cometguy

How many 2018 Panamera E-Hybrid owners who've gotten their cars and did *not* ask for the smoking package got a cigarette lighter and ash tray in the center front compartment between the gear shifter and the cupholders? This happened to me, and I'm frustrated because I wanted to use that space to hold my cellphone (there will never be any smoking in my car). I did see some new Panameras on the dealer lots that had a nice open compartment instead of the cigarette lighter and ash tray. So I'm wondering what happened with the rest of you guys... The dealership said they could swap out the smoking compartment for a storage compartment, but that it would be a really big deal. So I've just replaced the cigarette lighter with a converter that houses two useful USB charging ports, but I still have lost the storage space for my phone there, as the ash tray compartment (with high dividing wall) takes up half of the storage compartment.

Also, I've noticed that when it rains, water gets behind the electric-charging port door and into that compartment. Have any of you noticed this? Any cause for concern, do you think? (I've only filled up once on gas so far (800 miles on the odometer), so haven't really checked that (but maybe I should also, after a rain).

One of my biggest gripes so far is the shiny glass "buttons" panel surrounding the gear shifter, and the chrome that surrounds that: it seems like almost every day, the sunlight reflects off parts of that and into my eyes -- a problem that I don't remember having with my 2015 Panamera. So I'm often throwing the black wipe-cloth over the panel to cut down on the solar glare into my eyes... A very bad design... Maybe the sun never shines where the Porsche engineers in Germany put together their ideas and test their cars... My suggestion for future iterations of these cars is to make a black matte design and black-matte surrounding borders for this control area, so that solar reflection is either eliminated or greatly reduced.

louver

[QUOTE=cometguy;15065274]How many 2018 Panamera E-Hybrid owners who've gotten their cars and did *not* ask for the smoking package got a cigarette lighter and ash tray in the center front compartment between the gear shifter and the cupholders?

We did NOT order the smoking package, and like you we DID get a cigarette lighter/ash tray in the center front console.

bosch

[QUOTE=louver;15065307]How big is the compartment space without the lighter / ash tray? I don't think it's big enough to fit an iPhone X... or does it?

cometguy

[QUOTE=bosch;15065661]It's the same space as the ash-tray-plus-cigarette-lighter space, without the cigarette lighter and ash tray taking up space.
My phone fit nicely in a Panamera that had the plain storage space. I don't have a giant iPhone X, nor would I ever get one. I use a phone for a phone (iPhone SE) and a laptop/computer for things that need a big screen.

SaratogaLefty

So I ordered my E-Hybrid without the smoking package and that is how it came. In retrospect it might have been nice to be able to put a converter in the lighter socket as you mention. I don't smoke and would never allow anyone to smoke in my car. I will say the small compartment isn't really good for my iPhone 7Plus and I really haven't found any use for it at all.

Regarding the water I have now washed my car twice and both times the charging and the fuel compartments both get water inside. I just dry them with the microfiber towel and no problem.

Regarding the reflection, I have not experienced this problem and I have abundant sunshine where I live. The problem I have experienced is the left side view mirror at night picks up a major reflection of the dash which is annoying.

SaratogaLefty

I also changed my setting to have the A/C off (it previously was on all the time. My indicated mileage did go up from 27 to 29 but I haven't yet had the chance to see if it really made an actual difference. I will find out tomorrow morning.

Wilson Laidlaw

About half a km away from my house in France, the road goes steeply downhill with a sharp left hand bend. To get to the start of the steep hill usually consumes 1km of range from my usual start point of 47km indicated range. I am getting near full regenerative braking as I go down the steep bit and am braking for the bend. Notwithstanding this almost every time, about half way round the bend, the range drops from 46 to 45km. I assume therefore this must be for consumption from non-traction purposes, air conditioning, audio, lighting and auxiliaries.

I have had a reply from my dealer about my query on high oil temperatures and low oil pressure. Their somewhat bland reply was that if an engine warning light was not showing, the sensors and the ECU did not consider it was a problem. Somewhat negates the reason for having any gauges, if odd readings are supposed to be ignored. No ideas yet on why six disc player in the rear compartment will not play MP3 discs, while the one in the glove compartment will. Again a bland reply: "well maybe that's just the way it is".

