Cars » German

2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo, Review Roundup

ack154 — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:49:17 +0000

2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo

A German sedan with 500 horsepower is nothing new; nor is a twin turbo or controversial Porsche new to the automotive landscape. But what happens when all those traits combine? You get the Porsche Panamera Turbo, a 500 horsepower twin-turbo V8, 4-door Porsche controversy not-withstanding. Porsche purists cried and moaned when the car was released hoping Porsche wouldn’t follow the same route they took with the Cayenne. Well, after releasing an SUV some say a sedan was the next logical step to compete with Porsche’s other German rivals from Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

And compete they will with the quickest 4-door production sedan accelerating from 0-60MPH in 3.4 seconds. That’s quicker than any AMG Mercedes sedan, BMW M sedan, and even the venerable Cadillac CTS-V sedan, the quickest American-made 4-door sedan, which is powered by the supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1.

Reviewers all found something to complain about with the Porsche Panamera Turbo but no one claimed it was underpowered. U.K.’s CAR Magazine claims Porsche missed an opportunity by claiming the car’s design focus oriented it too much towards comfort and not enough on lightness. Road & Track magazine attempts to explain the styling as the “elephant in the room” referring to the “ungainly roof and awkward slope of its hatch,” neglecting to mention the Panamera’s “elongated 911″ appearance the Porsche styling designers were aiming for. Overall, however, the reviews were generally positive complementing the speed and the cocooning interior most of all. Check out the reviews, videos and gallery below and decide for yourself before you buy!

Reviews:

Autoweek (an AutoWeek Drivers Log)
Car and Driver (Review)
Popular Mechanics (Test Drive)
Road & Track (Road Test)
Motor Trend (First Drive)
Edmunds.com (Road Test)
National Post (Canada, Road Test)
Times Online (UK, Jeremy Clarkson Drive)
AutoBlog (blog, First Drive)
AutoGuide (First Drive)

Video Reviews:

iMotorMag (UK, YouTube)
Fifth Gear (UK, YouTube)
AutoCar (UK, YouTube)
Drive Time (Review, YouTube)

2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder, Review Roundup

ack154 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:08:58 +0000

2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder

The Audi R8 coupe was the supercar that broke the mold. After Nissan’s GT-R stormed the roads in 2008 and had the traditional supercar manufacturers from both Germany and Italy scrambling for something better, something quicker, something more manageable on the roads. The stage was set most notably after Porsche’s 911 Turbo, once the cream-of-the-crop daily driver supercar, was having to defend its position after being beaten around the Nürburgring Nordschleife by the half-priced Nissan GT-R. Shortly afterwards, the Audi R8 V8 coupe came onto the scene with a $60,000 premium and a few traits the other cars in the class couldn’t match.

Sporting the 4.2L V8 from the Audi RS4, the original Audi R8 was hailed as the new daily-driver supercar, taking the thrown away from Porsche and simply moving down-market in the VW corporate chain. Fast-forward to 2010, Audi’s poster-child has had its roof lopped off, been featured in a Hollywood blockbuster as “Iron Man” Tony Stark’s chosen ride for cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway.

For all its splendor, most reviewers find the Audi R8 V10 Spyder lacking the speed its coupe variant had, whether it be handling, poise or just stowage space. But for the lack of cornering speed each drop-top Spyder R8 could muster up, what makes up for it is the noise of 10 cylinders wailing at the occupants and the thousands of miles of headroom available to each front-seat occupant.

Autocar (UK, First Drive)
Daily Mail (Road Test)
Edmunds (Test Drive)
Inside Line (First Drive)
Road and Track (Driving Impressions)
Top Gear (UK, Road Test)
Edmunds Inside Line (YouTube)
Evo Magazine (YouTube)

2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Review Roundup

Zamafir — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:52:25 +0000

2010 Mercedes-Benz E63

When a 4-door sedan has an optional “performance Package” you know it means business. The 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 is the mid-level rocket-ship performance sedan in the Mercedes portfolio slotting slightly above the C63 entry-level sedan and slightly below S63 top-of-the-line sedan. All share the same door count, sub-4.5 second 0-60 acceleration time, similar AMG refreshes and the same AMG 6.2L V8. When installed in an E63 the 6.2L’s specific output is pegged at 518 HP or a 10 HP increase over the outgoing 2009 model.

AMG breathes new life into each E63 with an emphasis on improving the overall driving dynamics, and it shows. Each sedan retains the air suspension but only in the rear while replacing the front bags with steel springs in increasing the track to improve overall handling. The transmission is still a slush-box 7-speed but features a wet-disc clutch in lieu of a torque converter and a mighty switch on the center console with options for Controlled Efficiency, Sport, Sport+ and Manual, very un-Mercedes-like words.

Even more unbecoming of a Mercedes is the Performance Package which raises the speed-limiter to 186 MPH (up from 155) as well as the ceramic brakes option (cleaning your wallet of another $8800) but they’re squeal and fade free. Reviewers find this car to be the “end of horsepower wars” since its so powerful and enjoy the spectacular chassis dynamics. Read on to find out how the E63 compares to the rest of the 4-door uber-sedans.

Automobile (First Drive)
Car and Driver (First Drive)
Motor Trend (First Drive)
MBWorld.org (Review)
AutoGuide.com (First Drive)
Jalopnik (blog, First Drive)
Inside Line (Full Test)