It's taken Porsche a long time to get to this point, but we all knew it was coming. The Panamera sedan is finally here and our Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot just returned from Germany where he drove all three versions.
Not surprisingly, he found them all plenty fast and surprisingly nimble. A four-door 911 it is not, but it will more than hold its own against any other sedan in its class. And it's comfortable too, up front and in back.
The only question left now is whether or not luxury sedan buyers will accept this new sedan as a true Porsche. Given their response to the Cayenne SUV, we're betting they won't have a problem with the Panamera sedan. Video after the jump.
First Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera
7driver says:
09:26 AM, 06/23/09
The article has a pic of what looks like Riswick with the caption "Some auto scribes were engaged by the Panamera in unconventional ways. (Photo courtesy of Porsche Cars North America, Inc.)"
So is it a typo? Or are there some vagaries of copyright/attribution rules? Or does James have a doppelganger working for Porsche?
brn says:
09:27 AM, 06/23/09
I can't help myself:
"Turbo tops the range at 4,343 pounds"
That weights as much as the overweight Taurus SHO!
"Panameras will go on sale in the U.S. on October 17, 2009. S models start at $89,800, 4S models start at $93,800 and Turbo models start at $132,600."
That's even more expensive than a (supposedly overpriced) Taurus SHO!
I'm done now.
dougtheeng says:
10:48 AM, 06/23/09
its still so ugly. I'm going to die a little inside when I see one of these on the road.
fuhteng says:
11:49 AM, 06/23/09
Josh, I hate you a little bit.
Well, I found my new 4-door super-sedan to aspire to (since Obama is going to have the CTS-V assassinated). The standard 400 hp V8 looks pretty good to me! At least it doesn't look like every other Porsche ever made.
Now what did you mean that the sound is unlike anything you've heard from a large sedan? Is it better or worse than the 4.2L V8 Audi stuffs in everything?
greenpony says:
02:52 PM, 06/23/09
Ugly. And those shift "paddles" would constantly get in my way as I search for grip while turning.
hondacura4 says:
08:31 PM, 06/24/09
I actually like this car as its a different approach to a higher end sport/luxury sedan. Id take the Panamera Turbo or a Maserati Quattroporte GT-S just to be different.
"(since Obama is going to have the CTS-V assassinated)."
I don't see that happening as there are other cars in its class that are much worse in terms of fuel consumption.