Had my Panamera 2011 Turbo for four years. Just brilliant. Superb build quality and super quick. Love it 🙃🦘🇦🇺

I've been driving a 4S for about 10 years now. 153k miles later, the car is still brilliant! I take it on long road trips regularly; a true miracle on the open road. I replaced the airbag suspension after it began failing up in Lake Tahoe a few years back. The PDK was replaced, under warranty, at about 65k miles (that would have cost approx $11k according to the dealer!) I'm now considering a replacement vehicle, but frankly, it will be a very tough act to follow!

I don’t get the distain for the Panamera’s looks. I personally LOVE the teardrop shape that was inspired by the first gen CLS. In all the other categories this thing is a ridiculous deal, as a Turbo S can be had for low 30k’s

Just picked up a '14 GTS a few months ago. It's the sort of car for people who can only have a single vehicle - think house with no garage to park your other toys. Depending on which mode you're in, it changes the character of the car quite a bit. Comfort is perfect for long distance highway driving, Sport for normal daily driving, and Sport Plus for any occasion where you want more engagement. The other steering wheel that was available for this car does have the 'normal' down/up paddles and is a pleasure to shift with. The car is heavy, no doubt about it and you can feel it every time during spirited driving. But very few other cars allows me to have so much fun with myself, wife, two kids and 2 dogs in the hatch at the same time. Would buy again.

I still think you can use the Panamera to identify people with bad taste. You'd have to be a fool to dislike it. It's elegant, striking. Such a simple shape. I think it will become a beloved classic in a decade or two.

Had my diesel panamera for 18 months now. Great car. 2014 facelift so prettier bum. Driving position is superb - nicer than my 997 turbo! 54 mpg down motorway to NEC classic car show yesterday. I’ve had to replace coolant system plastic parts in V of the V6 block, and all 4 coil springs as 3 snapped on terrible British roads. Also had to re-seal leaking oil sump. Diesel sounds great & it’s such a lovely motorway cruiser and pretty nice on bends too. Steel springs & PASM work great together. Front & rear parking sensors help with the size. My 6’3” son can sit in back with great leg room to spare. When parking, just park it close to passenger door of neighbouring car and it fits fine in any space. No plans to sell it. It’s RWD so I run it on winter tyres in the cold months & have fast fit Konig snow chains in the boot for big snow dumps. Off we go! One happy owner 😍 P.S. and diesel has Tiptronic S - lovely gearbox & trouble-free

I really never thought they looked bad

I own a 2013 Panamera 4S, V8 naturally aspirated. It’s faster than some new Caymans and the new Lotus. Fast around curves. Comfortably seats 4 people and the back seats go down for hauling things, I’ve transported a Fender Rhodes Piano Suitcase with the large double amp.

Great review, I recently bought a 4S with the V8 and have been loving it as it can fit me and my family in absolute comfort as well as being pretty quick

Oh god help me! Every time I see one of these, I want one. Middle age has come and gone for me, so, this is probably me heading into an old age crisis and I will spend the afternoon going to my local Porsche garage.

Thanks for making this informative and helpful video

Been waiting for this video for so long! Awesome work James 😁👍🏽 Considering the face-lift GTS variant 😍

There was the option to have the proper flappy paddles on the steering wheel on this car but that comes at a cost of having no functions on the steering wheel e.g no heated steering wheel, volume and phone controls etc

I have to drive one myself and floor it on our German Autobahns. I image it to be the perfect Autobahn stormer. Glad you could test one Jason!

I really enjoy your content keep up the good work

Great review. I’ve seen a few with the fixed GTS spoiler (correct me if i’m wrong) and it aged so well in my opinion.

While I love the styling of all years of Panamera, it illustrates much of the over "engineering" that ruins most new cars. Sadly this design philosophy of making everything too complex is creeping into new motorcycles too.

