stevecolletti

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=8460

rodsky

Dunno so much. I was at the dealer today and i like it. If i were in the market for a 4 door sedan, I would buy it. No 4 door sedan is "beautiful" - except maybe the Maserati. I havent driven the Panamera, but if my C2S is anything to go by, I bet its awesome. There was a guy there today, trading his Quattroporte in on a Panamera. Smart man.

Carrera GT

My dislike for the Panamera makes it difficult to read these reviews at the best of times; and it doesn't help that the "reviewer" gets off on the wrong foot by saying Zuffenhausen instead of specifically Stuttgart. It's a bit like pronouncing the last syllable of the name Porsche, it's just plain wrong to lack the respect for anyone to the point of obstinately choosing to mispronounce their name for fear of being considered pretentious.

Clifton

I was in Germany in Aug and I saw a number of these things creeping around. One of which got on it pretty hard from a stoplight.

While they do look better in person than in photos, they just don't make my pulse quicken as a Porsche should.

cello

I agree, much to my own surprise. I finally saw one (Turbo) in the metal yesterday while getting my free tech insp for the last track days/run of the year .

Yachting blue over a cream interior. From the pics i really disliked the styling; but.. I thought it looked good. 19s too, not 20s. First it is much better proportioned in the metal than in pics - the roof line is somewhat 'forced' but given the overall lower ht of the car the same is mitigated. The length did not come across as obscene as it does in pics. The width just works.

I thought the interior was very nice even w/ all the buttons (to me buttons, a big dial, a backward speedo/tach, too much wood, too little, etc, ... it all is a compromise and no mfgr's interior is without quibble). It really helped that it had the Burmester system .. we spent about an hr going thru a couple of CDs and iPhone/MP3 players playing everything from classical to jazz to rock to alt country to electronica - I have three differing high end systems so my ears are a bit 'tuned' and this was really good, a HIGHLY recommended option!

I do think the look of the car will be highly color dependent .. yachting blue worked, but I reserve judgment on other color schemes .

triode

When I heard that the P'mera was getting a Burmester rig, after all of the years of crappy Bose systems in Porsches, I was both flabbergasted and intrigued! Too bad we cannot get one of their setups in 911 series cars.

cello

^ Nice. Love the Avantgardes - are they Duos or Duo Omegas? You do need to hear the Burmester..very good stuff (for an auto). If we wanted a 4 dr anything this might just be the one, not the least of which for the sound..

triode

Duo Omegas (converted from series 3 Duos). Good eye! Would love to hear the Burmester rig sometime, will have to do so on my next dealer visit.

cannga

OT

Hi, another die-hard audiophile here (Koestsu, CJ, Magna Planar/Quad/Thiel, etc.). Good to hear this review as I've been looking for another pair of golden ears to confirm my own finding.

I thought the Burmester has excellent imaging, but found the tonal balance to be extremely bright. I tried both of the 2 different listening positions, with treble and bass turned to neutral. Both CD's are of audiophile quality: Boccherini Quintet on Harmonia Mundi & Kiko/Los Lobos. The sound was so bright/brittle that I had to eventually turn down the treble, and even that didn't help. (And for a Thiel owner to say this, you know it's bright. )
Even though the Bose system has nowhere near the same imaging and resolution, it was a relief to come back to it.

Did you have similar finding?

triode

^Though I'm no fan of solid state electronics, I bet that the Burmester system (like any other) will benefit from some break-in. The "sound package" in the GT3 was at first almost unbearably screechy but has calmed down after a month (of limited playing) and now has an acceptable tonal balance (though, sad to say, still not reaching the standard of the Bose system in my old 996). Speaker drivers simply need a bit of stretching to give their best.

Tacet-Conundrum

Sorry to change the subject, but zero to sixty in three point four; are you frigen serious? Doesn't look like the better half will be getting this version. After all she was screaming for an f'ing Cayenne. Told her California had enough SUVs and that if she wanted something that big I would get her one of those "smallish" International diesels you see Ashton driving around in.

cello

Well, I wont go too far afield as this is a car forum not an audiophile forum , but there are three separate "filters" built into the system (altho they are not labled as such). Since we had the time, I played around with the settings, throwing them on-off during the same track, etc. Do you know which setting was on when you heard the system? Could be it did not work with the recording, etc. I did not think it overly bright; but remember the acoustic space - there will be more reflective engery in a car then at your house and if you have a listening room as Triode does much less yet ...

cannga

Sorry to OP -- one or two more posts and I'll be done. And who knows, $$$ talks so PAG might just offer Burmester in GT3.

cello, which filter are you talking about? I would be very disappointed if I overlooked this!
The only "filter" that I saw, maybe, is the one that offers to change sound per position of primary listener. Is this what you are talking about?

PS cello & triode: Yes unfortunately I am a seasoned and quite nutty audiophile so comparison test was done "properly." Audiophile and very well known CD's to me (Boccherini CD was recorded with tube mic by Tony Faulkner) were used and my comments were made entirely in context of a car system.

hesperus

friend of mine just got one (Turbo) and we took it for a drive recently. i rode in the back.

the interior is amazing; really feels a special place. he also has a Bentley Flying Spur and his opinion is the Pan gets close.

we noticed that w/o the full leather package, the Pan's interior isn't that great. your really need all that hide to lift it.

performance-wise, its amazingly quick and agile for something so big. i believe his car had the dynamic suspension option, and there was no discernible body roll, even four up through some twists taken reasonably quickly.

at the end of the drive though (his first time to take the car out and run it reasonably quickly,) the conclusion was its not a car you look forward to drive, compared to a proper sports car. in that sense, its really like a Cayenne. performs as no big sedan/SUV should, but that doesn't mean its fun in comparison dedicated drivers cars.

jason952

nice pics. car and driver got 60 in 3.3!