ajriches01

I am judging you slightly for not even taking the mandatory "car on the Eurostar" picture...

We are also taking the train in August and you've made me very nervous.

thorfun

sorry to disappoint. not even sure why I didn't take a photo! just didn't think about it I guess. it's not the most salubrious of environments.

you'll be fine. it's tight but doable! just make sure your parking sensors are switched on. the alloys are slightly below the level of the herding channel but there's a slight rubber bulge (for want of a better word) before the alloys are hit so if you do rub against the edge you should be ok.

the electric charging stations cost in the uk (although our train was delayed for a couple of hours so the guy gave it to me for free....at least that's what he told me!) but the ones on the French side were free. just plug in and start charging.

Wing Commander

Forgive the dumb question from the owner of a traditional Panamera 4, but is there some security with these charging cables costing £150 to £300 a pop? Could some rascal approach your car while it is being charged and simply pinch this expensive accessory (the charging cable) ?

Righty

Sorry this question seems out of nowhere but what do you guys gunk about the rear wheel steering if you have it? Does it improve performance a lot?

SaratogaLefty

So I'm a golfer too. My Hill Billy Trolley and bag fit into the trunk of my Lexus LS but I have to remove the longer clubs and lay them separately over the bag and trolley. Tight fit but it works. I also tried it with the 4S at a local dealer and it worked just fine. I was aware the side wheel arch areas would be gone so I put everything in without using them. Seemed like it should work but as you say, if it doesn't I will just put one of the rear seats down.
I did order the adaptive cruise control but not the Innodrive option. Here in the US on the highways/freeways you can usually drive at 5-10 miles/hour over the speed limit without any problem, so I didn't want the Innodrive to drop me down every time there is a speed change.
Still looking forward to some more commentary on the handling on twisty roads???

ajriches01

It locks into place with thr central locking. Smart!

Wing Commander

Ah, that's good!

XT6Wagon

How's the MPG in long freeway use? Its one of the reasons I'm looking at the hybrid vs 4S. 4S isn't bad for the class, but if the E hybrid can pile on more range per tank its definitely a nice thing to have.

thorfun

indeed. i don't think the clubs will be an issue, my beef is that i was given incorrect information.
it's a valid point on the Innodrive. you can increase the speed on the section of road you're travelling on so you can do more than the limit using it if you wish to but when you hit a different speed limit you have to manually increase it to the value you want again. Also, on the way home last night there were a few situations where it got confused and i had to intervene. i'll persevere with it and see how i get on. the good thing is i can choose between AAC and PID so if i don't want to use the Innodrive i can just select adaptive cruise control!

thorfun

this is a hard question to answer for me as i've not driven one without the rear wheel steering to compare!!

but, i think it helped me a lot to park in tight parallel parking situations and making tight u-turns etc so i'm happy with it just for that alone. again, not sure how much it helps at high speeds as i've nothing to compare it too and i've (shock horror!) not taken the car at high speeds on winding roads yet.

Righty

Thank you thorfun I might just have to try it out at the dealership then

thorfun

always the best way! and if they have one with and one without it then if you try them back to back you can let us know if there's a noticeable difference.

ajriches01

I don't have rear wheel steering and the car turns like a London taxi anyway. I certainly have no regrets in not speccing it (but then don't know what I am missing out on!).

Wing Commander

I do have rear axle steering, as it seemed to be highly rated by reviewers of both the Panamera and the 911. My impression is that it shortens the wheelbase effectively at low speeds, making the car more manoeuvrable. I certainly find that it turns in very nicely when parking and executing u-turns etc. At high speeds, it has the effect of lengthening the wheelbase, making the car more stable when cornering at speed. Again, I haven't driven one without this feature, so can't compare. I have a feeling that most demo cars will have rear axle steering specced, as certainly over here, most demonstrators come with a pretty high spec, so are likely to include things like rear axle steering, Sport Chrono and air suspension etc.

Wing Commander

Hi. Just to give you another benchmark, I have the Panamera 4 and have done about 4,500 miles so far. My MPG (UK version) normally varies between about 25 mpg and 30 mpg, depending on length of trip and the kind of roads driven on. If short journeys and/or around town, I'd expect low twenties from the 3.0 V6. I regularly do a 165 mile drive which is nearly all motorway and dual carriageway. If I had the discipline to stick to the speed limit of 70 mph, I would easily exceed 30 mpg. But that's a big if... ;-)

The above may be helpful if you were considering the Panamera 4, alongside the 4S and the E-Hybrid.