Great review! I had a panamera turbo 2 years ago then got rid of it due to relocation, now after driving majority of the amg and M cars, in jumping into another panamera turbo. For those that have this car two things to do. 1) change the plenum and 2) run a stage 1 tune..itll open up the car and it will beat/keep up with most exotics out there

Amazing review Jay, one of the most hardworking automotive UKpostsr!

love the Point of interest graphic. Love it!

Great video, as ever, but maybe a bit harsh on the Panamera. I’ve got a 2011 Panamera Turbo as my daily. As you say, it’s a big car. But as long as you don’t try to park it in tiny car parks, it’s fine in town and on country roads. It’s incredibly practical - the boot may be the same size as the Quattroporte, but as a hatchback with folding seats, it’s almost as useable as an SUV. I take our dogs in it, put bikes in it, whatever. And the handling is very sensitive to PASM settings, in comfort, it waddles, in sport, it hustles. But if you want to really drive it, it needs to be in sport plus, it’s really transformed. I also think it’s very sensitive to colour choice. Mine is metallic blue with white leather (and has a sunroof). Maybe I’ve just squinted, but in that colour combination, I think the outside has real presence and the inside feels very special. But yes, it is a 2 tonne car and isn’t as fun as my fun car. The steering isn’t 911 sharp. The exhaust isn’t Ferrari loud. But, I’m going to replace it soon and I’m seriously thinking about another.

When the car came out, i didn't liked it, but over the years i got used to it and now would it even consider. The only Porsche suv I would buy is the Macan as it is very well proportioned, its bigger brother looks like something related to the elephant man, nothing looks right.

My currently most likely choice for the first car in 15 years is a Jaguar XF Sportbrake. The new one seems good. But I happen to like the looks of the old Panamera. Curious how running costs would compare.

Got a new Panamera 4S Turismo as a loaner when my Porsche went in for a service. As a wafter it was amazing. Enjoyed the 2 days I had it but wasn’t sad to give it back

Bought an early turbo a while back , very light interior, jade green paint, makes a huge difference to the overall look. Have been tuning it for the past year, now pushing over 600bhp. Fantastic thing , small faults so far , coil packs, which are less than £40 each, spoiler stopped working , but a strip down fixed that . Mine has pccb which are amazing but I wouldn’t want to replace them !

Point of interest was a nice touch and thanks for leaving it up long enough to read!

Jay, i recently purchased a 2015 gts v8 4.8l and i have to say the sports plus option tightens the dampers which reduces the body roll next to zero, car is lowered 2cm, sports exhaust opens up to an F1 sounding symphony of screams and crackles so most of your issues are dealt with. I would recommend driving a 2014 + model year gts or turbo as I promise you will have a lot of fun.

My 2011 Panamera Turbo in sport plus with the exhaust valves open is very exciting car. No it doesn’t have the road feel of a 911. But being as wide as a Range Rover and as long as a pick up truck it’s surprisingly capable. I always leave the wing up. When it cycles it sounds like it’s eventually going to fail. Only 5k miles in 2 years a very reliable car.

Had a 4S for a year. Great car but living. In North West London parking was a problem so it went. But I do miss it at times.

I've got a Panamera T in very similar spec to this one, I have the much lighter interior mind so it's fine in the back. The review is pretty much spot on. It's my daily driver, and in the 5 years i've owned it I have done nearly 60,000miles in it. Trips to the Alps, Cornwall or pottering around a city, it can do it all. I love the fact that it's a rocket ship when you want it to be but also that I can put my 2 dogs in the boot with my grandchildren in the rear seats too. It's a car for all purposes, it'll average c.28mpg on a long easy run, is cheap'ish to insure and run and has that Porsche quality that other manafacturers only wish they could match. A bit boring maybe, but put it in Sport mode with the box in manual and it's a blast. It's been reliable in the main, but yes it did have a cooling hose issue and the oil pressure gauge does have a mind of it's own. Easy fixes and not expensive. You will either hate the looks, or not mind them. I am yet to find anyone who loves the looks of these cars. For me however, it does everything that I want it to do, so much in fact that I am really struggling to find an alternative car to upgrade to. 😃 I've been that undecided I've opted to keep it for the long term.

