'19 Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo - a change of pace
Discussion
So, it was time to jump out of my beloved E63S. See thread for the sunset special, and the reasons for getting out of the car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
But for those that don't want to read, an excerpt:
"So why sell it? Well, life kinda has a way, doesn't it? I grew older (5 years isn't a lot of difference.. but sometimes it's enough!). My back grew fussy and couldn't deal with the bucket seats over long drives anymore. I needed more space (for more dogs). With the SLS joining the garage, the enjoyment of the E's noise was waning on me. I grew weary of the stiff suspension, even in comfort. I guess, eventually, what you're looking for in a daily driver just tends to change a little, especially when you already have other silly things kicking around. I wanted more refinement, more comfort. The Mrs and I have a 4000mi roadtrip to the north of Sweden in a month. I did not fancy doing it in the E. Lack of adaptive cruise control, the buckets, and a third (!!!) incoming dog meant I really, really started feeling the urge to look at alternatives before we set off."
The budget was max'd out at £120-130k, but there were a few specifics in mind when looking.
1) Comfort. Comfort comfort comfort. Refinement. Insulation.
2) Space for my GSD in the boot. We also have a whippet but she'll go in the backseat in her little dog bed. Third dog (second whippet) incoming will have the second backseat spot in her own other little bed.
3) Long distance cruise tech. Adaptive cruise, traffic jam assist, all that fun stuff. We have a 4000mi roundtrip to go up to the north of Sweden coming up and I didn't fancy driving the E63S up given my monkey-brain took over when spec'ing the car and I went for buckets, which meant I wasn't allowed Adaptive Cruise.
4) Power. I didn't want to be too far off the E63S, otherwise I'd find myself missing that thing far too much and regretting my eventual purchase.
5) Depreciation. Cars depreciate. That's a fact of life, but between my old 720S, and the E63S, I'm down about £160k+ on cars, which makes me an unpopular man with my OH. So, I wanted to do my best to minimise the damage on this one.
So what were the options? Well, I ordered a new Range Rover Autobio P440e - but then cancelled after waiting a year and being told they were going to rip stuff out of it (nice audio system, et al), it didn't sit right with me. Great car, but going on the secondary market meant paying overs, and I wasn't going to do that. It also doesn't really tick the "depreciation" box - overs will disappear quickly in a year or so, and then normal depreciation will set in.. and it can be a fun ride with these cars.
New RS6? Doesn't meet the comfort requirement. Rides stiff, sure probably better than the E63S - but still not quite there, and despite it being a good looker, the interior didn't feel or look great to me. Most cars haven't moved enough off list, but when it happens (and it will!), it will be a biiiiiiiig old slide. Especially with the mileage I'm going to throw on the car. So that was out.
Bentaygas are great, but also didn't fit. Neither did the DBX. I knew I was going to put 60,000mi on the car in a few years, and in my price bracket, those cars already had 20,000mi on the clock. I didn't fancy attempting to flog an expensive British SUV with 80,000mi on it in a few years.
E63S wagon would make sense but I didn't want to get something that was more of the same. I had my time with those cars.
I am, clearly, a fussy f
king mess.
Anyway, I kept looking and finally found something I thought fit the bill. Panamera Sport Turismos. I remember driving one a few years ago and found it supple and comfortable.. so that was one requirement met! New was out of the question, needed something relatively soon - but more importantly, these things depreciate like no tomorrow. It would have to be the Turbo or Turbo S E-Hybrid. After some reading around, the Turbo S E-Hybrid was knocked out of contention for being 400kg heavier, and a quick peruse of Rennlist showed a LOT of E-Hybrid niggles and problems surfacing on higher mile cars. Turbo it is.
Lots of search on Autotrader yielded some cars with 60,000mi @ £77k-ish. Nothing with a good spec on it, nor the options I was looking for. Some cars had ACC missing, others had the necessary rear-wheel steering missing. Wrong seats. Wrong colors. Boring spec.
Again, a fussy fking mess.
But after searching for a bit on Autotrader, I turned to Pistonheads... and found one. A good one. Not listed on AT for some reason. All the toys I wanted. An interesting spec (less so on the outside, moreso on the inside!), and mileage + price felt good. I rung the dealer, and after a little back and forth, a deal was done. In the £80s, with a measly 9000mi on the clock.
The value proposition was tantalising. This was a car that retailed with all the spec at £135-140k. It was a 2019 and has barely been driven. The original owner had gone crazy on the spec sheet. The only thing it was missing was PDCC Sport, but lateral dynamics was the least of my concern, so I could live without it.
For now, some pictures of the car - and you can see why I said it was a bit of a different spec. I personally love the interior and OH is very much in agreement, it looks fantastic in person.
I picked the car up Monday gone, so first driving impressions to follow on later today!
