Our 970 Panamera Edition arrived as our new family car in late February 2016. But buying a Panamera hadn\u2019t been part of the plan at first. At the beginning of the year, we were almost set on the new BMW 7 Series as our next family car<\/strong>\u2014until a last-minute twist changed everything.<\/p>\n At the time, I was firmly in the new BMW 7 Series camp.<\/p>\n \u30fbThe BMW 7 Series seats five Most importantly, I\u2019d set myself the goal of buying a Panamera with my own money<\/strong>. I didn\u2019t want my husband to buy one for us as a family car before I could do that.<\/p>\n Rewind to July 2015, when I first test-drove a Panamera. My husband brought me to the dealership, and I reluctantly agreed to take it for a drive (At the time, I was terrified of driving anything wider than 1,900 mm.)<\/span> But the moment I pressed the accelerator, I was blown away.<\/p>\n How does a car feel this connected to its driver?! \u30fd(\uff9f\u0414\uff9f )\uff89<\/span><\/p>\n It accelerated exactly as much as I asked it to. The steering felt just right in my hands, and the car turned precisely where I wanted it to go. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a car\u2014it\u2019s a horse! It\u2019s like the legendary Red Hare, racing a thousand miles in a day\u2026!\u201d I was absolutely captivated.<\/p>\n From then on, buying a Panamera myself<\/strong> became my goal\u2014and the motivation that kept me working hard. I often told my husband, \u201cI\u2019m going to buy my own Panamera, so please don\u2019t buy one before then.\u201d<\/strong> Every time, he\u2019d give me a funny look and say, \u201cWell\u2026 do whatever you like.\u201d<\/p>\n Given all that, by the start of 2016 I\u2019d nearly made up my mind: \u201cI\u2019m not in a position to buy my own Panamera yet, so I\u2019d like the BMW 7 Series to be our family car.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, out of the blue, my husband said:<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go take a look at the Panamera too, just to be sure.<\/strong> H, our contact at the dealership, said we should stop by for a test drive when we were ready to change cars. We can make sure we\u2019re happy with it, then go for the BMW 7 Series.\u201d<\/p>\n Fair enough, I thought. So the following weekend, we dropped the kids off at daycare and headed to the Porsche dealership together.<\/p>\n As soon as we arrived, H greeted us with a smile and said:<\/p>\n \u201cRather than have me explain everything, you\u2019d probably get a better feel for it by driving. Take it out for about an hour, just the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\n He handed us the keys. \u201cWait, really?\u201d I thought. My husband climbed into the driver\u2019s seat, I settled into the passenger seat, and he fired up the engine with a \u201cvroom.\u201d The moment he pressed the accelerator, I blurted out:<\/p>\n I-it\u2019s completely different\u2026 (\uff1b\uff9f\u0414\uff9f)<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll never forget the look on my husband\u2019s face\u2014a mix of surprise and sheer delight. I felt exactly the same way. \u201cThis is on another level. The 7 Series doesn\u2019t even come close\u2026<\/strong>\u201d Of course, the 7 Series is a fantastic car, but the Panamera just felt like it belonged to another class. And I\u2019m not exaggerating: it took just two seconds behind the wheel to feel the difference.<\/p>\n H was waving us off from the dealership with a smile, saying, \u201cHave a great drive!\u201d I could barely resist rolling down the window, leaning out, and shouting:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve decided\u2014it\u2019s the Panamera!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Still, we wanted to make the most of our test drive, so we spent a full hour enjoying the mountain roads before returning to the dealership, absolutely thrilled. After that, I regretted even briefly wavering toward the BMW 7 Series. I begged my husband, \u201cI take it all back\u2014I don\u2019t want anything but the Panamera!\u201d<\/strong> And that\u2019s how a Panamera finally made its way into our home.<\/p>\n The BMW 7 Series is undoubtedly a great car, and BMW\u2019s \u201cSheer Driving Pleasure\u201d slogan reflects the fact that it\u2019s fun to drive. But the Panamera strikes a far more compelling balance between sports-car performance and luxury-sedan comfort<\/strong>\u2014at a level I felt the 7 Series couldn\u2019t match.<\/p>\n Honestly, the Panamera is an incredible car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Considering a BMW 7 Series Our 970 Panamera Edition arrived as our new family car in late February 2016. But buying a Panamera hadn\u2019t been part of the plan at first. At the beginning of the year, we were almost set on the new BMW 7 Series as our next family car\u2014until a last-minute twist changed everything. At the time, I was firmly in the new BMW 7 Series camp. \u30fbThe BMW 7 Series seats...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=145","footnotes":""},"categories":[72,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testdrive","category-aboutpanamera","en-US"],"yoast_head":"
\n\u30fbIt comes with laser headlights that illuminate the road up to 600 meters ahead (We probably wouldn\u2019t use them in everyday driving, but they sounded pretty impressive!)<\/span>
\n\u30fbThe headlights are connected by a sleek new design
\n\u30fbThe dealership made a great impression by loading the kids up with snacks and juice\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFalling for the Panamera<\/h3>\n
An Unexpected Turn<\/h3>\n
Our Panamera Comes Home<\/h3>\n