Upgrading the Panamera?

I recently wrote an article about taking our Panamera in for its one-year inspection, and before we knew it, our Panamera Turbo will be up for its next inspection in October next year.

ポルシェ パナメーラの1年点検 – 点検項目、タイヤの残り溝、費用など。

Following that, my husband started saying, “Maybe we should consider switching to a different car before the inspection.” When I replied, “But it’s such a great car, I’m fine with it for a while longer…,” he said,

Yeah, that’s true, but the value of a car drops the longer you keep it. If we’re going to switch, it might be better to do it while the mileage is still low. Since we’ll keep paying the loan anyway, it’s really about which car we want to be driving while paying it off.

I thought, “Hmm, that makes sense.” Then he added,

The Cayenne is nice too. And if we go with another Panamera, I think the base Panamera would be enough. Also, a hybrid might be a good option.

I responded, “The Panamera is a sports car the whole family can enjoy, so I still prefer the Panamera. Plus, I like cars with a lower stance that feel more like a sports car, rather than something taller.”

He agreed, saying, “Yeah, that’s true.” We had this conversation a few times over the months.

It’s funny how I used to have zero interest in cars, saying things like “Mercedes S-Class and C-Class are the same size! I don’t get the difference!,” but now I find myself saying “I prefer sports cars with a low driving position.” Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? lol

Enter the Taycan!

Then recently, the Taycan world premiere was streamed live. That night, we put the kids to bed and my husband and I got ready to watch the live broadcast at 10 pm.

【速報】ポルシェ タイカン（Taycan）の全貌が明らかに – ワールドプレミアの内容まとめ

When the Taycan was finally revealed near the end of the stream, my husband said,

Hmm… the vertical cut in the headlights looks a bit like a Japanese car… I’d like to test drive it, but I don’t think I’d buy one.

I thought, “So he wasn’t that impressed with the Taycan.” But the next day, when he came home, he said,

How about the Taycan for our next car after the Panamera!?

Wait, wait, wait… (ﾟдﾟ)!! You said just yesterday, ‘I don’t want a Taycan!’

Yeah, I know. But since then, I’ve been playing around with the Taycan configurator on overseas sites. When the body color is blue or a dark shade, it looks incredibly cool. The headlight cut isn’t connected by a light bar, so it’s different from that Japanese car design, and the more I look at it, the more I like it. Also, the Taycan has an option like a “Sports Exhaust” (Porsche Electric Sport Sound), and I really like the “vroom” sound it makes. It’s pretty cool. The Taycan is definitely an option!

I thought, wow, he really wants one (*_*)!

Hearing him say that made me take another look at the Taycan, and I started thinking, “It’s actually pretty cool.” It seems to have that refined sports car vibe when you see it on the street. When I asked, “But what about charging infrastructure?” (Since we rent a detached house), he said,

That’s the tricky part. Our parking spot only has 100V, so that won’t cut it. We’d have to get the voltage upgraded. But recently, more charging stations have been installed at highway service areas and hotel parking lots, and if all else fails, we can always bring it to the Porsche Center lol.

I see… It’s a bit sad to step away from the Panamera for a while, but I’ve had a goal to “buy a Porsche with my own money!” so I could always buy the Panamera back later if I wanted (laughs). It might be fun to have a story about “The Taycan came home” for a change.

Plus, it would definitely make great blog content (￣ー￣)

When I asked, “Which grade would be best if we bought one?,” he said,

Well, I don’t think we need the higher-end Turbo or Turbo S models. The base model should be fine. I want to experience what Porsche’s electric car is like first. When test drives become available, I’ll ask H-san to let me know right away.

That said, when we bought our current Panamera Turbo, he initially said, “The base model would be fine,” but after ordering, he called H-san to upgrade to the Turbo, so who knows what will happen lol.

It’s still a long way off, and I don’t think the Taycan will be delivered before the Panamera’s inspection next October, but that’s how our car upgrade talks are progressing.

*Image sources: World premiere of the Porsche Taycan: Sports car, sustainably redesigned