At $16,000, Is This Yellow 2012 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid A Red Hot Deal?

You can get today’s Nice Price or No Dice Cayenne in any color you like, as long as it’s Sand Yellow. Let’s see if that almost-never-optioned color and a hybrid drivetrain can account for the car’s asking price.

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The introduction of the Scion brand in 2003 was Toyota’s attempt to attract a younger, hipper car-buying audience. What happened instead was a lot of the old farts who were buying Toyotas simply shifted to the cheaper Scions and started saying things like “Cash me outside, How ’bout Dat?” at inappropriate times. A frustrated Toyota killed off the scene-stealing sub-brand in 2016, at the same time adopting its best-selling models under the Toyota banner. The best of those was the FR-S, renamed the Toyota 86, and sister to Subaru’s BRZ. The 2014 Scion FR-S we looked at yesterday arrived before Toyota took a Scythe to Scion, but it carried a ton of parts—including a rebuilt engine—from a 2018 BRZ. While that made for a mad mix of models, it seemingly couldn’t account for a $15,500 asking price. The result was a hefty 90 percent No Dice loss.

Do you like to order things off-menu at restaurants, asking for combos that may not be particularly mainstream? Do you consider that ability to be one of your superpowers? To be truthful, it’s probably more of an annoyance to the restaurant staff and is likely why businesses keep tacking on those 20 percent service fees on our bills. Still, you do you.

Somebody certainly did themselves when they ordered today’s 2012 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, what with its sassy hue of Sand Yellow over a black leather interior. The result is a car that looks sort of like a reverse goth egg. That’s not the only semi-unique feature on this Porsche’s docket. It also sports the Cayenne’s odd-for-the-brand hybrid drivetrain and some knobby soft-roader tires mounted on aftermarket Rotiform wheels.

For its drivetrain, the Cayenne hybrid borrows its 3.0-liter supercharged V6 from the Audi arsenal and pairs that with an electric motor for a combined output of 380 horsepower and a staggering 430 Ib-ft of torque. Together, that makes it almost as quick as a naturally aspirated V8-powered Cayenne, even though it’s carrying nearly 400 pounds more weight. The added weight is the cost of the hybrid system, which is comprised of the motor between the Audi six and the eight-speed Tiptronic transmission, all the necessary wiring and more robust electricals for the gas engine’s stop/start system, and the 288-volt Nickel-Metal Hydride battery that sits under a raised floor in the boot.

The benefit of tall that is significantly improved fuel economy over any other Cayenne, save for the dirty diesel and a very smooth driving experience where the electric motor can power the car up to 37 miles per hour in short stints before the gas engine kicks in.

According to the ad, this Cayenne has been “tastefully modified” and updated with improved rear sunshade mechanicals and the aforementioned wheel/tire combo. The only negatives noted in the ad are some small scratches and dings in the bodywork and a headliner that’s going all Droopy Dog in the back.

Other than that, this Porsche doesn’t seem to show its 137,000 miles and decade-plus of use. An in-person inspection would be needed to ensure that all the buttons and switches are working—and there are a lot of them—but the photos do show solid upholstery and plastics in the cabin. It’s also new enough to have a reasonably big infotainment screen and built-in navigation.

The car’s real claim to fame, however, is to have apparently been spotted and noted by Doug DeMuro on social media for its rare color. Other plusses include a clean title and pretty decent fuel economy. The asking price for this rare Cayenne is $16,000.

What do you think about this Porsche at that price? Does that seem fair for a solid, almost off-roader that’s not too big of a pain at the pump? Or is the weird color more of a turn-off than a turn-on?

You decide!

Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Bob Spencer for the hookup!

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