RyanH.

I'm about due to replace our 2013 Cayenne and within our current lineup of cars, I'd like to add a grand tourer into the mix. My wife has a G Wagon and my toy car is my GT3 so the Cayenne replacement would be a mix of long haul road trips, dog duty, home depot runs, etc... With that being said, my wife and I are on the small, bony end of the spectrum and have trouble with normal people seats after about two hours. The only seats that have been the exception to this are the Euro Bucket seats in my 996 GT3 (basically, wider Recaros) and Recaro Pole Position. I drove across the country in the bucket seats when I got the GT3 in 6-8 hour increments and had zero *** numbness.

Anyone have a similar preference towards bucket seats and have recommendations between the Panamera ST or Cayenne Coupe (is this any better than 2013 MY?) based on seat comfort? Any other recommendations outside of the Porsche family? Part of what makes this decision difficult is that it's hard to tell unless you sit in the vehicle for a couple of hours.

chaos2984

I agree with you for the buckets. I have the CF buckets in my 981 GT4 and love them. longest I have been in them was 3 hours and I still found them comfy. I have a PST turbo. I have the normal 14 way seats and I find them comfy. I'm an avg guy build. I find them comfy. I drove the car home 6 hours when i bought it and had 0 issues. I hate my seats in my Jetta DD but I don't take road trips in that car.

If you don't want an SUV i would look at a PST. I love the car. I don't know what size dog(s) you have but it would be able to fit dog(s) easily depending on size. If you have issues with comffyness in the car, there are sport seat option and I think there was a massage function as well that some had.

SUPWAGON

I have a PST Turbo and find it great for long road trips. We do 700 miles from SE Florida to the NC mountains in a day, While we do the trip also in our Ford Expedition Max land yacht, the Porsche is a better ride. Prior to the Sport Tourismo I had a Cayenne GTS, The Panamera is a better ride and handles better on the interstate as well as the mountains. I plan to keep the Panamera until it falls apart. As far as dogs, we have 2 80 LB Cheasapeake Bay Retrievers that fit in the back with the rear seat folded down. When we have the dogs with us, I use a Thule Box on top of the car for luggage.

PS I have the seat message function and enjoy once in while for long trips.

jakermc

Panamera ST with massaging seats, only available on the 14 way option, are the best long haul seats I've ever been in. Turn them on every 2 - 2 1/2 hours for a little refresher.

My 911 Carrera T has carbon sport buckets with P1 Design memory foam inserts and I also find that an amazing long haul seat, but I am probably weird in that fashion as I prefer an upright position and I have an F1 driver build - 5'9 and 160 on a cheat day.

RyanH.

Yeah, we're similar builds as I'm 5'9 and 163 (overweight as I've been neglecting my normal cycling routine) and my wife is 5'3 and 90ish lbs.

I posted this in the Panamera forum as I figured it would be a better grand tourer option than the Cayenne.

chassis

I have a build similar to what you describe. The 18-way sport seats in the Cayenne 9Y0.1 are outstanding for long haul comfort. Bring the bolsters in snugly and you will be supported all around, reducing pressure points and discomfort. I haven’t sat in the sport seats in a 9Y0.2 but if they are anything like the .1 seats they are excellent.

jakermc

Agreed. Personally, I find a car chassis (Panamera) more comfortable than an SUV (Cayenne) for the long haul, regardless of seat selection. Maybe it's the lower center of gravity, reduced body roll, or simply the feeling that it more closely resembles the position in the race cars I drove for so many years but I find it far less fatiguing than being in the raised position of an SUV. Porsche builds a great handling SUV, but you still know its an SUV and its not as nimble when dodging left lane bandits at high speed. The Panamera feels more like a low slung bullet train when you really want to get to where you are going quickly.

eyeballs19

I just covered 3750 miles in 4 days of driving in a ‘23 4S E-hybrid ST. I was the only driver, and I’m not sure I could have done that trip in any other car. I have the 18 way seats and the adjustable bolsters are key for me, snugging in and letting my back relax. After 14 hours in a day I felt great and could have kept going. 24 mpg cruising around 90 (averaged 82 mph for the trip— gotta love 80mph speed limits). Headlights are awesome, the Michelin AS4 tires were surprisingly good on packed snow in the mountains at our destination, and the AWD system makes the most of those tires.

The Panamera is an extraordinary highway car. Best I’ve ever had. Admittedly my car has all the suspension options checked but the car doesn’t have any of the subtle head toss that I felt with SUVs. It is just locked down and so easy to drive, but never numb or boring like a big Mercedes. Every curve is satisfying, the ride is so composed. I will say the storage is much tighter than the Cayenne, especially with the hybrid Panamera, so needed to pack smart. I have other vehicles that have more room but I don’t want to drive them now.

Only negative I had was in winter weather in South Dakota where the left-most windshield washer nozzles froze up at 10-15 degrees. I bought this car from southern California last summer and haven’t needed the windshield washer— I can only imagine that the dealer filled with fluid that wasn’t South Dakota rated.

SuperG$

We've done long road trips in both our '12 Panny Turbo and '09 Cayenne S. The Panny has 18-way seats and to me is more comfortable than our pepperwagen which has the basic seats. However, both are great for eating up the highway miles. I prefer the Panny. I can drive through a tank of gas (approx 600 miles) and be ready for another tankful with only brief stop for fuel and bathroom. The Cayenne isn't quite as comfy, although my wife prefers it because she likes sitting up higher, so I tend to stop a little more frequently. We took a multi-day road trip from Indianapolis out to Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park and the Badlands last winter and in anticipation of snow, took the Cayenne. It was great -- plenty of room for bags inside, kids in the back seat, and driver comfort was good. Had it been in summer, we'd have taken the Panny, but because of snow having ground clearance was required.

Ericson38

The 971 chassis must have a magically arranged roll center to CG relationship fore and aft. The greatest long hauler there is, and the seating experience is very close to being a 20% scaled up 911. You can't get tired of it on the road, it pleases in subtle ways every mile you roll on, and rough and uneven sections are handled with confidence and precision. You sometimes aren't ready for the precise level of control, almost a mental deep dive if you will.
To get impressed by our manual 997.1, you have to work it some, and that in its intended element. The Pana on the otherhand is impressing you already, before you were even thinking that we are alteady in that part of the drive.