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Porsche finally got around to a full redesign of the showtime-generation, 2009 Porsche Panamera. It'south smoother looking (less ungainly) on the outside. On the inside, the 2017 Panamera goes heavily for LCDs in the cockpit: 2 in the musical instrument panel and a big 12-incher in the middle stack. Porsche also got rid of the 747 cockpit look. The overload of heart console switches that extended almost to the dorsum seat has been replaced with a big touchscreen and a separate panel with capacitive touch switches.

The overall issue is what Porsche intended from the beginning: look like a Porsche 911 enlarged to behave 4 in comfort. It arrives in Jan 2017, base-priced at $101,040 for the Panamera 4S and $147,950 for the Panamera Turbo.

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Big LCDs, apartment panel switches

The Panamera cockpit is commuter-focused — no surprise. The instrument panel has an analog tachometer in the middle, flanked past a pair of 7-inch LCD panels for the other gauges. Interestingly, Porsche opted not to offer a caput-upwardly display, a feature that is emerging as a valuable tool for performance drivers who desire critical information within their line of sight.

Panamera_Gen1_consoleThe center stack has a 12.3-inch LCD, matching BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Grade, and a few others for 2nd biggest in the manufacture, behind (way behind) Tesla's 17-inch portrait-mount LCD. Physical switches seen to excess on the offset-generation Panamera (photo inset) are all only gone, replaced by a piano black panel surrounding the shifter with a combination of capacitive touch switches and a few knurled roller wheels and knobs. It volition be interesting to see how this plays out in real life on American highways with the frost heaves and imperfectly filled potholes. What looks great in the showroom sometimes annoys drivers moving along at speed who can't get their fingers to discover the right button.

The four-passenger supercar

Porsche will offering several engines: 440-hp two.9-liter twin-turbo V6 (4S), 550-hp twin-turbo V8 (Panamera Turbo), 442-hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 diesel (non in the The states), and a carry-over 3.0-liter V6 turbo (as well not in the U.s.). The two gasoline engine cars will reach 60 mph in iv.iv and 3.8 seconds; add together the Sport Chrono Package with launch control and times drib another 0.two seconds. These are all-wheel-bulldoze cars with an 8-speed double-clutch manual (Porsche Doppelkupplung, PDK for brusk). There may exist an entry-level 350-hp 3.0 liter turbo V6, such as "entry-level" is when yous're talking Porsche, for the U.s., also equally a hybrid. Porsche has also hinted it will build a high-efficiency gasoline-engine model without the complexities and batteries of a hybrid. Porsche suggests the new Panamera with the mainstream engines will be about 10% more fuel-efficient.

This is the offset Volkswagen Group vehicle built on the VW Group (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, VW) modular standard compages, or Modularer Standard-Baukasten, here meaning front-engine, rear- or all-cycle-drive layout.

When the Panamera ships, yous'll see comparisons both to two-seater supercars (Ferrari, Corvette, Audi R10) as well as Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes S-Class. Truth is, the Panamera is far roomier than the two-seaters, especially since the standard version in the US is the extended wheelbase version, but it still offers nowhere near the rear-seat comfort of the big High german sedans. Information technology's more similar an Audi RS7, BMW M6 Gran Coupe, and Mercedes-AMG CLS63 S.

The new Panamera has a longer wheelbase for more passenger room, more trunk capacity, and no loss in headroom despite a lowered roofline. If you lot demand more space, Porsche will likely offering a Panamera Executive edition with an extended wheelbase. In that location as well will be a station wagon version.

The audio organisation volition integrate Apple CarPlay but not, at least initially, Android Automobile.

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Tweaks for more than performance

The base Panamera rides, corners, and handles well. Want more? You can order the Panamera with three-bedroom air springs, an active anti-roll system that reduces roll in corners (like a aeroplane banking into a plough), and rear-bike steering that can steer a few degrees in the direction of a plough (for, say, lane changes) or in the opposite direction (for twisty state roads).

All Panameras go LED headlamps with the possibility of adding steerable units to come across around turns. The rear tail lamps make the 2017 model wait a lot more like a Porsche 911. Also for night driving, Porsche will offer a dark vision arrangement.

Porsche sold 150,000 first-generation Panameras since 2009 — non much compared with an Due south-Course, but more than any Ferrari or Lamborghini sells.