Good review, But I take issue with your opinion of the fuel consumpion, my Panamera also a turbo does 32mpg at motorway speeds, 28mpg country roads driven briskly and around 18mpg in the town. I also have a Cayenne Turbo S which does 21mpg motorway speeds and around 13.5 mpg town driving.

I have a 2014 same car, it’s amazing. Love it.

Love my 2013 Panamera Diesel..I bought it to impress myself not others.

Had my 2010 Panamera Turbo for two years and am convinced that this is the cheapest supercar in the world. I think this review held the Panamera to a 2021 standard in many regards such as flashy colors, gearbox speed, etc. For me, that's really telling about just how good this 2010 is... Also, long after the Maserati has been split up for spare parts, this Panamera will be someone's daily driver.

The looks have grown on me over the years

Nice video, the exhaust sounded like my Bentley v8s . I want to love these panamera’s , there is just something about about them I cant put my finger on that turns me off them.

Love the “must seat adults in rear” - how often do we ever take adults anywhere in the rear of our cars? Kids? Yeah, all the time. Adults? Half a dozen times a year tops?

I prefer the 1st gen rather than the newer one. I may be the only one on hearth

Love my 2010 Panamera Turbo

The latest pana looks so much nicer and wonder if we can get a review on that? Ty

2022 and still having my 2010 turbo with 11.500 mileage only. exactly same spec as in the video. taking care this beast reall goodd

I like the early Panameras and the late cars too. But I did drive Saabs for a long time too. In Australia they have not lost value and the gearbox is the only issue that seems to be a problem. IN Australia we have a "fit for purpose" warranty that is stronger than the manufacturer warranty that is effective up to 10 years. There has been some very interesting court cases about faults that have been very expensive for dealers and manufacturers. Landrover ended up with a $500,000 bill.

Beautiful looking car and a feat of engineering.

I got a 2013 4 with the pdk and no problems since 2015 just regular stuff and even if the motor blows up I'll fix it myself for pennies just how I did for my s600 🙆‍♂️

Just bought a 2015 Turbo S in all black. We love this car. It is not ugly!! I've already had several compliments on its looks...

I looked at a Turbo S of a More Recent vintage last Year. It was built like a Tank. Savage Acceleration. Amazing Ride Quality (I liked it anyway). Plush interior. As J said it’s a big Lump & felt it on the road. Took some positioning down the twisters. It felt like it would be still barrelling along in another 20 years (that’s as long as you’re not executed live on a pay-per-view Chanel for Driving a petrol V8 performance car). Left field choice, I didn’t buy it though.

I have a 2013 Turbo and your assessment is on point. I hate the ride over bumps, road imperfections. Handles good but not great. Pulls very strong stock but I have a FVD tune for an extra 90 hp.

James, I so wish I had ignored the legal warnings and given you my 970 for a review. But as I didn’t, here are some facts about the 970. The hybrids drop oil into the sump. They are designed to do this. That is partly why the oil sensor is so important. This was yet another recall. One recall was to fix a ‘thermal issue’ with the air con. It was actually a fire risk, and required immediate attention. When the hybrid system pack up, it will throw all manner of power steering and ABS issues which will confuse the dealers for months. And months. It will rust at six years old and Porsche will tell you to FO. Mine did. They throw out their wheel bearings at 60k miles. The radiators split. Coils go on the V6 motors. Switch packs packed up. Over three years, mine generated £25k of warranty claims. The air suspension on mine over 3 years and 40k miles was fine. And the PCM too. And the transmission. But dealing with Porsche was way too painful.

Dear James, didn't you get it wrong? You CAN change gears up and down with one hand on the steering wheel: you press once with the thumb and it goes up, you press once from behind and it goes down a gear. It's as comfortable as with McLarens, although less appealing (no rocker). Sorry if I didn't understand what you tried to get across. Cheers from Italy.

