Porsche Panamera

Among Porsche models, I like the Panamera the best. Whenever I drive a Boxster or 911, or test drive a Cayenne or Cayman (unfortunately, I’ve only ever ridden in the back seat of a Macan and haven’t test driven one yet), I’m always impressed, thinking, “What an amazing car!” But in the end, I always come back to thinking, “After all, the Panamera is the one I really want.”

Lately, having gotten a little more comfortable driving the Boxster with a manual transmission, I’ve started driving the Panamera using the paddle shifters (not all the time, though), thinking, “I want to try driving the Panamera with the feeling of shifting gears myself.”

When driving the Panamera in normal automatic mode, it shifts up as soon as the engine hits 1,000 rpm, quickly cruising in 5th or 6th gear. This doesn’t give you the feeling of driving a sports car, nor does it let you enjoy the engine sound.

That said, it’s not that I want to push it to high revs and drive aggressively—I just think, “Since it has paddle shifters, I might as well try using them.”

A Concern About the Panamera

Basically, I love the Panamera and haven’t had any major complaints—until I started driving with the paddles and noticed something:

The Panamera’s PDK shift response is slightly delayed.

It’s only a slight delay—not terribly slow—and I don’t think it’s slower than other manufacturers’ dual-clutch transmissions. But having experienced the lightning-fast PDK shifts of the 911 GT3 (991.1: PDK) from the passenger seat, and imagining the feel of shifting in a manual, I can’t help but notice…

Driving the Panamera’s PDK with its slightly delayed response leaves me feeling a bit frustrated… (-_-)

So I asked my husband, “Don’t you think the Panamera’s PDK response is slow?” and he said,

Yeah, I wrote about this in my one-year ownership review of the Panamera. The PDK shifts down relatively quickly, but sometimes it feels slow when shifting up. Around 2,000 rpm, it’s fairly quick, but when shifting up past 4,000 rpm, it’s clearly slower. It feels like it’s timing the shifts carefully to avoid shift shock.
Since the Panamera is also designed as a luxury sedan, it seems they prioritize smoothness and minimizing shift shock over quick response.
By the way, I recently read an AUTOCAR article about the new Panamera GTS that mentioned the Panamera’s PDK.

I checked out the article about the Panamera GTS he mentioned, and while it was mostly positive, it said this about the PDK:

One point of concern is a slight delay when shifting with the paddle-operated 8-speed dual-clutch PDK (Porsche Doppel-Kupplung).
*Source: First Drive: Porsche Panamera GTS – What It Gains and What It Loses

I see… so that’s how it is. My husband also said:

When I test drove the new Cayenne last year, I was amazed at how smooth and quick the Tiptronic was. It felt so refined and responsive that I thought it might even be faster than the PDK. I honestly thought the Panamera would be better off with a Tiptronic.

When I asked, “So I guess it’s unrealistic to expect quick response from the current Panamera’s PDK?” he replied:

Switching to Sport or Sport Plus mode does make the upshifts a bit quicker. But compared to other Porsche models, the response is still a little slower.

Makes sense.

Driving in Sport Plus Mode

As my husband suggested, I tried driving in Sport Plus mode, and sure enough, the PDK response became noticeably quicker, making it feel like I was driving a completely different car.

That’s the Panamera for you!!

When I got home that day, I told my husband, “Sport Plus mode definitely speeds up the response and feels much better! But it almost feels like a waste to drive around town in Sport Plus mode on purpose…”
He said,

If you’re that obsessed with manual-style driving in the Panamera, why not just buy a 970 Panamera with a manual transmission? (lol)

A Ma—Manual Panamera…?! (；ﾟДﾟ)

Curious, I quickly searched online, and both Car Sensor and Goo showed “0 listings” for manual Panameras.

Well, that figures… (-_-)

So, although the Royu Driveway is mostly closed due to ice this season and I can’t drive much, once it warms up a bit, I want to drive the Panamera using the paddle shifters and take it up the Royu.