[husker boxster]

This was the Panamera 4, with a sticker of $87K

The positives:
- ventilated seats. I wish I had these.
- great brakes. I was impressed how well they got this big rig stopped. The front rotors are massive.
- athletic ride. Not too harsh, not too soft. It was comfortable but you felt like you could corner on a dime.
- radar. No, not the kind that looks for constables on patrol but the kind that tells you when you're too close to something. This is a big car, a little help is appreciated. It does ding at you if someone pulls too close at a stop light. Not sure if I like that.

The neutrals:
- the manual PDK. I only tried it for a little bit. Couldn't get it to up shift smoothly. Not sure if I was supposed to do that slight gas pedal lift when shifting (like in a reg manual), but the manual shifts weren't smooth. The down shifts weren't much better. I seemed to be down shifting too soon. This would probably improve with practice but I didn't have enough time in empty places to get it better.
- it's w-i-d-e. The last big car I owned was a '76 Cougar, so I'm not used to driving something this big.
- the B pillar. Since visibility isn't good in a Boxster, I do a quick look over the shoulder when changing lanes. In the Pan, the B pillar is right where I look, so I can't tell if someone's there. The outside mirrors have an odd shape and don't give you a good view.
- cramped interior? I'm 5'10" & 195 and fit just fine. Not sure how bigger people would fit. Which is odd since the car is so wide. It just feels a bit confined.

The negatives:
- the auto PDK. There's nothing wrong with the trans, just the way they've programmed it to perform for mpg. There's a little square screen that shows what gear you're in. It lopes along in 5th gear at 35mph. It never starts in 1st gear. So you just feel like you're floating along. But as soon as you step on it, it jumps to life and performs.
- mailbox slot rear window view. It's small. You only see the midpoint of radiator to half way up the windshield of the vehicle behind you.
- hard to judge speed. I'd look at the speedo and could be doing 8-10 mph faster or slower than I wanted to go. It was hard to tell. There was no sensation of speed.

I didn't ring it out so I can't tell you where 10/10ths capability is. Maybe it's my conservative nature, or my upbringing to respect things that aren't yours, or crashing an $87K car. Sorry if I've disappointed but these are my initial reactions. The service mgr said Panameras are capable DE cars and I think he's right. I have no frame of reference compared to the competition (BMW 5 series, etc). But I think the 4 door Jag is much better looking.