For the daily grind, there is no need for an SUV. F10 and F90 have been all I've needed from a utility perspective and for long trips. However for trips into the bush/berg etc then you struggle with sedans. Last trip I did was with the C200 to Qwantani and it was less than ideal. If I didn't buy the Porsche we would probably have rented a vehicle for the next trip. Thing is that most capable and reliable things are hijacking magnets and 'faux SUVs' these days can be even less useful than sedans... They are often tarted up to have no utility value from the 'height' because they have body kits that make them functionally lower than my M5. X3 is where it starts to make sense otherwise it is basically just a higher driving position without even RWD let alone AWD or things like locking diffs/low range.
As for fast cars, well if you are just doing the commute then also probably true. But saying anything faster to 100 is pointless? That's a bold claim. LOL 7/8 seconds in the Cayenne feels verrrrry slow and 4/5s capable cars feel like donkeys. As long as you're happy with the level of speed that's all that matters though. Diesels tend to make you feel like you're going alot faster/driving something a lot more powerful than reality (also great for a commuter car)
The Audi plan seems excellent and not badly priced - R200K on an R8 (or RS4/6/7) with 15 years of plan for instance. No brainer.... not so much on a 2.0T thing. I feel BMW has not done this yet because they are still the leaders (despite the declining sales) and are not quite in the desperate boat of Merc/Audi just yet where sales have basically collapsed). They will likely respond to the market in the next year as the longer plan options are definitely an attraction (hopefully I can extend my F90 plan a few more years - I wouldn't mind since it is only on 55000km). The only two brands I found to be absolutely out of kilter increase wise are Mercedes and Range Rover (R100K a year
)
What I wouldn't do is panic about unforeseen things waiting on a 20d. It is one of the most bulletproof drivetrains and you have taken care (and done the ZF services etc). If anything, a plan extension will 'stop you' from maintaining it the way you want to in that you will have to wait for CBS to tell you what to do and when. There are also in-plan costs that would cost only a fraction to fix yourself or at another place: Case in point my F90 had a headlight replacement (over R45K job) because a DRL died. This would have been a R3-4K job if it was out of plan and I could do it by just replacing the LED driver (which is a part you can buy from BMW
) - someone might think "OMG I am going to pay 45K next time this happens" when really there isn't all that much to worry about..
