Porsche Panamera road tests and consumer car reviews

Porsche Panamera 4S 2010

I had a Porsche Panamera 4S on loan from Performance Car Hire after a complete idiot driving in the middle of a country lane smashed the wing mirror off my Bentley GTC Speed! I had been spoiled by driving the Bentley for the last 18 months and very much looking forward to seeing what the Panamera was like. This is not the best looking car in the world and I think it would be fair to say that most people will love it or hate it. The looks are rather strange. It would be fair to say that it looks like a Porsche 911 with a saloon bolted to the back! To be fair that is probably exactly what this car is meant to be! It really is a family man’s 911 ! There is absolutely loads of room in the back for two adults (or child seats as I had!) and a very large boot for luggage, golf clubs (or prams as I had!) I have to say that the Panamera impressed me! Put the car in sport plus mode and my god does it shift! This is a big, wide car and an absolutely fabulous cruiser on the motorways. The car effortlessly munches the miles! On a 466 mile round trip to Portsmouth from Prestbury the car effortlesly cruised and managed a relatively impressive 25 mpg. The Panamera is a very luxurious, smooth, easy to drive supercar and the good this is that in almost 500 miles I didn’t see another one on the road. All of the controls are very well laid out and the Porsche satellite navigation system is not only brilliant, but also very easy to use. Was I impressed enough to want one? Given a choice between this and other cars in the luxury sports saloon class such as the Masterati Quattroporte, Aston Martin Rapide, Jaguar XJ I would pick the Porsche.