Porsche Panamera - test drive
03-09-2010, 08:31 AM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Porsche Panamera - test drive
Brief summary here, as I thought that like me, some 997 owners might be considering the Panamera as a family car. First off, the car is WAY better looking in person than it is in the magazines. Even my wife walked up to it and said whoa, this car looks stunning. The doors have these great hydraulic opening devices that allow them to stay open at any width, there is a "huge," and I mean a huge hatchback trunk, and the rear seats are true bucket seats, just as comfortable as the driver's seat, and just as sporty. Once in the cockpit, the technology is quite cool. The center console is super well designed and very ergonomic. NAV is complete touch screen, blue tooth is voice activated (as are most NAV commands), all gauges are easily visible, etc. Not one complaint with the interior at all.
When I fired up that engine, with the PSE on, it had a great bark. Let her idle for a few moments, and then headed off. That is where it gets weird.
I have never been in a car with "worse" rear visibility than this car. It obviously has to do with the slope of the hatchback, but it was like looking into a pair of binoculars....backwards! The rear of the car seemed about 26 feet behind me, and the window was literally sliver. Once you got about 55 or MPH, the rear spoiler deployed. However, it deployed right into your viewing area, and cut off another 50% or so of the window. Drivin on the highway, if a car was less than 300 yards behind me, I almost literally could not see anyone. Very unsettling.
Now, the car itself handled very very well for a large sedan...true porsche handling in a true four door ride. super compliant, even in sports mode, great acceleration (I was in the 4S with SC), and I could easily fall in love with a Porsche family sedan.
For me, however, I'll have to wait until they get it right. I could easily see accidents happening in this car from the lack of visibility. Also, the two side mirrors were also quite small, and there was this annoying side pillar frame that blocked most all of your view when you turned left to look over your shoulder for navigating.
All in all, great Porsche quality...however, the engineers certainly missed on a few key things.
When I fired up that engine, with the PSE on, it had a great bark. Let her idle for a few moments, and then headed off. That is where it gets weird.
I have never been in a car with "worse" rear visibility than this car. It obviously has to do with the slope of the hatchback, but it was like looking into a pair of binoculars....backwards! The rear of the car seemed about 26 feet behind me, and the window was literally sliver. Once you got about 55 or MPH, the rear spoiler deployed. However, it deployed right into your viewing area, and cut off another 50% or so of the window. Drivin on the highway, if a car was less than 300 yards behind me, I almost literally could not see anyone. Very unsettling.
Now, the car itself handled very very well for a large sedan...true porsche handling in a true four door ride. super compliant, even in sports mode, great acceleration (I was in the 4S with SC), and I could easily fall in love with a Porsche family sedan.
For me, however, I'll have to wait until they get it right. I could easily see accidents happening in this car from the lack of visibility. Also, the two side mirrors were also quite small, and there was this annoying side pillar frame that blocked most all of your view when you turned left to look over your shoulder for navigating.
All in all, great Porsche quality...however, the engineers certainly missed on a few key things.
03-09-2010, 01:48 PM
#2
Poseur
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
With the Panamera--you're not supposed to have anyone near you! It's a corollary of the first rule of Italian Driving--what's behind you is unimportant!
03-09-2010, 02:03 PM
#3
Nordschleife Master
You could not stand the large majority of sports cars other than the 911. The Panamera rear visibility is not that bad.
03-09-2010, 02:36 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
ha...call me old fashioned then! I loved everything else about that car, so perhaps I'll reconsider it. Maybe they should put in an rear view camera like in the Lambo.............
03-09-2010, 06:32 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
thanks for the writeup. I'm hoping the next M5 will deliver with what I want. I prefer the new 7 and 5 series sedan styling, especially now that they're no longer "Bangled".
03-09-2010, 06:44 PM
#6
Drifting
Boy, you've never driving in most of the cars and busses (ie minivans and wagons) out there.
There are LOTS of cars with crap visiblity out the back window.
