2011 Porsche Panamera Review

The 2011 Porsche Panamera. "Controversial" doesn't begin to describe the styling.

The Nissan Juke. The Scion xB. Those are the two cars that have gotten the most negative comments about their styling while we were driving them. And by the most, I mean a 50/50 split on the xB, 60/40 negative/positive on the Juke.

The Porsche Panamera? 100% thumbs down.

Now, this is rare. Normally, when I roll up in a Porsche...any Porsche...even the Cayenne and especially the 911...there's a lot of oohing and aahing and "omigodiwantone" going on.

Not with the Panamera. "Looks like someone dropped a boulder on a 911" was the frequent review.

Approach the 2011 Porsche Panamera from the front the first few times. It'll help.

The good news is that, especially from the front, there is some family resemblance to the cars we've come to know and love from Porsche. And, while not blindingly fast, at least not in Panamera 4 all-wheel-drive form like our tester, it still is a very quick big sedan...0-60 in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 159 miles per hour.

That performance is from the 3.6 liter V6, which cooks up 300 horsepower and 295 pounds per foot of torque. With a 7-speed automatic, the Panamera gets an EPA estimated 18 city/26 highway miles per gallon. Which, again, is very good for a big sedan. And it handles very, very well.

The four-seat interior of the 2011 Porsche Panamera.

Inside the car, you can't see what the car looks like on the outside, and you are in a very Porsche environment...at least a Porsche environment as defined by the Cayenne SUV. There's room for four, it's all very plush...but the Teutonic simplicity of the marque's best sports cars? No. Of course, you probably couldn't sell a luxury sedan equipped like that, but the Panamera went the exact opposite direction. There are forty-four buttons on the center console alone. Factor in window switches, audio system stuff and the rest, and the count throughout the cabin gets stratospheric.

The list of what comes with the car as standard equipment and what's optional is very long and highly dependent on whether you order the Panamera, Panamera S, Panamera 4, Panamera 4S, Panamera S Hybrid, Panamera Turbo or Panamera Turbo S, so we'll just let you surf over to Porsche's website to check it out for yourself.

As noted above, ours was the Panamera 4. Base price $79,800. And Porsche's press fleet folks added Basalt Black Metallic paint ($790), a ski bag ($405), auto dimming interior and exterior mirrors ($420), front heated seats ($525), heated steering wheel ($250), 19" Panamera Turbo wheels ($1,950), a Bose surround sound system ($1,440), SiriusXM radio ($750) and Porsche crest front headrests ($285). Bottom line including $975 destination charge: $87,590.

The only thing missing...at least to this Porschephile who's never met a 911 he didn't like? The roar of the engine. Porsche's sixes give off this wonderful wail when you tromp on the accelerator, but the Panamera V6 just gathers up speed silently. I wonder if the faster Panameras (the S hybrid makes 60 in 5.7 seconds with a top speed of 167, the S 5.2 and 175, the 4S 4.8 and 175, the Turbo 4.0 and 188 and the Turbo S 3.6 and 190) have any of that snarl or if it's all speed.  Hopefully Porsche will allow us to find out first-hand.

Again, you have to remember that the Panamera is new territory...Porsche's response to swoopy luxury sedans like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Audi A7, Maserati Quattroporte and the Jaguar XJ. And by any objective measure, they've hit the target. 

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VIDEO: 911 Call From Crash Victim; Help Takes Two Days To Arrive

Your car goes off a highway down a ravine, out of sight of traffic. Your cell phone works and you call 9-1-1.


But...GPS only narrows your call down to the nearest cell tower and the Highway Patrol can't see the wreckage from the road.

Betcha think they'll launch a chopper, given the terrain and what's at stake.

But watch this video and you'll hear the Arizona Department of Public Safety say they can't and won't do that.

And so the man on the phone and his young son died waiting for help to arrive....their bodies found when it became a "missing persons" case two days later and the helicopter finally went up.

Story from ABC15 (KNXV-TV, Phoenix...my day job).

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Porsche 911 Carrera Review

Every time Porsche changes the 911, they take the risk that they'll ruin it (I know, purists will argue they did that when they switched from air to water-cooled engines). What's remarkable is how, every time, they dodge that bullet. It's the greatest high-wire act on earth...with continuous performances for the past 46 years.

If you'd asked me, I'd have told you that the 2008 911 was as good as they'd ever be able to make. I'd have been wrong.

The 2009 immediately announces its superiority. It performs better (even in the "base" Carrera, which I drove for a week recently), the interior is nicer, the electronic aids (Porsche Stability Management, Anti-lock Braking System, Anti-Slip Regulation, Engine Drag Torque Control and Active Brake Differential) all do their jobs with less intrusion on the joy and sport of driving.

And the styling refresher is a resounding success...taking the headlights ever so slightly more vertical evokes memories of the 911s of the 60s, 70s and 80s without being overtly retro.

Looking for excuses not to buy?

How about price? Porsches are insanely expensive, right? Wrong. The 911 Carrera base price is $75,600...there are a lot of far less capable vehicles that cost a lot more.

Gas mileage? Nope. The EPA says 18 city/25 highway.

Well, it can't possibly be environmentally responsible, Mike.

Um...it qualifies for LEV1 (Low Emission Vehicle) status.

Actually, price (and, okay, practicality...the back seats are a cruel joke) is about the only disqualifier that's genuine for most people. But in about five years, this is going to be the best used car purchase you've ever made.

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