I feel like I bought a station wagon.

I drove Supra Turbo for 17 years, and loved everything about the car. My Panamera S e Hybrid drives OK as long as I've got it in Sport or Sport+ mode. What I don't like is the looks and the size.

I'm not talking about the bulbous rear end, I'm talking about the general sedan feel. It just doesn't look enough like a sports coupe to me, even if it does have the performance. I don't walk out to the parking lot and mentally say "that's a great looking car," the way I do with my wife's Cayman S.

It's been a very practical car. I recently moved some supplies for our bathroom remodel, and I fit 8' lengths of trim into it with little difficulty. That's utterly impossible with most sport coupes, and even the Supra (which was unusually roomy for a sports coupe) would have had me leaving the hatch open for space and tied down with bungie cord.

The sad fact is, we can't really own two sports coupes. I'm sure I'd be happy driving a Cayman or a 911 or for that matter a Jaguar F-type, but we need at least one car with at least Supra-level cargo capacity. Besides errands, there's the occasional long distance road trip, usually to New York or Virginia. That'd be cramped in the Cayman. It was a squeeze in the Supra, and it's been easy in the Panamera.

There just aren't any coupes today like that. Most have tiny carrying capacity. Maybe the Corvette, but y'know... Corvettes. Not quite like owning a Camaro, but still not all that classy, and build quality concerns me.

You'd think I'd drive the Cayman more, but the oddball electrical system of the Panamera S e Hybrid worries me. I don't drive daily, and in the past I used a battery maintainer. The Hybrid system defeats that - the voltage at the jumper posts and at the 12 volt sockets is constantly fluctuating when the car is off, and it's clearly got a lot of stuff between it and the battery. The battery's in an awkward location for rigging a direction connection.

The Hybrid doesn't demand nearly as much from the 12 volt system, since the "starter" is actually the 384 volt lithium battery, but I do watch the system voltage via the multi-function display, and it's apparent the car doesn't charge the 12 volt system unless the car is on. Most drives it spends a lot of time charging the 12 volt system, and I occasionally get warnings that "engine on off time is limited" when turning the car on, presumably because of that.

That, and emotionally I still seem to care about the huge difference in fuel efficiency, even though it's a financial non-concern. Driving the Cayman seems weird when I'm getting 13 MPG on drives that would display 30-40 MPG in the Panamera.

In a perfect world, I'd own a BMW i8 as my regular driver, since that car definitely pushes my buttons, and something less sexy as the bigger road-trip car.

Not going to happen, though. My wife was adamant against dropping $100k on the Panamera until I bribed her with the Cayman, and man, does she love that car. I had no idea she'd be so taken by it. She used to drive a Supra too, but she didn't love it the way I loved mine, and she sure loves that Cayman. She loves the size, the look, the mid-engine design, and the color (racing yellow).

I thought about the Tesla, particularly the P85D, but it's considerably less sexy to my eye on that the Panamera. The Panamera at least pretends to sports-car looks, the Tesla is an utterly bland sedan by comparison.

 

its sounds like you are not happy with your sedan being a sedan???

 

did you look into the GTS before you pulled the trigger on the E-Hybrid? I have heard that the GTS is the most sports-car-feeling car in the Panamera lineup...

 

Pretty much, yeah. I'd rather have a sports coupe.

No, I didn't really have a good feel for the Panamera line at all until I'd ordered. I got it because I was into the idea of a hybrid sports car. The car drives likes a sports car in Sport mode. Not so much in e-Power mode, but in Sport mode the torque curve is pretty flat - the electric motor gives plenty of pull at the start, so there's no feeling of turbo lag (though I don't know if that's a thing with a supercharged engine, my prior experience was turbochargers).

It's mostly about the looks and size. It's a little about performance, because in e-Power mode it's slow, even if I push the throttle past the detent where it's supposed to give me everything. There 400+ HP only seems to be there in Sport mode. I do end up using e-Power often enough because it makes sense when I'm limited by traffic. It's the times where I find I want power unexpectedly, and don't really have time to safely switch modes, when the car feels slow.

If I'd come at the car from a different direction, maybe I'd have ended up with a GTS or a used Turbo. But in that case I'm pretty sure I'd be driving the Cayman any time I didn't absolutely need the space.

 

I'd go by the dealership and get an extended test drive with both the GTS and the Turbo.. Maybe what is in those cars are what you are missing..

If not go get yourself the i8 and call it a day.. Life is too short to be unhappy behind the wheel..

 

I'd recently put in solar panels on my house roof, they were a great success, generating a lot more power than I expected. I was psyched for a while by the idea of driving primarily on electricity, not so much of a finite resource (gas), but was completely unwilling to give up the driving experience to which I was accustomed.

Test driving the Panamera, I felt it pulled a bit harder than my Supra, and it felt like a similar size. It was only with real time driving the car, rather than a limited test drive, that I really started to feel put off by how hard it is to maneuver in close quarters because of the size, and how much the size limited visibility. There's plenty of glass in the rear hatch, but the view is tiny because it's far away, and the C-pillars are wide.

