Had a rare free Saturday so decided to test drive a couple cars I’m considering as successors to my 2013 Audi S6. I’m single but I prefer a 4 door with with a useable trunk as my only car. Below are my brief test drive impressions.

First was a 2012 Panamera Turbo S. I don’t care what Clarkson or anyone else says, the car looked stunning to me, especially in Turbo S trim with 20” Carrera II wheels. Lowering the car the way the Turbo S comes from the factory seems to make the rear bubble less prominent. The interior of this car with full leather and high end wood was just exquisite, too. Not a fan of the virtual multifunction monocle gauge but otherwise there was little to fault.

Steering feel and handling were beyond anything I’ve experienced in a car that large. Porsche is in a league of their own here. I set the suspension to the stiffest mode and had sport mode engaged and this is how I would probably drive the car on most roads. The engine is a brute, more power than any sane person needs but, importantly, not too much for the suspension. On the downside, not much of a soundtrack, even with the sport exhaust turned on. I did not get too crazy in terms of trying to push the limits as I was not familiar with the roads and was just getting a basic feel for the car. Nevertheless, I walked away thoroughly impressed. Porsche hit a home run in terms of nailing the ride/handling balance.

Now the Audi. This was a 2014 in black with the aluminum optics package. Not a big fan of that package as you wind up with a lot of contrasting trim in strange places. I would say the Panamera was more restrained in comparison. Anyways, I was instantly familiar with the interior as it’s 95% similar to what I have in the S6. Nothing wrong with the Porsche gauge cluster but I prefer Audi’s gorgeous 2 gauge set with center multifunction screen. Hate that adjusting fan speed in the A6/A7 is a two button process but that’s a minor quibble. Steering feel and body control in the RS7 was slightly better than my S6 but fell short of the Panamera. Engine was just neurotic and my god, the sound - like a teutonic fire god gargling lava. Audi has it all over Porsche here. Would have loved to drive a Panamera GTS to compare but dealer didn’t have one.

Overall both are brilliant executions of a 4 door exotic. The Porsche felt the more special car but the Audi felt the more livable car. The Porsche gives you the feeling of being ensconced in a leather cocoon whereas the RS7 felt more approachable with better visibility. It doesn’t seem fair to fault the Porsche for this but I was trying to picture the how I would feel if someone with muddy shoes were to set foot in the car, or what a dog might do to that full leather interior. I think I would have to plastic wrap it. I should also mention that the RS7 I’m looking at has an extra set of 21” winter tires. These 4 tires were literally in the back of the car during the entire test drive. I can’t imagine fitting those in the Panamera. The tradeoff is that anyone over 6’ will not be comfortable in the back of the Audi whereas the Panamera’s back seat is palatial in comparison.

Some quick questions. The Porsche had the Burmester audio package and had selectable AM-FM-SAT for radio sources. But, we couldn’t get HD FM stations to tune in and I listen to those a ton. Is there a setting to enable this or was HD FM tuning not included in 2012? Next question, although this car only has 12K miles, it is not certified. Dealer wants to add $7500 to CPO the car, which would include brand new tires. Does this cost seem reasonable for a Panamera Turbo S? Lastly, has anyone here owned both of these cars and can they give any longer term ownership feedback? I’m leaning Audi as the car is already CPO’d but if they don’t give me fair value on my trade in I could easily switch to the Panamera.

 

1) HD FM for me is fine, my HD AM is iffy. Not sure if that's the Porsche issue or signal range for where you are.

2) $7,500 for CPO is fair, but you can always negotiate (though I personally haven't been able to with Porsche). I'm guessing they're charging full retail on tires, plus maybe $1-2k in labor hours, plus any parts they need, then the rest is pure profit. I paid $3,500 for CPO for my Mercedes without tires (mine were fine). So I think this is a fair price with tires. I would personally do it, or just ask how much the Porsche Protection Plan is. On a 2012, you might have a $250 deductible with no other option. I'd so the CPO if it were me and just negotiate as much as possible.

3) Panamera might drop in price once the new ones are on the streets. Why don't you use that line to negotiate the price lower or a lower CPO cost? The RS7 is nice, but I think the Panamera has more character and more fun to drive. I do think the RS7 has cleaner lines and a better regular daily driver (and faster) - but I ended up with the Porsche Turbo in the end. I don't think you can go wrong with either - but I feel the Panamera already took it's huge depreciation hit and is a fantastic buy now.

 

Four tires will fit in the back of the panamera if you put the seats down.

Re: CPO cost, the cost of four new tires (if you shop around) will run you in the $1500 neighborhood.

No comment on RS7 - I've never driven one. I have a 2010 turbo with burmester and love it (don't do HD radio - not sure if mine has it or if i'm just clueless about what it is).

 

Thanks for the replies guys! Your feedback is helpful.

Real quick follow ups: Does Burmester option mean no bluetooth audio streaming?

Also, is Kelly Blue Book a reliable indicator of fair market value? KBB says a CPO'd 2012 Panamera Turbo S valued at $79500 sold from a dealer. This particular car is $79500 without CPO (+$7500). I guess I would have to hammer down the price of the CPO. Regardless, this is still amazing value for a car that probably stickered north of $180K new.

 

KBB is hit or miss. I do the following:
1) Look at KBB
2) Look at NADA Guides
3) Look at Edmunds True Value Pricing
4) Look at cars.com & autotrader.com for the same year and model.

I compile all that and figure out what the trade-in value is. I then try to negotiate as close to the trade in as much as possible. I also try to find out how long it sat on the lot.

CPO will be harder to negotiate than the price of the car.

Seems like a decent price, but I'm sure you can get a few grand off, maybe go in at $70k for the car and negotiate to $75k. Then add the $7,500 CPO.

 

Just add an exhaust and/or install downpipes and you will hear the real beast a Panamera Turbo is

 

I have Burmester and stream pandora via bluetooth from my phone on a regular basis.

 

I've read on this forum that CPO costs about $3000. Perhaps because the original four year warranty has expired it cost more or there may be additional work to bring it to CPO standards. I would get more specifics to support the cost.

 

Great point, probably why my Porsche Protection Plan was double everyone else.

 

Only 12k miles on it? 5 years old? Dang! Car is basically new. Get a PPI done on it? Find out how many times it's been launched.


I would certify it - get the clean Carfax, get new tires on there, and you're good to go. Keep in mind this car has PDCC working for you!