When cruising at speed with the spoiler deployed.. what does it matter whats behind you? You should be looking forward. When backing up.. the spoiler is down.. but granted, a rear view camera display on the PCM for parking maneuvers would be a must.
There are LOTS of cars with crap visiblity out the back window.
When cruising at speed with the spoiler deployed.. what does it matter whats behind you? You should be looking forward. When backing up.. the spoiler is down.. but granted, a rear view camera display on the PCM for parking maneuvers would be a must.
03-09-2010, 09:52 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
Brief summary here, as I thought that like me, some 997 owners might be considering the Panamera as a family car. First off, the car is WAY better looking in person than it is in the magazines. Even my wife walked up to it and said whoa, this car looks stunning. The doors have these great hydraulic opening devices that allow them to stay open at any width, there is a "huge," and I mean a huge hatchback trunk, and the rear seats are true bucket seats, just as comfortable as the driver's seat, and just as sporty. Once in the cockpit, the technology is quite cool. The center console is super well designed and very ergonomic. NAV is complete touch screen, blue tooth is voice activated (as are most NAV commands), all gauges are easily visible, etc. Not one complaint with the interior at all.
When I fired up that engine, with the PSE on, it had a great bark. Let her idle for a few moments, and then headed off. That is where it gets weird.
I have never been in a car with "worse" rear visibility than this car. It obviously has to do with the slope of the hatchback, but it was like looking into a pair of binoculars....backwards! The rear of the car seemed about 26 feet behind me, and the window was literally sliver. Once you got about 55 or MPH, the rear spoiler deployed. However, it deployed right into your viewing area, and cut off another 50% or so of the window. Drivin on the highway, if a car was less than 300 yards behind me, I almost literally could not see anyone. Very unsettling.
Now, the car itself handled very very well for a large sedan...true porsche handling in a true four door ride. super compliant, even in sports mode, great acceleration (I was in the 4S with SC), and I could easily fall in love with a Porsche family sedan.
For me, however, I'll have to wait until they get it right. I could easily see accidents happening in this car from the lack of visibility. Also, the two side mirrors were also quite small, and there was this annoying side pillar frame that blocked most all of your view when you turned left to look over your shoulder for navigating.
All in all, great Porsche quality...however, the engineers certainly missed on a few key things.
When I fired up that engine, with the PSE on, it had a great bark. Let her idle for a few moments, and then headed off. That is where it gets weird.
I have never been in a car with "worse" rear visibility than this car. It obviously has to do with the slope of the hatchback, but it was like looking into a pair of binoculars....backwards! The rear of the car seemed about 26 feet behind me, and the window was literally sliver. Once you got about 55 or MPH, the rear spoiler deployed. However, it deployed right into your viewing area, and cut off another 50% or so of the window. Drivin on the highway, if a car was less than 300 yards behind me, I almost literally could not see anyone. Very unsettling.
Now, the car itself handled very very well for a large sedan...true porsche handling in a true four door ride. super compliant, even in sports mode, great acceleration (I was in the 4S with SC), and I could easily fall in love with a Porsche family sedan.
For me, however, I'll have to wait until they get it right. I could easily see accidents happening in this car from the lack of visibility. Also, the two side mirrors were also quite small, and there was this annoying side pillar frame that blocked most all of your view when you turned left to look over your shoulder for navigating.
All in all, great Porsche quality...however, the engineers certainly missed on a few key things.
I still do not like the way the car looks but the car delivers the good. The power is amazing, the brakes are fantastic and while the steering is a little light for my tastes, the handling is also very good.
The interior is STUNNING. Best of any Porsche product to date, IMO.
But the visibility is simply awful. Not only if the view out the back compromised but the uber thick "b" pillars also compromise visibility to the side.
Trending Topics
03-10-2010, 01:14 AM
#8
Nordschleife Master
Excellent. The rear visibility is the sum total of the center mirror greatly aided by the large side mirrors. I appreciate good rear visibility and did not think the Panamera's was that bad. Besides it is the best sports sedan around.
