Historically, the Porsche crest has been synonymous with the rear-engined 911. In the 70s, however, Porsche expanded its line-up by offering a range of front-engined models. But the purists wouldn’t have it, and the so-called ‘future’ Porsches died a natural death one after the other.
Over the past two decades, however, Porsche has been able to consistently (and successfully I might add) expand its model range. The Boxster harkens back to one of most legendary Porsches of all time, the 550 Spyder – made infamous by James Dean. But that’s a mid-engined two-seat sports car – what we have here has four doors and four full size seats. Surely the purists are frothing at the mouth?
After all, the idea of Porsche making a family car is preposterous – it’s almost akin to the German sports car legend rolling out a diesel SUV. Oh wait, Porsche does make an SUV, and it can in fact be had with a diesel engine! And, come to think of it, the Cayenne is actually their best selling model worldwide. You see, in order to survive and thrive in the era of the conglomerate, Porsche seems to be following the ethos of, ‘Give the people what they want’ – while taking very good care of the purists as well mind you. So, if in fact you do want a four-door sports car, who better than Porsche to provide one for you – correct? Well, let’s find out.
I’ve actually owned, and loved, a front-engined Porsche before – a 1988 944 Turbo – so it’s not an entirely alien concept. And Porsche claim that the DNA of the Panamera is very much in keeping with the 911. They better be right because there are no second chances in this market. Moreover, it’s one that’s about to get a lot more competitive.
BMW has announced that they’ll produce a four-door coupe by 2012. Apparently Lamborghini is once again seriously considering rolling out a car with four-doors – their most recent attempt was on display in concept form at the Paris Auto Salon in 2008, and it was drop-dead gorgeous. Maserati already makes the stunning Quattroporte, and Mercedes the CLS, while Aston Martin has entered the fray with the Rapide. It’s all getting very serious indeed!
From the outside
On account of its looks, the Panamera got mixed reviews at its launch. In designing a four-door sports car, so to speak, some challenges are inherent. And that’s clearly evident in the rear three-quarter view of the Panamera – with its full size rear doors and extended hatch. That apart, I actually found that the Panamera looked a lot better in the flesh than its photographs suggest. With the massive 20-inch rims on our test car, it looked very purposeful on the road. It may not be pretty in the traditional sense, but it has enormous presence. Even in a city like London, with Aston Martins aplenty, people point and take photographs. The 14-inch front brake discs and huge 6-piston calipers certainly add to the sense of purpose. And, of course, it has the ubiquitous LED lights in front to add a sense of drama as well.
Porsche has certainly done what it can to make the Panamera fit in within its family of vehicles. The front end and silhouette is 911-esque. The big square jaw up front and the large rounded rump at the rear actually gel quite well together after all – in a tenuous sort of way. At the rear, which looks quite stout when viewed directly from behind, there’s an integrated spoiler that deploys at speeds above 90km/h. At 205km/h, it takes on a more extreme angle to provide greater downforce – how very German in its engineering detail. Another thing that piques your interest is the actual key, which is shaped like the car itself. And while that’s quite a novel idea, once the novelty wears off you do notice that the key itself is actually a little large.
All things considered, though, I grew to quite like the way the Panamera looked after I got accustomed to it.
From the inside
Here’s where the Panamera has to prove itself. After all, there’s no point being a four-door Porsche if it’s only got marginal room in the rear. Clearly put, it’ll be worthless if the rear isn’t comfortable. Luckily, however, being inside a Panamera – front or rear – is exceedingly comfortable. It truly is a full size four-seater.
Rear seat passengers get their own excellent Porsche bucket seats. They also get rear AC vents and controls – just to bring home the point that this is very much a Porsche for those in the rear. Not that the driver and co-passenger are left out however. The front features a beautiful center stack that has an array of buttons that makes it look like a keypad from an exorbitantly priced, but very well made, Vertu phone. There’s also acres of leather and alcantara, a fair amount of carbon fibre, and a smattering of aluminium. All of which adds up to a beautiful cabin indeed. In fact, I loved the alcantara headliner – despite being all grey, it gave the cabin a very warm feeling.
