1FlossedM3

So, I sold my daily drive A6. It was a great car with the 3.0t but it was starting to rack up miles. I put on roughly 15,000-17,000 a year for work so I need something reliable.

I was very close to buying a 16 S7 CPO for around $55k. Good options, 30,000 miles. TT V8 with the hatch is a nice touch. (albeit the problematic 4.0t motor). I had been shopping RS7's as well, but the brake maintenance costs along with finding one under $70k that isn't a pile of crap has been tough.

Enter the Panamera GTS. I am seeing some CPO 15's for around $65K. I'm thinking this may not be a bad alternative. The styling is going to have to grow on me but I had a 13 Cayenne S in the past I liked but was too big for daily use as I don't like DDin an SUV.

Thoughts from the Porsche crew? Obviously I'm going to get some biased results on this forum but I usually get good info here.

First world problems.

Paul Rathjen

The S7 is going to be marginally quicker and won't handle as well. They are easy to tune but starting to have some issues with blown tubos on the used market.


The RS7 is going to be beastmode compared to a GTS. If you test drove both the same day, I'd bet you'd forget about the GTS. They are easy to tune but starting to have some issues with blown tubos on the used market. You are correct RS7 maintenance and especially the brakes is incredibly expensive. The RS7 handles very wall, but still not like a Panamera with a full suite of active suspension options. You 100% want PASM, PDCC and PVT+ on the Panamera. The RS7 actually sounds better than a GTS...trust me.

The Turbo Panamera is behind on power to the RS7 but drives much more smooth, especially with the full active suspension options. The Panamera Turbo S is on par with the RS7 power wise, though I believe the RS7 100-whatever acceleration is still going to pull it a bit. Its worth it because the Panamera is going to drive better the other 99.999% of the time you're not doing an illegal roll race!

Panamera wins on the interior by a large margin, but the Audi is very nice and better than BMW and Benz. Its a great blend of sporty looks abut great minimalistic tight built quality. Audi has newer nicer tech, but I actually like the simple airplane cockpit button approach of the Panamera to avoid lots of menus.

CanuckGT4

First of all...she's smokin. Nice

I have a 2018 Panamera4S Sport Turismo and came from 4+ years in an RS7, here are my thoughts for you.

1. Brakes - do them yourself and save a bundle, easy to switch pads. Rotors not too bad either. Go to an indy shop and buy your own parts.
2. Panamera GTS is way underpowered compared to the RS7 but more than your A6 by a bunch.
3. I miss the power of my RS7 every day, but all the other plusses(spelling?) in the Panamera more than make up for it.

Overall. If you want luxury, handling, exclusivity, get the Porsche. If you want raw insane power/acceleration, get the RS7.
Cargo space is exactly the same with the rear seat down. Panamera has more rear passenger room, but smaller trunk space compared to A7/S7/RS7.
Both are great, can't really go wrong.

1FlossedM3

Yep, Alex is a baddie!

Thanks for the post you both. Good to hear from a past owner as well. It seems the RS7 is a more "fun" choice than the Panamera.

Brakes are around $4000 every 25,000 on the RS7. I wouldn't buy one without a warranty or CPO as the oil screens/pcv/turbos have problems and are BIG money on those cars.

I just don't know if the styling of the Panamera will grow on me, I really want to love that car.

Djpeaksd

Here is my experience: Bought a 2016 S7 brand new, and tuned it after a couple thousand miles. Absolutely loved the car and really had zero issues with it and sold it at 30K miles. It seems that a lot of the blown turbo issues are happening with pre facelift 4.0T motors. Now there may be something to that, or just the fact that they are older cars than the facelift ones. Nonetheless it is a little concerning. I have always wanted a Porsche but I need four doors and personally I just could never "Love" the styling on the older version Panamera. So I opted for a used 2018 Turbo a few months back. The car has been fantastic and the new exterior re-design looks amazing and the new tech is really really nice. Power is right there with the C7 RS7 but the handling........ man, it makes my S7 feel like a 1982 Cadillac. Honestly the handling for a car this big is very impressive and the interior refinement is next level.

I know you are looking at a Gen 1 Panamera so my situation doesn't really apply but if it were me and it was between a gen 1 Panamera and a C7 RS7 I would choose the RS7. If you haven't gotten used to the looks on the Panamera since they have been out for the last 9 years, what makes you think you are going to like it once you own one? I would just be patient and buy an RS7 with a CPO warranty.