But for those that don't want to read, an excerpt:
"So why sell it? Well, life kinda has a way, doesn't it? I grew older (5 years isn't a lot of difference.. but sometimes it's enough!). My back grew fussy and couldn't deal with the bucket seats over long drives anymore. I needed more space (for more dogs). With the SLS joining the garage, the enjoyment of the E's noise was waning on me. I grew weary of the stiff suspension, even in comfort. I guess, eventually, what you're looking for in a daily driver just tends to change a little, especially when you already have other silly things kicking around. I wanted more refinement, more comfort. The Mrs and I have a 4000mi roadtrip to the north of Sweden in a month. I did not fancy doing it in the E. Lack of adaptive cruise control, the buckets, and a third (!!!) incoming dog meant I really, really started feeling the urge to look at alternatives before we set off."
The budget was max'd out at £120-130k, but there were a few specifics in mind when looking.
1) Comfort. Comfort comfort comfort. Refinement. Insulation.
2) Space for my GSD in the boot. We also have a whippet but she'll go in the backseat in her little dog bed. Third dog (second whippet) incoming will have the second backseat spot in her own other little bed.
3) Long distance cruise tech. Adaptive cruise, traffic jam assist, all that fun stuff. We have a 4000mi roundtrip to go up to the north of Sweden coming up and I didn't fancy driving the E63S up given my monkey-brain took over when spec'ing the car and I went for buckets, which meant I wasn't allowed Adaptive Cruise.
4) Power. I didn't want to be too far off the E63S, otherwise I'd find myself missing that thing far too much and regretting my eventual purchase.
5) Depreciation. Cars depreciate. That's a fact of life, but between my old 720S, and the E63S, I'm down about £160k+ on cars, which makes me an unpopular man with my OH. So, I wanted to do my best to minimise the damage on this one.
So what were the options? Well, I ordered a new Range Rover Autobio P440e - but then cancelled after waiting a year and being told they were going to rip stuff out of it (nice audio system, et al), it didn't sit right with me. Great car, but going on the secondary market meant paying overs, and I wasn't going to do that. It also doesn't really tick the "depreciation" box - overs will disappear quickly in a year or so, and then normal depreciation will set in.. and it can be a fun ride with these cars.
New RS6? Doesn't meet the comfort requirement. Rides stiff, sure probably better than the E63S - but still not quite there, and despite it being a good looker, the interior didn't feel or look great to me. Most cars haven't moved enough off list, but when it happens (and it will!), it will be a biiiiiiiig old slide. Especially with the mileage I'm going to throw on the car. So that was out.
Bentaygas are great, but also didn't fit. Neither did the DBX. I knew I was going to put 60,000mi on the car in a few years, and in my price bracket, those cars already had 20,000mi on the clock. I didn't fancy attempting to flog an expensive British SUV with 80,000mi on it in a few years.
E63S wagon would make sense but I didn't want to get something that was more of the same. I had my time with those cars.
I am, clearly, a fussy f
king mess.Anyway, I kept looking and finally found something I thought fit the bill. Panamera Sport Turismos. I remember driving one a few years ago and found it supple and comfortable.. so that was one requirement met! New was out of the question, needed something relatively soon - but more importantly, these things depreciate like no tomorrow. It would have to be the Turbo or Turbo S E-Hybrid. After some reading around, the Turbo S E-Hybrid was knocked out of contention for being 400kg heavier, and a quick peruse of Rennlist showed a LOT of E-Hybrid niggles and problems surfacing on higher mile cars. Turbo it is.
Lots of search on Autotrader yielded some cars with 60,000mi @ £77k-ish. Nothing with a good spec on it, nor the options I was looking for. Some cars had ACC missing, others had the necessary rear-wheel steering missing. Wrong seats. Wrong colors. Boring spec.
Again, a fussy f
king mess.But after searching for a bit on Autotrader, I turned to Pistonheads... and found one. A good one. Not listed on AT for some reason. All the toys I wanted. An interesting spec (less so on the outside, moreso on the inside!), and mileage + price felt good. I rung the dealer, and after a little back and forth, a deal was done. In the £80s, with a measly 9000mi on the clock.
The value proposition was tantalising. This was a car that retailed with all the spec at £135-140k. It was a 2019 and has barely been driven. The original owner had gone crazy on the spec sheet. The only thing it was missing was PDCC Sport, but lateral dynamics was the least of my concern, so I could live without it.
For now, some pictures of the car - and you can see why I said it was a bit of a different spec. I personally love the interior and OH is very much in agreement, it looks fantastic in person.
I picked the car up Monday gone, so first driving impressions to follow on later today!
Thanks all!
Initial impressions then! Collected the car on Monday and put it straight to work. Sold the E63S on Friday, and Monday morning at 9:30am the dog had to be dropped off to the vet 30 minutes away for a little procedure, followed by collecting her at around 5pm after the sedation has worn off.
