Porsche Panamera V6: Singapore Sojourn
I haven’t been able to travel abroad in almost five years, first due to COVID and second because of my CKD and eventual kidney transplant. Now that I’m cleared for short haul travel, I was looking forward to visit Singapore, a city where I have made many friends and amazing experiences.
Prior to our holiday departure to Singapore with my wife Erica, Porsche Philippines asked if I had time to sneak in a test drive of the all-new Panamera? Of course I said yes! Driving a Porsche is always special!
Once we got to Singapore, we met with Brendan Mok of Porsche Asia-Pacific who set us up. Brendan prepared a varied route which would see us cover ~150km in a day through Singapore. From the city centers, suburbs and residential areas and through the watershed / reservoirs and nature reserves of Singapore, before heading back to the Porsche offices in Bugis. While we couldn’t really test the Panamera’s speed, power and handling (Singapore is after all, a FINE city) the key focus was the new PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) dual valve twin-chamber air suspension which promises to deliver exemplary driving comfort and refinement when you’re just cruising and not in the mood.
Our particular test unit came loaded with extras: 14-way adjustable comfort seats, panoramic glass roof, optional front passenger infotainment LCD screen, Bose surround sound system, 21-inch staggered forged alloy wheels and tires, Bordeaux red leather on black interior and more. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in wired and wireless forms are standard with two USB C connections. These are all options one can order of course with your Panamera here in the Philippines.
From Porsche office, we drove to a rooftop parking lot at People’s Park Complex where we had to navigate through a very narrow driveway going up six floors to the rooftop, complete with equally large cars on the opposite lane. Thankfully I had my wife as a spotter and navigator! Afterwards, I felt more confident driving on the wrong side (for us) of the road!
Next up was driving through the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) then joining Bukit Timah Expressway which would have brought us to Woodlands and eventually througg Johor Bahru in Malaysia had we not turned into Mandai Road and onto Lor Lada Hitam road all the way to a popular sunrise viewing spot in the island city.
Photos taken, we head back down and park beside the Upper Seletar Reservoir, before heading out to Seletar Expressway and onto Thomson Road, taking the narrow trail through Old Upper Thomson Road which, if taken at speed, would gave made for an excellent hill-climb or rally special stage! What’s interesting for motorsport anoraks is Thomson Road and the surrounding areas hosted the very first Singaporean Grand Prix way back in September 16-17, 1961, almost 63 years ago. It was cancelled in 1974 after a series of fatal crashes. Thankfully, Grand Prix racing in Singapore resumed in 2008, of which I was lucky to watch! And it was my very first live Grand Prix viewing too!
Afterwards it was all highway driving again back to Porsche Asia-Pacific’s office via the Central Expressway (CTE) and Bukit Timah Road into Bugis. A bit nerve wracking but I will definitely do this again!
The Panamera acquitted itself well. Despite its considerable size, the Panamera has that magic Porsche touch; flowing fluidly from corner to corner effortlessly. The steering has that light yet feel-some, accurate and responsive feel yet doesn’t feel nervous. The brakes provide excellent feel, feedback andmodulation, shedding speed confidently, and the 2.9 liter twin turbo V6’s 353hp and more importantly, 500 Newton-Meters of torque makes mincemeat of tight and sharp corners that require ample braking and acceleration. Throw in considerable elevation changes and you appreciate the power even more, with the 8-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission always finding the right gear and seamlessly transmitting power to the rear wheels. The burble from the V6 itself has character; something which can’t be said of previous V6 equipped Panameras.
While Singapore has far smoother roads in general, it wasn’t completely free of broken tarmac, bumps and ruts, particularly going through the reserves and watershed areas. In these conditions, the Panamera glided over these sections with ease. Of course in traffic, the Panamera’s infotainment system wowed us with exemplary music from my mobile phone.
Overall, amazing experience driving the Panamera in Singapore. Maybe next time, we can drive all the way to Malaysia to sample its grand touring abilities! And perhaps sneak in a proper high speed run at Sepang International Circuit too!
