Dual Sport, Cross-Over, SUV, Enduro, etc.

 Many people go in search of that magic unicorn, either with 2 wheels or 4. In reality, all motorcycles and 4-wheeled vehicles are just different mixes of trade-offs. For a specific person and their desires, there is the right set of trade-offs but they are still trade-offs. 

Let's start with 4-wheels. The very things that make a great handling road car, make it absolutely useless off-road. A road car will handle and perform best with a very low center of gravity, stiff suspension and sway bars. Take the extreme example of a Formula One race car. They literally hit the ground at times since they sit so low. This optimizes cornering and downforce through aerodynamics. An F1 car can't even navigate many driveways as it will bottom out. 

Now consider the other end of the spectrum, a competition rock crawler 4x4. Aerodynamics is not even a thing here as they don't move very fast. They have no sway bars at all. They require large amounts of ground clearance and suspension travel so they sit very high. 

Both of these examples are very focused on the one thing they do really well, and nothing else. In both these cases neither of these vehicles can even attempt what the other can do. Sure, the rock crawler could drive around an F1 track, but at a relatively glacial pace. The vehicles normal people buy generally need to span a wide range of use cases unless you can afford and have the room to store that perfect vehicle for every situation. Even then, you would be making a trade-off every time you took one out. Both of the competition vehicles above must be hauled everywhere they go as they are not legal on any roads. In fact they are only allowed in very specific areas. When it comes to competition, you build a vehicle very focused on that one thing.

We all make trade-offs. If we can only have a single vehicle, and we want to do a wide range of things with it, we will be making major trade-offs. If you enjoy proper off-roading on rugged trails, you will likely get an off-road focused vehicle like a Bronco Raptor or Jeep Rubicon. Both are great off-road, but nowhere near the competition rock crawler in the real technical parts. Both can be driven from your house to the trails, which the rock crawler cannot. Both can be your daily driver as well, but they don't handle very good on the road. While they are not optimum in many cases, it is the right trade-offs for those who enjoy proper off-roading often and also need a daily driver. They have flexibility. 

I have 3 vehicles (4-wheeled road vehicles), all with different trade-offs. I enjoy performance driving on road courses so I have a Porsche Cayman S for that. For most of our daily driving we have a Porsche Cayenne. I have a Ford Ranger 4x4 to haul my bikes, and other things. I have a Husqvarna 701 Enduro motorcycle. These are my trade-offs that fit my use cases reasonably well. They are not right or wrong trade-offs, just trade-offs I chose.

The Cayman S rides very low, handles fantastic, and is a blast to drive on pavement. It has very little storage space and only seats 2 people. It cannot tow or haul anything. I can use it to get groceries, as long as I don't have too much to get. I can take it on trips, as long as I pack very light and only want one other person with me. I would avoid even gravel roads in this car and off-road is not an option at all.

The Cayenne has plenty of utility for most of my needs. I can tow with it, and I can get a full grocery run or pack for multiple people on even a long trip. It seats 4 people comfortably, and a 5th in a pinch. It has a modest ride height and firm suspension so it handles very good for an SUV, but these trade-off off-road capability. I might take it on a gravel road, or I could even go light off-roading but I would not take it on anything challenging off-road. These are the right trade-offs in my case and given my other vehicles.

The Ranger handles by far the worst of my vehicles on the road, but also has by far the most off-road capability. It also has the most cargo space, but much of that is in the open bed. I can haul multiple bikes or motorcycles in it.  

The same idea applies to motorcycles. If you enjoy a spirited ride on pavement, you get a sport bike like a Ducati Monster. However, this would not be so great on that long road trip where you would chose something like a Harley Road Glide. Neither of those could go off-road at all so you might want a BMW GS. But that BMW is big and heavy for the more technical off-roading where a Husqvarna 701 would be better. But that 701 is also big and heavy for the more challenging off-road trails where you would want a KTM 500. The KTM 500 would be very unpleasant on any long pavement rides. So they are all various trade-offs. 

I have the Husqvarna 701 Enduro motorcycle. I like being able to ride to the trails generally and not have to haul it. I prefer off-road riding primarily. I thought this was a good video explaining an example of trade-offs and bikes versus riders.

On his scale, I would be in the 4 to 6 range. Keep in mind his ranking is just for "adventure" riders. It does not span to road-only bikes or even dual sport bikes. 

No magic unicorns. A jack of all trades is a master of none. If you get the flexibility of a Husqvarna 701 Enduro, you also made many trade-offs. While it is decent on the highway, not for very long. It can do adventure riding, but with limited luggage, fuel, and comfort. It can do single track, but it is a bit heavy for that. 

There is not really right and wrong, only trade-offs. For example, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro is not the wrong adventure bike, but it is not as good as a BMW GS for road trips or long rides. It is not the wrong dual sport, but a KTM 500 is better on the more technical trails. 