So, my mate George to the rescue, and his dad's X3 Hybrid E-thingy was requisitioned and pooch loaded in the back, followed by carting me a couple of hours away to go collect the Pany.
From the look in her eyes, I hazard a guess she figured where she was going. Not a happy dog!
Once she was dropped off, we braved the disgusting weather for the 2hr+ drive to Petersfield.
After this I promptly fell asleep (snoring, apparently, but I don't buy it) until we got closer - and woke up 15 minutes away from the car. It was like time travelling, absolutely lovely. Roads around Petersfield looked really nice, and a solid bonus to the day was seeing two (!) McLaren F1s in a McLaren showroom a couple of minutes from where we were collecting the car.
Got in, quickly wrapped up the paperwork, and jumped in the car. It looked great! Already ceramic coated and all the bits done. Car looked in pristine condition with the exception of some light scuffing on the left front rim. Not a problem for me, the thing is bloody massive and I expect a few little scrapes of my own, so will get it all sorted in a year or so once I've gotten used to the size of the thing.
Setting off, the first thing that occured to me was that the car was smoooooth. Compared to the E63, it feels like the Panamera sort of glides along. The seats are very comfortable too (14 way, heated, ventilated and massaging) - and the entire car feels very, very well built. I was in love with the interior - I hadn't seen the color in person before getting into the car, but the whole thing felt very upmarket and expensive feeling/looking. With this interior I believe they needed to select an option for whatever Porsche's equivalent of extended leather was, and it really came together really well - including the alcantara headliner in brown, hell, even the bonnet release was wrapped in leather!
All the switch gear felt a cut above what was present in the E too, indicator stalks, AC controls, etc. The analogue tach and flanked displays also made for a lovely instrument binnacle, I really enjoyed the way it integrated, and the displays are nice and high-resolution, so it all looks exquisite when tied together. The car is equipped with the extra glazing insulated glass, so it was really quiet inside too. Steering felt nice and precise, but didn't let through as much road texture as the E63S, which oddly is a plus for me. More insulation from the road surface, which I was happy about.
You could also feel the RWS working, it is a VERY large car and I would say RWS is a must, I wouldn't bother looking at one without this option. I gave it a little poke on some of the good roads closer to the vet and was surprised at how quick it felt for such a big car. The 550hp on the spec sheet is looking a little suspect here, and my butt-dyno feels like there's a little more. Traction from the 4wd system was sublime, and the car can really shrink itself to bomb down a B-road with respectable pace.
Noise wise, inside at least, not much to write home about - the extra glazing takes some away from it, and Porsche don't pipe sound into the cabin, so it sounds quite far away, albeit still sounding very much like a V8. Night and Day from the E63, with the Porsche feeling like it simply doesn't need to shout about it's power to it's occupants. No complaints from me on that one, and in Sport+ it makes some really nice little burbles working your way down the box, very deep and guttural sounding (but far in the distance and relatively muffled!). Gearbox is a PDK. Don't need to say much more than that. Well calibrated, very quick, and deeply impressive. Pulled into the vets feeling very pleased with the result of the car swap. Feel-good factor was at a high!
Dog collected, less interested in checking out her new ride, and more interested in the horses next to us.
I got to try some of the cruise tech on it too, but at first it was a complete mind fk. The controls for the stalk are bang opposite the Merc's. Pushing and pulling set, increased, and reduced speed. Doing this in the Merc would resume/stop cruise control. Conversely, pushing the stalk up and down would resume/stop cruise control, whereas in the E it would set, increase and reduce speed. Once figured out, though, adaptive cruise was really really nice to use. Calibrated well, braking and throttle inputs were nice and smooth - and the car came equipped with Traffic Jam Assist, where under a certain speed (20 I think?), it would drive the car fully autonomously in stop/start traffic. It switches by itself, seamlessly, between full-on adaptive cruise and traffic jam assist once the speeds come down.
The overall effect was rammed home to me on the A303 past Stonehenge, where stop/start traffic is a usual routine. Normally, frustration, but in this case I just let the car do it's thing while enjoying a Shiatsu from the driver's seat (very strong btw, quite impressive!) and some Einaudi on the Burmester. On that note, for whatever reason, the Burmester stereo on this car sounds better on the low end than the Burmester in the Merc. Ears not tuned enough to pick up anything on the highs, but as an overall package - this sounds superior in my ears. Might just be the new car effect, though
Overall, initially, I am a very happy man. The Panamera is nailing it's job spec with aplomb, and I thought I'd miss the E63S more. That says a lot, to me.
Initial impressions then! Collected the car on Monday and put it straight to work. Sold the E63S on Friday, and Monday morning at 9:30am the dog had to be dropped off to the vet 30 minutes away for a little procedure, followed by collecting her at around 5pm after the sedation has worn off.