The driver meanwhile gets 16-way adjustable buckets that allow you to even set the level of side bolstering you desire – both for the seatback, as well as the seat bottom. Combine that with quite good visibility despite the steeply raked rear hatch, and you can sit low in the car with the seats holding you firmly in place like a sports car, or you can adjust your seat to sit high up and somewhat more leisurely, like in sedan.
The driver also faces a traditional cluster of individual hooded gauges with a large analogue rev counter dead center in true Porsche fashion. In this case, however, one of the gauges is actually a digital display that gives you on-board information, driving directions, and even a complete GPS map directly in your line of sight. All of which can, of course, be mirrored on the much larger screen on the center console.
All in all, it is a fantastic cabin. And regardless of whether or not you like the Panamera from the outside, I assure you that you’ll love it from the inside.
On the road
Porsche may have got the Panamera right on the inside, but it’s not out of the woods just yet. The critical question that’s still unanswered is whether or not it actually drives like a Porsche.
Propelling this beast is an appropriately mammoth 4.8 litre, direct injection V8 that produces 400 horsepower. And said engine is a true powerhouse. The grunt it provides is both explosive and effortless in equal measure. On start-up, it growls at you as it fires into life. After that, however, it’s barely audible as you drive down the road – to a fault almost. However, there are a couple of buttons on the center console that can change that if you so desire. Press the button to engage sport mode, as well as the one to turn on the sports exhaust, and the Panamera quickly transforms from mild mannered mare to Triple Crown winning thoroughbred.
The power delivery, and its accompanying soundtrack, is simply amazing every time you so much as feather the throttle pedal – it puts a smile on your face every time. And when you want more power, it’s just there – it simply doesn’t matter what your current speed may be, or what gear you might be in. The Panamera just appears to have an unending supply of seamless forward propulsion. And the shifts from the double-clutch gearbox are so smooth that they’re virtually indistinguishable. In fact, combine the quick shifts with its tractable V8, and it almost feels as though you’re getting drive not so much from an engine and transmission, as much as from the forces of gravity – drawing you towards the horizon at light speed.
But really, it’s the versatility more than the raw power that stands out. Most of the time, you can potter around town in 7th gear at 1000rpm with no problems at all. The engine truly is that smooth – in fact, at 100km/h on the highway, its barely turning over at 1600rpm. Plus, you can put the air suspension in comfort mode, and the ride in the city really isn’t bad at all – despite the 20-inch rims. You can even manually raise the ride height if the road surface demands it. And then, when you come across an inviting bit of road, you simply press sport and literally shoot off into the distance with no hesitation whatsoever. When you ask it to, the Panamera responds immediately – it just downshifts and goes.
Driving in the city is made somewhat economical by the addition of an automatic start-stop system. In theory, the use of start-stop should give you an additional .5 kilometres to a litre of fuel. And surprisingly, the Panamera is actually quite economical – on 1,000 kilometres of highway and city driving, it returned a quite respectable average of 10 kilometres to a litre of 97 octane. Push it hard, however, and you can literally see the fuel needle chart an inversely proportionate course to that of the rev counter. Nevertheless, the start-stop system not only provides real mileage benefits in the city, but it also makes you feel better when you’re sitting in traffic – which is to say, at idle, with the car off, you’re neither wasting fuel nor spewing exhaust fumes. The system is quite intelligent as well. For instance, if you lower the AC temperature, the engine is turned on automatically to provide better cooling in the cabin.
