German Car Zone

Think of It as a First Backseat Drive


We're in a 2004 Ford E-350 shuttle van on the way to the airport and we're about to yank the steering wheel out of the driver's hands and give him some pretty firm advice about his coordination of the throttle and brake pedals.

We hate being a passenger.

Nevertheless, we're on our way to the famous Porsche test track at Weissach, out in the German countryside west of Stuttgart, where we're going to see the 2010 Porsche Panamera. We've already been warned that there will be no test-driving of the four-door Panamera sedan — not by any non-Porsche personnel, anyway.

Rats. We hate being a passenger.

Ride, Captain, Ride

After 10 hours in a Boeing 747-400 and then another hour in a Setra S415 bus, we're woozy and sleepless. Sure, these are luxury rides, but did we mention that we hate being a passenger?

Finally we're at Weissach, the famous development center that's the home of all things Porsche. A dozen Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars in plain white have been lined up precisely like so many Kias on a sales lot, waiting for their respective race teams to pick them up, cover them with sponsor logos and then flog the tar out of them.

And then there is the 2010 Porsche Panamera. Or rather there are three of them: a rear-wheel-drive S, an all-wheel-drive 4S and the all-wheel-drive Turbo. Lower and wider than expected, they all look much better in the metal than in any photograph.

Still, this front-engine car is not pretty in the Italian-supercar sense of the word. Up front, the Panamera is pure Porsche, but farther back there are four doors and a generous hatchback, lending the car a bloated look. You've seen it before in the Porsche 928 — and the AMC Pacer.

They Meant To Do That

Like the Pacer, the Panamera's styling results from an inside-out design approach, though our German hosts utterly failed to make the same analogy. What they said instead was that the Panamera needed to be a true Grand Touring car with seats for four full-size adults and their luggage. And so it is. Our 6-foot-2 frame fits easily in the backseat, with plenty of legroom, headroom and space for a cross-country trip. And by country, we mean the U.S.A., not Monaco.

The rear seats are eight-way power-adjustable units that not only recline but also feature adjustable thigh support and powered lumbar support. There are seat heaters and flow-through cooling fans in the bottom cushions and backrests. This is quite a departure in backseat design from the company that brought you the jump seats in the back of the 911.

The precisely mitered space beneath the 2010 Porsche Panamera's rear hatch is generous as well, offering 15.7 cubic feet of capacity. Flop the rear seatbacks forward and you get a flat load floor and 44.6 cubic feet. We tell the Porsche engineers that you could use the Panamera to make a run to Costco or Home Depot. They seem confused by our comment.

Performance Matters, but So Does Comfort

Porsche wants the 2010 Panamera to be comfortable in motion as well as at rest, and our hosts speak of ride quality, quiet and the need to be able to hear the stereo properly. But it is also meant to be a Porsche.

So instead of starting with a mainstream sedan and making an AMG or M-sport version with add-on styling bits and retuned suspension bits, Porsche designed in the performance at the start. So the balance between comfort and performance is preengineered, not reengineered.

It all starts with a low, wide body with the traditional Porsche shape, which pays immediate dividends in terms of light weight and a low center of gravity. The car measures 195.6 inches overall, and it's 76 inches wide and 55.8 inches high. It rides on a 115-inch wheelbase.


Full Story: Edmunds Inside Line - 2010 Porsche Panamera First Look (Ride)


M

I'm starting to like this car.

Weird.

It's ugly alright, but it definitely has something special. And I feel like I've known this car, like, forever....even though I have never seen in yet IRL

I agree 100%. Maybe the fact that it is very "different" style wise with the reports of great driving attributes is the reason the car is growing on some of us. Not sure, but I really am looking forward to see it IRL.