Hi all,

I was just wondering whether any Turbo buyers cross-shopped a used AM Rapide before deciding on the Turbo?

The Panamera seems clearly to be the more capable and reliable car but I really am enchanted by the Rapide's looks.

I was just wondering whether anyone else has considered the two cars head to head (particularly as a daily driver)? Is the Rapide too unreliable/impractical to be a daily driver?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

 

I had a DB9, my best looking car, my least favorite car. It was a technical nightmare. I would take the panamera all day long. I could even prefer a v6 panamera to AM.

Panamera handles better; goes faster; is more pracitical; and to me the most important part, it's a driver's car, much better accomplished than AM.

Used rapide's prices are so low nowadays though, I understand where u'r coming from. But there must be a reason why they went down so much so quickly

 

Thanks so much for the reply.

I also wanted to add another option: the used Continental GT which seems competitive (except for the lack of 4 doors). Seems a bit more practical than the AM and some owners claim good reliability (but the some of the AM owners claim the same).

Anyway, all thoughts are appreciated.

 

GT is way better than AM, however engine and transmission (practically the whole car) is a VW. No offense to anyone (believe it or not I owned 2 of these, one 05 coupe and one 07 flying spur); it is not a sportscar by any means. It's very heavy, it wouldn't shift when u want it, great stability at higher speeds and lots of torque. It could pull an AM+panamera from coast to coast The tranmission settings are very much on the safe side. It's hard to explain but when u drive, u feel the car and U wanna downshift and it won't let u, no kickdown or manual mode allows u. Plus u wait a little for the turbos. So it kills the fun. But all these depend on how u drive your cars. I pretty much wanna drive like I stole almost all the time.

Overall, aston could feel a little more fun bc they have faster shifting transmission (I dont really know if rapide has a normal auto like db9 or dual-clutch) and it's naturally aspirated. but bentleys are much more reliable, at least in my experience.

Did u consider Quattroporte??

 

I tried the Quattroporte. I loved the exterior styling, and the drive was very nice (a bit more twitchy than my current 750) but the one stopping point is that I hated the seats. I really want great seats that are fully adjustable with side bolsters, etc--I'm a small guy so I end up swimming in seats that don't have a decent amount of adjustment.

If I could find a great aftermarket seat, I might plug it into a QP and go from there (particularly with the great prices on 2012 QP's).

I've always been mesmerized by the AM styling and generally like the CGT. I owned a couple of 911 TT's before my current 750 and Porsche just does everything so well. I was a little concerned about the Panamera being comfortable on 300-500 mile drives but, after driving one, those concerns have disappeared.

I dislike the current 750 and have never loved the S-Class (maybe the 2014 will change my mind) so for now I am looking at the Pan, the CGT and the Rapide. I wish the QP had better seats!

 

Ok I'll try to touch upon the things u mentioned one by one;

QP is so muh fun to drive, the sound alone is enough to buy one
2012 and 2009 QPs should be the same, features-wise I'd pick up a used low mileage 09 around 60s. Great deal!

750 seats, I test drove one and I loved the seats similar to S-class in comfort I'd say. In the panamera there 2 types of seats, I have the sport ones that do CANNOT be ordered with cooling function. But to me they are much more comfortable than standard ones.

I don't think CGT has side bolster adjustments as long as I remember. The Flying Spur does have them and FS's seats are not bucket. Maybe newer model CGTs would have this. I cannot remember now.

Panamera being comfortable on long drives, I drove mine from Boston, MA to Miami in 3 days, all by myself. The most comfortable drive ever. The car put smile on my face every mile.

U mentioned U had 911TT's before, so u already know Porsche is perfection I don't know where u live, so need for all wheel drive etc. I leave that aside. If I were you, I'd go to a few dealers to test drive rapide. I would try to do more than 1 drive as I usually don't like the car at first then I start liking on second drives. And people complain about rear legroom on rapide, if it's important to you look at that too.

Anything we haven't covered?

 

Lack of features on the Rapide, no sunroof option on this 4-door car, probably the only 4- door luxury car in the world that cannot have a sunroof and this is just not acceptable. I believe when you move up the money scale you should get more features, not less.

 

Wow, thanks for all of the info!

How would you compare the seats in the Flying Spur and the CGT to those in the 750?

How about the 18 way Panamera seats compared to the 750? They have the same adjustability. I have sat in the 14 way seats and thought they were fairly comfortable but I have yet to sit in the 18 ways seats. Still, I can't imagine they would be overly harsh compared to the 14 way seats so I would probably order them blind.

Also, how is the drive of the Flying Spur (handling and comfort) compared to the drive of the 750? Is the Flying Spur a relatively tight handling car for its size with good road feel or does it drive a bit more like a boat? If you were choosing between the FS, the 750 and and S550, which would you choose and why?

I never had thought about the FS until recently....just wish the exterior styling were a tad more aggressive and less dowdy.

Thanks!

 

SEATS:
Seats of Flying spur are much more like the 7 series than Panamera's. They are big and very very comfy. But not tight at all on either side. They are NOT sporty seats. Panamera has the sportiest seats among your options (I didn't sit in the rapide).

Panamera's 18 seats "hug" you very well, including the shoulders. I believe that's the biggest difference between 14 and 18 way's other than adjustibilty options. Depending on your size, if you were a big guy (more on the fat side) you might prefer FS seats. I'm 6 feet and 240 pounds and not fit at all and still prefer Panamera seats.

DRIVE:
"Boat"ness is similar in S-class and 7-series I assume. Flying Spur is very very heavy yet it handles very well for its size. I'd take the FS in terms of driving pleasure over S-class and 7. The torque and the deepness of exhaust alone would make me choose FS. And its highway high speed stability is second to none. I used to go to Canada with it a lot and just cruise over 120-mph for miles. It's surprisingly good in snow also. A stupid mustang GT tried to drag race me once, I smoked him obviously he then said "that thing must have at least 400hp", I was like "sorry buddy its 560hp actually" . It's a real sleeper bc it looks like a boat.

Additionally, both CGT and FS were based on the VW Phaeton which is a 4-door. To me, FS seemed more stable and better handling. There might be others who prefer CGT but it's just my feeling that 4-door and longer body fits the dynamics of that car better.

QUESTION: S550 vs FS vs 750
Now I'll confuse you even more FS is in the league of S65 bc they are both 12 cylinders, also price-wise (brand new). 760 is just lower I believe.

If you compare S550 to FS and 750, FS (in my pure opinion) beats them both in every single way. More power, more luxury, more style, more, much much more road presence. My FS had massage and cooled seats, a very good Naim stereo, air suspension, etc. most of which are standard. NAV sucked big time, but newer ones are much better. And I never had a single problem with both of my bentleys. not one day. They were very reliable.

Bottom line, If I didn't have the Panamera today, I would buy another Panamera, probably Turbo S second choice would be a $70k FS. Best buy today.
And Panamera drives and feels much more different than any other sedan today. It's a great fusion between a 911 (a true 911) and a 4-door. It's really hard to compare it to others.

 

The Rapide is a beautiful car and sounds fantastic but the backseat is useless and that eliminated it from my cross-shopping when I got my PTT