So, my mate George to the rescue, and his dad's X3 Hybrid E-thingy was requisitioned and pooch loaded in the back, followed by carting me a couple of hours away to go collect the Pany.
From the look in her eyes, I hazard a guess she figured where she was going. Not a happy dog!
Once she was dropped off, we braved the disgusting weather for the 2hr+ drive to Petersfield.
After this I promptly fell asleep (snoring, apparently, but I don't buy it) until we got closer - and woke up 15 minutes away from the car. It was like time travelling, absolutely lovely. Roads around Petersfield looked really nice, and a solid bonus to the day was seeing two (!) McLaren F1s in a McLaren showroom a couple of minutes from where we were collecting the car.
Got in, quickly wrapped up the paperwork, and jumped in the car. It looked great! Already ceramic coated and all the bits done. Car looked in pristine condition with the exception of some light scuffing on the left front rim. Not a problem for me, the thing is bloody massive and I expect a few little scrapes of my own, so will get it all sorted in a year or so once I've gotten used to the size of the thing.
Setting off, the first thing that occured to me was that the car was smoooooth. Compared to the E63, it feels like the Panamera sort of glides along. The seats are very comfortable too (14 way, heated, ventilated and massaging) - and the entire car feels very, very well built. I was in love with the interior - I hadn't seen the color in person before getting into the car, but the whole thing felt very upmarket and expensive feeling/looking. With this interior I believe they needed to select an option for whatever Porsche's equivalent of extended leather was, and it really came together really well - including the alcantara headliner in brown, hell, even the bonnet release was wrapped in leather!
All the switch gear felt a cut above what was present in the E too, indicator stalks, AC controls, etc. The analogue tach and flanked displays also made for a lovely instrument binnacle, I really enjoyed the way it integrated, and the displays are nice and high-resolution, so it all looks exquisite when tied together. The car is equipped with the extra glazing insulated glass, so it was really quiet inside too. Steering felt nice and precise, but didn't let through as much road texture as the E63S, which oddly is a plus for me. More insulation from the road surface, which I was happy about.
You could also feel the RWS working, it is a VERY large car and I would say RWS is a must, I wouldn't bother looking at one without this option. I gave it a little poke on some of the good roads closer to the vet and was surprised at how quick it felt for such a big car. The 550hp on the spec sheet is looking a little suspect here, and my butt-dyno feels like there's a little more. Traction from the 4wd system was sublime, and the car can really shrink itself to bomb down a B-road with respectable pace.
Noise wise, inside at least, not much to write home about - the extra glazing takes some away from it, and Porsche don't pipe sound into the cabin, so it sounds quite far away, albeit still sounding very much like a V8. Night and Day from the E63, with the Porsche feeling like it simply doesn't need to shout about it's power to it's occupants. No complaints from me on that one, and in Sport+ it makes some really nice little burbles working your way down the box, very deep and guttural sounding (but far in the distance and relatively muffled!). Gearbox is a PDK. Don't need to say much more than that. Well calibrated, very quick, and deeply impressive. Pulled into the vets feeling very pleased with the result of the car swap. Feel-good factor was at a high!
Dog collected, less interested in checking out her new ride, and more interested in the horses next to us.
I got to try some of the cruise tech on it too, but at first it was a complete mind f
k. The controls for the stalk are bang opposite the Merc's. Pushing and pulling set, increased, and reduced speed. Doing this in the Merc would resume/stop cruise control. Conversely, pushing the stalk up and down would resume/stop cruise control, whereas in the E it would set, increase and reduce speed. Once figured out, though, adaptive cruise was really really nice to use. Calibrated well, braking and throttle inputs were nice and smooth - and the car came equipped with Traffic Jam Assist, where under a certain speed (20 I think?), it would drive the car fully autonomously in stop/start traffic. It switches by itself, seamlessly, between full-on adaptive cruise and traffic jam assist once the speeds come down. The overall effect was rammed home to me on the A303 past Stonehenge, where stop/start traffic is a usual routine. Normally, frustration, but in this case I just let the car do it's thing while enjoying a Shiatsu from the driver's seat (very strong btw, quite impressive!) and some Einaudi on the Burmester. On that note, for whatever reason, the Burmester stereo on this car sounds better on the low end than the Burmester in the Merc. Ears not tuned enough to pick up anything on the highs, but as an overall package - this sounds superior in my ears. Might just be the new car effect, though
Overall, initially, I am a very happy man. The Panamera is nailing it's job spec with aplomb, and I thought I'd miss the E63S more. That says a lot, to me.
