Porsche Panamera test

PORSCHE PANAMERA
Dr. Ferdinand Ferry Porsche once said: «Porsche has the right and can build anything; the product just has to be better than the others ». This quote has become a maxim in Stuttgart as we celebrate the 100th year of the birth of the Porsche founder. And it has rarely been so fitting than with the firm’s first ever four-door GT, the Panamera.





The first four-door, non SUV Porsche is a very big deal and it’s been a long wait for the Panamera to see the light of day.

The Panamera is the first car entirely designed by Michael Mauer and make no mistake this is a Porsche. From the front it could easily pass for a flat nose 911.

The Panamera’s originality is found at the rear with its bulbous round back side where the competition has gone for the more traditional look. Is this a subtle reminder of a certain 928 model?


The profile is striking with a certain sedan allure about it and then there is the very noticeable line of the rear side quarter panel. You can’t deny it; the Panamera has its own very undeniable personality.

A central console separates the two rear seats. There’s plenty of leg room. However, it is all a bit snug and visibility is poor and you end up staring at the back of the front passenger seats.



The interior is worthy of an Airbus! Both driver and front passenger get the sense they are at the controls of a jumbo jet. There’s no lack of buttons and what not but there is the tachometer staring right at the driver as well as the traditional left side key insert. The Panamera is all Porsche!




We test drove the 4S version with its 400 brake horsepower 4.8-litre V8, all wheel drive transmission and seven-speed PDK gearbox. Added to all of this are a few rather costly but useful options like the PDCC, which allows the driver to switch systems such as engine mapping, gearbox and shocks from the sport to sport plus position.




After just a few corners you forget about the Panamera’s size (nearly 5 metres long by 2 metres wide) and weight of 1800 kilograms. With or without the driver aids, handling remains the same. The Panamera 4S stays glued to the road and is remarkably precise.

But decidedly, we didn’t care for the PDK steering wheel controls.



You have to take to the smaller slightly torn up rods to feel any secondary effects of the Panamera’s1800 kilograms as it puts the shock absorbers through their paces. While driving downhill in an intense manner we found just a bit of a fault with e brakes, which is rare for a Porsche.




Like the Cayenne, the Panamera is making a big splash in its segment. It is so versatile, capable roaring like a big cat and getting on with the business at hand when stepping hard on the gas. It is sporty but not overly so. The electronics are there to calm down those who take it for a 911. How much you may ask? The Base price of €103,847 is competitive with the competition even though the price of certain options, which would have been nice if they were included, bloats the bottom line to €135,344, which is nothing to sneeze at.