Yes, maybe nicer buttons and switches compared to the Maserati, but a boring experience to drive in comparison to the Maserati. If you care about cars rather than about switches,buttons and the LCD dispay which will look like 1980ies by tomorrow's standards, get the Maserati which will become a collectible. I owned both.

I seriously considered one of this vintage but opted for a Cayenne. In this guise it may have AWD but poke a Cayenne (particularly one with the 2spd t'fer case and air-sus) up a rutted track and you'll smile at its adaptability and then its sheer ability. Not a Landcruiser but oh so capable for a car that can be flicked into sport mode and do a really good job on a winding piece of bitumen. A true Swiss army knife.

Nice to see Mr Tumble getting into motoring journalism

Oddball looks? No one thinks this except youtubers. Everyone else who owns or observes these cars thinks they look gorgeous. Once you drive one, you fall in love.

You could get a paddle option, but lost the accessory buttons on the wheel, so most people got this wheel with the awkward shift setup. HOWEVER, a couple of firms in the aftermarket offer paddle kits that can be fitted to wheels like this, retaining the accessory buttons.

You would have loved a Milltek Exhaust and anti-roll bars on the Lexus SC 430...

A sterling review from Jay, proper job!

Please get an M6 GC for testing! 🙏 I feel your review would be very similar with some notable exceptions). Much better looking for example (IMO). Ultimately it didn't suit me - the fact I chopped it in for a caterham should tell you a lot! I would love to hear how you compare it. I think it's often forgotten.

I considered the Maserati but got the panamera turbo. Got a racechip, so I'll see what that does to it.🤪 You didn't press sport plus. Even if you just press the sport plus suspension settings it changes the whole feel. Oh, and thanks, now I need a milltek 😊

Super, smashing great!

That deep base bellow of the exhaust is the true sound of a V8

I love how this looks and drives.

I remember driving a e60 530d with a similar steering wheel gear change set up. It was very irritating

Had 4 panameras so far..hybrid, turbo and gen1 gts and theb gen2 gts. From all of them the gts does it for me. Made it straight pipe almost so it's sounds better then most ferrari's😅

The 970.2 turbo s is an animal with 570 bhp and 800nm torque carbon ceramics active anti roll and pure comfort with a top speed of 193mph. it ticks all the boxes with some of the flaws from the 970.1 corrected

2 guys w P Turbos dumped them for other sedans in less than 90 days. Very heavy cars. GTS model stock sounds great. Panamera techs I spoke with say base V6 was notably less problematic than V8, and later V6 twin turbo generally garnered comments re effective but not as much fun as V8. Light colored interiors in Panamera look stellar. Sometimes I see color combos and a small permanent wing that somehow make the car more attractive. I could handle old tiptronic auto shift buttons but the thumb buttons (vs optional paddles) in PDK really require some mental adjustment to use.

Jay can you do the 3.0 diesel without air suspension very different proposition

I love my 2016 panamera 4 edition

I've drive the 3.6 and thought it was awesome! Felt like it was hardly a Porsche though haha! Now I'm looking at buying the Turbo S but can't find any info! All I can find is the standard Turbo

3.6 rwd I reckon would be useful. Lighter, simpler but darn nice to drive.

I love the way you speak and the verbiage!

Yes, I have a 2012 panamera Turbo and I love it now. My PDK transmission. They're gonna do everything for 12000 that's with the warranty. No warranty would not replace a brand new one. That's 18000 but it's all good. As long as the warranty is doing their job. And I'm not complaining. I also have the Cayenne Turbo s. Having had one problem with it at all. Amazing cars now is time for a cayman or a 911 trying to get the Is triple threat

In my country most Porsches running on the street are either Panamera or the SUVs.

I like the looks, it’s aged well like an original 6 series(revived)

Smashing. Super. Great.

I'd be terrified of one of these going wrong... a GTS though.....

