Panamera Love

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I love the Panamera.

That said, after I learned to drive a manual, there was a time when, if I’m honest, the Panamera felt a little too easy. It was so brilliantly engineered that it seemed to leave little room for the driver to get involved… It handled whatever I asked of it so effortlessly that I sometimes found it a bit less exciting.

But after everything, I’ve come back around to thinking, “I really do love the Panamera after all.”

The manual Boxster is an absolute blast, and driving it with the top down can move me to tears. The manual GT3 is thrilling, with that “wolf in sheep’s clothing” character that sends a shiver down my spine. And air-cooled Porsches are fascinating, with so much depth to discover.

Even so, these days I find myself thinking, more than ever, just how much I love the Panamera. (I’m grateful to have the chance to drive so many different cars—thank you.)

What Makes the Panamera So Special?

When I ask myself why I love the Panamera so much, there are plenty of reasons, but the biggest one may be the sense of reassurance it gives me.

I open the door, settle into the seat, and put my hands on the steering wheel—and I immediately feel at ease. Once I’m on the move, I think, “Ah… this is it. This is the feeling.” I’m happy, and I know that “I can trust this car completely.”

The Boxster and GT3, on the other hand, have manual transmissions. Gripping the wheel puts me on alert, and part of the fun is that there’s nowhere for the driver to hide. The Panamera is the opposite: it lets me relax and feel secure.

There are plenty of reasons the Panamera inspires such confidence—its solid, substantial feel and precise handling, for starters. But I think the biggest reason is everything I’ve experienced behind the wheel of the Panamera.

I drove on the highway for the first time on my own, covering around 1,000 km round trip from home to Mount Fuji. I experienced full-throttle acceleration and full-force braking at a Porsche driving school, drove a mountain road in sleet, and took to a racetrack for the first time…

I experienced all of it in the Panamera, and it opened the door to so many firsts for me.

Even after 1,000 km round trip, I wasn’t tired. The car felt planted and stable on the highway. I’d think, “I want to go there,” and before I knew it, I was there, thanks to its acceleration. And when I went from full throttle to hard braking in heavy rain, I felt that huge car come to a remarkably sure-footed stop.

One spring, an unexpected snowfall turned a mountain road slushy. My husband was driving ahead in the Boxster, saying, “It’s slipping—this is scary.” But the all-wheel-drive Panamera Turbo didn’t flinch. It felt supremely stable, and I wasn’t scared at all.

And when I accelerated down the main straight at Fuji Speedway, I could feel the seemingly endless power, as if the car were saying it still had so much more to give.

With every one of these experiences, I came to trust the Panamera’s performance and the way it drove more and more.

I also learned that this sense of confidence is essential to enjoying a car’s performance. When you know how your car will respond in different situations—and where its limits are—you can enjoy driving it without holding back.

You can’t fully enjoy a car’s performance unless you trust it completely. I realized all over again that driving the Panamera is fun because I trust it 100%.