What an excellent write up and a properly fantastically spec’d car by the looks of it, I’ve just moved to a cayenne from an E63 and can sympathise with the cruise control as I found exactly the same, the car feels really well put together and I too have been very impressed with the burmester stereo. My car is of an older vintage than yours but still many of the same things that you have found I would agree with, with mine. I love the brown interior as well, looking like an excellent buy and I will enjoy reading about it!
Serial Panamera owner here, having had a first gen GTS, a facelift Turbo S and now a 2019 Turbo, which I bought in summer 2021 and then sold to Porsche in September 2022, before buying it back for substantially less in January 2023.
Like the OP, I tested the other obvious candidates (as well as Audi S8s, BMW 7s and S Classes) as and when I changed cars and also had a 5.5TT E63 for a couple of years. While they're all great cars in their own ways, they're very different to the Panamera, which I find the best overall compromise in terms of refinement, performance, comfort and interior space.
I agree, RWS is really useful, as are Innodrive, ventilated seats, sports exhaust is also essential. The only extras mine doesn't have, which I would have loved are surround view, Burmester (it's a huge step up from mid range Mercedes but probably not as good as the version in the S Class) and massaging seats, but beggars can't be choosers.
I do a lot of long journeys in mine and that's what they excel at. They're not even that thirsty, mine regularly exceeds 30mpg meaning the range is nearly 600 miles...for a 4 litre twin turbo V8. The only car I would replace it with would be a late FF or Lusso V12 but they're a few leagues up and they're not really as useable in my opinion.
Like the OP, I tested the other obvious candidates (as well as Audi S8s, BMW 7s and S Classes) as and when I changed cars and also had a 5.5TT E63 for a couple of years. While they're all great cars in their own ways, they're very different to the Panamera, which I find the best overall compromise in terms of refinement, performance, comfort and interior space.
I agree, RWS is really useful, as are Innodrive, ventilated seats, sports exhaust is also essential. The only extras mine doesn't have, which I would have loved are surround view, Burmester (it's a huge step up from mid range Mercedes but probably not as good as the version in the S Class) and massaging seats, but beggars can't be choosers.
I do a lot of long journeys in mine and that's what they excel at. They're not even that thirsty, mine regularly exceeds 30mpg meaning the range is nearly 600 miles...for a 4 litre twin turbo V8. The only car I would replace it with would be a late FF or Lusso V12 but they're a few leagues up and they're not really as useable in my opinion.
Nice little initial review. I had one of these for about a month in return for kindly doing an airport run at some ungodly hour for a relative. It was a Turbo S but relatively poverty spec (for such a car) other than a few odd carbon bits like the steering wheel and door scuff plates. Black and white interior as well, which wouldn't be my choice if I was paying -- your leather interior looks spot on though against the black exterior paint.
As you highlight, and as with most Porsche Turbo models, the noise is undramatic. It is most definitely a V8 when it starts, and has a lovely pleasing deep burble when driving around slowly but the sound is quite unremarkable even at higher speeds and when you boot it (from the inside anyway). The sports exhaust button doesn't have any great effect either. The almighty organ-rearranging shove back into the seats you experience when your right foot sinks deeper into the long-travel accelerator pedal or you enjoy the launch control is just not commensurate with the noise you hear. Rather the opposite of the E63 I'd imagine!
As you highlight, and as with most Porsche Turbo models, the noise is undramatic. It is most definitely a V8 when it starts, and has a lovely pleasing deep burble when driving around slowly but the sound is quite unremarkable even at higher speeds and when you boot it (from the inside anyway). The sports exhaust button doesn't have any great effect either. The almighty organ-rearranging shove back into the seats you experience when your right foot sinks deeper into the long-travel accelerator pedal or you enjoy the launch control is just not commensurate with the noise you hear. Rather the opposite of the E63 I'd imagine!
Dog collected, less interested in checking out her new ride, and more interested in the horses next to us.
Just had to comment on your contributions so far, very interesting write ups. I'm a Mercedes guy so the E63 and SLS were good to hear about. Big fan of the Panamera too, I even thought the original looked good especially in black with turbo alloys.
Your new car is a fantastic spec and I wish you many happy miles in it. Hopefully you'll do a Swedish roadtrip report, we love those on pistonheads. Can I ask you is the boot surround leather too?
Car is one of the nicest I've seen. An alternative might have been an Alpina B5 Touring but looking at what's for sale they look quite plain inside and generic outside and that's surprised me as I would have had them on my winner's list.
Would you be inclined to do any performance tweaks? I see DMS do a tune to boost BHP from 550-700bhp which is insane. Oh and can Inno Drive be bought over the air on subscription like it can on the Taycan? Thinking not.
Just had to pull out this pic of your gorgeous GSD she looks very cuddly. I hope she's recovered from the vet's visit!
Just had to comment on your contributions so far, very interesting write ups. I'm a Mercedes guy so the E63 and SLS were good to hear about. Big fan of the Panamera too, I even thought the original looked good especially in black with turbo alloys.
