Before I begin, erase all those unhappy memories of driving the last Cayenne, Q7 and Touareg V6's.
We can universally agree that those 6's were complete mismatches for those vehicles and an embarrassment to all three manufacturers.
They all shared the same flaw: too much weight, sloppy personalities and underpowered powertrains.
So as I settled into my Lufthansa Recaro Business Class seat, readying myself for the press launch of the Panamera and Cayenne V6's in Germany, I was mentally prepared for a similar, underwhelming drive experience.
2011 Panamera and Cayenne V6 Launch Photo Gallery
My only hope was me experiencing the amazing transformation of the Cayenne V8 and how it was SO unlike the the previous Cayenne in EVERY way.
It was GREAT.
Light on its feet, unstoppable in every situation including mastery on the track.
I thought if they could change it so much -- for the better -- from the last SUV, there was hope that Porsche could do the same magic tricks with the new V6.
And much to my delight they did.
These new V6's on the Cayenne and Panamera are NOTHING like their predecessors.
Power is balanced and more than sufficient for MOST people on the planet which is something you could NOT say of the last gen 6, which I called "The 6 for those in their 60's."
Teamed up with great transmissions and suspension setups I can honestly say that if you buy one, days later you will not be saying saying "I could of had a V8".
The best comparison I can make for you without driving them for yourselves -- and you definitely SHOULD -- is the Cayenne V6 has virtually the identical feeling of power on the road to the BMW X5 35 and the Panamera V6 to the BMW 535i.
And if you have read the reviews NO one says the BMW's are underpowered.
In fact the the 535i is the best 6 on earth so these are high compliments to the Porsche engineers.
Now, I could go on and on, and bore you about how they drive on the twisties but I won't because all you have to know is they are Porsches.
'Nuff said, they're awesome handlers.
I'm going to focus on the number one advantage and that is in the area of price.
On the last generation Cayenne, you had to buy the V8 to make it even palatable in my opinion, which then brought the price well north of the best-in-class BMW X5.
Not any more.
The Cayenne V6 pricing now is extremely competitive versus the usual suspects.
We also got to drive the diesel versions, which Porsche says are not coming to the USA but I will tell you this, if it does bring it here, THAT's the Cayenne I will own.
Best diesel SUV I've ever driven. EVER.
The new Porsches also overtake BMW in a couple departments:
1. The new interior quality BLOWS the BMW away. BMW will definitely have to step it up on the next gen SUV's and sedans. In fact I personally think the full leather/alcantara setup in the Panamera is nicer looking, more luxurious and younger looking than the Bentley coupe and convertible offerings -- outside of ridiculously amazing Bentley lambswool carpets. I also absolutely love how they added the color nav screen into one of the dash dials and how on the Cayenne they put the cool compass in the sport chrono area of the dash.
2. Price/Value/Image equation. If it's possible, you can actually say now these new V6 Porsche's are semi-affordable. I just configured a 2011 BMW 535i with the important options and the tariff*** word choice does not make sense (tariff= tax)** was almost 70k. If you look on the Porsche site and flip through dealer inventories of the 2011's you will see you can get a Panamera V6 for just a couple grand more...starting around $73k. With reasonable options.
So all things considered, if you had to buy one or the other with YOUR money, would you do new a 5 or Panamera?
As much as I love BMW's and the new 5, this Agent would be driving the new Panamera V6 over a loaded 535i.
Why?
Because as cool as the 5 is, it looks like the standard run of the mill luxury sedan.
The Panamera on the other hand looks radical, brutal and exotic.
Really different from all the others.
Like a Lambo is different in the sports car world, this is the same only to luxo sedans.
GOOD different.
I guarantee you this...buy the Panny V6 and NO ONE will think that car is a $70k and change car.
This thing has the 'exotic' thing going for it all the way.
In a lot of ways it reminds me of a four door, stretched version of the best Jag in history, the 60's XKE Coupe.
And when you sit in it and see it's marvelous, best on earth interior, the BMW and all the other luxo sedans are DEAD.
One last thing...did you notice there is NO badging on the Panamera or Cayenne showing V6 anywhere inside or out?
The dirty little secret is your friends and the others seeing you zoom by them don't need to know how much money you saved!
Trust me when I tell you the V6 versions of these rides are the SLEEPER rides of 2011 so far.
Imagine better drivers than BMW's, luxury appointments as nice and more youthful as Bentley's and a "You talkin' to me?" image.
Now THAT's the new definition of an Ultimate Driving Machine and Joy.
And I just may have to buy one for myself.
Trip note: Agent 001 sadly reports that even though we were in Heidi Klum's hometown testing these rides, 'The Body' was no where to be found and there were no relative sightings. We did however enjoy awesome thirsty beverages, pretzels, pigs knuckles and the best German fare of any town we've yet to visit. And also note you can't trust all angels--001 catches a supposed angel (on right) smoking a doob in the main square of Cologne.
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