Adib Noor
The all-new 2022 Porsche Panamera is bursting with attitude and premium trimmings, with a luxurious cabin in a four-door body – offering the right amount of balance of fun and functionality.
I recently had the chance to test out the base line 2022 Porsche Panamera, which is a beast of a car. The base model comes fitted with a turbocharged V-6, which is able to achieve a top speed of 268 kilometres per hour (km/h) and goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds.
In other words, the Panamera is definitely an exciting ride that is smooth on the road with handling that is highly engaging, something you can always expect from a Porsche.
Aesthetically speaking, as a sports sedan, the Porsche Panamera’s fastback roofline gives it a racier look. Its silhouette and proportions are unmistakably Porsche. It is athletic and streamlined, with clear contours and powerful muscles.
The long wheelbase, shorter overhang at the front and longer overhang at the rear already lend visual dynamism, while the prominent sculpting of the side profile creates the customary Porsche waistline and sense of lightness.
In terms of the interior, typical of Porsche, the Panamera features sports car ergonomics with ascending centre console, flat dashboard and the analogue rev counter in the centre of the instrument cluster.
The new steering wheel generation, in conjunction with the Porsche Advanced Cockpit control concept, offers quick access to the most important functions. Pressing the button in the centre of the mode switch primes the engine and transmission for the fastest possible unleashing of power (eg for overtaking). In other words, maximum responsiveness – for a period of approximately 20 seconds.
What stood out to me is not the power or the design of the Panamera but the smoothness of the ride. The chassis of the Panamera models performs this balancing act between sport and comfort effortlessly – even more impressively than before. This is because the chassis systems have been completely redesigned and, together with the even more precisely adjusted steering and the new generation of tyres, now offer more of both. More performance, but above all, more comfort – especially on more demanding tracks.
Upgraded, partly optional chassis technologies further enhance the driving characteristics. For example, the adaptive air suspension with three-chamber technology, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control Sport (PDCC Sport) and rear-axle steering.
The integrated Porsche 4D Chassis Control system, which centrally analyses the driving situation in all three spatial dimensions, for example pitch, roll and yaw, calculates optimum driving states from these data and synchronises all chassis systems in real time: the fourth dimension.
The objective is to optimise overall performance, and to make the middle ground between sporty driving and comfort as expansive as possible.
Safety wise, Porsches have a very good reputation for safety and crash performance, and the Panamera is available with numerous driver-assistance features. Porsche now provides things like lane-keeping assist, as standard equipment. Key safety features include: forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross-traffic alert, as well as adaptive cruise control.
Porsche Brunei has a multitude of options that come with the Panamera. Currently their showroom offers the Porsche Panamera Platinum Edition luxury sport, Panamera 4 E Hybrid, Panamera GTS and Panamera Turbo S, to name a few.
