In Review; Porsche Cayenne S Diesel

It’s great to keep in touch with our customers, particularly when they have beautiful luxury 4×4’s like this one shown, the Porsche Cayenne Diesel Estate 5dr Tiptronic S which we supplied last year.

In terms of the car shown, our customer elected for the following configuration:

· White – Solid Paint
· Interior Part Leather Luxor Beige
· Panoramic Roof System
· Privacy Glazing
· Heated Windscreen
· 8-Speed Tiptronic S inclusive Auto Start Stop Function
· Power Steering Plus
· 20-inch Cayenne Sport Design 1 Wheels
· Comfort Memory Package (14 Way)
· Seat Heating (front and rear)
· Side Airbags (rear)
· Porsche Communications Management (PCM) with Navigation Module
· Telephone Module

In light of our jargon-busting reviews and blogs we thought this would present a timely opportunity to discuss a real-life example. The customer, who’s car is shown here, is enjoying a Personal Contract Purchase (known as a PCP). This style of vehicle funding is different to contract hire, which is a usership based product.

With contract-hire you need to remember that you are using the vehicle for a fixed period of time (2,3 or 4 years) and, at the end of the contract, you will be organising the vehicle to be collected. You will never own the vehicle on a contract hire arrangement.

In contrast, a PCP offers the opportunity to a customer to purchase the vehicle at the end of the contract. That being said it is fundamental that the contract is structured realistically, in that it is based on the correct:

· Term – 2, 3, 4 or 5 years;
· Annual mileage – choose between 8,000 and 40,000 per annum; and
· Initial payment – the payment you make in monthly 1 needs to be based on an amount which is affordable and suitable to your needs.

Once you have selected the above, you should be presented with a guaranteed future value (GFV and/or balloon payment) which is payable at the end of the arrangement. This figure is based on the above, so you need to ensure it is accurate. If you are covering 20,000 miles per annum but have contracted for a 10,000 mile per annum contract to make the monthly rentals affordable, you are creating a problematic situation for yourself. Unless you purchase the vehicle at the end of the contract, it will be returned to the finance company and they have the ability to charge you for any excess damage and mileage under the contract. In the alternative, while you may wish to sell the vehicle, if the mileage has not been correctly set, you will often find that the purchase figures will not meet the GFV.

We do get frequently asked whether it is better to use contract hire or PCP. However, this is very much about the needs and requirements of the individual customer. There are instances where customers clearly want ownership of a vehicle and a PCP is the route forwards.

In contrast, customers who change vehicles at 2-3 year intervals don’t often require the flexibility of a PCP; they actually require the certainty of a contract hire arrangement. In those cases, we would present the contract hire product.

Moving onto the luxury offer shown here, the Porsche Cayenne, you will shocked to see that the customer had to add so many extras. Unlike many manufacturers, Porsche have adopted a less is more attitude. As standard you get very little with the Cayenne and you are, in essence, forced to add specification which should have been standard with the vehicle at the outset. In terms of standard specification you get – heated widows, heated washer jets, rain sensing wipers, Traction Management, Stability Management, front/rear park assist, 7” colour screen, body colored features, climate control, bi-xenon lights, 8-way adjustable seats, part-leather upholstery and 18 alloy wheels. The rest (which is a lot) needs to be added at factory!

On the technical-side, the 2967CC 8 Speed semi-auto engine delivers 41.5 MPG and 0-62 times of 7.3 seconds based on the 262PS engine. For the company car driver, note the P11d pf £51,161.00 and CO2 of 173g/km. Servicing-wise, its every 24 months or 20,000 miles, whichever is sooner. For shorter-contracts, a funder-maintained package may be considered less valuable?

So would the Cayenne be your luxury lease choice or would you be more at home with the Range Rover Sport, BWM X5, Mercedes GLE or Audi Q7?