Merc1
Premium
Sacrilege Isn't So Bad After All
Sacrilege in the car business used to be so simple. It was bad. Bad, bad, bad and people wouldn't spend their money on it. Remember the Cutlass Calais-based Olds 442?
But today, Sacrilege, like everything else, is more complicated. Today, it turns out, there's Good Sacrilege and there's Bad Sacrilege. And it has been proven that Good Sacrilege isn't so bad after all.
In fact, Porsche proved that Good Sacrilege sells way back in late 2001 when it introduced to Europe the Cayenne SUV, now Porsche's best-selling model by a huge margin. And with those Cayenne profits keeping the lights on, it was back to the Good Sacrilege drawing board for the Wizards of Weissach, and here we are.
Here, is behind the wheel of this Carbon Grey Metallic 2010 Porsche Panamera 4S. And here is a helluva desirable place to be.
Don't Pay for the Floor Mats
We've driven, drooled over and praised the 2010 Porsche Panamera before. Back in June, Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot twisted the speedometer needle clean off a shiny, new 2010 Panamera Turbo, pounding down the German autobahn at over 100 mph with a sleeping passenger, a belly full of sauerbraten and a severe case of jet lag.
Now, months later, we finally have a chance to drive Porsche's luxury sedan on American soil. And, more important, take it to our test track.
For the occasion Porsche provided us with this all-wheel-drive Panamera 4S with its normally aspirated 400-horsepower V8. It's the Peter Brady of the Panamera line, slotting between the rear-wheel-drive Panamera 2S, which is powered by the same all-aluminum 32-valve DOHC 4.8-liter V8 as the 4S, and the almighty Turbo with its 500-hp version of this V8.
Base price is $93,800, and our tester costs $113,540 thanks to a heapin' helpin' of options, including a sport exhaust system, adaptive air suspension, Bluetooth, leather upholstery, the Sport Chrono Package Plus and 20-inch RS Spyder Design wheels (18-inch wheels are standard), just to name a few.
By the way, this car's optional floor mats are $150. Not only does this seem like an insulting extra charge on a $94,000 car, they did little to improve the car's performance.
Full Story: Edmunds - 2010 Porsche Panamera 4S Full Test and Video
M
