SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The first time you drive a Porsche Panamera S, there's a lot to take in. From the barrage of buttons on the center stack to the available sport exhaust, when you slip inside the Panamera S and sink into the supple leather seats, you have to settle in for a moment.
Take a deep breath. Acclimate. Adjust.
The Panamera S may appear under the guise of a sedan, but in truth, it has more in common with a sports car.
This was readily apparent as we drove through a series of twisty, windy roads, and the Panamera S hugged every curve. I had fun with the brief straightaways, stomping on the accelerator to feel my stomach drop and then coasting back to a speed that could handle the next turn.
I was skeptical that a large sedan could drive this well, but after a couple hours behind the wheel, and a couple more in the jump seat, I'm a total believer.
The 2015 Panamera S comes equipped with a 3.0-liter twin turbo V-6 engine that delivers an amazing 420 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. The transmission is the 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK), which is designed for fast and efficient gear changes.
With the optional Sport Chrono ($1,330), which gives the car launch control, the 0-to-60 mph time for the Panamera S is 4.6 seconds and the top track speed is 170 mph.
Though I'm a big fan of the whole #savethemanual movement, I have to admit I didn't completely miss a stick shift since the PDK is Pretty Darn "Kwick." I played around a bit with the paddle shifters, but mostly I let the car do the work.
I found the buttons on the center stack to be a bit intimidating, but since I largely didn't need them to drive, I mostly ignored them. The two buttons I did touch: Sport Plus mode and the available sport exhaust. While I loved the Sport Plus mode - the Panamera S responded that much quicker to my input - I could leave the sport exhaust. I think the Panamera S sounds great just the way it is.
One of the hardest things for me to swallow with Porsche is also one of its selling points: Everything is an option. While you might expect a car with a base price of $94,195 to come standard with a rear back-up camera and heated front seats - among other things - it doesn't.
And Porsche owners think that's a good thing. You can configure your car exactly how you want it, adding only the features you want. Which, in a way, completely customizes the car.
Some of the options available are pretty phenomenal from a custom paint color ($9,900) and a rear-refrigerating compartment ($2,570) to a car-shaped key painted the color of your car ($365) and a Porsche crest on the headrests ($285). Other options, such as the Interior Lighting Package ($605) or the retractable luggage compartment cover ($150) are more mundane. But the whole host of options (I counted more than 100) serve one purpose: Make this car yours.
For 2015, the Panaemra lineup adds an E-Hybrid, and similar to the
Cayenne S E-Hybrid, it will have an all-electric drive range of 15 miles and has an E-charge mode that charges the battery on the fly. The car can operate in electric-only mode up to 83 mph, and EPA gives the Panamera S E-Hybrid a 50 MPGe rating.
In addition to the powertrain tweaks, Panamera S also gets some exterior design revisions. The lines are a little more angular. You'll see this more clearly by looking directly at the front and rear of the vehicle - the nose is more squared off, and the hatch is a little flatter.
Also new for 2015, Panamera gets two new available safety systems: lane departure warning and the 360-degree surround-view camera.
Though my time with the Panamera S was brief, it was just enough to show the character of this car - and leave me wanting more. It's capable in aggressive driving, comfortable for long highway treks and feels more like a sports car than a sedan. It also has decent cargo capacity at 15.7 cubic-feet. But since it only seats four, it's more of an executive commuter car than a family sedan.
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