The upcoming Porsche Panamera, like the Cayenne before it, is the source of heated debate amongst the marque’s fans. The purists hate the idea of the company diluting its precious DNA with the likes of off-roaders and four-door saloons.”Stick to your sports cars” they cry. Well, The Guide thinks you should judge each car on its merits and, while we have no time at all for the pointless and vulgar Cayenne, we don’t mind admitting that the upcoming Panamera is one of our most hotly anticipated cars of the year.
We’ve seen exterior shots before but today Porsche finally issued the first photographs inside the new luxury sports saloon.
Yes, it looks different to the cabin of a 911 or a Boxster but, in our book, that’s no bad thing. This is a different kind of car and its perfectly apt that it should have a different kind of cabin.
It’s already getting criticism for the multitude of buttons on the centre console but – much as we prefer physical QWERTY keyboards on our smartphones – we rather prefer dashboard buttons to the likes of BMW’s iDrive system. To us, a console full of buttons screams out the serious intent of the vehicle. It’s perfectly in keeping with this car. Real drivers like simple buttons to press, dammit!
After the steering wheel, the rev counter is probably the biggest reminder that you’re sitting in one of Zuffenhausen’s finest – it’s both prominent and, with its distinctive font, familiar to existing Porsche drivers.
But – as new parents ourselves – what makes the Panamera so appealing, what puts it at the top of our list of hotly anticipated cars this year, is its ability to carry three passengers in comfort and here the new photos don’t disappoint. Those rear seats look snug but very comfortable. All four seats recline and can be chilled and heated. Being a five-door hatch, rather than a four-door, the Panamera also boasts a remarkable degree of practicality. That rear pair of seats folds flat, turning this into what Porsche styling director Michael Mauer calls a ‘space coupe’. It has a 450-litre boot, but tip those seats forward and the hatch beats all its rivals for stowage.
The Panamera should be in showrooms in the UK this autumn.
The Prodigal Fool
Straight-Six
Patito
Lady B
November 3rd, 2009 → 10:40
[...] and therefore usability – that comes with a five-door design. As we’ve already said, we think the interior is fantastic but we’re really struggling with the exterior. One day we look at it at think how brutishly [...]
January 1st, 2010 → 00:03
[...] Porsche Panamera loomed large in more ways than one in 2009. We welcomed the first shots of its beautiful cabin, recoiled in dismay when the exterior styling was revealed and then a gorgeous ad made us question [...]