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2010 Porsche Panamera Adds Extreme Performance to Family-Hauler
Sep 10 2009 by Sherrice Gilsbach
Generally, the word “surprise” freaks me out more than it thrills me. As a mom of two boys, a surprise usually means something has been broken, spilled or peed on. However, a recent Porsche event reminded me that surprise can have extremely positive connotations.
The stars of this event were supposed to be the 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, which is expected to hit the U.S. sometime next year, and the Cayenne Diesel that will only make it to the U.S. if thousands of Americans start demanding them tomorrow, which is highly unlikely. I was ready to focus on the car that American mom’s would actually be able to buy — the Cayenne S Hybrid. However, the Hybrid was having technical difficulties, which is never good in front of the media.
Instead of test driving the Cayenne S Hybrid, Porsche let us play with the brand-spankin’ new 2010 Panamera. Surprise!
With a unique exterior design, this four-seater is built for the 911 owner who wants Porsche performance in a family-friendly package. It comes in three trim levels: the Panamera S, which has rear-wheel drive and a 400-horsepower engine, the Panamera 4S comes in all-wheel drive and also has a 400-hp engine, and the Panamera Turbo with all-wheel drive and a 500-hp twin-turbocharged engine, which is the version I drove.
At first glance, the backseat seemed tight, but the extra deep seats provide comfort with an exceptional amount of legroom. Also, the Panamera’s Latch connectors are easier to find than those in the Cayenne Diesel. Really!
The Panamera’s features that took my breath away were the Sport exhaust button, which let me amplify the rumble sound (can anyone say vroom!) and the adaptive air suspension with load-leveling and adjustable ride height, which raised or lowered the car to achieve incredible performance. The Panamera had my heart pounding with just a turn of the ignition.
The fantastic thing about this car is you can have extreme performance, lush style plus room for your babes and their gear, too. There’s great cargo space here, ladies. Some unexpected details in the Panamera also caught my eye. The instrument cluster has a dial that’s reserved for an additional DVD screen, so the driver can look at digital data without shooting her eyes to the right and down to view the information screen in the center stack.
Also, Porsche has tossed aside the control knob and toggles found with the other luxury brands navigation system. Instead, they’ve opted for stylized buttons to control their nav system. They claim that the Panamera owner will memorize the location of their most necessary buttons within two weeks of driving the car, and again, this system will keep the driver’s eyes from being glued to a screen drifting through one menu after another.
There was one red flag in the Panamera, however. A cigarette lighter sat between the two bucket seats in the second row. I had visions of fighting kids looking for anything they could grasp to inflict pain on their sibling. After a little investigation, it turns out a buyer can choose not to get it. Phew.
Here comes the sticker shock: The Panamera S starts at $89,800, the Panamera 4S is $93,800 and the top-of-the-line Panamera Turbo costs $132,600.
Sign me up!
I. AM. SO. BITTER. RIGHT. NOW.