Your new car is a fantastic spec and I wish you many happy miles in it. Hopefully you'll do a Swedish roadtrip report, we love those on pistonheads. Can I ask you is the boot surround leather too?
Car is one of the nicest I've seen. An alternative might have been an Alpina B5 Touring but looking at what's for sale they look quite plain inside and generic outside and that's surprised me as I would have had them on my winner's list.
Would you be inclined to do any performance tweaks? I see DMS do a tune to boost BHP from 550-700bhp which is insane. Oh and can Inno Drive be bought over the air on subscription like it can on the Taycan? Thinking not.
Just had to pull out this pic of your gorgeous GSD she looks very cuddly. I hope she's recovered from the vet's visit!
Hey all! Been in Sweden for a little while, preparing to head back soon - but time here has been very hectic and I haven't had time to write about the long road over here with the Panamera. A quiet evening so I figured this would be a good moment to sit down and write a little report on how the trip went.
Apologies in advance if a post like this belongs elsewhere, but I searched the forums and couldn't find a "trip report" section.
So, this monster trip. Around 3000km to get ourselves from Exeter to Boden, in the north of Sweden, to visit M's (my other half) family, and pick up our new pup. I personally have a phobia about flying with dogs, hearing of pets being lost or worse in cargo containers just makes me feel a little ill - and flying from the EU to the UK requires a quarantine, whereas driving does not (for some reason). Coupled with the length of stay (1mo+) and the countryside location, we figured we'd just drive up and bring the dogs with us so they can run around in the fields here and have a good time, and all get introduced to one another while the puppy was still a little one.
The Panamera was bought, pretty much, for this trip. It will be my daily driver when we get home, but the change of car was mostly spurred on by the needs and wants around making a road trip like this, including more space for the GSD to be comfortable in the boot.
Preparation wise, very little was done. I was given a litre of engine oil when the car was delivered and other than the standard kit (hi-viz and bits in the boot floor), I packed little else specific to the car. Saved copies of the insurance, chucked the V5 in the dash, and swapped the plates out for the ones with a Union Jack and "UK" so as to avoid having the nasty oval sticker. I did a little tyre pressure check to make sure all was well, and whilst I would have much preferred to have done the upcoming service before the trip, Porsche dealers have a 1 month long wait list to book you in. Admittedly, I was incredulous at that timeframe, given MB will take the car the very next day, but I'm guessing that's because of the brownie points I've earned with the dealer from AMG purchases in the past. Perhaps it's a subtle way of telling me I need to buy a GT3 before actually getting a quick service turnaround. Who knows!
Regardless, other than that - the final bit of preparation and a legal requirement for the journey through Europe was to have a proper separation net/cage between the bootspace and the passenger compartment. Due to the Sport Turismo's low roofline, a normal cage for a GSD to settle in comfortably wouldn't fit, but thankfully Porsche's tequipment range had a solution... at a cost.
£300 for some netting and straps sounds like something out of a BDSM fever dream, but here we are. Shoutout to Porsche Exeter for expediting the acquisition of one, as the shipping date had it arriving shortly after we were due to leave. Good effort from them to get it in on time.
Here's what it looks like all fitted up. Took a couple of minutes to fit, pretty easy, once you figure it out. Instructions, however, not included. £300 worth? Err, maybe not. But, it's OEM and fit for purpose, so it'll do.
Finally, before leaving the missus requested an all important tip-run, so the filthy Panamera was dispatched for that sans net.
The day after, it was time to go - so duffel bags packed with the essentials and stuffed into the rear passenger footwells, Lily the Whippet in the backseat, clipped into her doggy seatbelt, Gracie the GSD dumped unceremoniously in the boot with her dog bed for padding, and off we went! First stop was to top off the tank at a local Shell. I was curious to see what kinda mileage the Panamera could eek out on a proper long run, given this is my first proper long distance haul with the car.
I will apologise in advance, this isn't exactly a very exciting trip to be doing, 99.99% of it is motorway cruising - no twisties or anything fun, really. Just a big, long slog. But regardless, I petitioned OH into grabbing photos of our adventures! I have more than a hundred, but I don't think anyone really has time for that, so I'll cherry pick bits and pieces here and there and try and smush in as much as I can!
10912 miles on the clock, and trip meter reset to 0. I'll update when we're home for total mileage in the 1 month period.
233 miles to run, in order to get to the channel. Flex ticket booked so arrival time didn't matter much. Panamera showing one of my gripes with the infotainment, however - in that Apple Carplay cannot be used in full screen for some blasted reason. There's a little software hack to fix that, however, and I intend on doing it when I get home.
