I decided to introduce this thread to explain how I ended up in my relatively new ptt in hopes others will add their stories. This forum helped me make my decision to buy my ptt. My hope is that in explaining how I got here I might help someone else who is toying with the idea of buying a Panamera.

My short back story is that I finally decided to trade in my latest performance/track oriented car for what I hoped would be an entertaining gt type car that would also be great for long road trips. My previous toys included a 987 turbo, a 991 gt3 rs, a Ferrari 488, and most recently an AMG gtc. The gt3rs was the rawest and most fun on a track. The Ferrari was the best all around car, but I became increasingly uncomfortable using it as my daily driver. Having to stop and talk to people nearly every time you fill up and having random strangers take pictures of me driving my 488 got old. I got tired of the attention and wanted to go back to being able to pick my nose without having to worry about it be captured in an electronic Kodak moment. The final straw came when the Ferrari dealer told be it would cost $4,000 to replace brake pads after my first $1,200 oil change.

Until I drove my ptt my two previous Mercedes S classes were by far the best road trip cars I’d ever driven. I also rented maybe 5 more on business trips through Germany where I’d typically spend 10-20 hours running around the country at high speeds visiting customers. I’ve heard people discount the S class for being “floaty”. It is to a certain extent if your just tooling around, but it can be driven hard and fast. It’s one of those cars that shrinks around you the harder you push it.

That being said for my kind of driving the ptt trumps the S class in pretty much every respect. The only thing the S class was better at was driving on crappy pavement, but not by as much as I’d thought. The PT in comfort mode seems comparable to the S class in sport mode.

I also have a Mercedes E class AMG 53 which is a fantastic car which is capable of getting 600 miles on a tank of gas( I have a couple cars because I’ve been splitting my time between Florida and Cincinnati). The rear seats fold down allowing it to carry a surprising amount of stuff including bicycles. As good as it is, I don’t go out of my way to find short stretches of winding two lane roads the way I do with my ptt. I love the AMG 53, but comparing it to the ptt seems similar to comparing my AMG to a Genesis g70. They are both great for what they are, but without considering their respective prices one is simply better than the other.

The biggest surprise for me over the past months is how fun the ptt is to drive hard. It’s a blast to drive and as many have said much more responsive than such a big car should be. I can get in and out of it without looking ridiculous, something the gt3 rs’ racing seats were especially notable for. Above all it’s a car that sets my new personal standard for what a road trip car can be in balancing comfort, performance and carrying capacity. I must admit I also like telling people I drive a station wagon.

 

Thanks for the review. the Panamera and S-Class are two vehicles on my radar, this comparison is helpful, particularly the comments on long distance driving comfort.

 

My story is somewhat similar and also very different. I've owned several "nice" but much lesser cars over the years, always one at a time, and always which reflected my lifestyle needs at the time as much as my wants. Two different M3's, a Boxster S, a LR4, an MB ML SUV, an Audi A4, a BMW X4, a Volvo V90 Cross Country, and finally my 2018 PTT ST.

Obviously the Panamera was a tremendous leap in quality, performance, and price above anything I'd owned prior. It was definitely a splurge but damn do I love the car. My wife's car is the 'max utility' vehicle for our family, but I still needed to be able to carry 4 people, occasionally 5, stuff, our dog in the back, etc. And when it's just me, I want it all: a luxo-cruising GT that can soak up miles with aplomb, and a laser-guided smart bomb that I can drive like a maniac from time to time as mood and conditions warrant

 

My story is similar to @pokingaround with a lot of “nice” cars. My main daily before my pano was an ‘17 Audi allroad which in turn replaced an e46 M3 convertible. I freakin loved the M3 but with two boys reaching their teens, I needed something with a bigger backseat and so I got the Audi. I liked the Audi, but it lacked the punch of the M3 and I needed something to scratch that itch.

As fate would have it, my wife wanted to get out of her Honda minivan and that got me thinking.... What if I can talk my wife into taking the Audi and trading in the minivan for something else .

As luck would have it a local dealer had a beautiful, crazy low mile, extremely well optioned, ‘16 Panamera GTS for sell. My plan for the swap/trade actually worked and my itch has been scratched and then some.

It’s a wonderful car that is equal parts grand tourer and track monster. I have gone on road trips with the family in extreme comfort and passed GT3s on a rainy track day with the AWD tracking true through corners and hitting 130MPH easily on the straightaway. The things I didn’t expect is that it gets MUCH better gas mileage than my M3 or that it would as good as it is in stop and go traffic. Easily my favorite of almost 40 cars.

 

I feel you! My M3's (E36 coupe, E39 convertible) were amazing! The Boxster S was a great drive too. I came close to getting the A4 Allroad when I got the Volvo V90 CC instead. I liked the Volvo but could never love it. The transmission programming made it a real dog despite the specs on paper. Anyway, yeah - the Panamera scratches the itch, that's for sure!