This is a review of a used Porsche Panamera, which could be bought in less than $30,000. It is available at an exotic car dealership, CNC motors in Southern California and they have a large collection of exotic cars.
The Porsche Panamera, that will be described here, is a 2012 model. There is nothing wrong with the car, it is in good shape, not damaged and is not ultra-high miles. Still, it went from a car that only the cool and rich people can afford, to a car that costs less than a Toyota Camry.
Table of Contents
Overview
Porsche Panamera is a full-sized luxury sedan. Porsche launched Panamera 10 years ago, i.e. in 2010. Initially, S-version of the car was launched with a 400 horse-power V8 engine and another variant that had a 500 horse-power V8 engine. In 2011, another variant was launched that had a 300 horse-power V6 engine.
The one that will be described here is a 2012 300 horse-power V6 engine model. The car is quite good. Despite the fact that the car was launched 10 years ago, one can find many luxury features in it that can compete with the features present in today’s cars. Here are some features of Panamera that make it worth a $30,000 bargain.
Features
The car has a modern interior and it looks up to date, even compared to the new Porsche models. The interior gives ‘old person’ vibes with beige color that came in trend for a very short period of time. Some other features are:
Front :
- Wood on steering wheel, dashboard, and center console.
- Ruffled leather seating that was designed for comfort and was customized only when asked.
- Just one cup-holder between the front seats but two more hidden cup-holders in the dashboard of the passenger side.
- Armrests, that are extended 2-inches on the B-pillar.
- Center console, that is full of buttons. It is not as upgraded as the new porches but these were latest and greatest in 2010.
- Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission shift lever. PDK technology is robust, reliable and shifts very quickly. It came out in 2009 and Panamera was the first car to have it.
- Center infotainment screen. It is not as large as there is in new ones. Even there are not as many features but it is pretty responsive for a 10-year-old car.
Back:
- Great space. A 6’3” or 6’4” person can fit perfectly. This is because, when the car was manufactured, Wendelin Wiedeking was the CEO of Porsche. He was tall and he had an edict that the car should be able to seat him comfortably.
- Two individual bucket seats instead of a bench, so only 2 people can be seated in the back. This makes it a high performance touring car rather than a boring family car.
- Instead of the third seat, there are two hidden cup-holders with a little storage space in between the seats.
- Foldable armrest with storage space.
- Screens in front of both the seats. These are not the usual screens, they are called the Porsche Rear Seat Entertainment System. They have got 4 options, DISC, USB, AUX and Crosslink. The USB and AUX ports are available below the screen.
- Bluetooth Headphones. They are hidden in the backside of the headrest and are original Porche headphones.
- It has hatchback trunk and the rear seats fold down to give storage space equivalent to a station wagon.
- Convertable spoiler.
Imperfections
- The center of the steering wheel is made of cheap beige plastic, which is the only bad material in the whole car.
- Usually, german companies use electronic speed limiters to limit a car to 150 miles/hr, when the car has all seasoned tires. Panamera also has all seasoned tires, but instead of using electronic speed limiters, which means the car can go above 150 miles/hr but the tires aren’t intended to. To solve this problem, they just put a sticker on the left of the steering wheel to remind the driver to not go above 150 miles/hr.
- If someone doesn’t go for more expensive options, there are blank buttons in the place of buttons for those options. This will keep on reminding the person that they didn’t spend much of the money. This car has four blank buttons on the driver’s side and four blank buttons on the passenger’s side.
- For the cars that have everything integrated with the infotainment system, there are not many buttons, but Porsche kept buttons for everything.
- Porsche wanted Panamera to look like a coupe and the order was to keep the interiors big, so the car looks a little strange. As it wasn’t possible to give a normal coupe look to a car with so much legroom.
- The car is not too fast, but fast enough for daily commutation.
- The car is quite big for a city where the parking space is low.
Ratings Based on the Categories
So, looking at all the points, the car is quite reliable. And getting it for a deal of $30,000 makes it unbeatable. Overall ratings the car can be given out of 10 are:
- 4 for styling, as it does not look great.
- 5 for acceleration, as it goes from 0 to 60 in just 5.6 seconds.
- 6 for handling, as it is quite sharp given the car’s size
- 5 for fun factor, as it is quick and sporty but still a V6 big sedan.
- 6 for cool factor, as it is cooler than the other sedans of the era.
- 6 for features, as it is reasonably well equipped.
- 7 for comfort, as it is pretty comfortable but not as much as it’s rivalry sedans.
- 8 for quality, as it is quite reliable and well built.
- 5 for practicality, as its larger cargo area, is a benefit but 4 seats is a drawback.
- 8 for value, as it is available just for $30,000.
With these scores, the Porsche Panamera becomes better than the rivalry cars like Bentley Arnage T and Lexus LS 600hL. But it still lags behind the 2017 Panamera Turbo and Porsche 997 Turbo.
How did you find this amazing deal? Tell us in the comment box! Also, what do you prefer? Do you prefer buying a new car or do you think that an old car can be a better option in terms of both luxury and budget?