Love to see your review of a 971

Mine is white and I have different rims, mine everyone loves. Mine has no problems getting down the road. Maybe I need some bushings in the front and I could be a problem with manholes

I traded in my aging 911 for this car and I absolutely LOVE IT! I couldn't be happier!.

An upcoming Noble review then?

Said before, have a 2008 Maserati QP GTS, the most beguiling vehicle I’ve driven, it is down on torque but 90% you don’t notice, it is crap with gadgets (and mine has the earlier infotainment system with Zx spectrum graphics) but the fit,ent of a small module allows Bluetooth and waze to work adequately, and the ride and handling do go off at 10/10ths but 7/10ths is fun, I am really struggling to find a suitable replacement

I've been waiting a long time for another direct QP/Panamera comparison since 'that' 2010 Top Gear Episode... I also chose the less reliable, less well-built and slower QP GT S and this review re-affirms all of my prejudices against the elephant man techno-saloon.

I would go for the facelifted diesel. Lovely grand tourer without the notchy pdk transmission.

I'm in the market for one of these now, I also have a 911 and Cayenne GTS 4.8. The only way to buy these cars is under Porsche warranty (up to 15 years in my market) Maybe that Turbo your driving is broken? I can't see how it's been received so poorly.

You just need to review the Aston Martin Rapide and you've reviewed all the cars from the top gear episode that put it against this and the Maserati.

Great car, looks are subjective, for me the facelift is OK but the first gen car wouldn't be for me. Don't like the way it sounds or the potential ruinous running costs. I would have your QP over this as it ticks more boxes for me but an F10 M5 or an E63 would be my German choice.

I've never had a problem with the first Panameras looks, I really prefer it to the new "WWAOW LOOK HOW FUTURIZTICX THIS IS" panameras.

Looks Good, Sounds Good

I also only like my Porsches with 2 doors, but that thing makes a tremendous noise 😁

I also do NOT find this ugly at all, the rear is practical and flows Smoothly. It is BETTER than a Ferrari with aspacious back seats you reviewed in another video.

Still looks like a modern Austin Maxi.

A good set of tyres will make up for the weaknesses of any drivetrain. RWD on winters will match if not beat 4WD on summers, and, most importantly, will leave it in it's dust in cornering and *braking* , where you really need the grip! There are UHP all season tyres (all weather for US folk) with the 3 peak snowflake which will be still be far more than 95% of the UK need. If all seasons aren't enough for what you need, well you really need to be switching between summers and winters instead of falsifying confidence with 4WD/AWD. You'll never have a nasty incident from not being able to set off, you will if you can't stop before or steer around a hazard. If not making it to work when it snows is costly for your friend, they really need to invest in the right tyres, a set of winters for the few months our weather is below 7 degrees Celsius. Summer tyres go hard like plastic when the temperature drops. I recommend Tyre Reviews for much more info about the importance of the right tyres.

How many quarts of oil did you go through?

Like this Car allot

I am 45 years old and have a 6 year old daughter so I need the back seat . I just purchased a 2012 model and waiting for it to arrive.

A dealer I know told me recently he was stung by an early Panamera like this which he had on his books. It cost him £17k to replace the gearbox. I imagine that will go up every year… The big perceptual issue with the Panamera which is really only touched on in this review is that it exists entirely in relation to the 911. People buy one because they always wanted an 911 but need family capacity; they look bad because they look like stretched out 911s; people expect sports car performance and feel, but don’t really get it. I think if you’d never seen a 911, the Panamera would look fairly good. However, they’ve always been so much in the 911 shadow they don’t really have their own identity - something Porsche seem to have solved with the Taycan.

I always liked this gen Pan, a red GTS please.....

its a wildly mechanical disaster, air suspension, water in heater before we even mention engine failure

The sound of that exhaust just doesn't excite me at all. Maybe that's me. If I had that car I would return it to stock as soon as possible. Loud exhausts just attract the attention of the police.

Never understood why so many people hate this porshe looks.. for me its really nice and expensive looking…

ohhh yes!! my favourite car!!!