So, you’re a married car enthusiast with kids. You need a practical car, so any two‑seat sports car is out of contention. A luxo‑barge won’t cut it: it may be comfortable, but you’ll feel like a chauffeur every time you take the wheel. And understandably, you don’t want to join the unimaginative masses on the big, boring luxury‑SUV bandwagon. The only sensible solution for your very specific predicament? The Porsche Panamera.
A highly underrated yet practical four‑door sedan in Porsche’s line‑up, the Panamera starts at Rs 1.70 crore (ex‑showroom India). As with every Porsche, you can customise it to your heart’s content. The one I drove was equipped with nearly Rs 30 lakh worth of extras: 20‑inch Aero alloy wheels (Rs 4.54 lakh), panoramic sunroof (Rs 4.32 lakh), black and bordeaux red leather upholstery (Rs 8.77 lakh), 14‑way power‑adjustable seats with memory package (Rs 2.67 lakh), Sport Chrono package (Rs 3.26 lakh), 360‑degree camera with Active Parking feature (Rs 3.09 lakh), front‑passenger screen (Rs 1.70 lakh) and the Neodyme Accent package (Rs 1.16 lakh).
The Panamera may lack the visual drama of a 911, but it more than makes up for it with an iconic fascia that is quintessentially Porsche. It’s as long as, but much wider than, an S‑Class, an instant street‑cred booster. The standard Matrix LED headlamps, the signature Porsche haunches, the rear connected taillights and twin‑exhaust setup deliver the sporty silhouette you expect from a luxury limo with attitude. It even features an active spoiler that tilts up for cleaning when stationary. I watched silent observers nudge their companions’ attention toward this stealth mobile, while school kids waved excitedly, proving that excitement around the “practical” Porsche was palpable.
Inside, the Panamera greets you with three massive screens: a 12.6‑inch curved driver display, a 12.3‑inch infotainment touchscreen and a 10.9‑inch passenger display (complete with privacy cover to keep driver distractions at bay). A 710 W 14‑speaker Bose audio system handles the aural duties, while knurled physical buttons for the AC and audio controls offer satisfying tactile feedback. The bucket seats are available with heating, but you’ll have to option the ventilation function. Their lumbar support and cushioning are ideal for long drives. And, of course, that dash‑mounted clock looks as regal as ever, reinforcing the Panamera’s sporty‑chic theme.
By default, the Panamera is a four‑seater with second‑row bucket seats that can accommodate six‑footers with ease. You can opt for the 4+1 configuration, but you’ll lose the centrally mounted touchscreen that controls media, sunblind and ambient lighting, perfect for keeping restless kids occupied. The 494‑litre boot, with its hatch‑style opening, easily swallows a full golf kit or the biggest bags Fendi or Prada can muster. However, a full‑size spare will consume a significant amount of that space.
Under the hood, the entry‑level Panamera G3 houses a 2.9‑litre V6 delivering 353 hp and 500 Nm of torque, paired with an 8‑speed gearbox. It blasts from 0–100 km/h in 5.1 seconds (with Sport Chrono), which might feel tame by Porsche standards—until you switch to Sport Plus, where it truly comes alive. There’s even launch control for those moments when the kids have genuinely earned a treat.
The exhaust note is muted at idle thanks to a soft limiter, so the little ones won’t be overwhelmed by revs at a standstill. Yet when you nail the throttle through a tunnel, that sonorous wail can deliver goosebumps. The front‑engine, rear‑wheel‑drive Panamera corners with agility that belies its mass. So, the kids won’t bother asking for a trip to an adventure park.
The standard twin‑valve adaptive air suspension isn’t quite the magic‑carpet ride of an S‑Class as there’s a hint of stiffness from the low‑profile tyres but it never crosses into discomfort. You’ll hear the occasional thud over potholes but won’t reach your spine. India doesn’t yet get the hybrid models with the superb Porsche Active Ride system, but Porsche includes a Smart Lift function, letting you program the Panamera to raise itself at specified locations to clear those senseless speed breakers.
If badge power, practicality and performance top your checklist, the Porsche Panamera is your most compelling choice. Choosing it over the sea of SUVs takes courage, but once you take the leap, it unlocks the joys of luxury motoring that we have started to look past these days.