Some decent weather as we start getting settled in. The idea was to do one-shot straight down to the tunnel, feed and exercise the dogs while waiting for the train, and then hop on board once we're all sorted. To their credit, the dogs got settled fell asleep fairly quickly as M and I listened to some music. This in itself would have been impossible in the E63S, as Gracie the GSD wouldn't have been able to properly stretch out in the back seat.
The EuroTunnel terminal was absolutely deserted. 0 queues for anything at all, check in etc was an absolute breeze.
Initial results from the Eurotunnel are quite impressive, nearly 30mpg from the TTV8, loaded up with 2 dogs, luggage for a month, the OH, and my lardy ass.
Now, the Panamera is a cool wagon, but this is a PROPERLY cool wagon, spotted at the Eurotunnel.
Traditions. BK at the Eurotunnel. Anyone else?
Honestly, I wouldn't mind travelling like this. Might throw my bed into the back of a Sprinter and ask someone else to drive the next time I need to go into Europe. Looks very comfy!
Panamera wagon is a helluva looker in my opinion. Really handsome profile on the car. Stopped and grabbed some sandwiches for later from the Plus Lounge thingy.
Loading up with a beautiful Swiss registered Bentley.
Lillies got a bit anxious on the crossing so she got an upgrade on the seating situation (we clipped her back in before setting off again!).
Sun setting in the rear view mirror as we trudge through France and Belgium..
Belgium, typically, even at 10pm has to throw a massive traffic jam at us near Antwerp. We sat in this for 30 minutes or so, but Traffic Jam Assist took care of it all, so it was pretty breezy and very much appreciated after an enormously long day.
Panamera demonstrating some decent economy, 28mpg and completing Exeter to the other side of Belgium in one tank. I decided to top up before entering Germany, as I expected the Autobahn to be reasonably clear at 11pm. We still had a fair few miles to run at this point, with Bremen being the stop-off point for tonight.
fk.
After fuelling up, we gave the pups something to eat and then set off again. OH finally fell asleep at this point, cosseted in the Panamera's heated massage seats. This was brilliant as we were to shortly enter Germany with it's derestricted Autobahns.
With that being said, I was very impressed with the Panamera on it's home turf. This thing was absolutely built to hammer up and down the derestricted sections. We bounced between 200 to 280-ish for most of that section, all the way into Bremen. It was absolutely fabulous, the car performed like the thoroughbred it is, with absolute composure and sure-footedness. The Matrix LEDs were utterly brilliant and cast a superb beam for us to chase through the still night air. Much can be said, but honestly, the sticking point for me was this: Despite the ludicrous speed and performance the car put up over the entire Autobahn stretch, OH and both dogs were all fast asleep until we got into Bremen. To me, that was the single most incredible thing about it. It truly is a family oriented luxury rocketship.
Finally, landing in Bremen at nearly 3am, a final shot of the trip data covering the day's work put in by the Panamera. Superb work by the machine. Faultless.
Will continue with Leg 2 and 3 in another post so this one doesn't become too lengthy!
Cheers!
Apologies in advance if a post like this belongs elsewhere, but I searched the forums and couldn't find a "trip report" section.
So, this monster trip. Around 3000km to get ourselves from Exeter to Boden, in the north of Sweden, to visit M's (my other half) family, and pick up our new pup. I personally have a phobia about flying with dogs, hearing of pets being lost or worse in cargo containers just makes me feel a little ill - and flying from the EU to the UK requires a quarantine, whereas driving does not (for some reason). Coupled with the length of stay (1mo+) and the countryside location, we figured we'd just drive up and bring the dogs with us so they can run around in the fields here and have a good time, and all get introduced to one another while the puppy was still a little one.
The Panamera was bought, pretty much, for this trip. It will be my daily driver when we get home, but the change of car was mostly spurred on by the needs and wants around making a road trip like this, including more space for the GSD to be comfortable in the boot.
Preparation wise, very little was done. I was given a litre of engine oil when the car was delivered and other than the standard kit (hi-viz and bits in the boot floor), I packed little else specific to the car. Saved copies of the insurance, chucked the V5 in the dash, and swapped the plates out for the ones with a Union Jack and "UK" so as to avoid having the nasty oval sticker. I did a little tyre pressure check to make sure all was well, and whilst I would have much preferred to have done the upcoming service before the trip, Porsche dealers have a 1 month long wait list to book you in. Admittedly, I was incredulous at that timeframe, given MB will take the car the very next day, but I'm guessing that's because of the brownie points I've earned with the dealer from AMG purchases in the past. Perhaps it's a subtle way of telling me I need to buy a GT3 before actually getting a quick service turnaround. Who knows!
Regardless, other than that - the final bit of preparation and a legal requirement for the journey through Europe was to have a proper separation net/cage between the bootspace and the passenger compartment. Due to the Sport Turismo's low roofline, a normal cage for a GSD to settle in comfortably wouldn't fit, but thankfully Porsche's tequipment range had a solution... at a cost.
