993inNC

Went to a Panamera launch party on Saturday. The region and the dealer (about 1 1/2 hours away) hosted it, had food etc.....

After having ridden in and driving it, I was not impressed. It feels like your in the cockpit of a combination of a 911 and a Cayenne, but with miles of front hood ahead, and feels like the big heavy boat that it is! It gets up and scoots, but it didn't do anything for me for 100k they sell for. And if any of you do buy one, electric adjust seats for the rears are a must, otherwise the seats are way to upright and get uncomfortable real quick.

Other things that seemed annoying were:

No real cockpit storage other than a couple of useless cubbie holes. The front seats are hardback and the little pockets were good for a map or thin book at best. The HVAC controls were on a raked center console and from my vantage point seemed like the LCD readout would be hard to read for the height challanged There's not a constant interior finish line in the entire car, so fit and finish was hard to assess. As usual its all leather covered, but the door panels for instance were very "busy" with lines of changing upholstery.

I think if they had done the Cayenne with as much room as the Pana has, it would have made a vehicle worth having. But Porsche needs to go back to little sports cars, the Pana is certainly not one of them, yet they tried to make you feel like it was.............NOT!

I felt like it was a "cheap" way to mimic a Maybach or top level Merc. There was the similar style leg room in the rear and enough headroom, but without the fit and feel of the more expensive cars.

Just didn't like anything about it............can you tell Had a great high speed run with the boys back though....sorta made it worth the trip

Arena993

Interesting. I wonder what the car will be worth in 3 years if it is 100K new. Thanks for sharing.

Mike

TMc993

I was wondering when someone would drive one of those things...Your desciption of the Panamera is, almost word for word, the way I felt when I drove the 928 right after it was unveiled...."Ponderous" is the term that came to mind for me.

Porsche will sell quite a few Panameras at first because there are still people out there with enough money to play the "I'm trendy" game, but I'll be interested to see what kind of staying power it will have in the market over the long haul.

Where I think Porsche is missing the mark in the sports car market is that they don't have a Miata beater...If they put a small Porsche sports car on the market in the $30-35K segment, they'd sell them like crazy.

matt777

Well its off my list now.

air eater

I got to take one on a spirited 15 mile drive during the Porsche Historics weekend in Monterey.
I was impressed with the acceleration (non-turbo S) handling and hard braking, but am still turned off by the body style. The interior fit and finish were top notch, but it should be for nearly $95k.
Great car to impress the neighbors and to haul around four people in, but not my cup of tea.
It makes me appreciate my 97 even more after driving the Panamera.
Just my two cents.....

993inNC

I agree, it went like stink, although it seemed to "think" before doing so, as if it were deciding on whether it was in sport or standard mode....a bit wierd The brakes were very "touchy". merely hovering over the pedal sent everyone forward in a lurch, there was no finessing the brakes. But they did woe that bad boy down in a heart beat!
As for fit and finish, it seemed no better or worse than anything else they do, nothing stood out and it was a confusing environment. The dash was Cayenne'esque but the steering and seating position/feel was 911. Which lead me to thinking it felt like a cheap Maybach imitation.

It felt nice to get back into the 993 after that. Cup of tea or not, one should at least be able to appreciate the environment, I just didn't.

matt777

I assume its competing against BMW, Mercedes and Audi primarily. That is stiff competition who been building luxury performance sedans for decades.

texas911

Seriously doubt its a Maybach imitation. The Maybach is for people who want to be chauffeured around. The Pan is a driver's car. Can't blame Porsche for trying, they know that most 911 owners also have an SUV and sedan in their stable so why not offer a Porsche model to complement their 911.

FGL28

It is a different type of car. NOBODY IS SAYING IT IS A 911.

If you have to haul around another couple or want a luxo tour car you have a good option. It would be perfect for hauling the wife and kid away for a weekend.

I did not experience the brake issues when I drove one in Monterey. But YMMV. I loved driving it.

It is another type of car that is a Porsche. That is all.

Canyon56

I think these are both realistic posts. It's not for everybody (I have no interest in one.) But hey, there are sports car owners who want an SUV and a GT type of sedan. And if it's got the Porsche label and is relatively decent, then it'll sell to that demographic. It's partly why the Cayenne sold so well.

Porsche can't exist just making expensive sports cars that only 911 enthusiasts might prefer in this day and age (they learned that already in the past.) And anyway the whole company will now be changing even more as part of VAG.

goofballdeluxe

I could say why the Rapide is a better option, but a picture says a thousand words, right? It's not that Porsche made a 4-door luxo cruiser, but that it's so damn UGLY!

Wilder

Actually, the feature on speed channel was pitching it hard as a 911 with four doors, with mention of how well the car would do both as a daily and on the track blah, blah, blah. It was a stupid idea borne out of greed, instant gratification and putting shareholder value ahead of brand integrity and purpose. It will sell but it will dilute the brand over the long term.

993inNC

I agree with the statement that its not for everyone, I am one of those its not for (irrelevant of the fact that I couldn't swing the payment right now ). But again, as a "car guy" I appreciate a lot of different vehicles that "aren't for me", this one just didn't have any necessary redeemable qualities to me other than maybe a good bit more leg room than I am used to in a 4 door sedan. The "trunk" area (more of a hatchback really) wouldn't be enough for 4 people to take a lot of luggage in, so that's out. Without power seats the rear seats are horrible to sit in, not to mention the hard back front seats seem really out of place in a luxo cruiser.
Just really seemed like they tried to make a 4 door sedan out of a sports car, even the rear tail looks like a pregnant Cayman

To each their own, these are just my reactions. I want to feel the "man, got to have one of those" when I see a new car. I really only went to see if it was as fugly in person as in the pictues...........YEP!

Wilder

EXACTLY!!!

FlatSix911

Residual value will be below 50% ... say $45K max ...