Test drive Porsche Panamera

• Video

Yes, you read it right. Panamera is a four-seat sedan (more precisely, a sedan), but it can also be sporty. We drove the first few kilometers on the Porsche circuit next to the factory near Leipzig (by the way, you can find all the most famous corners from the racetracks of the world, but in a slightly reduced form) and it turned out that he could be an athlete on the track.

This time, the PR department of Porsche had something in his head and we had to go after the "safety car" and when it was forbidden to turn off the electronics, but we ignored the other and turned everything off, provoking the driver of the safety car (911 GT3). And it turned out that the steering wheel is precise, the limits are set high even on wet roads (there was a little rain between them), that there is a slight tilt (especially when using Sport Plus mode) and that the Panamera 4S rides best. ...

Normal rear-wheel drive suffers from a lack of differential lock, the turbo is more brutal, but at the same time (in terms of suspension and steering) is designed for faster and more stable highway kilometers than when you press the caterpillar. Here, despite being 100 "horses" more (500 or 368 kilowatts instead of "only" 400) it's not that fast to justify the huge price difference - almost 40 thousand more than the 4S.

Otherwise: both engines, naturally aspirated and turbo, have the same base and the same origin - until now they were available in the Cayenne. Of course, they didn't just move them; for use in a sports sedan, they have been carefully crafted.

Thus, the V-0 has a shallower crankcase (for a lower setup and a lower center of gravity), a bunch of aluminum and magnesium parts (from the valve cover to screws that saved a kilogram of weight), lighter (with a naturally aspirated engine). ) main shaft and connecting rods. The turbo-eight received a new turbocharger housing, a new installation of charge air coolers, and even here the engineers managed to lighten (by XNUMX kg) the main shaft.

The Panamero 4S and Turbo drive all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This RWD Panamera S is an accessory, with a manual transmission as standard. The list of accessories also includes the Sport Chrono Package for added sportiness, and the Sport Plus button on the center console also has Sport Plus.

This provides an even stiffer chassis (and 25 millimeters closer to the ground in the air suspension), sportier accelerator pedal and transmission response, and the Panamera Turbo also contributes to an additional increase in turbine pressure when the accelerator pedal is fully depressed. , which provides an additional maximum torque of 70 Nm. And as a pleasure: the Sport Chrono Package also includes Launch control, a system for the fastest start possible.

Using it is simple: the driver switches to Sport Plus mode, presses the brake pedal with his left foot and accelerates fully with his right foot. Launch Control Active is displayed on the screen between the gauges, the engine speed rises to ideal for starting, the clutch is at the point where it is almost completely filled. And when the driver releases the clutch pedal? The track (literally) makes itself felt - Panamera Turbo, for example, accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in just four seconds.

Remember, we are talking about a two-ton four-seat sedan - and its engine, after reaching 200 kilometers per hour in seventh gear, spins at only 2.800 rpm. Leisurely trip? No, a fast and comfortable ride with a fairly low consumption (average 12 liters), which is further reduced by the start-stop system. Without this system, carefully thought-out aerodynamics and engine technology, according to Porsche, would increase this figure by two liters.

It's not worth wasting words on the exterior with this information: owners will love it, others are unlikely to notice the Panamera (maybe it's just curiosity: of the 16 colors available, only two are the ones you can find on the rest of the colors). Porsche). And inside? While driving, you might think you are in a 911.

The gauges are the same as the steering wheel (including the wacky gearshift buttons on it and the inverted gearshift circuitry with the gear lever), the gauges also hide the LCD screen for navigation, there is always a large color LCD display for the audio system and car function controls.

Porsche did not choose a centralized controller (for example, MMC in Audi, iDrive in BMW or Comand in Mercedes), but devoted most of its functions to the button. There are many of them, but they are installed so transparently and simply that the driver instantly gets used to using them.

There is plenty of space in the rear, two 190 cm tall passengers can easily sit side by side and the 445 liter boot can be expanded to 1.250 liters by folding down the rear seats. And the Panamera is not a van. .

Panamera S, 4S and Turbo? What about the "regular" Panamera? This car will appear next summer with a six-cylinder engine in the bow (as in the Cayenne 3, 6-liter V6), and a hybrid version will follow shortly after. They don't think about the Panamera GTS, the Porsche people answered the question with a wry smile on their faces, and they were determined not to have diesel in their nose (as is the case with the Cayenne). But the Panamera is built in the same factory as the Cayenne, on the same assembly line. ...

The Panamera will be on Slovenian roads in autumn, so soon, but Porsche Slovenia says they have already sold a large number of Panameras and that the quota they secured (about 30 cars) will soon be sold out - 109k for the base, 118 for the 4S and 155 for the turbo.

Dusan Lukic, photo: Tovarna