Will Drive For Food

October 03, 2024

Will Drive For Food

Getting to know you...

Now that the last piece of Otto's "protection puzzle" is in place, i.e., the windshield protection film, it's time for us to bond. And to do a purposeful, varied load and speed, 1000-1500 miles so everything's bedded in, and the oil can be changed.

I know, I know. But Otto's a 15-20 year vehicle for us and, if nothing else, it makes me feel better. 😂

First Long-ish Drive

Recon Detailing was finished with the windshield film (more on that later) mid-afternoon; Otto and I did the "Arivaca Loop" to get better acquainted. Always a go-to route: pretty, twisty, elevation changes, decent pavement (now), low traffic. I know the roads well from riding them countless times on the Motos; we'll see if Otto can dance. 😂

The immediate first impression is one of solidity. Humming along the many twists, turns and undulations of Mission and Arivaca Road, I'm struck by the balance of ride, handling and responsiveness. Ride is firm without being harsh, steering has lots of feel, there's virtually no body roll and it is quiet, very quiet. All the controls are perfectly weighted, supple and fall immediately to hand. Plenty of power under your right foot and the transmission shifts quickly and unobtrusively.

Above about 60 mph, the rear spoiler deploys (you watch it raise in the rearview mirror) and the air suspension lowers to decrease drag.

Just terrific and you start to think, "boy, this is very impressive handling for a big SUV, with no ride penalty whatsoever."

And you'd be right.

But wait, there's more.

Much more.

This, this right here, this is the "Fun Dial."

Everything I've just said applies to "Normal" mode on the Fun Dial. If there was nothing else, that would be perfectly fine...better than fine. But with the Cayenne Coupe, you get Porsche's Sport Chrono package: the stopwatch/lap timer on the top of the dash and the Fun Dial on the steering wheel, with all the mechanical and software bits that support it.

Turn the Fun Dial clockwise one click and you get "Sport" mode. Suspension firms up juuuust a little, throttle response is slightly more aggressive, transmission holds the revs longer and shifts are quicker, steering is less boosted at speed, with even better feel. There's very little penalty in ride quality; the whole vehicle feels more "alive."

One more clockwise click gets you "Sport Plus." You'll start to giggle, I promise. Suspension drops into the lower position sooner and firms up substantially, still without being harsh. The throttle and transmission response are both more aggressive, designed to keep the revs up and totally eliminate any turbo lag...which is a complete success. The steering is telepathic. In Sport Plus, Otto feels like he's about two-thirds the size and 1000 lbs lighter. Giggle Mode. Definitely Dance Mode. Definitely.

THIS is exactly the performance envelope I was looking for. I keep Otto in Sport Plus until we turn North for home...relaxed and smiling the whole way back.

What's That Button?

See the button in the middle of the Fun Dial? Press it, in any mode, and you get 20 seconds of "overboost" to use for passing, coming out of a corner, pulling into the garage...whatever. We're going to wait until Otto is completely run-in and his oil changed before we start playing with that...😎

The Porsche Connect app keeps track of your trips. Plesantly surprised with almost 24 mpg over 140 miles of backroads.

The Fun Dial also has an Off Road mode that jacks the suspension to 9.3 inches of ground clearance. I'm sure we'll try that at some point, just not right now. 😂

The Windshield Protection Film

This is a new product for Ceramic Pro and it was just released. Otto was Recon's first installation and Brett, the owner, wanted to do it himself. He's an incredibly nice guy and very straightforward; when he called me and said Otto was finished he also said: "There are some bubbles, I've left it in the sun to cure a bit. The rep tells me it takes 24-48 hours, but if this doesn't go away, we're going to do it again, no problem." And there were bubbles, kinda annoying, we'll see. Otto and I still went dancing. 😂

By the next morning, they appear to be gone. I say appear because there are some bug splats; I have to wait about a week before it can get wet. But it looks pretty good to me!

We'll see where we are with this in about two weeks when Otto goes back to Recon for an inspection of all the work and a complimentary wash.

To Bisbee

Bisbee is another go-to ride and today I had some specific things to test. Apple Music is "native" on Otto; we've long used that as our home streaming service so it is natural that we'd use it here and I wanted to see how well it worked when we got into remote areas.

I also wanted to see how well the TomTom GO app integrated into the PCM screen. I plotted a route in MyDrive, it immediately appears in the app.

I'm very happy to report that it works perfectly. Call up the route on my phone in the GO app, then open Android Auto. The route appears on the PCM screen, fully functional, voice commands come through the sound system. I know most people simply enter an address and take whatever route is presented, to them, this makes no difference at all. But I like to plot complicated, tertiary road routes, just like I do for Moto trips, and be able to follow them exactly. This gets the job done, easily. Big Win.

Lunch at the High Desert Market, one of my favorite places in Bisbee. Great food, nice folks, outdoor patio.

Pretty good advice!

The "native" Apple Music, on the other hand, drops out in several remote areas, giving a "loading data" error message. Hmmm...I notice that on the far right of the PCM screen it shows that Otto has a 4G connection, and I have no idea what service provider Porsche uses. My phone is 5G...what if I try Apple Music using Android Auto instead of the native app?

Boom. Works perfectly, same functionality, all the steering wheel controls work the same. Kinda a Win, but I have to say I think this is a bit of a Miss for Porsche. With the complete tech update for 2024, you would have expected the vehicle to be 5G. But it works, so there's that...

A very nice 221 miles for a BLT, with an even more surprising 27 mpg.

Otto and I are getting along just fine...😎

Update

The next day, a drive up and down Kitt Peak, one of our "sky islands" with an observatory at the 7000 foot summit.

Update 2

Mount Lemmon, another sky island, and home to the southernmost ski area in the US.

Time for Otto to meet The Wine Shack

Matchstick Weed

Otto fits right in! 😂

And he brings home the goodies...fall wine releases from two of our favorites.

Update 3

So we don't lose the theme...

Lunch at a great Italian restaurant in, of all places, Hereford, AZ. Patio with a view.

Also, mountains... 😂

Over a one-lane bridge.

Out the other side.

Otto is a serene highway cruiser...2000 rpm is 88 mph...allegedly. 😎

Objective achieved, now at 1056 miles, oil change scheduled for the 18th.

I remain very impressed with Otto's performance, and am really surprised by the mileage, much better than the government rating and a big improvement over Nigel; he averaged about 17. Something to be said for aerodynamics and turbocharging. 😂. And Otto's range is a bladder-busting 600+ miles. 😓

Update 4

Otto gets his paint protection film and ceramic coating inspection...all good. The windshield protection film has also cured nicely. Instead of a wash, I had Brett install PPF on the B and C pillars because that's where your hand naturally falls to close the door, and they are piano black.

These guys do great work!

Update 5

First oil change...and some eye candy at Porsche Tucson.

1963 356 Cabriolet

Porsche Tucson also has a restoration shop, headed by Jim Guthrie, the mechanic that worked on my Boxster S. They recently won the PCA West Coast Restoration Competition. Some examples: