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Old 29th January 2022, 13:09   #1
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Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-f4e5c906fa9344c4aa7b6ce814a43a2a.jpg

Late night, Blurry Lights, Deep Mind.

Lets rewind and a bit and see how it all happened..

What was I enjoying? This : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...-72000-km.html (My Pre-worshipped Monster : BMW 530d M-Sport [F10] EDIT: Sold after 72000+km!)

Bought the car at 18k kms, Sold it around 74k with a stage 2 map and tons of mods on it, I was super happy with the car but unfortunately 2 things always made me want to part ways with it in the recent times..

1 : Back Seat Space, Car was Practically used as a 2 seater.
2 : Cornering Abilities even with B6 wasn’t confidence inspiring

The car was practically being used as a 2 seater, Which meant no family state trips with the 530d and I missed a lot of highway drives because of this, Plus feels bad that your family cannot really enjoy the car on the highway too even if they wanted to.

I had the B6 installed for better stability it made a lot of difference, Probably I should have done it as soon as I got the car, But still during heavy cornering the car use to pitch and wobble which I did not like at all.

All in all I had driven the car a lot and decided ill look for an upgrade but well, That won’t be easy will it ?

I was thinking to upgrade from a V6 Diesel which is Stage 2 with 4 doors and wanted something on the similar lines with better backseat experience, better performance & better driving experience, I was totally stumped to what it could be, Ofcourse if money wasn’t a barrier I could have simply bought a F90 M5 and before that a petrol pump considering that i drive quite a lot.

Letting the 530d go with a heavy heart!
Tons of memories, more than 50k kms with the car, Such low end torque, I will miss this car but whats the best part ? i can drive it whenever i want, This car will be out for every drive i go with on weekends..

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1141.jpg

Happy / Sad Moment together.


While I was deciding a very close friend told me seriously he wanted to buy my car, and probably in a matter of a few hours we knew the deal was sealed and I let her go, Mainly and majorly only because I know the car will be taken care well, I can drive it whenever I want & Ill see the car on almost every of my highway drives! What more could I ask for? I had to let her go with a heavy heart.

Now the hunt starts with all the concentration & along with that a few test drives as well.

Criteria’s to be met for my next Daily :

* Sedan
* V6 Diesel/ V6 Petrol or Above
* Comfortable back seat
* Mod Friendly
* Should be a stock car
* No Air Suspension
* Under 50 big ones
* Under 20k ODO Max

Cars Considered.


BMW G30 530D : Test drove the car and man its a whole league ahead of the F10 in almost every way, Loved every bit of it, had no reason at all to drop the car, BUT! The moment I stepped inside the car for a TD I was just soo comfortable in driving the car in traffic, Speed breakers etc, It made me feel a little stupid, I was soo used to the engine response the size of the 530d and a stage 2 remap, I just couldn’t feel the better driving experience or rather a whole new experience, Some of my friends said it was the sensible option to go for after a F10 530d and some said it was a stupid move and would be a lateral upgrade at the best. Eventually after TD I concluded, The driving experience, Dimensions of the car was very similar for me to spend 45-50 lakhs on the car, I’d honestly like to try something new?

Mercedes W212 E63 AMG : By chance a dealer had a 14k kms done black E63 coming up for sale soon and I test drove the car, It was MH registered, looked mint inside out, But the car was dropped instantly post test drive & why ?

The ride quality was HARD! In comfort mode the ride quality was soo hard I could literally feel every small details on the road & which also made the cabin rattle a lot, My dad at the back seat was comfortable when it came to space but man he was too irritated with the ride quality, Driving experience was typical AMG V8 engine, Starts slow from the low end and then simply just keeps going, It surely ticked the performance criteria but the ride quality and comfort was a major downer. Car was dropped. Also 14k on the ODO was in MILES not kms, Which translated to roughly 22k kms and not at 14k kms advertised by the dealer.

BMW F10 M5 : I did not test drive the car, There were a couple of them on sale at that time, But this was dropped considering the back seat comfort and space.


Audi S5 : Came across a yellow car for sale, V6 turbo petrol was tempting, But dated exterior looks along with A4 dimensions and It was a test drive car along with dated interiors and not very spacious interiors din’t feel a complete package at all.

Mercedes S350 : A lovely car, Too many on sale in the used market so lot of options to choose from, But I felt its just a car that would not suit me right now, Probably once I am 35+ ? Another issue was the air suspension, Most of the cars on sale were near the 40-60k kms mark, Exactly when the air suspension would give up which means major bills, it won’t be a drivers delight either, It would only keep my folks happy at the back seat, Just din’t feel right for me, For the same reason even the 730LD was dropped.

Audi A8 4.2 TDI : There was only ONE 4.2 TDI on sale & man I soo really wanted it just for the heart it had, But unfortunately the car was completely ignored/ avoided by my dad, He just did not want an Audi as he is very used to with the interiors and space & he din’t bother much that it was the V8 diesel, I would have personally loved to get it, but was a No no from higher authority.


Porsche Panamera Diesel : I had thought of the Panamera honestly but every time I checked up in the used car market they were priced well above my budget and frankly I did not find the car worth spending more than 60-70 big ones that too for a used 30-40k kms ones, yes the diesel ones I am talking about.

A white JH registered 2015 model with around 40k on odd had an asking price of 67 Lakhs, No way I even enquired further for it, Another black MH one was sale online asking around 65 again done about 35k kms, Both were equipped with air suspension which I frankly wanted to avoid, Plus the pricing quoted was way above my budget, But they both were 970.1 which was the facelifted Panamera’s which came with a few more extra like sleeker rear tail lights, LED’s up front and reclining back seats, I surely wanted the 970.1 version,

Until,

Few days into the hunt, My dad gives me a call late in the night and asked me to come down have a look at a car, I did not even know which car !!

My surprise it was a Panamera, Well okay, Sat inside and it felt NEW and I wondered how? To which I glanced at the ODO which said 5250 KMS ! Did I read that right? Did I miss a digit there? But well no, Indeed the car had done only 5250 kms, Test drove the car it felt tight, Engine gearbox was smooth. The whole driving experience I had was NEW, exactly what I wanted, once you sit inside the cabin you don’t feel its a 5 Meter long car. More on this later. Best part had to be the pricing which was achievable.

I took another TD the next day during the day, The car had minor nicks on the rear bumper and stone chips on the front bonnet, Apart from that nothing seemed replaced or repainted. Engine bay was neat and clean with no signs of any work done. The car was still on its stock tyre! Got the car checked where it would be maintained, Red Line Autohaus and I got a thumbs up from there too.

Some pictures clicked the first time i saw the car,
Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-7.05.44-pm.png

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-7.05.56-pm.png
ODO !
Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-7.06.41-pm.png
Interior, Seats, Had no signs of usage..

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-7.06.22-pm.png
Checking out the rear seats, also notice the display for air con temp, Button to lock/Unlock the car and to control rear blinds along with air direction buttons, Below that is the charging socket and storage area too.

Following pictures from outside were taken the next day,

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-7.13.38-pm.png
Love the key!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220202-11.29.26-am.png
Din't like the alloys since day one, I knew i had to swap.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220202-11.30.28-am.png
Made sure to check if the retractable spoiler was working fine, If not these are expensive to repair.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220202-11.33.17-am.png
I knew she was the one, Named her "Panny".



It was Decided!

Porsche Panamera Ticked most of the boxes in my criteria and I saw no reason to look elsewhere.

But before that i wanted to be completely sure of this particular car.

Things to check while buying a low mileage car
Low ODO reading with anything above a couple of years on the car should be treated with extra caution, Following are the things i checked before taking the plunge.


* Interior wear
Interior wear such as wear on the seats, Buttons, Knobs, Steering material, Door handles are a perfect example to judge how much the car has been used, For instance the ODO in my car showed 5500kms, And the interior wear was nothing, All the buttons, Door handles, Steering, Arm rest were in mint condition. So that was a positive, If you find a car with low mileage but the interior shows good amount of wear, Thats a red flag.

* Service history At Dealership
Important to look for service history of the car, In my case the car did its last service at 3600 kms at a Porsche service centre.

* Getting a proper check of the car done at a service centre or known workshop.
Redline Autohaus for the win, Checked the car and apart from the roof liner being changed they din't find anything wrong with the car & a thumbs up was given for the same.

* Tyre check :
Upon having a closer look at the tyres on my car, They were indeed stock tyres which came with the car !! They had cracks appearing on them but the dept was infact 80% still there, Another positive the car had genuinely done only 5k kms.

Dealershi…err…. Dealer Experience :
Unfortunately the only sour point in the deal was the buying experience, The dealer was a known person which actually made us trust more on the car and on him. Which turned out to be a huge mistake, First of all,

Few minor issues I found with the car during TD :

Rear right AC vent had no air blowing (Common flap issues)
Rear Automatic blind wasn’t working (apparently wasn't fitted well)
Second key was not available
One of the headlight washer nozzle was missing

Small issues which the dealer agreed to fix and deliver the car in a weeks time on his expense and a final price was decided. (Fair enough)

More than 50% of the amount was transferred to him in the next few days (Big mistake)

Unfortunately for some reason the dealer kept me hanging for the next 60 days, Yes you read that right, 60 days after taking 50% payment, His excuses were the work is not done and parts are not available etc, Which was all solely excuses, The car was being shown around to other prospected buyers in those 60 days to fetch a better price Eventually when the bubble busted and I landed on his doorstep is when he delivered the car the next day with offcourse no work done on the car, and the car had clocked about 300 kms more than the last time i saw, His reason was car was travelling to and fro to garages!

So I paid 50% of the amount waited for 60 days and few minor things work on the car was also not done.

I would love to reveal the name/Dealership, But I’ll let it slide.

For buyers in Mumbai, Beware while buying a high end used car, Do a background check on the dealer too, Try to get the car from an established used car showroom or known dealer in the car community.

Eventually I deducted the amount for all the pending work on the car from the price we had decided the car on and took the delivery finally! Got the RC transferred and it verified too!

Such things you gotta go through if only the other person isn’t transparent.



Best things takes time.

Car was sent to Redline Autohaus for all the small niggles plus a servicing which was done in a few days!

I was also not a fan of the stock alloy design & I also had to change the tyre instantly, Decided to swap both the tyres & alloys and upsize to 19 inches from 18’s, Internationally you can buy a panamera with 18 to 20 inches wheel as well.

Akshay from Redline recommended Japan Racing Alloys & they had recently launched a JR38 model which was a perfect fit for Panamera, 5x130 PCD !!

Stock size the car came with was,

245/50/18 front
275/45/18 Rear

Which was swapped with

245/45/19 Front
275/40/19 Rear

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-6.46.30-pm.png
Wheels arrived.
Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-6.46.19-pm.png

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-6.46.42-pm.png
Ready for swap.

While the car was at Redline Autohaus we also noticed one of the damper to be weak which got us thinking the car has been standing all this while on those damper, Akshay recommended to swap all 4 but I wanted the stock ride quality only, The stock ride quality and handling of the car was superb and I did not want to mess with it, However we decided to swap all dampers with Bilstein B4 OEM spec,

Basically B4 is the closest to the stock spec of the car & it turned out to be a perfect decision, Ride quality or the handling was further improved, More of this later.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-a07397722a264949aa5a09294b260a4c.jpg

Finally Lets drive!

With the new tyres, Alloys, Bilstein, Serviced, I was all ready to go for a highway drive everyday but unfortunately COVID struck India again and another lockdown was imposed.

My wait had become longer but there was nothing that could be done, I had driven the car a lot inside the city but was still craving to feel the highway feel of the car.

While i had started driving every now and then, I wanted to drive the car more before i pen down about it..

Last edited by Akshay1234 : 14th March 2022 at 10:27. Reason: typo
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Old 29th January 2022, 16:56   #2
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re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Features : The feature list is quite good even for the first generation of Panamera,

Bixenons with steering and cornering function
DRL's with integrated Turn signals
Automatic & Manually Retractable rear spoiler with a press of a button
Sunroof
8 parking sensors
Reverse Camera with Adaptive Guidelines
12 speaker sound system
Automatic rear sun blind
Ambient Lighting
Auto Headlights, Auto Wipers
Auto dimming inside mirror & ORVMs
Aux, USB, Bluetooth inputs
4 Zone Climate control
Memory seats for the driver & Electronically adjustable front both seats
Traditional Porsche Pod Dials with all the information & settings available there, Including oil temp, Oil pressure, Battery voltage, Elevation etc
Cooled glove box & total of 4 charging ports from front row till the boot
Anti Theft alarm
PCM 3.0 has everything you want to check or set in the car, Touch operation is old school but the system is fast to respond

& more.

Addition of car play, AA & watching videos via the Joy Auto Carplay on the same original screen is a boon.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5333.jpg
Love this layout, Easy to read and more than information required for folks like us, I was paranoid about the battery voltage fluctuating but turns out the alternator handles it and it also depends on how fast your driving!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5337.jpg
Memory Seats, Are extremely good to have!! It's also configured with the key you use to unlock the car.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5334.jpg
Headlight control (Which is always on Auto) AC Vent and below the Electronic Parking brake can be seen.

Driving Impressions after driving more than 15000 kms, Currently the car ODO stands at 22000 KMS Already! Its daily driven.

Engine :

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-2.53.58-pm.png
Engine spec wasn't the only thing made me finalise panamera, I have driven the inline 6 diesal a lot in 530d, V6 diesal in panamera felt right too, It made more sense to my head according to my usage and the amount of running i have, Once i drove it i was happy though, I knew a remap was needed sooner or later which will make the car much better to drive,
Tightly packed engine bay, Its such a lovely engine to drive, Derived from Audi, Porsche made it even more refined and nicer to drive with the cost of making it heavy, With slight music on you cannot here the engine until your completely in the midrange with a heavy foot, post mid range till the top end its a sweet sweet engine sound, Never thought a diesel would sound better than a 530d but it does sound better Comparing it with the 530d, Its a completely different engine in terms of performance and how it deliver its power, The low end is weak, Hence the slower time of 6.6 seconds to 100 against the 5.8 seconds to 100 of the 530d, but where this engine shines is the mid to top end, Revs quick and easily till 5000 RPM even though redline is marked at 4500 rpm, Strong mid and top end means highway drives are too much fun and your never short of power, With the 530d the power used to taper off high up the revs range, On the highway the power is always ready with the panny, You require fewer downshifts and fewer upshifts before you do silly speeds. A stage 1 remap is on the cards, which will push the power upto 310 bhp and 680 NM approximately from the stock 250 bhp and 550 NM, Lets see how that goes, Will be done sooner, The handling & driving dynamics of the car begs for more power really. Engine and transmission in comfort mode are tuned for maximising fuel efficiency, So drive sedately and the engine would be lazyily ticking and transmission shifting up as early as possible. Switch to sports mode however and the engine is always on the boil, Instant power on tap and yes along with that even the fuel efficiency goes down to single digit, Fair balance i'd say. All in all its a lovely engine to drive, I have no complaints with it, This car Being a daily it does its job very well, its punchy when you need it, its silent, Gives good efficiency when driven sedately, A remap and put it in sports mode would also be fun.


PSM : (Ignore the hard water marks)
Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-1.27.43-pm.png

Special mention to the PSM, Porsche Stability Management, Switch it off with the dedicated button and man the car will not intervene untill its very late i feel!! Unlike in the BMW where with ESP off, It will still have DTC on which will still save you if the car goes completely out of control, DTC in Bmw's can also be switched off completely but that stays OFF only till you cross 60 kph, After which the car automatically switches to comfort mode, Atleast it was like that in my F10 530d.

I really love how the car let's you slide that big heavy bulky looking butt, Its actually pretty easy to do so with the PSM off, With the PSM ON the car is will completely be in control regardless of the road condition, I have tried gunning the car in heavy rain with slippery surface and the car with the ESP light blinking was cutting down on power just enough where the car was accelerating too but maintaining its line very well, So basically absolutely safe when its ON & you are on your own when its OFF.

Transmission :
Diesel Panamera comes with a 8 Speed Tiptronic unit, Comfort mode the gearbox is smooth and will upshift as soon as possible, You'd probably never feel the shifts if you don't look at the RPM Pod, Its tuned for smoother drive and higher fuel efficiency & hence sudden overtakes can at times take a second for the gearbox to downshift, In comfort after a power burst once you let off the throttle the gearbox will happily jump gears ( 3rd to 8th & so on)

In Sports mode however it always keeps the power on tap, Won’t upshift easily and also if you switch to manual it gives you complete control to upshift when you want and won’t do it automatically. All in all its a good unit but surely not up to the ZF level in comfort mode, I am looking to get a tune for the transmission too, Perhaps to make it a little more aggressive. However sports mode is always on for the highway which really is perfect.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5332.jpg

Love the detail and making of the gear lever too, Even the sound it makes while using it, Perfect to hold and feels "Mechanical" while using it, Gets you that little bit even closer to that proper driving experience to start with. Such small things just add to all the "feel" you have around and inside the car.

Suspension :
The suspension is brilliant, with the B4 dampers close to the OEM setup, The ride quality even with the 19incher’s is sublime, Combined with handling which is completely next level from the F10 530d, I can carry sane speeds in corners and the car really maintain its line and control amazingly well, Its actually astonishing to feel and to know the 2 ton 5 metre long sedan can handle this well, Thats when you know its a Porsche. Straight line high speed stability is crazy good too, Passenger even the in front seat doesn’t realise most of the time the speed the car is doing, The rear active spoiler which comes up at 96 kph, Changes position again at 176 kph and then again at 220 kph helps keeping the car even more glued to the road according to Porsche.
There is simply nothing i’d want to change in the suspension now, the complete current combo of the B4 dampers stock suspension, P Zero has got me super happy with ride quality and handling. Best of both world really. The main thing which gave me a push to actually to go for this particular car was that it did not have air suspension, Apparently air suspension in the panamera 970 - 970.1 is notorious and people internationally don't recommend getting one without warranty, Several groups are super active for panamera's specially in the UK where people till date are buying or have been driving the panamera's for long term and have no complaints apart from those with air suspension going kaput every now and then.

Complete driving dynamics : This car has spoiled me!! Its astonishing to know facts that the car is 5 metres in length and its weight is around 2 tons, But how does the car shrink while driving and how will body roll is controlled, The handling, Driving position, Cockpit view and engine always eager to keep pulling silently it all just makes the car effortless to drive and man i have done several long trips 2000 kms or so and i really did not feel as much as tired i used to be before, The way the car will masks it speeds and the way it can change lanes and handle in corners its a delight to drive the car! Panamera was made for the highway touring and man it does that brilliantly, Going on highway speeds at undulations ? the car stays FLAT! Add in the braking factor, Every time even while just cruising i had to brake suddenly, The car stopped way before i anticipated it to, Add to that if driving in sports mode or with a heavy foot, The car keeps the Pre braking fill available all the time & i cant really say how much i love that! Going at highway speeds over gravel or lot of dirt going below only on one side of the car under 1 or 2 tyres ? PSM comes on to make sure you are in complete control, All of this while 4 adults are comfortably seated in a very spacious cabin. Where am i going from here? Unless panamera turbo's comes into budget someday!

Apple CarPlay/ AA Retrofit:
PCM 3.0 Unit which comes with the car was pretty basic by todays standards & i really wanted to update it but also did not want to go for any chinese headunit, Found out a epic solution to the problem, JoyAuto Carplay Module, So basically ill have the stock interface along with carplay & AA & also the ability to watch videos on the same stock screen while retaining the stock display too. Redlineautohaus did a brilliant job installing it for me and roughly it costed me around 35-40k, Absolutely worth it, Unlock the car sit inside and voila carplay is already connected. It isn’t a easy job to install but crazy installation work was done.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-6.27.48-pm.png
Car Play module being installed, Had to open up the complete Headunit for it and also requires wiring modifications, Came with a manual, Followed it step by step and it was done.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-da5329f4ac104b48b8a61acd0194f823.jpg
Almost done.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220131-6.32.09-pm.png
Done, Everything works as intended, Carplay is connected as soon as you switch on the ignition.


Interior Fit & Finish:
I remember the first time stepping inside a porsche in UAE and was simply blown away with the quality of materials inside, Really makes you feel special and invited, The best part however for me has to be the gear level, Feels really mechanical, Makes a very satisfying sound while engaging gears and even the attention to detail on it is crazy good, Opening the boot and you can again see the lovely material used to everywhere, Only bit of complain that i would have would be the little hard plastic part of the door found near the speakers, Apart from that man this car doesn’t age or what !!!

Back Seat Comfort :
Its a lovely place to be in, its a strict 4 seater, but all the 4 folks would be happy on their individual seats, Seats themselves are very comfortable and they keep you in place, I have done 4-5 state trips with the folks already and thankfully everyone is happy to take the Panamera for the highway trips. Rear Vents are a boon to have in the middle as well as in the pillars with their own dedicated temperature and blower controls, With hardly any body roll during high speed runs on the highways passengers front or back don't really feel the speed at all, Gives the driver that much extra freedom to drive even with passengers along.

Fuel Efficiency :
Well yes, Has to be mentioned, Diesel Panamera's were made for touring & it can also be felt in this department, A normal comfort mode start from my place to leave down to pune simply cruising and just felt like checking the fuel economy as the range was increasing every passing moment, To my surprise,

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3753.jpg

I don't have a click when range i have seen even of 1200 to 1300 kms, Here is the one i could find,

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3850.jpg

100 litre fuel tank means do a tankful on the highway and if you drive normally and if you can get an average of 12-13 kpl on highways, you can easily do 1200 to 1300 kms on a tank full !
In the city solely i get about 900- 1000 kms range in a full tank with mixed city driving.

SAFETY : A Total of 12 Airbags, Solid Built quality, PSM, Pre Fill Braking and more, the safety aspect is surely ticked and being in the car specially on the highways make you feel really safe, Its built like a tank even weighs like a tank infact which all add together a sense of feeling even more safer when inside the car.

Practicality : Panamera's Scores big when it comes to practicality, It has a total of 3 bottle/Cup holders in the front (2 are hidden out of view) and 1 at the back, Has charging sockets in the front, Rear and even in the boot, Cooled glove box, Even large enough to hold normal sized laptop, Storage under the armrest which also has the USB & AUX inputs, Space in the door pads are small so only them smaller items fit, Rear seat has a dedicated arm rest with a storage option with it and even below it for small items.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_7431.jpg
Clean look, Any guess where would be another 2 Bottle/Cup holder ?

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_7430.jpg
Not only they are cleanly tucked in when not in use, They even extend their size so you can easily hold a bottle or a cup of any size. Very convenient.

When it comes to boot space, 500 litres of boot & fold the seats down and remove the rear tray and you have a 1340 litres of boot space!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_7423.jpg

Rear tray which also includes the rear automatic blinds can be removed for more space, Also notice the quality of material used everywhere! Wow.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_7421.jpg
Charging port in the boot, Also both sides have such small netted compartments for small items, Also the quality of material again.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_7426.jpg
Even behind the rear seats, Was it needed? I am not complaining! Folding mechanism is extremely sturdy

Last edited by Aditya : 15th May 2022 at 04:58. Reason: Minor typo
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Old 2nd February 2022, 12:49   #3
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re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

After Driving for more than 17000 kms, Here is everything i like & i don't like.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-72009862fc90416da739d1acabab33fc.jpg


What i like in Panny :

* Driving Dynamics, Mainly Straight line stability, Handling, Well Contained Body roll, Fantastic to drive
* Spacious on the inside, front & Back, Complete luxury for 4, 5 Meter long and 1931 mm of width, Gives it an amazing road presence too
* Extremely Refined & sweet sounding V6 Engine along with Strong Mid range, Stock 250 HP 550 NM Never feels short of power
* Braking Is Top Notch, Car comes with slotted disc, 10/10 for braking
* Ride Quality even with the 19" is very good! Car even absorbs bad roads really well, Perfect balance of sportiness & comfort without Air Suspension
* Quality of material used EVERYWHERE oozes of luxury & feel good factor
* Retractable Spoiler is super cool, Comes up at 96 kph, Changes position at 176 kph & again at 220 kph
* Lot of storage space in the cabin makes it very practical, For your phones, Bottles, Wallet etc & a total of 4 dedicated Cup/ Bottle holders too
* 4 Zone Automatic Climate control with dedicated controls on each side, Each passenger can set their own temperature to be comfortable
* Practical boot, Rear Blind can also be removed for additional luggage, I had no issues in fitting luggage for 3 adults for a week long trip
* 100 Litre fuel tank & Efficiency of a Diesel
* Mod Friendly, Turbo spoiler, Turbo Body kit, Remaps, LED's, Steering retrofit etc, A lot can be done
* Inviting Cockpit, Its a special feeling every time you sit in the driver's seat
* Love how the key is shaped like the car, Its the first time i am not using any key cover or keychain
* Feature loaded & CBU



What i Don't like in Panny :

* Transmission in comfort mode isn't very quick to respond, Sports mode fixes this, But i don't always like to be in sports mode
* Sourcing parts will take time, Most of its parts won't be readily available, Part's wont be cheap either
* Stock Bixenon's isn't very powerful, I was used to the fantastic Led's on 530d, Maybe a future swap will fix it
* Strict 4 Seater means you can't even have a small kid with 4 adults
* No spare tyre or a wheel well either
* Terrible Experience in trying to get hold of an appointment for the car here at service centre in Mumbai (Thane ) & even while buying a spare tyre from them!
* Extremely rare to find a Panamera on road + Porsche badge means = Extreme Attention on Road, Cannot leave the car alone for a second!
* Buttons on Steering instead of proper paddles to shift are annoying to use, Are even very noisy to operate
* Rear Visibility isn't great, Becomes even more soo terrible when the spoiler engages
* Car is actually very WIDE, Crossing tolls and narrow lanes increases your heart rate!
* Interior color combo is a pain to maintain
* No TPMS (I guess even that was an option while buying?!)

Last edited by Tanveer_2558 : 12th March 2022 at 16:12.
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Old 2nd February 2022, 15:11   #4
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re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

I want to pen down things with pictures that i have clicked with my phone, Not professionally, Some are while walking, Some instananously taken, Only a few are edited, Pictures taken while i have enjoyed the car till now during certain places/Drives etc.

Enjoy the Pictures !

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-8b693b8f9e524b99a4c12e7689626930.jpg
Mandate drive the same night delivery was taken

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_8295.jpg
Side profile after JR38, Yet missing are the JR38 Centre caps, Will complete the look.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-07f25ce142874ace8200defffc489648.jpg
Stormy weather at Aamby

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3131.jpg
Just before the start of Baroda Expressway

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5275.jpg
Another side pose, Yes the car has been driven anywhere and everywhere!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1525.jpg
Its common for the panamera to not fit in many parking spots, This one instance the car just barely made it

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-f04196bed97b4df896c95d343becfeae.jpg
Love the spoiler

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-e99ccdc7d54a44db8a1da344b7894277.jpg
Panny & My Sister's ride

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-f5099eaca20e4152a1897af34e6633d4.jpg
Unmistakably Porsche look

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1600.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1591.jpg
Roads might end, Your craving to drive should'nt

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_9123.jpg
Enough boot space for most things, Need more? Remove the rear tray, Fold down both rear seats too!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220228-12.06.48-am.png
Needs proper parking always

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220228-12.10.28-am.png
One at the night

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3127.jpg
Yes i even explore new places with panny

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1606.jpg
bhpian iliketurtles 328i & panny

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_1509.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220228-12.07.32-am.png

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3879.jpg
Home car washes after a long drive are very convenient

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3881.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3890.jpg
This color, Porsche calls it, "Mahogany Metallic" Looks the best when clean

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_3893.jpg
JR 38 & diesal badge can also be seen

Last edited by Tanveer_2558 : 5th March 2022 at 15:49.
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Old 2nd February 2022, 15:12   #5
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re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Continued:

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-847b4797251c4cd58e1e84bb7bc02265.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-e6d9d3ad41af4160bbdf9fc02e1330a9.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_2450.jpg

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_2234.jpg
Late night spot, Eating inside is not allowed, Came outside and the waiter says sir kaha ??? Front bonnet is slopped and so is the rear, No flat spot, I was like hold on, I know just the thing, Popped up the rear Spoiler sorted! haha. (pardon for the terrible picture, Was hungry!)

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5330.jpg
Love the gear lever!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_4154.jpg
Lovely interior quality & color! Without light the steering & dashboard looks black at times

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_8219.jpg
Bhpian blackwasp's abarth

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-c78110335e4f488597fdc50fb83afd22.jpg
Color contrast!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_6257.jpg
Reaching here was a task, Did it without scraping, With 2 adults on board and being a little cautious, The car won't scrap easily.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_2900.jpg
Audi S5 & Panny

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5940.jpg
Interior color under different sunlight

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_5927.jpg
Weekend gateway, Proper parking is always a must!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_0849.jpg
Seats colour, Electronic adjustments and matting you see is an extra layer, Actual matting is kept over this! Seats are very comfortable! Netted area is good for storing phones and small items

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_4539.jpg
From another one of the weekend drives..

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_4406.jpg
Panamera - 328i

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-img_6243.jpg
I sure did switch off PSM at this spot later in the day..

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220305-4.12.28-pm.png
Have seen it drop only by 2 quarts maximum between oil changes.

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220310-10.38.41-pm.png
W-I-D-E

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220310-10.49.15-pm.png
Only EX i still like to hangout with

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220311-5.03.51-pm.png

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220311-5.05.12-pm.png
Pretty scenic ?

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220311-5.06.14-pm.png
Close!

Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220311-5.16.49-pm.png


*Some other note worthy points about Panamera diesel i have noticed *

* On every Cold start, Somewhere from the engine bay area a weird tractor like sound comes on for about half a second! (In all panamera diesel's)
* Oil consumption for me has been pretty good i'd say only about half a litre oil every 5000 kms
* In manual mode the car will not upshift unless you do
* Revving hard from stand still in Auto mode the car will cross the redline & touches 5000 rpm before upshifting in the 1st and 2nd gear
* Transmission at times likes to hold on to the gears at higher rpms before upshifting just a tad longer
* Sit in the car, Lock the car with key in your hand, Move a little & alarm will go off with all the lights blinking & horn sounding (Anti theft alarm is sensitive)
* Part sharing is not really with any car as such, Add to that panamera's are extremely rare in India
* Internationally people have driven panamera diesel's for about 2-3 lakhs kms too without any major work, Routine maintenance only, engine & gearbox are reliable as it gets
* Headlight washers are very powerful & extremely useful during monsoons
* Rain sensors are very sensitive & accurate
* Headlight sensor too is very accurate
* Most of the wires inside the car, Below the car and almost everywhere goes throw a proper steel pipe, All the wiring is well covered except the parking sensors in both front and rear bumpers and
the small fuel pipe under the car, Got them covered with aluminium pipes and touch wood, No rat bites !
* Air con cool brilliantly well no complaints in this section at all
* Yes you can open all the windows & sunroof with the key
* Coding a Porsche to unlock hidden or tweak features isn't easy at all ?!? Surely not as easy as the BMW's, Audi's etc.
* After locking the car keep holding the lock button to fold the ORVMs
* Incase you have manually folded the mirrors & you start driving with them folded, Once you cross 20 kph they automatically open up
* Reverse camera is clear & adaptive guidelines are very accurate, parking sensors are very accurate too!




* Things that make every drive an occasion with the Panamera *

* Inviting cockpit & the seat sliding backwards once you open the door to enter
* Car Shaped Key is beautiful to hold & use
* Pod Dial Clusters, Sporty ORVMS, Masterpiece of a gear lever makes you feel you are in a special car
* Automatic Retractable spoiler engaging at 96 kph is lovely to see, With music off you can hear the mechanism in work and sounds good too!
* Creamy Silky Smooth V6 Diesel, Silent most of the times, But roars when revved hard
* Driving Dynamics, Handling, You shall be surprised how such a huge ship can take a corner
* Music System even being the base is splendid to use, 12 speaker unit does the job well
* Factory Tinted Sunroof glass means, Cover of sunroof can be opened even during the day
* Long & Wide seats with lot of head & leg room with adjustable seating with memory setting make it a boon
* 4 Zone Climate control means every one gets to select their preferred temperature
* You actually forget the last time you fueled up the car if you have been just driving in the city
* I don't really enjoy the attention the car gets, but anyone along in the car sure does
* Using the air con buttons feels solid ! Is lovely to use
* Valets usually don't like to accept the car, Rather they guide and park the car near or upfront any hotel (I love it)


Mods on the car till now & planned :
* Swapped the stock air filter with a arma speed air filter
* Joy Auto module integrated in the PCM itself
* Stage 1 Tune (Planned will be done soon)
* Turbo Body kit with LED's (Just maybe)
* Looking for a TCU tune as well, Not able to find any leads as of now


Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera-screenshot-20220311-5.05.30-pm.png

With this picture ill wrap up this thread, Hoping to pen down more about my drives/Living/Life with Panamera, Have many more drives planned.

Last edited by Aditya : 15th May 2022 at 04:59. Reason: Minor typo
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Old 14th March 2022, 07:30   #6
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today . Perfect upgrade from the 530d, man!
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Old 14th March 2022, 11:44   #7
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Congrats mano. I'm very glad you picked up the Panny, primarily because it meant you stopped eating our head every single day about what we feel you should buy, and why we're wrong for recommending it.

Here's to you enjoying thousands of miles with the Panny, a fair few of them completed whilst it's in my rearview mirror
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Old 14th March 2022, 12:21   #8
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Congratulations on the sick ride!!
Since the odo is quite low,How much did you end up paying for it?
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Old 14th March 2022, 12:42   #9
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Man I'd been waiting for this thread for a really long time. I started following your 530d thread and was really sad when you decided to let it go but you got a really good upgrade from the 530d. Panamera is a car with a love it or hate it design. It does look a little weird from some angles but I still like the overall design of it. I have only driven Panamera's in games but I love to see the spoiler deploy from the outside. Congratulations on getting a Porsche bro and really excited to see this build and your roadtrip updates.
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Old 14th March 2022, 13:13   #10
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Congratulations! Took some time to go live! Fabulous next chapter after a stellar stint with the 530D. Looking forward to a similarly active ownership thread. Consider getting the steering wheel upgraded (IMO you get better looking design and regular paddles) - should be plug and play and can reuse the airbag from current steering wheel.

Btw, it was me that bought your 18" wheels I just wanted a single wheel as a spare and you know how it panned out.
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Old 14th March 2022, 13:18   #11
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Many congratulations Tanveer on the purchase. Wish you many many happy miles in this lovely car.

I still remember your 530d when it had come to PMP for a ceramic coat. It was a very exciting first day at my first ever job to see and work on that lovely car of yours.
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Old 14th March 2022, 16:04   #12
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

What a wonderful thread, thanks for sharing your journey. I'm sorry about the experience you had to go through with the 'known' dealer. All used car dealers are shady, I am yet to come across one who kept their word.
  • Did the carplay retrofit work with the touchscreen?
  • I would suggest to go in for the steering with normal paddles, its much better. You can find some really good refurbs or brand new ones on ebay etc abroad, ship it without airbag and install if you don't want to spend big bucks on new one
  • Is it possible to retrofit the GTS spoiler?

Wish you many happy miles with the car, it's surely special and I don't think anything else could have served your needs this well. Once you are done with your remaps it will be very hard to replace as Porsche no longer makes the diesel.
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Old 14th March 2022, 17:16   #13
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

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Old 14th March 2022, 19:28   #14
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558 View Post
[b]
Transmission :
Diesel Panamera comes with a 8 Speed Tiptronic unit, Comfort mode the gearbox is smooth and will upshift as soon as possible, You'd probably never feel the shifts if you don't look at the RPM Pod, Its tuned for smoother drive and higher fuel efficiency & hence sudden overtakes can at times take a second for the gearbox to downshift, In comfort after a power burst once you let off the throttle the gearbox will happily jump gears ( 3rd to 8th & so on)

In Sports mode however it always keeps the power on tap, Won’t upshift easily and also if you switch to manual it gives you complete control to upshift when you want and won’t do it automatically. All in all its a good unit but surely not up to the ZF level in comfort mode, I am looking to get a tune for the transmission too, Perhaps to make it a little more aggressive. However sports mode is always on for the highway which really is perfect.
Excellent Review
Is this the Aisin same 8 speed gearbox used in the cayenne and touareg?

Also from where do you get the service done?
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Old 14th March 2022, 20:11   #15
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Re: Fun for Four | My Pre-Worshipped Porsche Panamera

What an upgrade from 530D. Congratulations and good to know you keeping it as your daily drive. Keep updating this thread
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