Porsche has a long and legendary history when it comes to sports cars, but new for 2010 is their first addition to the growing luxury sports sedan market: the Porsche Panamera. Our host, Jessi Lang, spent a week road testing and reviewing the Panamera 4S.
With a noticeably Porsche-esque front end, many of the Panamera’s design cues, especially the noticeable sloping roofline that rises toward a high back end, have more in common with the Cayenne than perhaps the Boxster or the 911.
Although the look might be decidedly different from Porsche’s norm, its powertrain is not. Our test car, the Panamera 4S, boasts a 4.8-Liter V8 engine with 400 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and does 0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 175 mph. Fuel economy is decent, you retain 16 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. Not bad for a car that weighs nearly 5,500 pounds. The Panamera also uses a variant of its PDK dual-clutch transmission, one designed specifically for the Panamera in order to achieve a lower center of gravity.
Our test car’s interior is beautiful and high-tech as well as highly customizable, but also has a steep learning curve thanks to the dozens and dozens of dials and buttons that control every aspect of the car and its features. Digital gauges in the dashboard are classy and display all your pertinent information and then some. Hand-stitched leather seats and consoles really enhance the luxury aspect of the Panamera.
Be prepared, however, to spend a pretty penny on the Panamera. The base 4S model starts at $93,800 and our test car topped out at $114,515.
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Porsche Panamera Forum
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