SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The first time you drive a Porsche Panamera S, there's a lot to take in. From the barrage of buttons on the center stack to the available sport exhaust, when you slip inside the Panamera S and sink into the supple leather seats, you have to settle in for a moment.
Take a deep breath. Acclimate. Adjust.
The Panamera S may appear under the guise of a sedan, but in truth, it has more in common with a sports car.
This was readily apparent as we drove through a series of twisty, windy roads, and the Panamera S hugged every curve. I had fun with the brief straightaways, stomping on the accelerator to feel my stomach drop and then coasting back to a speed that could handle the next turn.
I was skeptical that a large sedan could drive this well, but after a couple hours behind the wheel, and a couple more in the jump seat, I'm a total believer.
The 2015 Panamera S comes equipped with a 3.0-liter twin turbo V-6 engine that delivers an amazing 420 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque. The transmission is the 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK), which is designed for fast and efficient gear changes.
With the optional Sport Chrono ($1,330), which gives the car launch control, the 0-to-60 mph time for the Panamera S is 4.6 seconds and the top track speed is 170 mph.
Though I'm a big fan of the whole #savethemanual movement, I have to admit I didn't completely miss a stick shift since the PDK is Pretty Darn "Kwick." I played around a bit with the paddle shifters, but mostly I let the car do the work.
I found the buttons on the center stack to be a bit intimidating, but since I largely didn't need them to drive, I mostly ignored them. The two buttons I did touch: Sport Plus mode and the available sport exhaust. While I loved the Sport Plus mode - the Panamera S responded that much quicker to my input - I could leave the sport exhaust. I think the Panamera S sounds great just the way it is.
One of the hardest things for me to swallow with Porsche is also one of its selling points: Everything is an option. While you might expect a car with a base price of $94,195 to come standard with a rear back-up camera and heated front seats - among other things - it doesn't.
And Porsche owners think that's a good thing. You can configure your car exactly how you want it, adding only the features you want. Which, in a way, completely customizes the car.
Some of the options available are pretty phenomenal from a custom paint color ($9,900) and a rear-refrigerating compartment ($2,570) to a car-shaped key painted the color of your car ($365) and a Porsche crest on the headrests ($285). Other options, such as the Interior Lighting Package ($605) or the retractable luggage compartment cover ($150) are more mundane. But the whole host of options (I counted more than 100) serve one purpose: Make this car yours.
For 2015, the Panaemra lineup adds an E-Hybrid, and similar to the Cayenne S E-Hybrid, it will have an all-electric drive range of 15 miles and has an E-charge mode that charges the battery on the fly. The car can operate in electric-only mode up to 83 mph, and EPA gives the Panamera S E-Hybrid a 50 MPGe rating.
In addition to the powertrain tweaks, Panamera S also gets some exterior design revisions. The lines are a little more angular. You'll see this more clearly by looking directly at the front and rear of the vehicle - the nose is more squared off, and the hatch is a little flatter.
Also new for 2015, Panamera gets two new available safety systems: lane departure warning and the 360-degree surround-view camera.
Though my time with the Panamera S was brief, it was just enough to show the character of this car - and leave me wanting more. It's capable in aggressive driving, comfortable for long highway treks and feels more like a sports car than a sedan. It also has decent cargo capacity at 15.7 cubic-feet. But since it only seats four, it's more of an executive commuter car than a family sedan. Read more from Jill Ciminillo:
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Jill Ciminillo
Jill has been writing about cars for more than 20 years, representing the female point of view amongst her predominantly male colleagues. And since something like 80 percent of all car-buying decisions are either made by or influenced by women, that's nothing to sneeze at. Formerly the online automotive editor for the Chicago Sun-Times, the print auto editor for Pioneer Press Newspapers and the automotive editor for the Sinclair Broadcast Group, this 5th percentile (aka petite) female tells it like it is from the fun to the functional. She is now a syndicated automotive writer, podcast co-host, TikTok influencer and YouTube personality as well as the managing editor for the Pickup Truck + SUV Talk website. Jill is a past president for the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and currently sits on the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) Jury.
