2014 Porsche Panamera

So yesterday, the refreshed Panamera was revealed, along with all the details of the upgrades. The big news are the styling updates, more power, a plug-in hybrid model, and a new long-wheebase model.

Starting with the engine updates, the base 3.6-liter V-6 engine produces 310 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 10 horsepower. The 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V-8 for the Panamera S and 4S trims makes way for a new twin-turbocharged V-6 that makes 420 horsepower and 384 pounds-feet of torque. The Panamera GTS looks and handles much like the Turbo, but it uses the S's engine. Meanwhile, the Turbo's twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V-8 gets a horsepower bump of 20, to a good 520 horsepower and 516 pounds-feet of torque. The Turbo S is discontinued for now. All of the above engines are mated to Porsche's PDK dual-clutch automates manual transmission.

Finally, there's the Panamera S E-Hybrid, which is a fairly significant upgrade from the previous S Hybrid. The electric motor is twice as robust, and there is a larger-capacity 9.4 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The supercharged 3-liter V-6 from Audi remains the same. Total system output goes from 380 horsepower in the outgoing S Hybrid to 416 horsepower in the new S E-Hybrid. Plus, you can now go up to 20 miles running on electricity alone, though your will be limited to 84 miles per hour.

The Europe-only Panamera Diesel still has the Audi 250-horsepower 3-liter V-6. Both the Diesel and the S E-Hybrid have an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.

There will also be long-wheelbase versions of the Panamera 4S and Turbo (and the Turbo S once it comes) called the 'Executive.' It stretches the wheelbase 5.9 inches to give more room to the rear passengers. In addition, it makes the car look very unsightly.

Styling updates include a revised lower fascias, new LED taillights and optional full-LED headlights.

Comments

2003 Honda Odyssey EX-L Review

These pictures aren't of the actual vehicle, but the colors and trim level are correct. Those of you who have been following this blog since its inception know that my parents have two cars: a 2006 Nissan Sentra and a 2005 Mazda MPV. Well, we recently swapped our dear little MPV for a 2003 Odyssey. The reason for that is, well, there isn't much reason. It's mostly to spice things up in our lives and have a different car for a change without spending any extra money. Our Odyssey came with every bell and whistle you could get in a minivan in 2003, including a factory-installed DVD entertainment system, leather seats, heated seats in the front, and dual power sliding doors. First impressions were a mixed bag. The engine was very smooth, quiet, and powerful, apparently typical of Hondas, but there was a rough patch between 1000 and 1500 RPM or so. You can't feel the road textures at all while driving the car, but it crashed loudly over larger bumps. Loud can als...

Big News: We Bought a New Car!

It is an exciting day for me! As the title says, my family bought a new car! We haven't done that since 10 years ago when we bought our 2006 Nissan Sentra. There it is, parked on the driveway right after we drove home from the dealership. Isn't the color so nice? The interior is beige, too! It's the perfect color combination. Getting that car to be on our driveway, though, was a laborious and drawn-out task. We started car-shopping yesterday morning, when my dad and I test drove the Camry and Accord. At first, we headed for the Ford dealer intending to test drive the Taurus and Fusion, but it shunned us by saying that it was "too busy for test drives." There were maybe two other people at the dealership then. Whatever. We then headed to a semi-rural Honda dealership in search of an Accord. I was expecting it to be loud and firm-riding in traditional Honda fashion. Instead, it impressed me with its solidity. Unfortunately, the specific Accord ...

Changes for the 2013 Jaguar Lineup

2013 brings little to no styling changes to Jaguar, but there are some fairly important additions under the sheetmetal, as well as some drops in base price and some trim level additions. The flagship sedan XJ gets a new 340-horsepower, 3-liter supercharged V-6 as the base engine, undercutting the still-available 385-horsepower 5-liter V-8. The XJ now starts at $74075 with the V-6, a $500 deficit compared to the 2012 base V-8. The 385-horsepower V-8 comes on with the XJL Portfolio, a new, long-wheelbase trim level between the base and Supercharged. That costs $82075, a $500 increase over the 2012 XJL. However, it does add more standard features. The other models get expected price increases with little to no change. Other news for the XJ is the addition of a $3500 all-wheel-drive version. That lowers the fuel economy for the base engine from 18/28 city/highway miles per gallon to 16/25 city/highway miles per gallon. It can only be optioned on the base XJ and XJL Portfol...

From the Passenger's Seat

Search This Blog