Reflection on 6 months with the Panamera

[tomo72]

Buying a Panamera was always a pipe dream as they were way beyond my budget, but the early ones finally depreciated into my range. So 6 months ago, I pulled the trigger on a Panamera 4S 2010 at £30k. Given the car cost around £100k new this was an incredible amount of car for the money (mine had £13k of options!), with around 40k miles on the clock. The car styling clearly splits opinion, and from the side it does look rather ungainly, but it's grown on me and the front and rear views are always a pleasure. Maybe it's because I know I'll not be able to afford one any time soon, but I sort of prefer it to the newer shape - which whilst in better proportion, isn't perhaps as distinctive. You don't tend to see that many around and as a car enthusiast, it's always nice being in something distinctive, which with a private plate and a polish looks very new to most eyes. Moving over from a Mercedes CLS the Panamera felt rough at lower speeds particularly in the cold, and still can, especially if you try a smoother car again. But the point of this car is that it can also do a turn as a sports car, which the 'luxury' cruisers can't match. At the touch of the 'sports plus' button it really is turned into another car. The suspension lowers and the throttle map goes insane, with the engine suddenly transformed from being powerful but docile, into a batst tiger straining to unleash itself at the slightest prod. It puts a smile on your face and you will whoop for joy when launching it from stationary, along with your passengers! This is the genius of the Panamera, that it can do both, and also carry 4 people in great comfort with a decent amount of room. I recently put a roof rack on it with the obligatory roof box for the summer hols, and it coped admirably. That of course, was until it broke down- which is where the charm of the car can run thin. It is a high performance car with lots of whistles and bells (the air suspension had previously needed some attention), and it threw an ignition coil whilst overseas which I was less then amused by. Thankfully as I have the Porsche warranty and recovery, I was in a BMW 5 Series within a few hours, and the car was off to the nearest main dealer to be fixed, all at no cost. It was interesting to have a few days in the BMW. It was a truly impressive car, the cabin tech was a generation ahead, it drove incredibly well, was economic - you couldn't really fault it. BUT, it lacked soul, and I never retuned to the car park and admired the looks of it, or received admiring glances from fellow car enthusiasts. And there for me lies the crux of the matter. The Panamera is a heart over head car for me. I can drive a 4.8 V8, which on a long run will do 30.1 mpg and can carry my family in comfort, but also do things through corners which defy gravity. It will drift almost silently through traffic, but let out a gorgeous howl on the open road.

I still always glance back at it when I leave it, and so for now the love affair continues...

[Wacky Racer]

Very nice looking car, the colour suits it.

[GT03ROB]

They are not bad are they!

[Spuffington]

That’s really very tasty.

I’ve just picked up a MacanS at the weekend and I subscribe to pretty much everything you’ve written. I was in a F11 530d before and although very happy with it indeed, the way Porsche have engineered their cars to do “normal” very well, but “exceptional”, well.........exceptionally......is frankly mind boggling.

Looking forward to seeing 30mpg on a run myself. Only managed 26mpg so far!!