Thanks for the replies. I put an order in this weekend for a GTS. Getting Agate Grey with black interior and Turbo II wheels. Still on the fence about PDCC. I think the last day to change the order is tomorrow. The roads here in Hawaii are generally pretty bad as well, but the Panameras that I've driven seem to roll over them pretty well.

 

Great choice on the GTS. As I discussed when I started this thread I really went back and forth between the Turbo and the GTS. I am so happy with this choice; the GTS is much more fun to drive, I feel so much more connected to this car on daily driving. The Turbo felt wallowy (is that a word?) to me, floated around alot. The GTS seems planted at all times, just a pleasure to drive. Plus, now that I am over 2000 miles and can get on the gas, the engine sounds just insane! What a great car.

 

Man...I am so very excited to place my order. The more I read these posts, and the articles / review on the web, seems like for those of us lucky enough to afford it, the GTS is going to be amazing. I was "considering" the new M5, as I loves me some beemers, however, a) the visual cues are lacking on the car, and b) that recent review (motortrend) I believe had the Panny GTS as the clear winner.

that said, I am a tad concerned about the claims of "lack of reliability" on this car...other than normal buggaboos, anyone experiencing anything of consequence?

 

I wouldnt be too concerned about reliability issues at this point, certainly some cars will be duds, but after 4 years all the kinks should be fairly well worked out. Even on my 2010 Turbo, which was a first model year, I didnt have a single problem for 2 years that required attention. other then a recall.

 

I, too, strongly considered the M5, but decided against it after I saw it. The M5 is a nice car and has a $20-25K price advantage over the GTS, but it's not as aggressively styled as I wanted if I was to leave my C4S for it. Also, all of M5s coming in for the rest of the year have been sold and wouldn't have been able to even sit in any of the cars coming in, much less take one out for a test drive. I wasn't able to test drive the GTS either before putting in my order, but I previously owned a Cayenne GTS and jump in performance in that SUV over the standard Cayenne S was tremendous so I felt comfortable that the Panamera GTS would well. My GTS doesn't arrive until December and I can't wait.

 

Agree with you on all points....while I love BMW's, have owned five, and have a 2011 M3 vert right now, their styling is getting stale. Also, after reading all of the M5 hype, I was completely underwhelmed upon seeing it. So boring looking, I could care less how it drives. While I am really leaning tward GTS, I am also considering the Merc CLS63 that car is stunning

 

It is such an amazing era we live in right now. I can't remember a time when there was so many great choices of cars with so much horsepower and styling. With the current political climate to make all cars small and electric, we better enjoy all these choices now-- these cars will be dinosaurs soon.

By the way, took my dad out for a spin in the gts, he was stunned at how the cars exhaust sounded. He's a car guy too, Ferraris/Lambos in his younger thinner days.

 

We picked up our GTS yesterday (finally!) and went for a 100+ mile impromptu drive last night as a family. This is just a phenomenal car. First of all, the fact that we, as a family, can go for a drive while I, as a driver, enjoy it as a true sports car is exactly why this car is the right fit for us.

I have driven better sport cars, but not very many. I would definitely put this within the range of 911s I've driven. Better definitely than the worst of the stock non-sport 911 suspensions, but of course not quite to the level of my GT3. So within the range of what you expect from a 911 as far as competency and feel. (Note: this car has PDCC and does not have servotronic aka "power steering plus")

Meanwhile, in the back seat, my wife and son were comfortably napping for part of the trip. It is a proper luxurious back seat, much more so than the M5 or the CLS63. It is not an afterthought at all. The ride has a bit more of an edge than the S550 it replaces for us, but it's really not much less comfortable overall. The back seats are supportive enough to easily work on a long trip for any of us. The back seat is the reason we couldn't ultimately get the CLS63 or M5 because either would have been a big downgrade from the back seat of an S-class. (This GTS has the 8-way rear seats with lumbar support)

Other notes:

As the Burmester breaks in, it sounds very good. Not great compared to what you might have at home or in your office, but great compared to what you typically hear in a car. Certainly fantastic for a factory installed system.

Comfort mode really is halfway between comfort and sport on other Panameras I've driven. For normal getting around the suburbs and on/off highways, it will become my default. Definitely Goldilocks level "just right" there.

This is the first car I've actually owned with PDK. I really like it. So far I prefer manual mode for the transmission. It's not that auto doesn't make good choices, it's just that the shifting is just too much fun. In sport mode, the shifts become just insane. I can't wait to try it on a 250 mile trip we planned for tomorrow where we'll have more country roads to play with.

The fact that I can plan a really fun drive and still be with my family the whole day just makes me smile.

My first look at the car yesterday:

 

Great review and car looks fantastic. I have to agree with everything you said. The GTS is such a great combination of comfortable everyday cruiser for a DD, and to run errands/ take family places, yet is more then sporty enough to have a blast driving. I have had a ton of cars -- my wife is not happy with me-- and I can honestly say you can't beat the GTS. By far my favorite.

 

Damn you...I am getting more an more jealous, but also more and excited with each new post. ENjoy the car, and keep the insight coming. I need to wait another 3-4 months until closer to lease end of current car to put down my order, but I am convinced this will be my new ride. Ironically, my wife has the S550, so we don't really need the back seats. I am simply getting older (47), and a DD 911 was just too small for me. Seems like the Panny is 95% of the 911 feel / enjoyment, with all of the other goodies thrown in as bonus

 

I'm not so sure about the 95%. I took another trip this weekend. I've 400 miles on the clock now. I understand it's still the honeymoon and all that, but I think this car is actually more fun to drive than many of the modern 911s I've driven. The only modern 911s I've driven that are consistently more fun than this are the 996 and 997 GT3s. I should say my definition of "fun" is about handling and feel and tossing a car around, not straight line acceleration (that's doesn't really interest me personally).

Now that the tires aren't as new, I've been able to push the car harder and one thing that will startle and delight you is that this car's rear end will step out on you a little more readily than the other Panameras. The first time that happens in a car this huge, it's like "Whoa!" but then the next time it's "Wheeee".

My wife says this car makes me giggle more than any other car she's seen me drive other than the GT3 and our first M3 20 years ago.

On the other hand, when she was driving, I gotta in the back seat and slept comfortably. The car still passes the sleep test even in Sport mode. It's uncanny.

A pic from our trip: