Try as hard as I have over the past seven years, I’ve never been quite able to wrap my brain around the way the Porsche Panamera looks. Something about the overall visual design has just never sat well with me.
I like the rear appearance well enough, and the front is undeniably Porsche, but that side view? Nope. The roof is too flat, like there’s 6 extra feet of dome tacked into the middle of the car. It looks like the whole design is trying too hard to say, “Hey! Look at me! I’m a Porsche!” while completely missing the mark.
Fans of the Panamera sing its praises. They say it handles well for a four-door car – though it’s not going to keep up with a Cayman or a 911 in the twisties – and is very driver friendly. I have friends who have owned them and they loved the styling, though most will admit that the looks are polarizing. Hey, it’s a Porsche, so it has a certain cult appeal to it just because of its badge. I get it, but I don’t really get it. It just does nothing for me.
Until now.
Porsche has introduced the new 2017 Panamera and oh boy, it’s a looker. The rear taillights have been streamlined and modernized. The front end boasts a new multi-lens headlight housing. And that roofline? It finally slopes like a 911’s roof, and that’s what it needed all along. It doesn’t just look like it’s trying to be a Porsche. It actually looks like one.
The interior is leaps and bounds better than the original interior, which in itself was no slouch. Miles of high end leather, wood and metal all combine with the newest technology to cosset the driver and passengers in absolute luxury.
But wait. There’s more. Under that long hood is a choice of two different turbo mills. The V6 4S pumps out 440 hp while the V8 Panamera Turbo is the most powerful Panamera yet, with 550 hp on tap. The higher-end engine, combined with the all new air suspension and rear axle steering, conspire to make this car the fastest luxury sedan on Earth.
You read that right: The fastest luxury sedan on Earth. Recently the new Panamera Turbo lapped the Nurburgring in 7:38. That’s on par with a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 and significantly quicker than any other luxury sedan out there.
I’ll admit it, no matter how much it hurts. My brain is finally wrapped around the Panamera and I’m now an admirer.
