My Panamera S e Hybrid's in the shop, getting the charging controller updated. I honestly don't know what the change is supposed to address - it just came up as a Porsche recommended fix when I brought the car in for annual service.

They gave me an Audi A3 2.0T Quattro as a loaner, since they're going to have my car for a couple of days. While it's obviously not something like a 7-series BMW, but it's not cheap or underpowered either.

I mentioned in an earlier thread that I've been feeling like my Panamera is too much of a sedan and not enough of a sports car. My comparison point was serious sports coupes. It took sitting in an actual sedan to remind me that the Panamera's driving position is significantly different from most sedans.

The Panamera driver's seat may be a bit high compared to a Cayman, but it's not nearly as high or upright as the A3's. I felt like I was looking down, with my head nearly on level with the top of the windshield, and the proportions inexplicably jarring, like I was driving a toy car. 220 HP and 1000 lbs lighter meant the car was reasonably responsive, but still not quite up to what I had come to take for granted.

I'm sure there's nothing objectively wrong with the A3 - it's just that my standards have changed from 20 years ago, which was the last time I had a sedan as a daily driver.

I still like my wife's Cayman S better overall than my car, but I now appreciate it more than I did.

 

An Audi A3 2.0T Quattro is much better than what one of my dealerships has hooked me up with. This is the dealership I bought the car from mind you. I've received a Nissan Versa, Volkswagen Jetta and a Hyundai Santa Fe. You better believe I was anxious to get my Panamera back.

I definitely get the comparison and feel of driving smaller sports car vs the Panamera. I just love the feel of it though and it makes me happy whether I'm sitting in traffic on my way into work or cruising down the highway or coming off an exit ramp at 85MPH. Not as nibble as Cayman or 911 but you can have a lot of fun while transporting 3 friends. It's always fun looking at the faces of your unsuspecting rear seat passengers while doing 135MPH down a nice open highway. It only hits them if they catch an eye on the speedometer before they realize what's going on.

The only problem I found after buying my car is that I had to upgrade my wife's car too. Now I don't mind taking her Cayenne GTS on trips when it is more practical.

 

If I'd gotten a budget compact as a loaner, it wouldn't have affected my opinion of the Panamera the way the A3 did. The A3 may be comparatively small and a entry-level luxury sedan, but it was nice enough to make me realize how much better the Panamera is than a luxury sedan.

Upgrading my wife's car is how I got permission to spend $100k on a Panamera. She was dead set against spending that kind of money on a car, regardless of our finances, until she test drove a Cayman S and decided she wanted one. Recently I've been wondering why I spent the money myself. Which is why getting a chance to compare it to what $40k gets you these days was helpful.

The Panamera is our "practical" car of the two, obviously. I've hauled what felt like pretty big loads in it from Home Depot.

 

Congrats! I've been 911 guy for 20 years, and I still have an 07 TT that I will never let go of. That being said, The PTT is the beast of all beast for everything on the street you could ever want. Track? Ok, you need something different, but for the 99% of the rest of us, there is no better pick.