Since last fall, we’ve been going back and forth, agonizing over “what to do about replacing our Panamera that’s almost been with us for three years.” (I wrote about the candidate cars in this earlier article.)
This summer, with our third child born, our family will become five members, and naturally, when choosing a car, the thought was “if it’s Porsche, then it has to be the Cayenne.” But it wasn’t that simple… After about half a year of consideration, we finally decided on the next car after the Panamera.
So, I’d like to share why we struggled so much choosing the next candidate, and ultimately, which model we decided on (grades and details will be in the follow-up article).
If you’re thinking, “Who cares about someone else’s family car choices? lol,” that’s totally fine… (laughs) I hope only those interested will keep reading.
What I felt when deciding on the next candidate after the Panamera is that “our family’s car life has changed dramatically since we ordered the Panamera three years ago.” To put it simply,
① I learned to drive a manual transmission car
② Our car lineup has grown
③ For long trips, we go with two cars now
④ We needed a car that’s easy to maneuver
⑤ I got hooked on Porsche
That’s about it.
Three years ago, our family’s cars were the “Porsche 981 Boxster GTS (MT),” “Porsche 970 Panamera Edition,” and “Volkswagen Golf 7.” The Boxster was for my husband’s touring and drives, the Golf was his commuter car, and the Panamera was my everyday car.
Back then, I couldn’t drive a manual at all and had given up thinking “I’ll never be able to drive an MT car in my life,” so the Panamera was everything in my car life.
The whole family could ride in luxury, yet it could run sportily. Compared to other manufacturers’ models in the same class, the Panamera was by far the most sporty car, so switching from the 970 Panamera to the 971 Panamera was a relatively easy decision. (I only struggled with which grade to choose within the Panamera lineup.)
But life is funny, and now the situation has completely changed.
Since I somehow learned to drive manual cars, I can now also drive the Boxster and GT3, which I couldn’t before. Of course, the Panamera remains a wonderful sports car, but I’ve come to realize that “the 911 GT3 and Boxster let you truly enjoy the essence of a sports car’s driving.”
Nowadays, while my eldest daughter is at kindergarten or when my husband takes the kids to the park, I often take the Boxster out, and compared to last year, I go out in the Boxster quite frequently.
Three years ago, our family had the “981 Boxster GTS (MT),” “970 Panamera Edition,” and “Volkswagen Golf 7,” but now, we have this many cars…
1. Porsche Boxster GTS MT (981)
2. Porsche Panamera Turbo (971)
3. Porsche 911 (964 C2)
4. Porsche 911 GT3 Touring MT (991.2)
5. Note e-POWER NISMO S: Husband’s commuter car
6. BMW 320i MT (F30)
Only two people have licenses, yet the number of cars keeps growing…
Normally, “this many cars aren’t necessary for a family of four,” but my husband is very thorough when buying cars and only buys when fully satisfied, so he’s happy with all of them.
I really think the Boxster, GT3, and air-cooled 911 are all masterpieces. Each has its own unique charm and appeal, so if I let any go, I’d regret it terribly later.
I simply can’t part with any of them, so the only option is to add more cars.
He often mutters this.
He also says, “I’ll work hard to maintain these cars!” and shows zero interest in anything else like clothes, food, or housing, putting all his heart and soul into cars. (Lately, he says “Apple Watch is enough” and has lost interest in watches.)
Meanwhile, the car I often drive is my beloved 320i. I originally bought it myself to learn how to drive a manual, but its size is just right, it’s very practical, and manual driving is fun, so I still drive it often.
Before, when we went on family trips or long drives, we took the Panamera. It was perfect for four people to ride comfortably, sporty, and fun — truly the best car.
But once, when my husband planned to “drive the Boxster at Fuji Speedway,” we had to follow along, and obviously, one Boxster alone couldn’t carry all of us, so for the first time, we went with two cars.
At first, I worried, “Can I really drive 1,000 km round trip all by myself?” but after trying it once, it was no problem and actually fun. Since then, we’ve gone on trips with two cars like “Boxster and Panamera,” “964 and Panamera,” and “GT3 and 320i.”
