The Cars My Husband Has His Eye On

A little while ago, my husband and I were talking about how “the Panamera’s inspection is due next year, so we’ll need to start thinking about what to replace it with around then.” He mentioned, “I’d like to try a base Panamera, and I’m curious about the facelifted Panamera (not yet announced), too. But if we’re looking at that, maybe a Taycan could work as well.”

夫がパナメーラの乗り換えを考え始めた – 次の候補はポルシェ タイカン？

After that, though, we had the Boxster’s service and some air-cooled Porsche maintenance to take care of, so the subject never came up again for about a month. Then, the other day, my husband said:

Ever since I got my first car, a Legend Coupe (a car my father passed down to me), I’ve always been drawn to luxury coupes. Even back then, I used to think, “One day, I’d love to own a Mercedes-Benz SL or CL.”
I finally got my wish a few years ago and owned an SL500 and an AMG S63 Coupe. That really reminded me just how much I love them: “Luxury coupes really are something special.”
But our current lineup is all sporty models—we don’t have a luxury coupe. So adding a luxury coupe to the mix might be a nice idea.

That was news to me.

I replied, “A luxury coupe sounds great, but I’m not keen on an SL. We already have enough two-seaters… Realistically, we’d be replacing the Panamera, which is due for its inspection. If we got rid of the Panamera and ended up with nothing but two-seaters, I’d be left with only the 320i for getting around with our two daughters.” (What a luxurious problem to have…)

That’s true. In that case, an S-Class might be a better fit. But this time, maybe an S450 or S560 rather than an AMG. I’m just not that keen on the interior of the current S-Class. I’d prefer a cleaner, more symmetrical layout with the straight-line design of the older models.

That makes sense… Now that he says it, I can see what he means.

We’re Tempted by British Cars, Too!

I love our Panamera so much that I’d hate to switch to another car only to find myself thinking, “Ah, the Panamera really was better after all…” every time I drove it.

When we had the AMG S63 Coupe, I’d compare how it drove with the Panamera every time I got behind the wheel. So if we’re going to do this, I’d rather have a luxury coupe that’s so completely different from the Panamera that there’s no point comparing the two. Then I might be able to make peace with replacing the Panamera.

That was my answer. Then my husband said:

Come to think of it, my younger brother recently test-drove a Bentley Bentayga and said it was fantastic. Bentley just launched the new Continental GT, didn’t it? I’m kind of curious about the W12 version. It sounds amazing to have all that W12 power and just cruise along in total comfort.
We’ve never had a British car in our lineup, so maybe we should go and take one for a test drive.

And with that, he dropped the bombshell.

Wait—Bentley?! (ﾟдﾟ)!

*Image source: BENTLEY “NEW CONTINENTAL GT V8”

To me, Bentley had always seemed like a marque from another world. I’d never imagined one becoming part of our family’s lineup. But the Continental GT has a beautiful silhouette, and there’s something about it that reminds me of the Panamera. Before long, I was curious about it, too. Then my husband said:

At this point, why stop at Bentley? I’d love to try a Rolls-Royce, too. A Dawn would be amazing. I once got to see an acquaintance’s Dawn on Royu, and the engine note, the quality, the presence—it was all incredible. Imagine turning up at the kindergarten in a Dawn! lol

And so on.

Come on… there’s no way I could pull off a Dawn… (-_-)

There’s no way I could pull up to the kindergarten in a Dawn. People would think, “I wonder what kind of celebrity is driving that,” and then this totally ordinary person would step out! I’d be so embarrassed. (-_-)

After all that, we’re thinking of going to test-drive the Continental GT sometime soon.

The Cars on His Wish List

So, for now, these are the cars my husband has his eye on:

[Bentley] Continental GT W12
[Rolls-Royce] Dawn / Wraith
[Porsche]
・Facelifted 971 Panamera (not yet announced)
・Porsche Taycan 4S
・992 (base model)
・Used 991.2 Turbo S
・Cayenne Coupe
[BMW] New 3 Series (320i M Sport)
[Mercedes-Benz]
・New S-Class Coupe (not yet announced)
・Current SL400
[McLaren] 720S Spider
[Nissan] Nissan Note e-POWER NISMO S

According to my husband:

There are so many cars I’m interested in. Right now, I’m really curious about the Continental GT. It could even take the Panamera’s place.
…Then again, for some reason, I’m also interested in the 991.2 Turbo S. Turbo models tend to depreciate more than GT3 models, but I often hear from owners that they’re very happy with them and that they’re fantastic cars. If we’re talking two-seaters, the McLaren 720S or SL400 would be great, too. Though that would mean adding another car to the fleet! lol
And then there’s the Nissan Note e-POWER NISMO. I drove my mom’s base-model e-POWER recently, and I really liked it. It’s electric, so it has plenty of torque and is easy to drive. The suspension in particular is great—it doesn’t feel soft and floaty.
But in the end, I wonder if we’ll settle on another Porsche after all.

That’s what he said. But seriously, another car to add to the collection… lol