I also didn't appreciate at the time how much I'd care about the difference in appearance. I've always told myself that it's all about the driving experience, but apparently I care about looks too.

It does deliver the fuel efficiency. I get about 3x the gas mileage I used to. It's a bit quirky in winter, refusing the drive on pure electric at times with a full battery, but mostly it works. It does drive nicely, but only in Sport or Sport+ mode.

Unexpected was how comfortable it is, the ride is very smooth, and how much extra space there is. It has repeatedly hauled things that were difficult or impossible for me before, like fitting a new bathroom vanity without straining.

 

Yeah, I can't really do that, for reasons I outlined before. We need at least one car with more capacity than the Cayman, and the i8's cargo is even more cramped than the Cayman. Cayman's definitely staying, I can change my car, but not my wife's. She's really attached to it, and frankly I don't blame her. It's nice.

I don't know if a Panamera Turbo would change how I feel. I'd have to spend time with one, I think, not just a short test drive. Particularly since my local dealership does not like people pushing cars on test drives.

 

You probably need a Telsla P85D

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what he needs. There will be a Mercedes GT 4 door coming out soon. He may like that too.

 

I mean if you want to stick to electric but have that nastiness in the track or on tap but with a saloon car. Then the P85D is probably what you should get.

 

Hang in there Gus! I sold my 991 C2S to buy a P4S. Yes it is another car completely, less sporty, but, as you already know, able to do so much more than a 2 seater. I have been bragging to my P car friends (who own coupes), that the Panamera is Porsches best kept secret...

 

Well after 400+ cars (some I kept less than a month)in the last 25 or so years, I can tell you one thing. There is no such thing as the perfect car. There are cars that handle great, cars that hold a lot of stuff, car with lots of power, cars that are beautiful (like the DBS that look better than they drive), cars that show status, cars that are tech laden etc. When I took my girlfriend car shopping (before I bought her the 650 conv) we looked at a lot of cars. She needed a back seat so even though she loved the C7 it did not fit her needs. She looked a E Class Merc (not impressed), the Audi RS5 (too small she did not like the grill) and the Maserati Gran Turismo (I had already owned one a 2 other Maserati's so the salesman was glad to see me), she thought the outside was very pretty, had the best exhaust note, the best rear seat, but she thought the tech was dated and behind the times compared to the C7 and the BMW. She chose the best car that fit the most needs which is what I think many people do. I live in a part of the country that has 4 seasons and I am fortunate enough to own many cars and it gives me the option to take the one that fits the weather, my mood, and my needs for that day. The funny thing is that the least expensive car I have owned in the last 25 years (my modified Abarth) is probably the car I have the most fun in these days Go figure!. I have owned my 4S for 2 years (and put less than 3k miles on it). From the outside it is no beauty. From the inside though ( the car was pretty loaded) with the custom multi function steering wheel and tech art paddles and the sound of the AWE exhaust, it gives me the feeling of a sports car (which it really isn't). I have never heard a hybrid and being an older guy I like the sound of an engine (like a Ferrari V8 screaming), maybe you need that too. In the end I know what not getting what you want from a car feels like, so I hope you figure it out. Good luck!

 

Having had my P4 a few months now I've come to realize what an odd market niche it's in. I've never wanted a "real" Porsche. My preference has always been for sporty four-seaters, starting 50 years ago with a beat up mini. As I got older, I liked 'em bigger, faster, more doors, more luxurious but still precision drives. Jag XJR and Audi S7 were among the best. And I never encountered the kind of ambivalence about them like I do the Panamera. Yet it’s the absolute top car in that class I think. But I realize that of course many understandably judge it in the context of the Porsche sports cars, and in doing so its bound to disappoint and even offend - Porsche has worked very hard to cultivate a purist following and aesthetic. But for me, judged on the context of the class it is actually in, the Panamera, even the entry level where I am, is awesome. Huge presence in the street, four doors, 2 hurtling tons, long, low and wide, cool comfort, razor sharp handling and fast enough to scare the crap out of my passengers. Unlike those who really wish it was something else, i do get a visceral thrill evey time i see it , turn the key and barell thru the back roads of Virginia (and see Ronin show up on the movie channel). Nope, its no “real” Porsche or a nimble little sport coupe. To me, it's better.

 

I drove a few new 4s models, and decided on a used turbo. Its a different animal and may be what you are looking for. Looks are subjective; its not as pretty as some but certainly practical for 4 adults and long trips

 

sounds like his problem is with the exterior design and size, not so much the performance aspect

I've got a 2012 PTT, and for me this car is all about compromises. The exterior styling is "okay", from certain angles it's great...from other angles not so much. I actually like it for the most part as it's something different. What this car does for me is that it combines some decent performance, comfortable ride, nice interior and a fair amount of cargo capacity. I had a 2010 GT-R and a 2012 S-class...the PTT combines some of the aspects that I liked most about those 2 previous cars making it a "sweet spot" for me.