Auto Express – August 07, 2019

68 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

Contacts

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http://www.porsche.com/uk

Forums

http://www.porscheclubgb.com

https://rennlist.com

http://www.planet-9.com

FROM£21,000What to look out forwhen it comes to first-generation luxury grand tourer

Interior

FORasportscar,thePanameraispractical;forafamily

saloonit’scompromised.Theseatsaresupportive,but

headandlegroominthebackarerestrictedandthebootis

small,at445litres(or1,263litreswiththeseatsfolded).

TheE-Hybridisevenworse,withfiguresof335and

1,153litres.ButthePanameraisfabulouslybuilt,albeit

withabusydashboardthat’soverstockedwithbuttons.

Running costs

43-44mpg (3.0Diesel)

£105 fill-up

CO 2 /tax

169-172g/km

£235

Performance

0-62mph/top speed

6.8 seconds/150mph

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Inassociationwith

BUYER’SGUIDE: PorschePanamer

WITHPorschenowbuildingmoreSUVs

thansportscars,theideaofthiscompany

makingagenerouslyproportionedfive-door

hatchbackdoesn’tseemsoradical.

YetwhenPorschefirstinvestigatedthe

ideaofbuildingafour-door911in1988,

theproject(knownasthe989)wascanned

becausethecompany’sfinanceswerein

aparlousstate,sotheriskofintroducing

afour-doorgrandtourerwastoogreat.

ButwhenthePanamerawentonsale

adecadeago,ithitthespotandsold

wellasaconsequence.Todayit’sstill

acarthat’seasytorecommend–if

yourpocketsaredeepenough.

History

THEfirst-generationPorschePanamera

reachedUKshowroomsinSeptember2009.

Buyerscouldchoosebetween390bhpSand

four-wheel-drive4Smodels,ora486bhp

Turbo,allwitha4.8-litrepetrolengine.

InJune2010thePanameraandPanamera4

arrivedwitha292bhp3.6-litreV6petrol;by

June2011the370bhpPanameraSHybrid

wasonsale,alongsidethenew535bhp

TurboSwithatwin-turbo4.8-litreV8,which

wasboostedto562bhpfromJanuary2014.

InAugust2011thePanameraDiesel

appearedwitha247bhp3.0-litreV6and

rear-wheeldrive.The424bhpPanameraGTS

debutedinFebruary2012withanon-turbo

4.8-litreV8.AfaceliftinJuly2013brought

anexteriorredesign,whilethe404bhp

plug-inPanameraSE-Hybridreplacedthe

Hybrid,anda408bhptwin-turbo3.0-litreV6

supersededtheV8intheSand4Seditions.

Whichone?

IFyouwantplentyofmusclewithreasonable

economy, thentheDieselisagoodoption.

Whilethepetrolenginesaremorethrilling,

they’remoreexpensivebecauseoftheir

thirst,plusthehighroadtaxandinsurance

costs–althoughnoPanameraischeapto

insure.TheE-Hybridcanmakesensefrom

aroadtaxandfueleconomyperspective,

butpurchasepricestendtobehigh.

Ontheflipside,everymodelcomeswith

plentyofequipment,withxenonheadlights,

part-leathertrim,sat-nav, parkassistfront

andrear,18-inchwheelsandanelectric

tailgatestandardacrosstherange.The

PanameraSaddsheatedfrontseatsand

automaticdippingdoormirrors.

TheE-HybridandGTSfeatureadaptive

airsuspension,whiletheTurboaddsLED

headlights,19-inchwheels,full-leathertrim,

Bosesoundsystemandheatedrearseats.

Alternatives

AUDI’SA7,S7andRS7Sportbacksarethe

closestrivals,offeringfive-doorhatchback

practicalitywithlotsofperformanceand

cutting-edgetechnology, plusacabinthat’s

easytolivewithandverywellmade.These

thingsarealsotrueoftheMercedesCLS,

RichardDredge

butitssaloonbodydoesn’thavethesame

practicalityastheAudiorPorsche–although

there’salwaystheCLSShootingBrake.

TheBMW6SeriesGranCoupéisanother

luxuriouscoupé-likesaloonthat’ssuperb

todrive,hi-techandsearinglyquickwith

therightengine.Amoreleft-fieldoption

istheMaseratiQuattroporte,whichlooks

greatandisentertaining,ifnotuptothe

Porsche’shandlingstandards.Oryoucould

buyaTeslaModelS–theultra-fastpure-

electricluxurysaloonfortheeco-conscious.

Verdict

THEPanameraiseverythingyouwould

expectofaPorschegrandtourer.It’sbrilliant

todrive,hasabeautifullybuiltcabinand

ispackedwithkit,butyou’llneeddeep

pocketstorunone.Reliabilitytendstobe

good,helpedbythefactthatmostofthese

carsarecherishedandnotdriventoohard.

Ifyou’renotsureaboutanypotential

purchase,youcanpayaPorschedealer

£216fora111-pointcheck.Themodel

rangeissurprisinglybroad,soallyouneed

todoispickthebestversionforyourneeds.

GearboxThePDK

transmissionneedsitsfluidchanging

every36,000miles.Besuretocheck

forleaks,whicharenotunknown.

EngineEarlyV8engines,

particularlyTurbos,areknowntosuffer

fromcylinder-borewearfrom80,000

milesonwards;checktheoillevel.

HybridThePanameraHybrid

canmanage1.5milesinelectric-only

mode,whiletheE-Hybridofficiallyhas

a22-mile(NEDC)pure-electricrange.