Porsche nosedived from an enviable 2nd place finish in the 2003 IQS to last place in the 2004 survey with 159 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). What happened? It can only be attributed to Porsche's alignment with 10th place Volkswagen, also well below the industry average. In the nameplate rankings, Porsche fell from first place among all European automakers at 7th overall, to a worse than average 3rd to last placement, or 35th out of 37 brands, just ahead of Volkswagen (from 117 to 159 PP100). That means for every 100 new Porsches sold in 2004, there are 42 more problems than compared to ever 100 Porsches sold in 2003. Porsche's sports cars, however, are among the most reliable in the business, hence the 2nd place 2003 score. As it seems, Porsche is guilty by association.

The IQS corporate nosedive from 2nd place to last can only be attributed to Porsche's alignment with 10th place Volkswagen. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

It should be taken into consideration that the J.D. Powers IQS is only one survey, albeit a large and significant one by the auto industry's most respected third party analyst. Personally, being a big fan of the Porsche's SUV, I wanted to give the Cayenne the benefit of the doubt. But halfway through my week's test the right rear turn signal stopped working. While a burned out bulb is hardly reason to pan a car's reliability, it's the first time in about five years this has happened. After all, the cars I test are close to brand new, with none with more than 10,000 kilometers on the odometer. The Cayenne I was driving had weathered only 2,900 kilometers, so the turn signal should still be working.

The awkward fey fob makes a simple task like unlocking the doors a challenge. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

My only other beef is a ruddy useless remote keyfob. Not only does it have to be in extremely close proximity to the vehicle to transmit a signal, but it has to be pointed at exactly the right angle to lock or unlock the doors. If you get the angle right, then it may or may not open the passenger side door and rear doors with the second click of the button. If you wait too long, or move slightly so it doesn't transmit properly, then it will lock the car again. Why? Well Porsche has designed the keyfob with only one button to both lock and unlock the doors, something that no other automaker does. This necessitates checking the door handle once locked as well, as with the remote being as fussy as it is sometimes the Cayenne doesn't lock at all. It can partially be remedied by going into the personal preference section of the Cayenne's computer and setting all the doors to open at once at first click, but this overrides the safety feature of the vehicle opening up the driver's door on its own so that the unwanted can't sneak into an opposite door while you're getting in. Not worth the risk in most metropolitan areas.