Is the Porsche Cayenne the Most Underrated Overland SUV?

Porsche Cayenne V8 — First 5,000km Review (Joburg to Cape Town, First Trail, and the Reality Check)

I’ve been itching to build out the “Cars” side of Peach Overlanding properly, and this is the first post that actually matters: the first 5,000km with the Cayenne after buying it in Joburg and driving it down to Cape Town.

This isn’t a polished “review” in the traditional sense. It’s the real version — the good bits, the irritating bits, and the stuff you only discover once you’ve lived with a 20-ish-year-old V8 for a few weeks.

Buying the Cayenne in Joburg and the 1,800km drive home

The Cayenne was purchased in Joburg, and the first mission was simple: point it south and do the drive to Cape Town — roughly 1,800km.

Honestly? The trip was flawless. No drama, no overheating, no weird limp modes, no surprise warning lights that ruin your mood at 2am. It felt solid, comfortable, and way more “proper car” on the highway than I expected.

Highway comfort and economy (the surprise)

This is the part that still makes me laugh a bit: on the open road, the Cayenne’s fuel economy was way better than I expected, and in some cases it feels like it’s doing the same or better than my Jimny (which is… not a normal Jimny anymore).

Highway range: roughly 700–800km per tank (depending on how chilled I’m driving)
Town range: wildly different story (more on that below)

Issue #1: Exhaust valves rattle in normal mode

The first thing I noticed wasn’t a catastrophic failure — it was just annoying.

In normal mode (valves closed), the exhaust valves were rattley. From digging around and speaking to people, this seems like a fairly common thing on older cars with valve systems like this. Not the end of the world, but it was the first “okay cool… so we’re doing this” moment.

Issue #2: The ticking noise that turned into a transfer case problem

On the drive down, under heavier acceleration, there was a ticking that I could hear. It wasn’t loud at first — just enough to make you listen for it every time you put your foot down.

By the time we hit around that 1,800km mark, that noise evolved into more of a clicking sound.

Long story short: after getting it checked out, it’s pointing to the transfer case. The diagnosis we got was essentially that there are metal shavings, and the transfer case chain likely stretched and started causing internal damage.

So yeah — annoying. And also exactly the sort of thing that can happen when you buy an older performance SUV and start using it like… an SUV.

Plan: the transfer case is getting repaired/replaced in the coming weeks, and I’m going to document the whole thing properly because this is the kind of info that’s weirdly hard to find in one place.

Bonus warning light: Fuel pressure sensor (likely battery-related)

We also had a fuel pressure sensor warning pop up.

At this stage, it looks like it might be linked to a weak battery causing a bit of electrical chaos and storing faults. So I’m treating it as a “sort the basics first” issue before I panic and start throwing parts at it.

First mods (because obviously) + the trail that humbled me

Within the first 5,000km we didn’t keep it stock for long.

What I did early on

Rooftop tent went on
Changed tyres
Changed rims

We bought a set of 18-inch rims with the car in Joburg — which was a good call because it’s basically the smallest rim size you can realistically run on this platform.

The tyre mix-up (classic)

I tried to get 265/65 and left with 285/60 on two of them. Not the end of the world, but it wasn’t exactly the plan either.

Then I did the smart thing (sarcasm)

Unknown to me, I ended up on a proper rocky 4×4 trail early on… and yeah — that caused some damage underneath (seal damage). That’s been repaired, but it was a good reminder that the Cayenne is capable, but it’s still a heavy, complex vehicle that doesn’t love surprise abuse on day one.

That trail also made the ticking/transfer case noise worse, which forced the issue.

Living with it vs the Jimny (the weird part)

After a few weeks of Cayenne life, jumping back into the Jimny feels like stepping into a go-kart.

The Cayenne is just… another league in terms of comfort and confidence. Overtaking trucks? You don’t plan it — you just do it. Put your foot down and you’re gone.

But what surprised me most is how it drives in corners. It has this bizarre sweet spot between:

a proper 4×4, and
something that feels closer to a sporty car

There’s less body roll than you expect, it feels planted, and it doesn’t have that “big SUV wobble” vibe. Even compared to some newer SUVs, it has a more sporty, mechanical feel (in a good way).

My biggest complaint so far: the gearbox can feel sluggish

If I had to pick one thing that annoys me while driving it normally, it’s that the auto gearbox can be a bit slow to respond when you suddenly want power — especially when overtaking.

It’s not “bad,” it just takes a moment to decide what it wants to do. Once you get used to it, you drive around it a bit, but it’s noticeable.

Fuel consumption reality: highway good, town can be brutal

Let’s be honest — nobody buys a V8 petrol to save fuel. But the range difference between highway and town is massive.

Highway: roughly 700–800km per tank
Town (heavy traffic/start-stop): I’ve seen it drop as low as ~270km on a tank on a bad run

So if you’re thinking this is going to be your daily in traffic… just be ready for that reality.

Why I chose this platform (even with the problems)

Even with the transfer case drama and small electrical gremlins, I still think this was the right move — because:

Parts availability is better than you’d expect (not Toyota easy, but still doable)
You’re basically getting a V8 with serious capability for the money
It’s a genuinely good-looking platform
It’s getting popular, which means more community knowledge and more build options

You just need to accept that buying something like this means you’ll likely spend some money sorting it out.

Where the build is going next

The plan started off simple: slightly bigger tyres, a small lift, enjoy it.

Now… I’m toying with something more serious:

bigger lift
34s or true 35s
beadlocks (maybe)
Eurowise bits
and some custom parts we can possibly make locally

I want to build this into something properly useful — and document it in a way that makes it easier for anyone else who wants to do it.

Because the Jimny world has info everywhere. The Cayenne world has info… but it’s scattered and sometimes vague. So I want to tighten that up into proper guides, budgets, and what-works/what-doesn’t posts.

Got suggestions? I’m listening.

If you’ve built a Cayenne (or you’ve been thinking about it) and you’ve got parts you’d like to see available locally in South Africa — send it through.

Email: info@peachoverlanding.com

Next up: transfer case replacement documentation, build direction, and a proper running “Cayenne build hub” page.