Driving with the Paddle Shifters

Yesterday, our family of four drove to visit some friends in our Panamera. Since we had the chance, I asked my husband to drive using the PDK paddle shifters while I watched how he got on. (On the highway, we left it in automatic mode, since it was always in eighth gear.)

When I tried driving the Panamera with the paddle shifters the other day, I noticed a slight delay after shifting. I’d think, “Wait, I thought I shifted into second, but it didn’t change (-_-),” then pull the paddle again—only for it to jump straight into third. A few times, I had to scramble to shift back down… (Maybe I’m just not very good at driving!)

My husband explained that in Normal mode, the car prioritizes smooth progress and cushioning the shift shock, which can create a slight delay when changing gears. Switching to Sport or Sport Plus mode makes the response sharper.

The New Panamera’s Gear Selector

The Panamera lets you shift manually not only with the paddles but also with the gear selector on the center console. On many earlier PDK-equipped cars, pushing the selector forward shifted up a gear. (I suspect that’s because pushing forward feels intuitive as a way to move up through the gears.)

By contrast, race cars and the GT3 are set up so that pulling the selector back shifts up a gear. Race cars are driven at very high speeds, where drivers experience considerable G-forces. In that situation, pulling back to shift up is easier. The new Panamera uses the same “pull back to shift up” setup as a race car, and my husband said, “It’s great that you can use the same controls as a race car in a car like this.”

Is a Manual More Fun?

Even if Sport mode cuts down on the delay, there’s no real need to drive around town in Sport mode all the time… So if you want to choose your own shift points and enjoy the drive on your terms, a manual transmission may still be the way to go rather than PDK. My husband agreed:

“With a manual, you can drive exactly the way you want. Even in Normal mode, you can enjoy sporty shift feel, and you can change gears whenever you like, even in city traffic. The Panamera’s automatic system is clever, so there’s always going to be a little delay.”

A Test Drive in the Range Rover Evoque!

Later, at the home of the couple who had invited us over, we found a Range Rover Evoque…

They kindly let me take it for a short drive.

The glass roof was larger than I expected and made the cabin feel wonderfully open.

It was sporty, and as an SUV, its higher driving position made it very easy to drive. Thank you, S and your wife, for letting me try it!