body style, with the Cayenne Coupe Turbo E-Hybrid commanding nearly $10,000 more.

“Hybrid?! Boring!” you may say, but I’d argue a twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain outputting a whopping 544kW and 950Nm is hardly snooze-worthy – plus, it’ll scoot from 0-100km/h in a 911-rivalling 3.7 seconds on its way to a bahn-storming top whack of 295km/h.

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Porsche Cayenne like on the inside?

It’s certainly a step back in time, but this first-gen Cayenne’s interior has held up pretty well, all things considered.

The 7.0-inch Porsche Classic Communication Plus (inhales…) infotainment unit is a great way to modernise your old Cayenne, not only aesthetically but also with modern features like DAB+ digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It blends nicely with the original dashboard architecture and retains the typical Porsche look and feel with the interface. This also integrates with the multifunction steering wheel controls and reversing camera where applicable.

For the particular buyer like myself, who likes everything to look factory-spec, this $2924 upgrade goes a long way to lift the ambience and everyday useability of your old Cayenne (up to model year 2008).

However, the mapping function incorporated in this accessory is a third-party system which feels a little cheap, even if the original Porsche navigation system would have look dated by comparison. A small complaint, given most will be using smartphone mirroring anyway.

While Porsche Cars Australia openly admits this vehicle has had a ‘minor restoration’, it was nice to see most interior elements have stood up well over the last two decades – a credit to the previous owners.

Sure, there were a few squeaks here and there, and at times some of the actions of the switchgear felt like my aching joints, but if you didn’t know how old this car was you’d be surprised to hear it’s of 2004 vintage.

The leather trim on the front seats showed acceptable levels of wear and tear, and the trimmings all looked to be in good nick.

I also like the instrument cluster, which combines Porsche’s clean and classic analogue dials with a digitised central display with a couple of different menus – for 2004, that’s pretty schmick!

The rear seat of this family-sized five-seat SUV is good, even compared to today’s much bigger ‘large’ SUVs.

There’s more than enough space for two adults behind two adults, and there are amenities like a fold-down centre rear armrest and rear air vents.

Behind the second row is a 540-litre cargo area with the rear seats in use, expanding to 1770 litres with them folded. As you can see in the image below, our test vehicle had a boot liner and Maxtrax in the back.

There’s a full-size spare wheel mounted on the tailgate via the optional ‘fifth wheel carrier’. When new, a full-size 19-inch wheel in a rear-mounted carrier would have cost you a whole $4890(!).

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

The original Cayenne Turbo spearheaded the performance SUV movement, and boasted some big performance claims for the time, including a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 266km/h!

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Porsche Cayenne drive?

I drove this special bush-basher for a couple of days in between Paul’s filming commitments and, boy, did I have some fun in it.

Where most modern SUVs – including the latest Cayenne – are getting increasingly car-like in their dynamic demeanour, this original Cayenne feels more old-school SUV than contemporary crossover.

Couple that big and solid feel with a rumbly twin-turbo V8 under the bonnet, and this Cayenne is a hoot to drive even if it’s a little bit silly.

It fires into life with a muted grumble, and retains that beastly vibe even in normal driving. The steering is a little heavy and you get a bit of noise off the all-terrain tyres, but it feels like a luxury tank.

Give it a bit of welly and the powertrain has a bit of an old-school boosty feel despite having two turbos, and it can take one or two moments before you rocket towards the horizon at full noise – and what a noise it makes.

This off-road-ready Cayenne turned out to be a little slower than its claim, which is understandable given the array of accessories fitted. Paul managed a 6.18-second 0-100km/h dash in the video up top, which is nevertheless as quick as many hot hatches.

Riding on optional air suspension, which can be adjusted to suit the terrain, this particular Cayenne Turbo’s ground clearance was further increased via the chunkier all-terrain tyres. In addition to adjustable ride height, the air springs afforded a pretty comfortable ride both in town and on the highway.

That helped a lot off the beaten tack, as Paul and I found out. The added traction from the all-terrain rubber, as well as the extra clearance and improved approach, departure and breakover angles, allowed it to ascend our gravel hill without much fuss, clear the offset moguls with ease and handle the boulder path with aplomb.

