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Porsche Panamera diesel car review: pace, grace and space

Exquisite, high-speed, trans-continental cruiser that can be surprisingly frugal when required.
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22 January 2014

 

 

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On quality, performance and economy the diesel Panamera comes up trumps

Business Car Manager verdict

The Porsche Panamera Diesel will succeed or fail on three counts; quality, performance and economy. With the Porsche badge on its rump, it can’t afford to be wide of the mark in any of these areas.

Fortunately the sheer quality of workmanship on display is striking. There’s a sense that the car has been crafted rather than simply assembled, leaving other cars suddenly feel a little less special. What bends and flexes elsewhere remains resolutely solid in the Panamera, no matter how much of my own (considerable) bulk I put in to it.

Porsche_Panamera_diesel_car_review
As an alternative to the usual luxury saloon it should furrow some brows. Go try one

Performance figures aren’t mind blowing, with the zero to sixty sprint taking just under seven seconds, but that’s not bad for something weighing close to two tonnes. That bulk does become quite apparent when driving the car with a degree of enthusiasm though, the front end pushing to understeer far sooner than you might expect.

Treat it as a GT to cruise to Monaco, rather than something for lapping the circuit once you get there, and it’s altogether more agreeable, pulling off a nice trio of pace, grace and space.

Keep the speeds to a sensible level and you’re rewarded with capable car, but keep them well within legal limits and you’re also rewarded with a surprisingly frugal motor, with my test car returning 50.3mpg on a late night motorway run from York back home to Cambridge.

If you’re thinking of running one as a company car the low CO2 value of 166g/km means you’ll be paying less company car tax than you expect, with a rate of 28% this year, rising to 29% next year. Nor, if you’re not too aggressive with your right foot, will the running costs raise too many eyebrows from your FD.

This could just be enough for those SME directors used to a traditional luxury saloon to look at something a little more involving and distinctive.

Drive one for a few days and you’ll realise just how good the Panamera Diesel really is. It’s not quite perfect, but it ticks the three boxes that need ticking with a big, bold marker.

 

The Low Down…

Doors and body style  5-door hatchback
Engine/gearbox  3 litre V6 turbodiesel/8-speed auto
CO2 Emissions  166g/km
Economy  44.8mpg
Power/torque  250PS/550Nm
0-62mph/top speed  6.8secs/151mph
Insurance group  46

…and what it costs

P11D Value  £62,922
Monthly business rental (ex VAT) From £943 (3yrs/30,000 miles)
Road tax (VED)  Band H
Company Car Tax Bands 2013/14 to 2015/16  16%, 17%, 19%
Benefit in kind (BIK) 2013/14 to 2015/16  £10,067
Annual/Monthly fuel benefit (20%)  £1182/£99
Annual/Monthly fuel benefit (40%) £2363/£197 
Annual/monthly company car tax (20%)  £3524/£294
Annual/monthly company car tax (40%) £7047/£587 
Figures correct at time of posting  
For latest figures Use our company car tax calculator

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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