Just recently, we got a bit carried away and went out with the Boxster and GT3, and I thought, “Our idea of 2-seater + 2-seater = 4-seater for our family is just crazy…” (Grateful for such a luxurious environment)
So, when replacing the car this time, we concluded that “even if five of us can’t ride comfortably together, the NISMO Note or, at worst, two cars will do just fine.”
With our third child arriving this summer, we’ll be visiting hospitals a lot while the kids are small. One-month checkups, vaccinations… probably monthly hospital visits.
Also, both our eldest and second daughter regularly go to preventive dental care, and we often visit dermatologists. Last year, the second daughter caught a cold at daycare, which then spread to the eldest, creating a negative spiral where we were taking both to the hospital almost every week.
Why does more hospital visits mean needing a car that’s easy to maneuver? Because parking lots at local hospitals are all very tight. Really tight. Even now, the Panamera can’t fit, and the Cayenne would be even more impossible.
Considering this, our family now needs a car that’s easy to handle in tight spaces.
Looking at points ① through ④, it would be reasonable to say “sell the Panamera and not replace it with another Porsche,” but…
I never imagined that I, who had no interest in cars at all, would become so captivated by Porsche. There are many wonderful cars in the world, and when I ride them, I think “nice!” but after driving a Porsche, I find myself saying things like Kazuo Shimizu, “Ah, it really is Porsche….”
When a baby is born, life becomes all about caring for the baby, and you lose your personal time, so I probably won’t be able to freely drive cars like before for a while. Plus, there’s the older two kids to raise.
Also, since the Boxster and GT3 are two-seaters, the rear-facing baby seat can’t be safely placed in the back, so it has to go in the front passenger seat. Without the Panamera, I wouldn’t be able to drive any Porsche for several months.
Just thinking about that is despairing… (-_-)
So,
I know it’s a luxury request, but please keep one Porsche that can seat four. (I can’t drive the air-cooled ones in summer…)
I have almost no other material desires and don’t want any luxury brands, so this is my only wish. Otherwise, I’ll run out of blog topics and might have to end the blog…!
When I pressed my husband like this, he said, “Okay, I understand.” Thank you…
Summarizing the above, considering points ① to ⑤, the Cayenne and Panamera are too big for our current lifestyle.
The “Taycan” was also an option, but even though it’s a bit smaller than the Panamera, it’s still quite large, and we thought, “Maybe we should wait a bit longer to see what Porsche’s electric cars are really like.”
So, what Porsche model is compact, seats four, and fits the bill? The remaining choice was the “911”! So, we decided the next candidate after the Panamera is the 911 (992). Regarding this whole car selection process, my husband said,
I originally said, “Why not just go with the 911?” sometimes, and maybe it sounded like a joke, but I was actually serious (laughs).
Having driven the 992, if you look only at the “peak fun” moment, the air-cooled and GT3 are better, but this 992 is even easier to drive and more comfortable than its predecessor. In that sense, it’s more practical for everyday use. It feels like you can experience high performance more easily in daily life.
Also, other manufacturers make good cars, but it’s still Porsche. It’s not about handling limits or that kind of thing — even just turning at an intersection feels natural to me. It feels great to have the car respond exactly as I want.
Indeed, this natural feeling of being one with the car is hard to find in other cars. Then he continued,
Recently, I was impressed by what Kazutoshi Mizuno, the Nissan GT-R developer, said when he drove the GT3.
“He adds about 0.05 seconds of play in the steering gain, and at the end, gives the human driver a moment to ‘push’ when controlling it. Only someone who knows the field can make this. It can’t be made from drawings or analysis. It can’t be made by the manufacturer’s power alone.
The driver who knows racing, the driver who knows both racing and production cars, and the engineer who knows both racing and production cars — they have to work as a team, sensing the car’s movements intuitively rather than through words, to make a car like this.
This isn’t a car made by a manufacturer; it’s a car perfectly made by people.”
Hearing that, I was truly convinced. I think that’s the difference from other manufacturers.”
Still, buying a 4-seater 911 for a family of five… well… (lol) This got long, so I’ll stop here for today. Next time, I’ll finally write about which grade of 911 we chose.