Must have options on GTS
09-30-2018, 12:31 AM
#1
Track Day
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Must have options on GTS
Good evening everyone. So a GTS I was close to finalizing a deal on has likely fallen through. Great car spec wise, had PDLS, Burnmester stereo, PCC, Surround view, PPP, among many others. Another GTS has popped up locally recently that I am going to check out. It is missing the surround view, the PCC, PDLS and has the Bose stereo. How essential have those options been, or not been to those of you who own a Panamera? What were your must have options?
Additionally, how is the PCM tech in this car if you do not have the PCC? Is it still easy enough to sync up an Android phone and play Spotify, navigate with Google maps, etc?
Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.
Kevin
Additionally, how is the PCM tech in this car if you do not have the PCC? Is it still easy enough to sync up an Android phone and play Spotify, navigate with Google maps, etc?
Thanks in advance for any and all opinions.
Kevin
09-30-2018, 01:30 AM
#2
Burning Brakes
Wow... there's so much subjectivity in saying what people like and don't like. My 2015 Panamera (which I bought CPO used) had the Bose stereo, but honestly, the base stereo is fine, and when I special-ordered my 2018 Panamera, I didn't add any stereo system above the base, and it works extremely well -- no regrets whatsoever, and I'm quite an avid music listener and musician.
I haven't had surround view on either Panamera and am fine without it; I decided I didn't need to add it as an option to my 2018 car, and honestly I'm fine with the standard rear wide-angle camera (which shows pretty well cars coming from either direction when you're parked head-in in a parking lot and trying to back out) and using the passenger mirror's turning down to show the curb when parallel parking (I've yet to hit a curb while parallel parking). I back my car into my garage every day/night, and my visibility is absolutely fine for doing this with a door frame on one side and another car on the other.
I've not had PCC on either. I've had PDLS on both, and like the turning light at curves, and the visibility is really really good at night, but I don't know what it would be like without PDLS.
Personally, my only must-have option in any car now is Adaptive Cruise Control; I can't do long drives without it -- and it should be standard in all Porsches but isn't. I would likely say LCA (blind-spot detection lights on mirrors) is must-have also, close to ACC in importance. I'm sure that both ACC and LCA have kept and will keep me safer.
I thought that I could not order my 2018 Panamera without the night-vision infrared camera option, and so I ordered it, because I spend a lot of time driving home from work in the dark and on rainy nights, with lots of pedestrians and bicyclists on city roads here. It does work well, but it has some limitations: (1) it's mounted way too low in the front, so that you're looking underneath cars immediately in front of you, whereas it should be mounted up around the rearview mirror at the top of the windshield for better visibility (including visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists much closer to you); (2) it can't be displayed on the big center screen (unless I'm missing something); (3) the display is partially hidden behind the right side of the steering wheel; and (4) when it's on, you don't have access to a lot of the screen information that I'd like to see simultaneously (without constantly scrolling back and forth with the dial on the steering wheel). Would I order it again? Probably, but I'm not overly pleased with it because of these issues.
In my 2015 Panamera, the air suspension was a must-have option, to have the option to lift the car at lots of places, to have that extra ground clearance. In my 2018 E-Hybrid, it's standard, so I didn't have to add it on, thankfully.
I had soft-close doors in my 2015 Panamera, and I decided that I could live without that option in my 2018 Panamera when decided what to include and what not to, to keep the costs lower. But it's perhaps the one feature that I'd have kept because the doors on my 2018 car just don't close easily, and my wife is frustrated at how often she doesn't close her passenger door tightly enough the first time. I don't know if this is a problem just in my 2018 car, or if it's a general Panamera problem (doors not closing easily without soft-close option).
I also had the 14-way memory seats option in both of my Panameras; I decided to order it for my 2018 car because of the Lumbar support, as I have lower back problems. I'm not sure how the 8-way seats compare, so I'm not sure if it's a must-have option, but it might be for people with back issues.
