RE: Porsche Panamera Driven

[M Powered]

hahithestevieboy said:

Hmmm,

Interesting... it seems that Mercedes, Porsche and Aston Martin are all trying to build.... a jaguar...

Indeed. Just wait until you see the rest of this next week, particularly the interior trim quality and you will be wondering why anybody would go for the Porsche.

[qwick]

enioldjoe said:

SkinnyBoy said:

I love Porsche, always have since i was a kid and saw the moody black ones in Condorman and was smitten since.

That thing could win an Ugly Competition though. If there's one at Goodwood, I'm going to run up to the thing and put a brown paper bag over it. Then stand at a distance, point and go "Arrrrrghhhhhh, my eyes!!"

Two bags.

[RichB]

Been done before Tatra...

[r1ch]

I like the.........headlights.

[MattjK]

joz8968 said:

I like the way its worst angle, the profile, hasn't been posted in the pics.





It's like the Chrysler Crossfire -- do you rememeber Clarkson's famous comment: "It resembles a dog taking a dump." Appropriate here, too.

Agreed!

[Verde]

Other than the sensuous shapes of two door sports cars - particularly mid-engined designs - all other cars are only about function. So complaining about the look of a 4 seater with a hatchback that can accelerate to 60 in 4 seconds, run up to 190 mph and has the stopping power of cc brakes seems to miss the point. They are all homely compared to their sports car brethren.
That said, if I was looking for a 4 door, 4 seat high-end sedan, the Panamera would be at the top of my list. And there is no second.

[Funk]

Verde said:

That said, if I was looking for a 4 door, 4 seat high-end sedan, the Panamera would be at the top of my list. And there is no second.

Seriously..?





Are you blind? Let's not forget the other Italian contribution:

Edited by Funk on Tuesday 30th June 19:04

[MrTappets]

What d'you reckon the Aston Rapide (when it eventually arrives) just looks like a hunchbacked DB9? They could have done this soooo much better with a nice chiselled shooting break, rather than that flabby mess!

[seanmaccann]

a big fast ugly car - magnificent. leave the 'lookatme' idiot bling stuff to the Italians and the Japanese

[mattcov]

If it depreciates like the Cayenne, it'll make a nice buy in a few years..,

[alexday355]

I just cannot believe Porsche have produced this, it is so damn awful. It's a hunchback 911? What the heck is going on at Porsche? They need to be seriously worried with this, I don't see it selling!

[DanS]

we are forgetting here that porsche's last seriously ugly baby has also been by very very far their biggest ever seller... this thing looks like s**t, but it is probably going to sell.

[zcacogp]

DanS said:

... this thing looks like s**t, but it is probably going to sell.

While I actually like the Panamera (yes, really), one thing I doubt it will do is sell in big numbers.

I don't know what the economy is like, but the cost of fuel is going to go in one direction only. As is the cost of all other aspects of motoring in the UK; no-one believes that car tax will do anything other than escalate for big cars like this. Add in road charging (bound to be CO2-emission based) and parking costs, and a car like this will be a very VERY expensive toy in 5 years time.

Then realise that we will be at least 5 years climbing out of the current recession, and the number of buyers will be regrettably small.

Shame. As I said, I like it and would love to own one. However, the sensible side of me would never let me spend my money on one for all the reasons above.


Oli.

[BBS-LM]

red_slr said:

Interesting write up, sounds similar to other feedback I have read. As a potential customer I agree that the colour combo will be very important come order time. The rear end being the main problem for me. I think it will be GT Silver + RS Spyders for me... (PDK 2S)

Oh, and come on guys - can we take some better pics next time, maybe even a couple of interior shots? They are border line diabolical IMHO... constructive feedback and all...

Not terrible pictures, the car does look that bad.

[kiteless]

Sorry, but that is not, even in Ray Charles' world, a "Casino Square" car.

And if I'm going to be stumping up that sort of folding, then I want to drive something that's not just a good steer but something also that not totally bereft in the aesthetics department.

[HAB]

seanmaccann said:

a big fast ugly car - magnificent. leave the 'lookatme' idiot bling stuff to the Italians and the Japanese

Yep. Lot of people looking for a big practical ubersaloon, will be avoiding the teenage supercar imitators imo. Looks better in the flesh than these photos, still an ugly brute though.

[j123]

Lets see its too wide for German roads, how would UK roads handle this? B-road anyone- like a very dangerous game of chicken?

When Porsche goes out of their collective minds with their Panamera we should now call it.... Panamania! Maybe it will eventually be used as a word when a fat, rich, bloated CEO really goes bozo in the boardroom, its Panamania. Indeed is that not whats truly happening now at Porsche HQ?

Anyway...the tactile and visual experience described in this review reminds me of a ride on the bus a few weeks ago; a very very large man (about 400 lbs) tried to squeeze himself into a seat between two old ladies and darn near crushed them both. Ego's have got us, now how do we get out of this Panamania world we're so deeply in? j

[forzaminardi]

Looks great


Edit: DOH! Just seen RichB's post above. Apologies Mr. B.

Edited by forzaminardi on Wednesday 1st July 09:32

[Smartass]

Looking again at the profile shot, from the nose back to the C-pillar it looks a lot like a Quattroporte to me. From the C-pillar back its frickin' horrid. Putting that arse on it is completely pointless too - it's not like thay have to get an engine in there.

[forzaminardi]

I think the problem is with these sort of cars is that the likes of Porsche and even the Aston Rapide are too stuck into their historic design language. There's not reason to think a big car can't look good, indeed I think it's probably easier to make a long, low-ish car look elegant rather than a shorter car. Look at Alfa's horrific attempt to graft the 8c's gorgeous looks onto something shorter and narrower in the Mito. Maserati and Jaguar have carried it off better because they have not tried too hard to make a big car conform to the looks of a smaller car; they have simply set about designing a good-looking big car.

Trying to graft the 911's classic shape and details onto something bigger just doesn't work. They'd have done better to just come up with a more original design, as I think, would Aston. I know they want to keep the product recognisable and link it to the company's heritage etc., but every cheapskate car manufacturer seems to be able to produce a range of models with a family resemblance so it ought not be that hard for the likes of Porsche and Aston.