Some may be surprised by the built-in off-road capability the original Cayenne had as standard, thanks to a low-range transfer case and a centre differential lock for the rougher stuff.

Indeed, the first-generation Cayenne and the related Volkswagen Touareg were well regarded for their all-terrain ability, even if they weren’t quite as rugged as a Toyota LandCruiser or Range Rover.

It almost doesn’t feel right to get a car like this dirty and muddy, but there’s something satisfying about being able to conquer this kind of terrain in an expensive German luxury SUV, and to return home with a mud-plugged body as figurative battle scars.

One small problem was that the car would throw up an error message about the suspension or the 4WD system when scrambling up the gravel hill. Still, it managed to get up and would eventually sort out the electronic messages by itself.

Beyond the aforementioned off-road hardware, the MkI Cayenne was also available with a disconnectable sway bar, but our test vehicle didn’t appear to have this fitted.

Porsche quotes a lofty 273mm of ground clearance with the air suspension in its highest setting, complemented by approach and departure angles of 29.1 degrees and 25.7 degrees respectively – though this is for the standard Cayenne Turbo.

The first-generation Cayenne Turbo debuted a new four-wheel drive system for the Porsche brand called Porsche Traction Management (PTM), which offered variable torque distribution that defaulted to a 62:38 front/rear split.

However, Porsche claims the Cayenne could feed up to 100 per cent of torque to the front or rear when required. PTM also worked in conjunction with the Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system, which incorporates driver aids like ABS, traction and stability control to ensure maximum grip without “restricting the thrill of sports motoring”.

*Quoted specifications are for the standard 2004 Porsche Cayenne Turbo

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

Here’s a rundown of some of the Porsche Classic and Porsche Tequipment parts and accessories fitted to this Cayenne.

Porsche Roof Tent: $8705 (not pictured)

• 146 x 140 x 33cm – folded
• 258 x 257 x 118cm – unfolded
• 56kg – approx. weight
• 190kg – payload when stationary with rails
• 130km/h max speed with roof tent mounted

Roof Rack and Rails: $519 / $2463

Adventure Decal Set: $1359

18-inch Offroad Wheels (4): $3732

Stainless Steel Skid Plate: $885

Engine Guard: $449

Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus: $2924

• 7.0-inch touchscreen
• DAB+ digital radio
• Apple CarPlay, Android Auto – wired
• Integrated USB interface

PCCM Plus navigation software for Australia: $422

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Porsche Cayenne safe?

No generation of the Porsche Cayenne has received an ANCAP safety rating, and only the most recent iteration has been tested by sister firm Euro NCAP.

It’s worth noting the first-generation Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 both scored five-star ratings when they were new, though that’s all the way back in the mid-2000s.

Safety standards in this era of motoring were a little different to today, with things like autonomous emergency braking and lane-keep assist generally unheard of unless you had something like a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Standard safety features include:

• 8 airbags
• ABS
• Parking sensors – front, rear
• Stability control
• Traction control

To see how the (new) Porsche Cayenne lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Porsche Cayenne

While at CarExpert we focus on ‘new’ cars, it’s pretty fascinating to revisit something like this first-generation Cayenne to see both how far the nameplate has come and also how a vehicle this old holds up some 20 years later.

Perhaps more relevant to the CarExpert audience is the fact that Porsche is willing to showcase its extensive ‘Classic’ accessories catalogue that supports an array of the brand’s older models.

Here in the Cayenne, the infotainment system retrofit brings modern multimedia tech that may be a turning point for buyers who want an older car but can’t live without smartphone mirroring, for example.

And the genuine off-road components join the Cayenne’s existing arsenal to expand its capabilities, and can be fitted by the same people who service your car.

Sure, it’s a more expensive way to do it, as are most retrofit OEM jobs. But, for the discerning Porsche owner wanting to hold onto their older vehicle and upgrade it without making it a Frankenstein of aftermarket parts, it presents a manufacturer-warranted route to do this.

The fact these first-generation Cayennes are such affordable used car buys right now could also make a very cool opportunity for someone to build their own luxury bush-basher with manufacturer-backed parts.

Interested in buying a (new) Porsche Cayenne? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here

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