This facelifted first-generation Porsche Panamera was registered in 2014 and has done 79,000 miles. It has a full Porsche service history and has had just one previous owner. Fitted extras include adaptive air suspension, a red leather interior and LED headlights.
Being a facelifted model, it has the more powerful and responsive twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine rather than the 3.6 V6 its predecessor made do with. The motor is suitably torquey, with 383lb ft at 1750rpm a mere squeeze away. It has a balancer shaft, too, so feels almost V8-like in its smoothness on the motorway.
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New, it cost around £95,000 so £29,000 doesn’t sound like a bad shout for such a refined, classy and powerful four-seat express.
Of course, the V8 GTS and Turbo are the models most buyers lust after and rightly so, but this more modest 3.0 V6 4S is more interesting precisely because it’s so overlooked. In this respect, it’s much like the other cars in this week’s trawl of the classifieds.
Thanks to their sheer size, all Panameras are colour sensitive. Our find is a discreet gunmetal grey with dark alloy wheels. The drama is reserved for the interior, with its lipstick red leather. It’s why sunglasses were invented.
Since it has a full Porsche service history and one sensible owner (if they hadn’t been, they’d have chosen the GTS), we’ll assume the serious bits are in good health. That said, we’d want to be sure the PDK fluid has been changed at least twice and the gearbox sump cover is oil tight. It has air suspension so we’d want to be sure it cycles through its modes and it rises to the correct height on start-up.
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Why is the 1.4 diesel version of the Polo Dune the "right choice" over the petrol model?
Maybe Autocar should drop the " buy them before we do" Article?, if you reviewed the humdrum family autos, there'd be thousands to choose from, trawling and finding so called bargains is fine if your pocket fits, it's surprising how much cars like these drop in value, and, yes, everybody knows the pros and cons of owning one, some of us go through this mid life idea and go and buy our dream car, I bought mine, in only intended to keep it six months, I managed to find one with low miles, and crucially not due a big service, I did 7,000 in it, and then traded for a saloon of the same brand, and I only had to add £2,500 for that, fuel was £25.00 a week ( I did drive it every day) , so, it's obvious, if you can, buy one of these suggestions, just take all the precautions,set aside a car fund to help cover costs,and hopefully, you'll enjoy the ownership.
i don't doubt there are some bargain buys among older premium models such as the Porsche, BMW, Jaguar and BMW featured here. That is especially the case if the buyer has friends in the trade, good diy skills or a healthy bank balance. But I think Autcar should stop perpetuating the myth that such cars are a sensible ownership proposition for the average person. These cars will always be expensive to tax and insure with high fuel consumption likely to be an issue for most people. Plus there is the ever present risk of big bills for parts and labour when such complicated cars go wrong - which they inevitably will. For the sake of balance, it would be good to ready about some of the negatives, not just the positives to applease advertisers!