Tom Williams Porsche

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Walk Around

The Porsche Panamera owes its design to two main factors, heritage and packaging. In conceiving the car, Porsche wanted a coupe-like profile for a sporty look, the backseat room of a sedan, and the cargo utility of a wagon. Those parameters lead the company to choose a rounded four-door hatchback design instead of a traditional three-box sedan body style. The hatchback allowed for generous rear headroom while also offering the desired rear cargo utility and the sporty coupe rear profile.

The Panamera also had to look like a Porsche, and that means it needed elements of the 911. The 911 influences include the signature shoulders or haunches around the rear wheels, a hood that sits lower than the front fenders, a front end with lower air intakes but no grille and the rounded rear end. The sensor for the available active cruise control degrades the appearance of the car from the front. Hidden at the back of the car is a cleverly designed active rear spoiler. It rests under a chrome trim strip and pops up at speed to increase rear downforce.

The result is a car that looks awkward from some angles. The length added by the rear doors and the high rear roofline appear to stretch the car too far. It seems like it would look better if you could take about 18 inches out of the rear roof area and give the roof a sharper slope. But if Porsche did that, it would look a lot like a front-engine 911. The rear end looks bulbous, reminding us somewhat of the old 928. In short, we think styling is this car's weakest point.

The design may not be elegant, but the Panamera does have presence in traffic. It attracts attention when it pulls up to a luxury hotel or fine restaurant or other gathering. On the road, that large rear end stands out.

Interior

2010 Porsche Panamera

Porsche claims the Panamera is its most luxurious car ever and with good reason. The base materials are top-notch, with supple, soft-touch surfaces, and more luxurious trim is available. We found the fit and finish excellent in all the models.

Panamera S and 4S models come standard with three partial leather upholstery choices, while the Turbo gets full-leather upholstery in four colors. Three different two-tone combinations and natural leather in two colors and one two-tone combination are also available. Interior trim consists of carbon, aluminum, and five real-wood options. And those who really want to personalize their vehicles can opt for an alcantara roofliner (standard on Turbo), extra leather on just about everything, including the rearview mirror, steering column, air vents, and the top of the dash. It's all very handsome.

The center console is replete with buttons, upwards of 32 of them. Other functions are controlled through the standard seven-inch touchscreen in the center of the dash and another 18 buttons surrounding that screen. Another 4.8-inch multi-function display is housed in one of the gauge pods in front of the drivers. It pairs with the navigation screen to show just about any information the driver might want. Porsche opted for a button for every possible command rather than a centralized controller along the lines of BMW's iDrive. We found all those buttons overwhelming at first, but it became simpler as we became accustomed to them. The buttons are logically grouped by function and easy to reach. A central controller might look more elegant but it would be even harder to learn. In short, Porsche's system is easier to learn than BMW's iDrive. We found the navigation system hard to figure out. For example, three of us, veteran automotive journalists all, could not in an hour-long drive figure out how to switch from the bird's-eye view to map view.

Instruments are housed in five tubes, with the tachometer front and center in white with black numbers. The speedometer, marked in hard-to-read 25 mph increments, sits to the left of the tach, and the multi-function display is to the right. Both of these contrast with the tach, using black backgrounds and white characters. If you can't read the speedometer, that's OK, because a digital speed readout is provided at the bottom of the tach. Two smaller gauge pods flank the speedometer and multi-function display, creating the five-pod arrangement. These pods include readouts for the fuel gauge, water temperature and oil pressure and temperature.

Buyers can opt for three levels of audio systems. The base system, with 11 speakers and 235 watts of power is quite good. The optional Bose surround sound system, with 14-speakers and 585 watts, is loud and clear. It matches anything you'd find in most luxury cars. We found the 16-speaker, 1000-watt Burmester surround sound is as clear as any we've ever heard, and we've herd some good ones.

We found the front seats firm and comfortable. Hop in any seat and you'll notice that the full-length center console, which rises toward the dash, creates four distinct seating pods, each of which offers all the room and comfort the vast majority of passengers would ever need. This is one sports sedan that doesn't compromise rear seat room. The center console was inspired by the unit in the Porsche Carrera GT, and the seating position is similar to that of the 911. Supportive bucket seats can be found at all positions. The base seats have 8-way power adjustments in the S and 4S and 14-way adjustments in the Turbo. Those who really want to spoil themselves can choose the 18-way front sport seats and the 8-way adjustable rear seats.

Rear-seat headroom is especially impressive, and can accommodate occupants well over 6-feet tall. We found the rear seats comfortable, like buckets. The copious space front and rear would make the Panamera a fine chauffer-driven vehicle, though giving up the driver's seat wouldn't be easy. Rear seat heaters are available, with rear-seat climate control.

Rear visibility is limited. The angle of the rear window makes it look like a rather short slit from the driver's seat. Otherwise, the mirrors provide good coverage.

Storage up front includes a cupholder at the front of a shallow center storage console, the glovebox, and door map pockets. In back, there is another cupholder, a shallow storage tray, and a small storage cubby in the fold-down armrest.

Cargo space is quite massive. The hatchback design provides plenty of space for larger items. With the rear seats up, there is 15.6 cubic feet of space behind them, which is about as much space as a large sedan's trunk. Those rear seats fold almost flat with the touch of two finders to open up 44.2 cubic feet of cargo volume. That's enough room for a family of four and their luggage on a weekend trip. Four suitcases fit easily in this car.

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