Solved

Let's say a gentleman will give you two cars for your garage. Any two cars you want. The presumption here being that you're not actually rich so you can't just buy your way out of the weaknesses in your choices.

Initially I was thinking a Tesla S and a Chevy Avalanche. The reason being that I thought it'd be good to have an electric for day to day but that means I need something gas for long trips and of course I need some space for carrying things and that left me with trying to find a pickup truck with a large cabin.

Mistake.

Problem is that, neither car is particularly speedy or luxurious and some redneck is going to steal the Avalanche in a week. So this isn't going to work. I'm going to need to re-frame this problem.

I've got it.


First choice will be a black Porsche Panamera S PHEV. The Panamera is actually the second most popular car in Porsche's lineup, even outselling the 911. Meanwhile, Aston Martin had to cut production of the Rapide because they can't sell them and BMW had to cut production of the M5 GT because they can't sell them. So clearly Porsche is onto something here. The Panamera PHEV of course has four doors, is very roomy, comfortable and dead silent day to day. Eco is hip these days, eco is smart and you'll fill its tank for mere dollars. But when you need it, it has a double clutch that can link either or both the ICE and the electric motor directly to the powertrain. Well, that ends the roadtrip problem. What's even better is that the ICE and the electric motor have torque curves that perfectly complement each other for seamless application of power. Oh and did I mention the ICE is a 4.8L 500bhp twin turbo V8? Oh yeah, that's good for karma.

Now there are a couple of shortcomings with the Panamera: it is a two-ton monstrosity, which hurts its performance and makes it hard to parallel park. But despite its size, the battery pack infringes in its trunk space reducing it by more than 100L. But that's okay. This is where the M3 Ute comes in.


The M3 will be good at going fast and carrying cargo. It's still 50kg lighter than the M3 convertible and has a targa top for hot summer cruising. Granted, it is not an Avalanche, but it still has a respectable 400 N·m of torque and trailer-hitch comes standard. It won't climb boulders, but it's perfectly suited to moving a grandfather clock, bringing home a deer carcass from your hunting expedition or towing a trailer for your OTTB. Plus you get the looks because it will literally be the only one of its kind in the world.

Update: Link and I would like to note that his picture is clearly not of a Panamera PHEV because it's not out yet; that's not even a regular Hybrid S. Totally different appearance, not even close.