BTW have folks seen that the Mission-E has been renamed by Porsche to: "THE TAYCAN".......and no it's not April Fools' Day. What a dreadful name. Inevitably in the English speaking part of the world, it will become: "The Porsche Tin Can". Almost as good as Rolls Royce who originally were going to name the Silver Cloud as the Silver Mist until their German agent pointed out that Mist translates as Crap in German.

Wilson

Pana TJ

Recent discussions about the rear wiper operation when in reverse has me asking a general question.... Those with the rear wiper, do you find it helpful/necessary/must have? Those without the rear wiper, do you regret not getting it or miss it? I had it specked originally but my SA talked me out of it. His opinion was that it will not be missed and it only detracts from the overall look. I appreciate your feedback and opinions. Thanks

Wilson Laidlaw

My Panamera does not have a rear wiper as it was a pre-specced car that I bought when the delivery date on the S-T 4 E-Hybrid I had on order, became vague and too distant. Whoever specced it made an idiotic mistake in not ordering the rear wiper. From memory in the UK it was only £199 and a lot more use than the pointless £2500 sports exhaust or the £700 rear multi-disc player, which will not even play MP3 discs. In the UK in the winter, I really miss having a rear wiper and if they are standard on a £15,000 Ford Focus, it is ripping customers off not to fit it as standard on a £100,000 Panamera. It is a safety feature, as the rear view camera becomes close to useless in heavy rain, with a very blurred view. My 997 Turbo had a rear wiper that came on automatically when you selected reverse and this is an excellent feature. It is not practically possible to retrofit a rear wiper as the wiring is wrong and on the non-S-T Panamera, the whole rear hatch has to be replaced. I would say a rear wiper is a must have. I now carry a silicone rubber squeegee blade wiper and I am constantly cleaning the rear screen every time I stop in the winter, as the screen gets quite dirty from the airflow. If a low sun is then shining from behind, you are effectively half blind to the rear, for the area not covered by the door mirrors.

Wilson

cometguy

Yes, a rear wiper is a must. I had a 2015 Panamera with no rear wiper, and the rear window would often be very difficult to see out of when there was rain or snow on it (heating element does only so much, and it takes a while). My new 2018 Sport Turismo more naturally has a rear wiper, and I'm thankful for that, but I'd get one on a non-ST Panamera if I was building one and had the option. As Wilson says, it's a safety feature that's near the top of important items in any car.

ssiminou

The rear-wiper should've been made a no cost option for those worrying it was going to ruin the look of the rear. I didn't spec it because it hardly rains here in Los Angeles, but I see how it's important to have in other places in the world. Shame on Porsche for charging $370 for a rear wiper! So many of the options should be standard (ambient lighting? keyless start and go? a stupid painted rear-diffuser? how about them finishing paint the entire mirror instead of the top half?) but they insist on nickel and diming customers. Just go an take a look at BMW's optional packages which offer the same or better/more tech for a lot less. Porsche charges $3000 for adaptive cruise control when Tesla, for $4000, makes the car drive itself. Why is the charger standard at 3.6 kWh? Just give everyone the upgraded 7.2 charger, especially when most customers are transitioning from all gas vehicles to their hybrids. And for the cherry on top, Porsche's Tesla killer, the car some of us would get after our Panamera hybrids, is given the worst name I've ever heard in Porsche history. Taycan sounds horrible, and I wished they would've kept Mission E or something that sounds modern and 'electrified'. Don't even get me started on how dealers treat you when it comes time to answer questions about timeframes or optioning 'exclusive manufacture' bits. WT was told by his first dealer that if he wanted deviated stitching, it would be weeks delay. Another dealer told him it would only be a two day delay. Obviously communication regarding orders and 'exclusive stuff' is not strong between the dealers, corporate reps, and the factory.

I suggest you watch Salomondrin's video: "Why I Can't Afford my GT2RS". Now, he's joking when he says he can't afford it, but he was mad because once the 2RS was released, he emailed Porsche to confirm allocation (he's a VIP customer) and that he'd get one of the first cars, and he also requested PTS. Of course Porsche said no problem at that time, but last week, once he saw people getting their GT2RSs here in the US, he had to email three times before getting a response. He was denied PTS because they were all taken (mind you, he specced his car a long time ago), and was said his car would arrive in October/November. Isn't that annoying for a customer who has owned a 911R, two 918 Spyder, and currently a Carrera GT to be told something completely different than originally promised? And then having to jump through hoops to get the bad news?