Not throwing shade at any gen 1 Panamera owners, whatsoever. Looks are so subjective, this is just my opinion.

CanuckGT4

I was on the RS7 forums for years and haven't heard of many turbo issues, you're probably seeing some vocal minority out there.
Mine was bulletproof, no issues at all. A lot of people tune these so take that into consideration as to why people are having mechanical issues due to out of tolerance stresses.
Panamera Gen1 is butt ugly imo, but some people love it so there you go.

Paul Rathjen

There are several current threads right now on Audizine about blown turbos and screen issues. Of course it’s with pre facelift because those have more miles..... Supposedly they did change this filter/screen later but people are still finding the screens starting to get clogged on newer cars.

I don’t think it’s the end of the world but there are people pushing for a class action case and or recall campaign so it’s a little beyond just car forum gripe I think and getting close to the cam adjuster bolt issue the Panny has. . I’m sure many of the blown turbos are on tuned cars too....in fact I know many of them are.

Gen 1 Panamera is still gobs better handling than an RS7. Yes the 970 is a polarizing car. They dont always photograph well but I think are just impressive and beautiful in person. I acknowledge that the rear is a bit awkward but I appreciate its “form follows function” design. Everything in the Panamera you can see is designed to move the wind around the car, as well as provide not just a usable seat but a full sized, comfortable executive space in the front and the back. That’s is 100% not what the RS7 is. The back seat is much more cramped but it plenty large as is the hatch area. The RS7 is, like the panamera, a great blend of performance and every day use.

My RS7 was always almost losing its rear especially in accelerated turns merging. It was honestly part of its charm. Between the power, exhaust note. and the on the edge of loosing it feel, it was a blast. The only reason I moved to a Panamera Turbo is I literally saw an exact optioned car in S trim and figured I’d trade up before the RS7 market dropped a bit more and my trade in was good. I’ve wanted to try the Panamera for years, it wasn’t because I wasn’t satisfied with the RS7.

In any case the Panamera is ice smooth and solid, more quiet inside, tighter, and just has a tiny bit of special sauce. If I was buying new, I’d get an RS7 or 2018E63 as they are way better perform per dollar spent cars.

Paul Rathjen

Good thing your here in the Panamera section calling the car “butt ugly”. LMAO.

CanuckGT4

Meh, i drove an RS7 for over 4 years and people constantly commented on its looks, both positive and negative.
If you're happy with it, who cares.

amelen

I went from a 2016 S6 to a new Porsche Panamera 4S.

A couple of quick notes:

- The S6 feels faster, especially off the line. With a $1.5k tune, you're at close to 600HP.
- The Panamera handles a lot better, in any and every circumstance.
- I enjoy driving the Panamera a lot more than I did my S6.

pietpara

LOL. And the A7 series is IMHO just as "butt ugly" for the same reasons,... the behind being so weird, as if the designers had no time to finish.

CincyScott

I own a stage 2 S7 today and am looking to get into a 970.2 Tt-S. I like my S7 quite a lot but as mentioned, the handling leaves a lot to be desired even after lowering it and bigger sway bars and braces. They are a push on looks to me both interior and exterior wise. The blown turbo thing is not overstated, there is a design flaw where a pickup screen gets clogged and oil starves the turbos. It’s been seen all the way through 2016 to date. There is an updated screen available and a TSB, but not a recall.

I live in Nashville now where there really isn’t a ton of space to go fast, so handling has supplanted that for me. I also have a friend who can tune it for me, so I’m back to ridiculous mode quickly. That being said, most of the dealers are a little overpriced for TT-S stock, so if I keep my S7 and put RS7 turbos on it, I would be very happy as well.

Paul Rathjen

^^^^If I were you I'd look for a used low mile 970.0 or wait a bit longer for a 2017. The 2014-2016 PTTS are still pretty high priced for whatever reason, maybe they didn't make many ($70-85k in many cases) and I'm already seeing the 971 Turbo well under $100,000.....just food for thought.

Djpeaksd

So out of 73 used 2017 and 2018 Turbo's on auto trader nationwide, there is 1 under $100K and it has 43K miles and pretty much no options. So not sure saying you see 971 turbos well under $100K is extremely accurate.

Paul Rathjen

There were 3 on carguru last week. Being a 2017 model, that's pretty significant if its only one car. That was the cost of 2014 PTTS early last year. I never said the market was flooded. I'm pointing out the price gap is already closing on the 2017, and the 970's will probably continue to drop and maybe take a really bit hit in the next couple of years.