KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The all-new Porsche Panamera, now in its second generation, is here in Malaysia under the auspices of Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) — a car that could possibly only be designed in a moment of madness, as it tries to reconcile two contrasting elements — the performance of a true sports car and the comfort of a luxury saloon.
The first generation Panamera was radical enough, and it opened up a new market for Porsche, in the sense that it could now offer a 4-seater luxury saloon that also embodied sports car performance as well. It wasn’t that difficult, really, what with taking the drive train from the Cayenne, already an extremely successful sporty SUV, and putting it in a saloon body, one that had its design cues based on the 911.
Despite having a silhouette that is very much like its previous generation, the new Panamera is all-new in design. Overall dimensions have changed slightly — the new Panamera is 5,049mm (+34mm) long, 1,937mm (+6mm) wide, and 1,423mm (+5mm) tall. A longer wheelbase, now 2,950mm (+30mm) provides more cabin space, while clever engineering has lowered the roofline by 20mm at the rear without sacrificing overall headroom for the rear passengers.
The new Panamera features plenty of functionality and ‘easy’ interaction in the Porsche Advanced Cockpit — gone are many of the classic hard keys and conventional instruments, replaced instead by touch-sensitive panels and black panel surfaces to provide an interface similar to that of a smart phone — and considering that the average age of a Panamera buyer in this country is likely to be in the high forties or fifties, it would be interesting to see how these people react to these new features.
In the area of luxurious fittings, there is really nothing that is lacking in the Panamera — every detail is high quality and every bit is right where it is supposed to be — no complaints there. A pleasant surprise is the generous boot size of 495 litres, and the inclusion of 40:20:40 split rear seats to provide additional stowage.
For the time being, two variants are offered — a 3-litre, V6, 330 horsepower turbo engine for the Panamera and a 2.9-litre, V6, 440 horsepower twin turbo engine for the Panamera 4S, which also comes with all-wheel drive. The Porsche engineers, striving for not just performance, but constantly seeking efficiency have gone to the next level in terms of engineering to make develop systems that have increased the engine output while making them more fuel efficient, and reducing emissions. The Panamera 4S can reach 100km/h in 4.4 seconds (4.2 seconds with the Sports Chrono Package). Top speed is 289 km/h, while the NEDC combined fuel consumption is 8.1 to 8.2 litres per 100km, representing an 11 per cent improvement over the previous model. A more powerful, 550 horsepower V8 version, the Panamera Turbo is under consideration for import into Malaysia.
All the Panamera variants are available with a new 8-speed Porsche dual-clutch transmission (PDK). The new Panamera will cruise elegantly as a luxury saloon, but it is also a true sports car that will give a good account of itself on a race track. This is achieved by supplementing the model with optional systems such as an adaptive air suspension system, with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) which includes electronic damper control, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC Sport), Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) and active roll stabilisation. Steering is through a new electro-mechanical system. The integrated 4D Chassis Control system analyses and synchronises all chassis systems in real time and optimises the road performance of the new Panamera. Also in the system is a rear axle steering system that helps in the cornering dynamics. In a nutshell, the Porsche actually makes one a better driver.
Prices start as follows:-
Panamera: RM890,000.00
Panamera 4S: RM1,100,000.00
All cars sold by SDAP come with a four-year warranty and free maintenance package which includes complimentary service, parts and labour. Prices above include all applicable duties, but exclude registration fee, road tax and insurance.