Most of the other options aren't of this nature -- material on the seats or interior paneling, paint colors, wheels, etc. I pretty much stayed away from that stuff (just selected my exterior and interior colors, and blacked out the PORSCHE letters on the back end) to keep costs down. My priorities lie with the driving experience much more than making changes to how the car looks (as I think these cars look great in base form). I got the car to drive it and enjoy driving it (I just love to drive, and love how Panemeras handle), not to impress others.
I haven't had surround view on either Panamera and am fine without it; I decided I didn't need to add it as an option to my 2018 car, and honestly I'm fine with the standard rear wide-angle camera (which shows pretty well cars coming from either direction when you're parked head-in in a parking lot and trying to back out) and using the passenger mirror's turning down to show the curb when parallel parking (I've yet to hit a curb while parallel parking). I back my car into my garage every day/night, and my visibility is absolutely fine for doing this with a door frame on one side and another car on the other.
I've not had PCC on either. I've had PDLS on both, and like the turning light at curves, and the visibility is really really good at night, but I don't know what it would be like without PDLS.
Personally, my only must-have option in any car now is Adaptive Cruise Control; I can't do long drives without it -- and it should be standard in all Porsches but isn't. I would likely say LCA (blind-spot detection lights on mirrors) is must-have also, close to ACC in importance. I'm sure that both ACC and LCA have kept and will keep me safer.
I thought that I could not order my 2018 Panamera without the night-vision infrared camera option, and so I ordered it, because I spend a lot of time driving home from work in the dark and on rainy nights, with lots of pedestrians and bicyclists on city roads here. It does work well, but it has some limitations: (1) it's mounted way too low in the front, so that you're looking underneath cars immediately in front of you, whereas it should be mounted up around the rearview mirror at the top of the windshield for better visibility (including visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists much closer to you); (2) it can't be displayed on the big center screen (unless I'm missing something); (3) the display is partially hidden behind the right side of the steering wheel; and (4) when it's on, you don't have access to a lot of the screen information that I'd like to see simultaneously (without constantly scrolling back and forth with the dial on the steering wheel). Would I order it again? Probably, but I'm not overly pleased with it because of these issues.
In my 2015 Panamera, the air suspension was a must-have option, to have the option to lift the car at lots of places, to have that extra ground clearance. In my 2018 E-Hybrid, it's standard, so I didn't have to add it on, thankfully.
I had soft-close doors in my 2015 Panamera, and I decided that I could live without that option in my 2018 Panamera when decided what to include and what not to, to keep the costs lower. But it's perhaps the one feature that I'd have kept because the doors on my 2018 car just don't close easily, and my wife is frustrated at how often she doesn't close her passenger door tightly enough the first time. I don't know if this is a problem just in my 2018 car, or if it's a general Panamera problem (doors not closing easily without soft-close option).
I also had the 14-way memory seats option in both of my Panameras; I decided to order it for my 2018 car because of the Lumbar support, as I have lower back problems. I'm not sure how the 8-way seats compare, so I'm not sure if it's a must-have option, but it might be for people with back issues.
Most of the other options aren't of this nature -- material on the seats or interior paneling, paint colors, wheels, etc. I pretty much stayed away from that stuff (just selected my exterior and interior colors, and blacked out the PORSCHE letters on the back end) to keep costs down. My priorities lie with the driving experience much more than making changes to how the car looks (as I think these cars look great in base form). I got the car to drive it and enjoy driving it (I just love to drive, and love how Panemeras handle), not to impress others.
Last edited by cometguy; 09-30-2018 at 10:50 PM.
09-30-2018, 10:27 PM
#4
Track Day
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Wow... there's so much subjectivity in saying what people like and don't like. My 2015 Panamera (which I bought CPO used) had the Bose stereo, but honestly, the base stereo is fine, and when I special-ordered my 2018 Panamera, I didn't add any stereo system above the base, and it works extremely well -- no regrets whatsoever, and I'm quite an avid music listener and musician.
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