Compare the2025 Porsche CayenneVS 2025 Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain Wagon

Both the Cayenne and E-Class All-Terrain Wagon have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Cayenne has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Porsche Cayenne has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Cayenne helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Cayenne’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

Both the Cayenne and the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Cayenne’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s (12 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Cayenne second among upper midsize premium suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in initial quality. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in long-term dependability. With 15 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Porsche vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Porsche 21 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Cayenne E-Hybrid’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 88 more horsepower (463 vs. 375) and 110 lbs.-ft. more torque (479 vs. 369) than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid. The Cayenne S’ standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 93 more horsepower (468 vs. 375) and 73 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 369) than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid. The Cayenne GTS’ standard 4.0 turbo V8 produces 118 more horsepower (493 vs. 375) and 117 lbs.-ft. more torque (486 vs. 369) than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid. The Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 354 more horsepower (729 vs. 375) and 331 lbs.-ft. more torque (700 vs. 369) than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Porsche Cayenne is faster than the Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain Wagon:

The Cayenne E-Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has a gallon more fuel capacity than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (18.4 vs. 17.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Cayenne’s standard fuel tank has 6.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (23.7 vs. 17.4 gallons).

The Cayenne’s optional launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the Cayenne CCB’s brake rotors are larger than those on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon:

The Cayenne offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Cayenne Turbo has standard air brakes, which adjust the spoiler automatically during high-speed braking in order to shorten stopping distances. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer air brakes.

The Cayenne stops much shorter than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon:

For better traction, the Cayenne has larger standard tires than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (F:255/55R20 & R:295/45R20 vs. 225/45R19). The Cayenne’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (F:285/45R21 & R:315/40R21 vs. F:255/40R20 & R:285/35R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Cayenne has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon. The Cayenne’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

The Cayenne Base/S has a standard space-saver spare (not available on E-Hybrid) so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

The Cayenne offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Cayenne offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Mercedes doesn’t offer an active suspension on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

The Cayenne S handles at 1.04 G’s, while the E450 All-Terrain pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Cayenne S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the E450 All-Terrain (23.6 seconds @ .83 average G’s vs. 25.7 seconds @ .73 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Cayenne E-Hybrid has a 2.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (8.2 vs. 5.8 inches), allowing the Cayenne to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid’s minimum ground clearance is 3.7 inches higher than on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon (9.5 vs. 5.8 inches).

The front grille of the Cayenne uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Cayenne has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom and 4.2 inches more rear legroom than the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Cayenne’s rear seats recline. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’s rear seats don’t recline.

Standard trailer sway control on the Cayenne uses the Porsche Stability Management sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Porsche service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks Porsche second in service department satisfaction. With a 36% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 17th.

The Cayenne’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon does not have an oil pressure gauge.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Cayenne to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. Heated windshield washer nozzles cost extra on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Cayenne offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Cayenne has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the Cayenne’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The Cayenne has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Porsche Cayenne, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Porsche Cayenne outsold the Mercedes E-Class by 52% during 2024.