On this episode of Ignition
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:05 We wouldn't blame you if you mistook this Panamera
00:07 for the GTS we tested last year, as the wheels and paint
00:11 are very similar.
00:11 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:16 But this is a 2014 Panamera 4S, and that means
00:20 this car no longer has a V8.
00:22 In its place, we have a direct-injected and twin-turbo
00:25 3-liter V6. Versus the outgoing V8,
00:31 this engine makes 20 more horsepower, 15 more pound-feet
00:34 of torque, and returns better fuel economy.
00:37 The thing that remains difficult with V6s
00:39 is mustering excitement.
00:41 This week, we find out if Porsche has made it work.
00:47 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:55 Launching the Panamera like all Porsches could not be easier.
01:10 You hit Sport Plus, you jam both pedals,
01:12 and then you release the brake.
01:14 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:17 And how it launches out of the hole is just hilarious.
01:20 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:23 Fast shifts, thanks to this PDK transmission.
01:29 1/4 mile in 13 flat at 104.6 miles an hour.
01:33 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:37 Yada, yada, yada, something about 60 to 0 braking.
01:40 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:43 Something about 99 feet in carbon ceramics.
01:46 Moving on.
01:46 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:50 Good power on exit, very easy to get aggressive on turn in.
01:56 It just stays pretty stable throughout the corner.
02:01 You can get some oversteer like we did just there
02:03 if you're really hard on it.
02:07 For the most part, it's not a heavy understeer.
02:11 It's a mild understeer.
02:14 And it's pretty easy to get out of by just lifting off
02:17 the throttle a bit.
02:20 There isn't enough torque on tap to really kick the thing out.
02:24 But that also may be because this is all wheel drive.
02:27 And we got the front wheels doing some of the work too.
02:29 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:34 Big carbon ceramic brakes do a good job of slowing you down.
02:37 I especially like the pitch forward, just a little bit
02:40 of pitch that they give you as you come into the corner.
02:43 It's really easy to drive the car in
02:45 and know where the limits of adhesion are at.
02:49 Being this is a turbocharged V6, you
02:51 do have to wait and plan for your corner exit
02:53 because you have to wait a little bit for the turbos to
02:56 come in.
02:57 They like to claim that this thing makes however much torque
03:00 it makes at 1,750 RPM, but it doesn't.
03:03 You still have to wait for the turbos to come in.
03:05 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:09 [LAUGHING]
03:12 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:16 Now, you wouldn't take a Panamera to a racetrack,
03:20 but you could.
03:22 And that's the cool thing about the Panamera.
03:24 It's something we discussed about at length
03:26 when we had the GTS last year.
03:27 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:31 Of course, this is the 4S, so things are slightly different.
03:35 But it still works.
03:37 It's still enjoyable.
03:38 It still has some sports car-like qualities
03:40 that make it pretty fun out here.
03:42 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:46 And it's interesting, when you hop in the Panamera,
03:49 so long as you never look behind you,
03:50 you might think you were in a 911.
03:53 The interior layout's identical.
03:55 The way the hood slopes down, the way the front fenders
03:58 slope down with them, it feels very much like a 911.
04:01 But then you look behind you and you realize, oh, you got two
04:04 more seats and cargo capacity.
04:06 That's a very nice thing.
04:08 But you also have some sports car driving qualities.
04:11 The chassis feels agile.
04:12 The steering feels good.
04:14 The power is decent.
04:16 And it's pretty fun to toss this car around.
04:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:21 Now, let's talk about this engine,
04:23 because it is the biggest, newest component of this car.
04:27 It makes decent power.
04:28 It works.
04:29 This car, in our testing, is faster
04:30 than any S Panamera we've tested in the past.
04:33 Around our figure eight, it was way faster
04:36 than the GTS we tested.
04:37 And yet, I'm not in love with this engine.
04:41 It has no emotional component.
04:45 It makes good power, again, but it doesn't sound very good.
04:48 It just sort of has this mechanical whine to it.
04:51 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:54 It's not a very interesting engine,
04:59 the way it goes about delivering power.
05:01 It just sort of does it like any sort of German luxury sedan
05:04 does.
05:05 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:08 The Porsche badge brings with it some expectations
05:14 of excitement, of emotional draw,
05:17 something that makes you interested in the car.
05:19 And this engine really doesn't have that.
05:22 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:24 The car as a whole is still brilliant.
05:26 It's still comfortable, incredibly practical
05:32 for a Porsche, and still a lot of fun.
05:34 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:38 This being the 4S, it's not going
05:39 to do some crazy power oversteer or crazy slides.
05:43 It has a lot of stability.
05:44 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:48 The balance seems to be more on the safe side than anything
05:50 else.
05:51 But it's not punishing.
05:54 It's not embarrassing.
05:55 It's not a pain to be driven fast.
05:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:01 Braking power is very strong thanks to these carbon
06:04 ceramics, which I don't know why you would get on a 4S Panamera
06:10 that you would drive every day.
06:11 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:16 Which brings us to the options.
06:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
06:23 This 4S has $42,445 worth of them.
06:27 And half of that price comes from the wheels, carbon ceramic
06:30 brakes, and other performance items.
06:32 There's a dizzying amount of smaller options, too--
06:35 thermal and noise-insulated glass, voice control,
06:38 front seat ventilation, a rear wiper, and on and on.
06:42 It's rather ridiculous.
06:45 But our biggest disappointment rests with the engine.
06:47 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:54 It should always have that sort of edge.
06:56 It should always have that sort of excitement in everything
07:01 that it does.
07:02 And this doesn't.
07:03 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:11 We're in Sport Plus.
07:14 We have the dampers set on their most aggressive mode.
07:16 We have the exhaust baffles open with this exhaust button
07:19 over here.
07:20 But it doesn't seem to make a difference
07:22 if I turn the exhaust on or off.
07:28 I just wonder if they might have missed their opportunity
07:31 with this engine.
07:33 Maybe they have.
07:34 Despite its weight and all-wheel drive,
07:41 the Panamera retains the certain nimbleness and overall agility
07:45 you'd associate with the Porsche name.
07:47 You wouldn't take it to a racetrack, of course,
07:49 but you could.
07:50 And you wouldn't be disappointed.
07:53 The new turbo V6 makes a strong empirical argument for itself.
07:57 But it lacks a certain enthusiasm
07:59 one would expect from a car with a Porsche crest on it.
08:02 The engine to get is still the naturally aspirated V8.
08:06 Regardless, the Panamera remains an extremely competent
08:09 and fascinating car.
08:10 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:15 Put it up.
08:16 Put it up.
08:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:21 Oh, no.
08:21 Electric parking brake.
08:23 German cars, whenever you have an automatic German car
08:27 and you open the door, the parking brake comes on.
08:30 Why?
08:31 Because Germans hate people who test cars and move cones
08:34 around all day.
08:35 Don't put the e-brake on.
08:36 Don't put the e-brake on.
08:37 Don't put the e-brake on.
08:38 Don't do it.
08:39 Don't--
08:39 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:40 [LAUGHTER]
08:41 Dick.
08:42 I can't shut the door without knocking the cone over.
08:45 Granted, I've built this box.
08:48 Don't do it.
08:49 Don't do it.
08:49 OK.
08:54 Jesus.
08:55 So that actually takes two minutes
08:56 to get around the first time.
08:57 Yeah.
08:58 You know, so this is actually a really slow figure eight lap.