Nicole

I stopped at the local Porsche dealer on the weekend, to take a peek at their Panamera demo car. Based on the photos I had seen in magazines and online, I expected a pretty high car with a roofline that gives it a strange long hump in the back.

When I approached the car, I was surprised how low it was. I noticed that even I'm relatively small, I have a totally different perspective than most of the pictures showed. The car appeared much smaller than I had envisioned, and the "hump" was not really noticeable when I was anywhere close to the car.

I like the front, even though I wish they could have kept the hood lower. But I know it's not possible, due to European pedestrian crash protection requirements.

The rear - which I feared most - did not bother me as much as in the pictures. Again, this was because when I actually stood behind it, it was much lower than on the pictures I had seen. I'm still not crazy about the way the lower hatch and bumper are shaped, but I think I could live with it. At least it's very practical - you can fold down the rear seat and load all kinds of stuff in there, which you could never fit inside a sedan.

As I scanned the exterior, I noticed a few neat details:
- The side window glass and black B-pillar trim are totally flush, with only very narrow gaps inbetween. This looks very clean and elegant.
- The tail lights look almost like jewelry, with the way its LED reflectors are shaped.

I'm still not excited about the air outlets in the front fenders, but what bothers me more is the marker light at its top. It looks clumsy, and does not pick-up the lines of that area, which makes it appear out of place.

One of the salespeople gave me a quick ride in the parking lot, as he wanted to move it to a more prominent spot. The engine is very quiet and smooth at these low speeds, but has a nice growl when he stepped on it.

This car was heavily optioned ($25k in options alone), and had the full leather interior with heated steering wheel, adaptive sports seats, and much, much more. Everything felt well made and pleasant to the touch. Seating was very comfortable.

To my big surprise the unconventional center console seemed to make sense now. It is just in the right height to reach things easily, without having to look down too far. I'd like to try it out while driving myself, but I think I'd like it. (BTW: The new Lexus LF-A has a similar style console).

What I still have a hard time getting over are the Elephant Ear style vents in the dash. What the heck were they thinking??? With their silver color, these things are so prominent, yet, they feel so out of place!

But on a daily driver, that would be a somewhat minor issue, just like the side markers.

The salesman admitted that the reason people will buy this car is not its look. While he may be right, my encounter convinced me that many people can and will get used to it.

With its blend of power, sporty handling, ride comfort, and practicality, it sure is a unique offer in the super luxury car market. I hope it will do well for the company and its buyers.

But most of all, I see lots of potential to build a great and unique coupe based on it. One that people could get serviced more easily than an Aston Martin or a Ferrari. In fact, I just heard that an Aston Martin dealer in the area closed recently.

Marine Blue

For a sedan the Panamera does everything you would want and is definitely a more reliable alternative to the Aston and Ferrari and more exciting than the BMW or MB. I think they'll do well.

M. Requin

+1, I've liked it since I first saw it. It is a sedan and has to be looked at as such, so I agree completely with Nicole and Afshin. And BTW, watched "Welcome to the Family", which I thought was just a bit north of goddawful, and just yesterday saw the Speed road report on the Panamera, which I thought was good.

RKD in OKC

The panamera at our local dealer roll out this weekend was already sold, and it was optioned up to $122K.

heinrich

So Nicole, in a nutshell ... "fugly" So many bothersome points ... onewould have to make many compromises and excuses before buying this thing it seems?

heinrich

Is this really true Nicole? What about the many other sportscars ... Tesla Roadster ... Ford GT .... Ferraris and then the other VW's coming from the very same company like Lamborghinis ...

Imo000

Those who haven't seen it in person should not comment on it. The Panamera is a nice looking car. The back is a little weird when the spoiler is down but other that that, it had nice lines.

Nicole

No, I did not say it was perfect. But I don't see the glass half empty when it comes to the Panamera.

You need some space between hard engine parts and sheet metal of the hood to pass those tests. Tesla, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Carrera, etc. don't have their engine under the front hoods. Other new cars have higher hoods.

heinrich

Interesting perspective Imo! So ... you have personally seen every car you've commented on? May I please comment on those I have only ever seen in photos?

hacker-pschorr

No doubt it will sell well, people with money to burn love the latest and greatest toy. Especially one with a Porsche badge.

It's still ugly as sin and a disgrace to the marque along with the SUV. I can only hope VW's plan to axe them in 6-7 years is true.

I find it very sad if the exact same car had a VW badge, most positive opinions would be a complete 180.

stolarzj

I had the opportunity to take a couple laps around the track with a factory driver in one this weekend, then take it out for a drive around the streets. It's a very impressive car, you would think you were in a 911 until you look in the rear view mirror and see people sitting behind you. I need to figure out how to get the whole drivetrain in the 928, I loved the engine and the PDK transmission.

Marine Blue

Thats because VW's are unreliable POS's

But seriously, Porsche should not have used the 997 as their starting point for the overall theme. In person, it really does look good but it could look better without the constraint of maintaing a visual similarity to the rest of the line up.

Nicole

You can hope and pray as long as you want, but it won't happen. It simply cannot happen, whether we like it or not.

Porsche and its dealers cannot survive on sports cars alone. I've written about this many timese before.

Instead you should expect more derivatives of the Panamera (coupe, cab), and a next gen Cayenne that looks a lot more sporty (less boxy). Plus, expect an entry level Porsche below he Boxster.

This is the only way they can ever reach the 150k cars/year goal that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn mentioned in a recent interview.

It also is the only way to provide the level of parts and service support to make daily use of spors cars practical. Try this with a Ferrari or Aston Martin... I doubt you can get those in and out of the shop as quickly as a Porsche.

blau928

You guys really need to drive this car, it is that good driving. I spent an afternoon as a guest of PCNA being told about, and driving the car as part of their west coast release at the Quail lodge in Carmel, CA. It is a fabulously driving car. However, IMHO, it's a bit ugly to look at from far, but it may grow on many.

As far as comparing it to an Aston Martin, I have driven a Vanquish, V8 Vantage, & DBS... These are extremely different cars compared to a Panamera... However, I think the Panamera compares to the new Aston Martin Rapide being built in Austria. From the looks, I prefer the Rapide hands down... As I have never driven one, I will have to wait before commenting on it...

Again, you must take the panamera out on the road and drive it quickly. For such a big heavy car, it drives extremely well.

SteveG

Practically, where is it priced? ... in the $122,000 range? I, practically, no, absolutely, can't see myself in that range any time soon.