Road Test
Porsche Panamera Turbo
Test date 20 September 2009
Price as tested £97,818
For Strong performance, solid-feeling interior, inherent chassis balance
AgainstCumbersome gearbox operation, high price, clumsy ride
An all-new model line from Porsche is something we’ve become rather more accustomed to within the past 10 years than at any other time in the company’s history.
The Panamera, however, is as much of a diversion from its current line-up as the Cayenne SUV was. Porsche has never made a car like this before, although the company says producing a four-door GT was a dream of company founder Ferdinand Porsche.
As with the Cayenne, the Panamera (named after the Carrera Panamericana road race) enters an established market while offering something unique.
No other luxury car looks quite like the Panamera, and no other is meant to be quite so overtly sporty. And, we suspect, no other is prepared to be quite so compromised in its pursuit of that outright dynamism.
Even the fastest versions of luxury saloons – with the possible exception of the Maserati Quattroporte – don’t usually sacrifice their latent comfort. Question is, what level of comfort and refinement can Porsche maintain while achieving the level of performance it craves?
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