New Panamera a big fat Porsche
Porsche’s superluxury limo is still full of driver appeal, says
About the worst thing that could happen to a new Porsche is to succumb to technology for technology’s sake. Even a Porsche that’s essentially a luxury sedan.
There are aspects of the new Panamera that make you worry a little. It’s the first model to feature a new generation of interior design called Porsche Advanced Cockpit, which does away with a lot of conventional switchgear in favour of touch-sensitive controls and virtual displays.
We’ll also see it next on the Cayenne SUV (which is really just a tall Panamera), then inevitably on the next-generation sports cars.
It’s a welcome development in theory, because one weakness of the German sports-car brand has been its love of interior-buttons. Lots and lots and lots of buttons. Any attempt to clean up the cabin architecture is welcome.
But consider this: to adjust the angle of the air conditioning vents in the Panamera, you have to go into a sub-menu of the control screen, and then move the vents by tracing your finger around the display.
Maybe that appeals to appobsessed buyers in some markets, but it seems silly when a manual lever would be so much easier and quicker.
There are features like this that make you think Porsche has overbalanced on its great leap forward in interior design.
But then there are those things that alleviate the anxiety. Some actual switches have indeed been retained, if only for temperature/ fan adjustment and audio volume (rejoice).
There’s a rotary control for the incredibly sophisticated new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system, which has a configurable ‘‘tile’’ layout on its home screen.
Although you can also operate that solely by touch if you so choose.
Best of all, amid the sharp and colourful graphics of the Panamera’s triple-displays (double seven-inchers plus a 12.3-inch screen in the console), there’s still a physical tachometer front and centre in the instrument binnacle – just like there’s always been in Porsches. Not to mention the drive-mode selector dangling off the steering wheel.
In fact, despite wading so determinedly into the virtual world that’s now so important in the luxury market, the Panamera is still a more physical car than ever before.
It looks more like the iconic 911 than the previous model and that’s quite deliberate; not just because the old Panamera was pretty gawky, but also because Porsche has dialled up the dynamic appeal quite a few clicks.
That’s easy to say when we’re driving the flagship $350k Panamera Turbo, of course. This has a downsized but powered-up 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that propels the car to 100kmh in 3.6 seconds if you have the $4830-optional Sports Chrono package. Hey, who doesn’t? If you don’t, it’s a pedestrian 3.8sec.
But there’s been an effort to sharpen the sporting appeal right across the Panamera range.
All Kiwi models have Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with electronic damper control matched to a new threechamber air-suspension system, to give the broadest possible ridehandling balance between luxurycar refinement and leery cornering.
It’s all quite literally ‘‘matched’’, because the Panamera also has a new system called 4D Chassis Control, which helps every electronic-assist system talk to the others.
If bravery and the chequebook permits, you can also specify rearaxle steering, as per the 911 Turbo and 918 Spyder.
Our car was thus equipped, adding another $4700 to the price. Seems a bargain compared with the $7080 sports exhaust system.
The straight-line performance is astonishing, but the handling ability is no less impressive – which is just as it should be in any kind of Porsche. Even a big fat one like this.
There’s tremendous grip from the tyres (315mm wide at the back, mind) and experience with other Panamera variants has proved its worth in high-speed cornering composure, but when it’s equipped with the rear axle steering it changes direction with an alacrity and accuracy that you wouldn’t believe possible in a twotonne luxury limo.
More than that, it really communicates.
And yes, it can actually play the luxury-car role as well. Peel off the racing gloves and this is an incredibly refined and smoothriding machine for passengers. Who will also marvel at the dashboard lightshow.
The Panamera has a staggering range of ability, although to really maximise it you still need to examine the options list – which seems absurd to us non-captains of industry when we’re talking about a $346,300 car.
There’s everything to gain and nothing to lose with the rear-axle steering, so you need that. You seldom see a Porsche sans-Sport Chrono, the $3230 adaptive sports seats of our car were superb and if you like those 21-inch ‘‘911 Turbo Design’’ alloys... well, that’s another $7110.
Indeed, our vehicle as tested would set you back $378,490. Hmmm. Although just in case you think Porsche has gone completely futuristic, you could save $1090 by deleting the six-disc CD changer specified for this demonstrator by the factory.
It goes in the boot and everything. What year is it again?
One of the best illustrations of the Panamera Turbo’s dualcharacter is the engine noise. Even with the sports exhaust, from the inside it’s pretty subdued.
It’s an incredibly refined thing even under load, playing the luxury limo really quite well.
Or is it? Wind down the window and you’ll hear what the neighbours are hearing: a window-rattling V8 rumble and crackling exhaust that generates as many furrowed brows as it does genuine smiles.
You have been warned.