Executive Express

Porsche says the new Panamera is a car that you would want to drive as well as be driven in. Robert Barry spent four days in sporting luxury. Interior The sleek exterior lines of the Panamera disguises it’s ability to seat four people in comfort, and we found that one 188cm (six foot two) person could sit in the rear with another person of the same height in the front seat with no problem. Our Panamera S was trimmed in charcoal leather with a piano black grain on the dashboard and door inserts as well as the central console. Dual climate air is standard as are the multi adjustable heated front seats. The leather covered steering wheel is also adjustable for reach and rake and has a discreet button which activates the heating mechanism. The Porsche Communication Management (PCM) touch screen is one of the easiest onboard systems we have used recently. We like the fact that a secondary screen next to the odometer allows you to have the navigation or other audio or computer diagnostic functions directly in your line of sight. Our test vehicle was fitted with the Bose surround sound system that is compatible with audio DVDs as well as CD, iPod and MP3 recordings. The quality of the sound system is concert hall like, even when the car is being driven at speed.  Boot space might not be as generous as some of the larger luxury cars in this segment but the Panamera can accommodate four large suitcases stacked vertically or two sets of golf clubs laid horizontally. The rear seat backs can be folded down to allow longer items such as surfboards or ladders to be carried. Performance Couple a 294kW/ 4.8 litre naturally aspirated direct injection Vee Eight engine with a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox (which Porsche calls the “Doppelkupplung” or PDK) and you have a recipe for a very fast yet frugal vehicle. The PDK gearbox has sporting ratios on the first six gears for acceleration response and a longer ratio on seventh for more economic cruising at open road speed. When sport mode is elected for more dynamic driving, seventh gear is immediately made redundant. Should a driver wish to take full manual control of the PDK box, this can be done by using the toggles on the steering wheel or by flicking the gearlever up and down in manual mode. Thanks to the dual clutches, the changes are seamless and quick. Astonishingly for a vehicle that weighs 1.8 tonnes and can despatch zero to 100 kph in 5.4 seconds the Panamera will return very good fuel consumption if you choose to drive it efficiently rather than energetically. On one journey we managed to get the vehicle down to an average consumption of 10L/100km. The Panamera is the first luxury vehicle we have driven with an Idle stop/start system, that will shut the engine down to save fuel when the car is stationary in traffic. Our test vehicle was fitted with the optional 19-inch Panamera Turbo alloy wheel rather than the standard ten-spoke 18-inch Panamera S alloy wheel, as well as the optional slide and titl sunroof but other than that the car was completely standard. The Panamera S has conventional steel sprung suspension rather than air-sprung and the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system allows you to choose between three settings, comfort for daily driving, sport for more spirited driving and sport plus for track days. Summary We quickly became acclimatised to driving the vehicle and its physical size seemed to shrink and we became more confident of its incredible handling and performance.

Specifications Body type Four-door coupe Drive Rear-wheel-drive  Engine Type V8 Engine Capacity 4806cc Max power 294kW @ 6500 rpm Max torque 500Nm @ 5000 rpm Fuel Consumption 10.8l/100km C02 emission 253g/km 0 to 100kph 5.4 sec Front suspension Double wishbone Rear suspension Multi link Roof Rack Optional ABS Brakes Yes Air Bags 8 ESP Yes Air Conditioning Dual zone Lap/diagonal belts 4 Satellite Navigation Yes Electric seats Yes Burglar Alarm Yes  Panic Button No Boot release Yes Cargo Cover Yes Boot Capacity 445/1263l Wheel type 19-inch Alloy Spare Tyre Inflator kit Through Life Cost Report 36 months 60,000km Price $260,000.00 WOF $75.00 Registration $496.00 Servicing to 60k $2501.00 Total Tyre cost $3512.00 Residual (37%) $96,200.00 Indicative final figure $170,384.00