{"id":37047,"date":"2018-10-08T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37047"},"modified":"2021-01-05T15:54:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T06:54:06","slug":"panamera-feel-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/panamera-feel-small\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Large Car Hard for Women to Drive? What I Learned After 2\u00bd Years with a Porsche Panamera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Years and Eight Months Behind the Wheel of a Panamera<\/h3>\n

Many people assume that a large sedan is difficult for women to drive.<\/strong> But is that really true? After nearly two and a half years with a Panamera, here\u2019s what I\u2019ve found.<\/p>\n

First, a little about my driving history. Readers might think I\u2019ve always loved Porsches and driving, but it was quite the opposite. I started driving about five years ago, and only became a Porsche fan around three years ago.<\/strong> It\u2019s all fairly recent.<\/p>\n

I got my driver\u2019s license at 18, but between then and turning 31, I drove a car only about five times. For years, I was a \u201cpaper driver\u201d with a clean, gold license. And why was I so determined to get my license at 18 when I never drove\u2014especially since I paid for it entirely with my own savings?<\/span> Even now, I can\u2019t explain what I was thinking back then (-_-)<\/p>\n

A Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 Owner\u2019s Wife<\/h3>\n

I married my husband when I was 30. At the time, he drove a Mercedes-Benz SLK 350.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whenever we went for a drive, my husband would ask, \u201cWant to drive?\u201d<\/strong> But back then, I always refused: \u201cNo. Absolutely not.\u201d Our neighborhood was full of hills, and we needed a car for almost everything, yet I got around by bus or train every day. I wouldn\u2019t even go to the local supermarket during the week. Instead, my husband drove me there every weekend, and we stocked up on groceries.<\/p>\n

Then I became pregnant with our first daughter, and I started thinking, \u201cIf the baby gets a fever or something happens, I really need to be able to drive.\u201d<\/strong> My husband also told me, \u201cYou have to learn to drive before the baby arrives.\u201d<\/strong> So I finally got behind the wheel and managed to handle the round trip to our local supermarket.<\/p>\n

But I had no desire to drive anywhere else. Even when my husband and I went out for a drive and he said, \u201cWant to drive? You really need to get more practice!\u201d<\/strong> I\u2019d insist, \u201cNo, it\u2019s tiring. The supermarket and back is plenty.\u201d (At the time, even a 10-minute drive left me exhausted.)<\/span> I stayed firmly in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n

One day, I got home a little early from work and found a message from my husband:<\/p>\n

Could you drive to Umeda and pick me up tonight?<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026What (*_*)??<\/span><\/p>\n

He wanted me to meet him near the Hilton Plaza in Umeda (probably a familiar spot only if you live around Osaka, Kyoto, or Kobe\u2026)<\/span>\u2014right in the heart of the city, with seriously heavy traffic. My first thought was, \u201cNo way!\u201d But for some reason, that day I made up my mind: \u201cI can\u2019t keep going like this. I have to do it today!\u201d<\/strong> I got ready, climbed into the SLK, and took the wheel. Who knew becoming a mother could make you this brave? lol<\/p>\n

It takes about 40 minutes to get from home to Osaka using the expressway. I made it there in one piece. It was scary, but I handled the traffic in Osaka much better than I expected. (Maybe everyone just got out of my way because I was forcing my little SLK into traffic.)<\/span> I came away thinking, \u201cI can actually drive!\u201d<\/strong> And from then on, I felt comfortable driving anywhere.<\/p>\n

Looking back, maybe my husband\u2019s approach was a little like throwing me in at the deep end\u2014but it worked out well.<\/p>\n

From an Audi A3 to a Panamera Test Drive<\/h3>\n

After our child was born, a household of three couldn\u2019t get by with just a two-seat SLK, so we bought an Audi A3 as our family car. I drove it most of the time, but at first I scraped and bumped it here and there, and it seemed like I was constantly taking it in for repairs.<\/p>\n

A few months after my husband ordered a Boxster, I went with him to a Porsche Center for the first time. He suggested, \u201cLet\u2019s go test-drive the Panamera.\u201d<\/strong> The car was enormous\u2014about 20 cm wider than my Audi A3, which was 1,785 mm wide, and more than five meters long. I assumed my husband would be the only one taking it for a drive, but midway through the test drive, our sales consultant, H, asked, \u201cSince we\u2019re here, would you like to drive it too?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you kidding? I can\u2019t drive something this big! And it\u2019s left-hand drive!\u201d I protested, but my husband and H talked me into it. And how was it? I was completely, absolutely blown away<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was impressed by the Panamera\u2019s performance, of course, but I was also surprised by how easy it was to drive despite its size.<\/strong> Sitting behind the wheel, I could feel how big the car was, but once I started driving, it felt almost as if I were in a car a size smaller. Even through corners, I never felt the car being pulled outward by centrifugal force or had that \u201cwhoa, steady!\u201d sensation.<\/p>\n

You can feel how solidly the car is built, which gives you a reassuring sense of protection. And because the steering responds the way you expect, the Panamera never felt as huge as it looked. That\u2019s when I realized it could be an easy car for women to drive, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, What\u2019s the Verdict?<\/h3>\n

After two and a half years of Panamera ownership, I\u2019ve come to this conclusion:<\/p>\n

The wives who feel least confident behind the wheel may be the ones who should consider driving a Panamera.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned, the Panamera is easy to drive. It also has ParkAssist, which uses audible alerts to warn you about nearby obstacles. As long as you pay attention to those warnings, you\u2019re unlikely to scrape or bump into anything.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one more thing I really want to emphasize: people don\u2019t tailgate or cut in front of the Panamera.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On highways and regular roads, other drivers tend to leave a comfortable gap. If you signal well in advance, they\u2019re also very likely to let you in, making it easier to drive safely and with confidence. I don\u2019t think it would be quite the same in a kei car or a compact car, where you may need more driving skill to feel just as comfortable.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Panamera is a car built to make driving fun, so choosing one purely for those reasons isn\u2019t really the point. Still, if you\u2019re a woman who thinks, \u201cThe Panamera is too big for me to drive,\u201d I really hope you\u2019ll take one for a test drive\u2014you might be surprised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two Years and Eight Months Behind the Wheel of a Panamera Many people assume that a large sedan is difficult for women to drive. But is that really true? After nearly two and a half years with a Panamera, here\u2019s what I\u2019ve found. First, a little about my driving history. Readers might think I\u2019ve always loved Porsches and driving, but it was quite the opposite. I started driving about five years ago, and only became...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=5471","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nocar-nolife","en-US"],"yoast_head":"Is a Large Car Hard for Women to Drive? What I Learned After 2\u00bd Years with a Porsche Panamera - Porsche Owner's Blog from Japan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is a Porsche Panamera hard to drive? 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