Upgraded the Cayenne

 

When we bought our 2021 Porsche Cayenne back in 2023, I had been looking for a Cayenne eHybrid but could not find one. We ended up with the 2021 Cayenne which we owned for almost 2 years and 50k miles. It was a great vehicle but lacked some features I really wanted including: Android Auto, surround view, and of course the hybrid powertrain. There were also several nice-to-haves: 4-zone ATC, rear side window shades, head-up display, and air suspension. We also wanted light colored interior. I kept looking every couple months ever since we bought the 2021. In March 2025 the car we wanted showed up at the local Mercedes dealer. It was exactly the way I would have ordered it. It is a 2022 Porsche Cayenne eHybrid loaded with all the right features and the right color combination. We traded in the 2021 and bought it this week. 

The hybrid powertrain offers many advantages, the main advantage for me being the power delivery. Acceleration is very smooth and powerful across a much broader rpm range. The base Cayenne has automatic engine start/stop, as most new cars do. This is a problem when using the air conditioning, which is almost year round here in Las Vegas. Since it is hybrid, the start/stop does not require starting the engine to accelerate from a stop either so you don't have the interruption you get with straight gasoline start/stop. The hybrid has an electric air conditioning compressor so when the engine turns off, the AC does not. You can also start the AC before you get in the car using the Porsche app, like you can with battery electric vehicles (BEV). It offers most the benefits of BEV but with the benefits of the gas powertrain as well.  We can drive it fully electric for miles if we wanted to. I have solar on my house so the power is free. In hybrid mode it can greatly extend the fuel economy in town to about double what the gas powertrain can do. Most of our driving is in town so we will see this benefit. While most would view hybrids as all about fuel economy, hybrids are also about performance. In fact many modern supercars are hybrids. Formula One cars are also hybrid.     

The rear steering makes the back wheels better follow the front and allows the vehicle to turn much sharper at low speeds. It is great when trying to navigate very tight parking lots. At high speeds it adds stability by making the vehicle feel as if it has a longer wheel-base.  

Owning a Mercedes GL450

We finally sold the aging Volvo XC70 and upgraded to a 2013 Mercedes GL450 in the fall of 2018.  We wanted a vehicle that could comfortably travel 5 adults and luggage, be able to tow the Cayman on a trailer for track days, drive great in the Illinois winter, and haul stuff.  While I am not a fan of SUVs generally, they do have their purpose and the U does stand for utility (although I often refer to SUVs as silly urban vehicles).  We bought it certified pre-owned (CPO) from Isringhausen in Springfield with 64k miles.  We had considered several vehicles including Audi Q7, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Raptor, Volvo XC90, and more before deciding a GL fit us best. We had been looking for a GL for about a year.  We came close to buying a 2007 in 2017 but found it had issues.  Most of these prior to 2013 also had the air bag recall and no fix in sight. While I was hoping to spend less on an SUV we went ahead and stepped up to the 2013 and I think it was a good choice.  While we were looking at this one, Isringhausen also had a 2012 GL550 and we drove that one as well.

Left: 2012 GL550, Right: 2013 GL450

The 2012 GL550 (X164) is the last of the older design and we really liked the improvements that came with the 2013 (X166).  The 2012 had around the same miles and was also white.  We did not want black (which over half seem to be) and silver was not our favorite color either.  It was nice to have 2 while ones that were both in the year and price range we were looking for.  While the GL550 always gets more power than the GL450, the GL550 has other nice features like real leather and heated rear seats.  Between these 2 vehicles, the GL450 has a wider powerband and more torque due to turbocharging and direct injection.  It has only 20HP less than the 2012 GL550.  Acceleration to 60 is actually the same for these 2 vehicles but fuel economy is 2mpg worse for the GL550.  I also preferred the 19 inch rims of the GL450 to the 21 inch rims and wider tires of the GL550.

Ours has the panorama sunroof (3 glass sections) which makes for a very open feel.  We also have lane tracking, Parktronic, trailer towing, lighting package with Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, Keyless-Go, and more.  While it did not have heated back seats, we just put a regular heated blanket back there and plugged it into the existing 115V outlet under the back seat.  Works great actually.  

Ours has the 4.7L twin turbo intercooled direct injected V8 engine (M278) which was only in the GL450 for 2013 and 2014.  Later models used a 3.0L V6 twin turbo and ealier models had a naturally aspirated 4.7L.  This powertrain is the same as the GL550 in 2013 and 2014 which was rated at 429HP but in the GL450 it is derated to 362HP.  I can get a flash file and rate this GL450 up to 500HP and 580ft-lbs if I really wanted more power.  No hardware changes needed.  However, I am very satisfied with the power it has.  The nice thing is that this powetrtrain should be very robust and durable with this lower rating.

Just shortly after buying it we took a 1000 mile trip in it.  Gas mileage was as expected, 19.9 on the highway but we were moving along briskly with 70MPH speed limits the whole way. The total trip also included in-town driving as we made many stops and spent time at the destination.

It drove great for an SUV.  Like our E350, there was very little driver fatigue.  Very comfortable.