I love Porsche and their cars; I've gotten Porsche after Porsche since my first Panamera in 2013, but there are fundamental problems with the way the dealers, and even corporate, is run. I asked for a simple paint sample from their Product Specialists in New York, and was told they couldn't help me. Yet I know for a fact that other customers who inquired about the same sample were given photos (pretty bad quality) of it. If these two reps sitting in the same office help customers in a completely opposite way, just think about how different dealers come up with different variations of BS to customers...

And if something you ordered on your car or a standard feature is not working as designed or as it was explained to you, don't give up on having them rectify the issue. The more complains and files they have on certain issues, the likelier chance they are to properly compensate, correct the issue, and prevent it form happening on future cars on the production line. I saw a Turbo listed for sale that was a manufacture buyback because a light kept coming on even though there was no issue with the car. This happened three times; the customer complained and Porsche bought the car back and put him into another Turbo. Different solutions for different problems can be had, we just have to push their button a bit to get them working.

Sorry about this long rant, I just think it had to be said.

cometguy

It would be nice if we knew that Porsche HQ reads posts like this, to get input from their loyal customers.

Another thing that bothers me is the instrument-panel warnings: when you have your seatbelt off, the main screen to the right of the tachometer fills up with that warning so that you can't see anything underneath. I often like to drive through a parking lot or my neighborhood (and some other low-speed areas) with my seat belt off, and I hate that you lose that information screen and that the corny warning tone just keeps going. Porsche, please do what other cars makers do: just have a small flashing seatbelt light that doesn't block out other instrument-panel data and that goes off after a few flashes, with no audible tones; yes, we are adults and we can decide when to put our seatbelts on and when not to; please don't treat us like children. (This problem extends to other things, as well; for example, when I had a problem with my spoiler not deploying properly as I was driving about 70 mph, the warning sign came up on my 2015 Panamera and obliterated that same screen, and would not go away until the service department re-set it.... very aggravating.)

And, as I've said before, the instrument panels could be designed differently to be of much better use to the driver. The larger left-side panel is largely unused (has the odometer and trip counter, which could be put on the smaller, far-left panel, and it's doubtful that anybody ever really uses that "analog-style" speedometer on the left with written-out increments of every 25 mph -- at least let that be an option in the panel), and they should port all of the vehicle information over to that larger left panel (identically), so that you can set up two different windows and don't have to toggle so much on the right-side window -- *and*, more importantly, so that you have useful information on the left side when the right side is being used for either the map or the night-vision outside view. This simply was not well-thought-out by Porsche designers at all. Too much going on on the right side of the tachometer, and not enough going on on the left side (wasted space).

There's a lot that is designed well in the Panamera; so it's a shame when we see these bad-design flaws that are aggravating to the driver.

Wilson Laidlaw

It is high time Porsche copied other manufacturers and offered "bundles" of optional extras, rather like they do on their GTS models. I am thinking of bundles such as "Comfort", "Sport", "Entertainment" and so on. It is too easy when trawling through the endless options specification list, to miss something out in error. This is not just the customer and dealer but Porsche as well. A number of Panameras I understand, have been arriving with the smokers' front kit, even though this was deleted on the order, even though I would not have minded an extra power socket. Some years ago, when ordering a Boxster Sport, an entire page of the specification fax was lost, between the UK dealer and Stuttgart, including all the PCM/GPS/audio fitment and Italian leather interior, which was not retro-fittable plus other stuff which was changeable like it arrived with UK right hand dipping headlights (on a LHD vehicle????). Cue some very red faces, when we declined delivery of this special order and demanded the return of our 50% deposit, which had been required for a UK delivery LHD model. In the end we did take delivery when they came back and offered it to us at 20% off list.

Wilson

TopKiti BKk

After I Turn off my AC, this is progress, 47KM up to 54KM

Wilson Laidlaw

Did you have to go through a charge cycle to get the range indication up to 54km after turning the air con off? Aren't you melting in Bangkok with the air con off?