£300 for some netting and straps sounds like something out of a BDSM fever dream, but here we are. Shoutout to Porsche Exeter for expediting the acquisition of one, as the shipping date had it arriving shortly after we were due to leave. Good effort from them to get it in on time.
Here's what it looks like all fitted up. Took a couple of minutes to fit, pretty easy, once you figure it out. Instructions, however, not included. £300 worth? Err, maybe not. But, it's OEM and fit for purpose, so it'll do.
Finally, before leaving the missus requested an all important tip-run, so the filthy Panamera was dispatched for that sans net.
The day after, it was time to go - so duffel bags packed with the essentials and stuffed into the rear passenger footwells, Lily the Whippet in the backseat, clipped into her doggy seatbelt, Gracie the GSD dumped unceremoniously in the boot with her dog bed for padding, and off we went! First stop was to top off the tank at a local Shell. I was curious to see what kinda mileage the Panamera could eek out on a proper long run, given this is my first proper long distance haul with the car.
I will apologise in advance, this isn't exactly a very exciting trip to be doing, 99.99% of it is motorway cruising - no twisties or anything fun, really. Just a big, long slog. But regardless, I petitioned OH into grabbing photos of our adventures! I have more than a hundred, but I don't think anyone really has time for that, so I'll cherry pick bits and pieces here and there and try and smush in as much as I can!
10912 miles on the clock, and trip meter reset to 0. I'll update when we're home for total mileage in the 1 month period.
233 miles to run, in order to get to the channel. Flex ticket booked so arrival time didn't matter much. Panamera showing one of my gripes with the infotainment, however - in that Apple Carplay cannot be used in full screen for some blasted reason. There's a little software hack to fix that, however, and I intend on doing it when I get home.
Some decent weather as we start getting settled in. The idea was to do one-shot straight down to the tunnel, feed and exercise the dogs while waiting for the train, and then hop on board once we're all sorted. To their credit, the dogs got settled fell asleep fairly quickly as M and I listened to some music. This in itself would have been impossible in the E63S, as Gracie the GSD wouldn't have been able to properly stretch out in the back seat.
The EuroTunnel terminal was absolutely deserted. 0 queues for anything at all, check in etc was an absolute breeze.
Initial results from the Eurotunnel are quite impressive, nearly 30mpg from the TTV8, loaded up with 2 dogs, luggage for a month, the OH, and my lardy ass.
Now, the Panamera is a cool wagon, but this is a PROPERLY cool wagon, spotted at the Eurotunnel.
Traditions. BK at the Eurotunnel. Anyone else?
Honestly, I wouldn't mind travelling like this. Might throw my bed into the back of a Sprinter and ask someone else to drive the next time I need to go into Europe. Looks very comfy!
Panamera wagon is a helluva looker in my opinion. Really handsome profile on the car. Stopped and grabbed some sandwiches for later from the Plus Lounge thingy.
Loading up with a beautiful Swiss registered Bentley.
Lillies got a bit anxious on the crossing so she got an upgrade on the seating situation (we clipped her back in before setting off again!).
Sun setting in the rear view mirror as we trudge through France and Belgium..
Belgium, typically, even at 10pm has to throw a massive traffic jam at us near Antwerp. We sat in this for 30 minutes or so, but Traffic Jam Assist took care of it all, so it was pretty breezy and very much appreciated after an enormously long day.
Panamera demonstrating some decent economy, 28mpg and completing Exeter to the other side of Belgium in one tank. I decided to top up before entering Germany, as I expected the Autobahn to be reasonably clear at 11pm. We still had a fair few miles to run at this point, with Bremen being the stop-off point for tonight.
f
k.After fuelling up, we gave the pups something to eat and then set off again. OH finally fell asleep at this point, cosseted in the Panamera's heated massage seats. This was brilliant as we were to shortly enter Germany with it's derestricted Autobahns.
With that being said, I was very impressed with the Panamera on it's home turf. This thing was absolutely built to hammer up and down the derestricted sections. We bounced between 200 to 280-ish for most of that section, all the way into Bremen. It was absolutely fabulous, the car performed like the thoroughbred it is, with absolute composure and sure-footedness. The Matrix LEDs were utterly brilliant and cast a superb beam for us to chase through the still night air. Much can be said, but honestly, the sticking point for me was this: Despite the ludicrous speed and performance the car put up over the entire Autobahn stretch, OH and both dogs were all fast asleep until we got into Bremen. To me, that was the single most incredible thing about it. It truly is a family oriented luxury rocketship.
Finally, landing in Bremen at nearly 3am, a final shot of the trip data covering the day's work put in by the Panamera. Superb work by the machine. Faultless.
Will continue with Leg 2 and 3 in another post so this one doesn't become too lengthy!
Cheers!
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