Luxury car labels

Until recently, if one wanted to take three friends along in a sports car, there weren’t any options at all. In the last couple of years however, this niche has been filling up with worthy contenders, and much to our delight. The Panamera is Porsche’s first 4-door, 4 seater sports car—a concept critics were uncomfortable with initially, but the model has been doing well for Porsche and with good reason.

Built to look like a 911, only elongated to include the two extra doors, the Panamera can be mistaken for her better known cousin. The wide chin in the front protrudes out as the bonnet and headlights are peeled back to help the aerodynamics. The low-set bulging body ensures that everyone on the road notices as you pull up next to them. Get into the sport seats—it can seat only four as the rear has two individual sport seats with the centre console taking up the area in between—and you’ll see that they do a great job of holding you in place. ! The interiors are covered in acres of soft, plush leather with a chrome stripe running across the doors and the dashboard giving the car as sporty yet genteel feel.

In the driver’s seat, you are treated to the typical Porsche instrument bin with five dials that spit out more information than necessary for everyday use. It is here that it hits you: this is not a large luxury car but a sports car built to go around the race track at frightening speeds. Driving this car is a surreal experience as she seems to respond to the driver’s thoughts rather than the inputs received. The car is very quiet, with no diesel clatter, and will be heard only when you hit the pedal hard.In India, Porsche has been kind enough to offer us the car with a 3 litre V6 diesel engine, which on the one hand gives you enough power to shoot to 100 kmph in about 7 seconds while on the other hand is quite light on your wallet. Being a Porsche, the Panamera can be used as the everyday car— especially as she can seat four—and especially if you enjoy zipping off to the outskirts for weekend sojourns.