We drove to Leicester to look at a ML350 which was the wrong side of scruffy, especially at an asking price north of £7000. The same dealer did have a Land Rover Defender 50th Anniversary for sale at £30,000, a price that represented a £120k saving on the V8-powered one Land Rover has just made for the iconic 4x4’s 70th birthday. Not enough to persuade Mrs R.
Our interest in another ML350 waned when it became clear that the selling dealer was flogging the car for a mate and the price was north of £9000. ML500s were next on our list, but we decided we didn’t want a V8.

For a brief period we considered a Lexus RX, even if it is rather dull. A hybrid version was a temptation, but ones that are more than a decade old might need some battery parts and I read online about someone who spent £2000, which put me off.
All this time my mate Bradley was sending me details of motors hot off the part-exchange merry-go-round. The best was a Range Rover Vogue, which looked lovely, but it was still a Land Rover and, despite the BMW 4.4 V8 under the bonnet, it wasn’t enough to make me take the plunge. Then Mrs R saw a Porsche Cayenne and we were off. As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t need a V8, so we spent a day shopping for a V6, rejecting one on the grounds that it was rather too black and scruffy.
Then we went and bought a 2006 example with issues. On the test drive, it made a woofling sound that seemed to be something to do with the air intake. There was also a ding or two and it needed a service so we agreed to let them sort it out. We sold the X5 and waited. And waited. They said they were buying a special tool from America to stop the woofling... so we unbought it.

It turned out that we did want a V8, after all. There was one that was pricey, fairly close to home. Oddly enough, it had the same ‘woof ling induction sound’, plus the tailgate would not stay open. If you’d seen the number of Cayennes we had, that was a pretty standard issue. The dealer wanted £9800 for a 2006 car but, for that kind of money, we wanted things fixed. They looked at us like we were too much trouble and never called back. Perhaps they weren’t car blokes, although they virtually high-fived me for turning up in my E21 3 Series.
Join the debate
Peter Cavellini
Nice to see, hear....
Hello James, I’ve missed your little pieces , always worth a read, I am looking forward to your reports on the Cayenne, a question....what’s with the Face fuzz....?
Peter Cavellini.
Bob Cholmondeley
Peter Cavellini wrote:
He seems to be going for the Vic Reeves look.
Citroëniste.
jason_recliner
Gopping!
cymrogog
Magic numberplate
You should probably fix that revolving numberplate... ZE and KE are too similar.
289
Number Plates
...yes the plate made me chuckle too!
Thekrankis
Why so sniffy about tow-bars?
The best reversing aid ever invented.....
runnerbean
Setright look-a-like
Leonard - is that you?
289
I agree....
...ia am looking forward to reading the ongoing couple of years reports, to see how expensive (or not) it proves to be to run.
I have considered one of these before....but put off by running costs horror stories (despite it basically being a Touareg).
Like you I always buy petrols, but in my case always V8's. The difference in fuel cost is minimal in large 4x4's, but the driving is so much more relaxed than a V6. A few more spark plugs at service time (4 if your Porsche has twin plugs like my Mercedes-Benz).
Like the rustic look James, I wouldnt recognise you in the street now. Just need the Homburg, leather driving gloves and silk scarfe to complete the Setright look!
Fit right in up in Norfolk!!!
289
Wheels....
also noticed that you managed to find one that hadnt had stupid 20/21 inch wheels retro fitted to make it look newer.
Far more practical for countryside use and also opens up more tyre types to you....nice set of A/T's
geed
Yes like these reads on older
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