The
soft beige leather upholstery and contrasting elements give the interior an air
of bespoke luxury. The driver seat is a comfortable place to be in, and if you
tick another box on the specification sheet, you could have a 14-way adjustable
seat, instead of the standard eight-way. Head room is more than adequate and
there is no shortage of space whatsoever. Not much has changed, really. The chronograph
clock sitting pretty, dead centre, on the dashboard reminds you that even with
all the leather and plush bits about you, this is a Porsche, and it is meant to
go around as quickly as possible; they even giving you the tools to keep a
track of how quick that is.
The heart
of the matter: a torquey 3.0-litre V6 can keep the grunt going across the
rev-range
The
centre console, apart from the crowning LCD screen, is a right ensemble of buttons,
all of which seem to have not one, but a pair of lights associated with each of
them. Everything from the traction control to the suspension settings and the
front ride height control are all a part of the two-sided army of buttons
flanking the gear lever in the centre, which I must mention, is set in a bed of
brushed aluminium. The attention to detail continues with leather lining the panels
around and below the steering column. There is no surface which isn’t padded
for you to accidentally bump your knee into. The ergonomics and driving position
are as close to perfect as can be (and if you want to fine tune it further,
it’s only $4,366 more the 14-way adjustable seat).
The
Porsche Panamera is a great cruiser and does a better job of pretending to be a
sports car than most other posh diesel GT cars
At
the rear, the flowing centre console offers rear occupants controls for the
auto-climate and locks while seated on the supple leather seats. The leg room
at the rear too is generous, but it isn’t as much as what is offered by the
long wheelbase models from the competition. However, this is a proper GT car,
and that means it covers distances quick, without having occupants feel any of
it. It’s just as comfortable to drive as it is to be driven in, but quite a bit
of the experience is meant to be savoured in the seat up front holding the
wheel.
On
the move, what was a menacing brute in the parking lot, becomes a playful puppy
on the move. The Panamera belies its size, and how! That’s the most evident
aspect of this car. Porsche DNA and heritage and want for four of everything
aside, the Panamera, even with the V6 diesel, can scoot the moment it senses
any movement from your foot. The car shrinks around you the moment you put your
foot down and the surroundings, which seem like your evening study, are all
heaved along like you wouldn’t believe.
Wing
mirrors look neat but are too small for a car the size of the Panamera
The
Panamera Diesel continues to be offered with the 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel
making 250 PS and 550 Nm of torque, and is equipped with that sweetly tuned
eight-speed Tiptronic S gearbox, funneling the force to the rear wheels. There
is, however, a new, more powerful version with 300 PS and 650 Nm incoming. That
said, the performance, for a diesel, is simply beyond anything which could be
described using the word ‘adequate’.