03-10-2010, 11:10 AM
#9
I guess if I HAD to have a Porsche and NEEDED 4 seats, I would buy a Panamera. I liked the one I tested and agree with the fact that it is a good drive and leaps above the current P-cars in interior materials. It also looks like a porsche. (whereas the cayenne does not)
If my life didn't depend on impressing the neighbors, I can't see why anyone would take this car over a CTS-V or M5. Let's face it that no one is going to track this car, and the secondary considerations of weight, interior size and comfort are not the panamera's strong suit. It is also overpriced to boot. As for the styling, it is a grotesque facsimile of a 911. Not that an M5 is pretty either, but how can GM style the CTS-V so well and make the Pana so eye-searing.
The pana does not follow the vision of porsche that makes the 911 great--->MOTORSPORTS!!!! If you want a cruise missile that can't turn, buy an AMG or Maserati........
If my life didn't depend on impressing the neighbors, I can't see why anyone would take this car over a CTS-V or M5. Let's face it that no one is going to track this car, and the secondary considerations of weight, interior size and comfort are not the panamera's strong suit. It is also overpriced to boot. As for the styling, it is a grotesque facsimile of a 911. Not that an M5 is pretty either, but how can GM style the CTS-V so well and make the Pana so eye-searing.
The pana does not follow the vision of porsche that makes the 911 great--->MOTORSPORTS!!!! If you want a cruise missile that can't turn, buy an AMG or Maserati........
03-10-2010, 12:20 PM
#10
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Yup...while I love my current P-car, I now have two young kids, so when the lease is up in August, I'll be looking seriously at the new M5. I had the E46 M3 prior to the p-car, and loved it, so figure that the new M5 has to be the shiznitty!
03-10-2010, 12:42 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
Speaking of mirrors... I personally found the shape of the inside mirror in the Panamera to be odd and the size of the outside mirrors inadequate.
03-10-2010, 03:00 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Excellent, fair review.
I personally never got used to the looks of the Panamera, and would probably buy an M5 or RS4 instead if I was in the market for a sports sedan. Maybe next Panamera will change that...
I personally never got used to the looks of the Panamera, and would probably buy an M5 or RS4 instead if I was in the market for a sports sedan. Maybe next Panamera will change that...
03-10-2010, 05:42 PM
#13
This is all subjective but I believe Porsche is suffering from a butt problem lately. The new Cayenne is a good indication of that and so is the Panamera. The new Cayenne's butt looks like a Lexus RX (or whatever the Lexus SUV is).
The front looks good on both cars but the rear end is not working for me at all.
Now that I think about it, one of the main reasons I never seriously considered the Cayman is because I really dislike the rear end.
Personally, I've grown tired of very large cars. I had a 7 series back in the 90's, then moved to the 5 series, and then to the 3 series. I only have one kid and don't do a lot of entertaining in my car, so I see no reason for buying a large sedan.
The next sedan I will consider will be the next generation M3, as I like the direction that the new BMW guy is starting to take with the design.
Again, all subjective and probably worthless opinions for anyone else on this thread...
-T
The front looks good on both cars but the rear end is not working for me at all.
Now that I think about it, one of the main reasons I never seriously considered the Cayman is because I really dislike the rear end.
Personally, I've grown tired of very large cars. I had a 7 series back in the 90's, then moved to the 5 series, and then to the 3 series. I only have one kid and don't do a lot of entertaining in my car, so I see no reason for buying a large sedan.
The next sedan I will consider will be the next generation M3, as I like the direction that the new BMW guy is starting to take with the design.
Again, all subjective and probably worthless opinions for anyone else on this thread...
-T
03-10-2010, 07:51 PM
#14
My local dealer called me when they got their first Panamera in. We took it for a drive and had a great time. The interior really is stunning. The engine has a great growl and it goes like mad. I don't care much for the overall look of the car but it sure was fun to drive.