There are a few small issues however. At low speeds, the power delivery can be a little abrupt at times, which is a common symptom for a dual-clutch gearbox. The biggest problem, however, comes when you want to change gear for yourself. The gearbox itself may be near perfect, but the driver interface to institute a gear change is anything but. Porsche insists on persisting with buttons on the steering wheel to manually affect a gear change. They do offer proper paddles on some models, and I would recommend paying extra if paddles were offered as an option in the Panamera, but they’re not. The upside in this case is that you don’t really need to change gears for yourself. Even when you’re on a mountain road, the gearbox always seems to be in the right gear. The downside is that you can’t really enjoy changing gears yourself. On the other hand, you can change gears using the gearlever as well, but it’s just not as satisfying as proper steering column mounted paddles.
That apart, the Panamera is truly the perfect blend of sports car and GT car. It really does feel a lot like the 911 – albeit a much larger one. It’s certainly not as visceral as a 911 though, nor as delicate as a Cayman, but it’s still unmistakably Porsche. It is a wide car though, and you do notice that on narrow country roads. As a result, you expect it to be a little lazy on change of direction – but it’s just not. There’s simply no flex at all. It just responds immediately, with no roll whatsoever. Moreover, the grip levels are tremendous. I tried my best to get it unstuck on the road, but the electronics kept the massive 295/35 ZR20 Michelin Pilot Sport tires completely glued to the road no matter what. And there are a lot of electronics, which have the combined effect of making a car with the girth of a baby elephant glide like a fleet footed Gazelle. Porsche Traction Management (PTM) provides all-wheel drive control, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) provides stability control and brake assist, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) provides continuous shock absorber control, and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) reduces roll. Despite all this, however, the Panamera can get a little unsettled over bumps at speed. Plus, there are instances on rough terrain where you do discern a slight delay in the power being transmitted to certain wheels. Nevertheless, most of the time, the electronics are seamless, and work with you to hasten forward progress.
Let’s just say, if you need a car to cover continents – this would unequivocally be it.
Verdict
So, should Dr. Ferdinand Porsche be turning in his grave? Well, not exactly. You see, Dr. Porsche was an engineer – probably one of the most gifted automotive engineers in the history of the motorcar – and the Panamera is an engineering masterpiece. Everything about the car has pure Porsche precision – both in the way it feels, and in the way it’s built.
On the road, it really is hard to get your head around the fact that something this large can feel like an actual sports car – while still retaining all the qualities of the perfect GT car. So, as a technological marvel, it’s up there with the best of them. On a personal level, though, it just didn’t keep me up at night – as perhaps the 911 or Cayman would have done. I’m awestruck by what Porsche have been able to achieve, but its more clinical appreciation rather than head-over-heels lust.
But, is it the perfect tool known to man with which to transport your family and their belongings not only at light speed, but also in the lap of luxury? Another unequivocal yes.
Nobody can turn a deaf ear forever. Not even Porsche.
That kind of violence is courtesy a rather special hunk of metal hung out at the back – an all-new, direct petrol injection flat-six, the first completely new engine in the Turbo’s 35-year history. Displacement has gone up by 0.2 litre to 3.8 litres, compression ratio is up to 9.8:1 and it is force-fed by two variable vane turbochargers. It all adds up to a full-house 500PS of power and 650Nm of torque that holds flat and strong from 1950 to 5000rpm.
Finally there’s torque vectoring, something we’ve seen before on the BMW X6. Unlike the X6 which uses active diffs, on the Turbo this is an electronic aid that works with the mechanical limited slip differential and uses the brakes to shuffle power between the rear wheels. Torque vectoring helps cut understeer by taking inputs from steering angle, lateral acceleration, vehicle speed, throttle position and yaw rate to predict the onset of understeer and then braking an inside rear wheel. The braking is very light, almost imperceptible, but creates a yaw moment on the car helping it to rotate and kill understeer. Unlike stability control which saves you after you make a mistake torque vectoring is a performance enhancing tool to increase your speed round corners by reducing understeer and turning the car, almost like yanking an invisible handbrake to get the rear turned. The system deactivates above 160kmph though its effects start to reduce from 120kmph.