Porsche Panamera review
At a glance
| Price new | £90,355 - £102,874 |
|---|---|
| Used prices | £78,416 - £102,190 |
| Road tax cost | £590 |
| Insurance group | 50 |
Get an insurance quote with
|
|
| Fuel economy | Not tested to latest standards |
| View full specs for a specific version | |
Available fuel types
Alternative fuel
Pros & cons
- So agile for a car of its size
- High-end interior
- Excellent plug-in hybrids
- Expensive options
- Estate version no longer available
- Only comes with four seats as standard
Porsche Panamera Saloon rivals
Overview
The Porsche Panamera was first introduced in 2009 as this firm’s proper four-door car, and was its attempt to blend the benefits of a luxury car with those of its renowned sports cars.
Porsche was highly successful with it too, and those traits have remained with the Panamera ever since, with Porsche now introducing a new third-generation model in 2024. This new model is only available as a large hatchback, with the previously-offered estate version called the Sport Turismo discontinued because of limited demand. The new Panamera also brings a number of key technology and mechanical improvements.
Visually, it’s very similar to its predecessor, but delve deeper and you’ll realise that quite a lot on the Panamera has changed. It ushers in Porsche’s latest infotainment system, while the front-seat passenger can now have their own touchscreen as an option.
Under the surface there are some significant changes, with air suspension now standard across all models, while Porsche has developed a clever new suspension system known as ‘Active Ride’. It’s only available on the plug-in hybrids, which have also been significantly overhauled. This setup features shock absorbers that each have a hydraulic pump that works to counteract usual suspension forces, such as bouncing around on rough roads, and aims to keep the car completely flat and settled.
But does it work in the real-world, and is the Panamera worth considering next to rivals such as the Audi A7, BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes AMG-GT 4-Door?
What’s it like inside?
Porsche interiors are usually among some of the best around, and the Panamera’s is no exception. There’s a great mix of physical controls and digital displays, with a small climate panel on the centre console being preferable to any touchscreens. The main infotainment display and digital dials are both ultra-clear and easy to use. You can pay for a passenger touchscreen but at £1,289, is a waste of money, given it largely just displays the same information as the main display.
Though the gloss black centre console area is quite prone to scratching from fingernails and rings, the rest of the interior is beautifully finished. A vegan-friendly interior option is also now available on the Panamera for the first time. As with most Porsches, the options list is bordering on ridiculous, with all manner of colour combinations available – you can even pay to change the colour of the seatbelts.
At more than five metres in length, the Panamera is Porsche’s longest car, but all that space hasn’t gone to waste as it offers plenty of room inside. While it only comes with four seats as standard (you can pay extra for a middle rear seat, but it’s fairly narrow), the room on offer in the back is impressive, with plenty of legroom and headroom. The boot measures a useful 494 litres, increasing to 1,328 litres with the rear seats folded.
Porsche Panamera engines
If you want a petrol model, there’s the choice of the rear-wheel-drive Panamera and all-wheel-drive Panamera 4. To make things simple, each uses a 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 engine paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with this producing 353hp and 500Nm of torque (pulling power).
The standard Panamera can accelerate from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds and onto a 169mph top speed, with the Panamera 4’s additional traction cutting the 62mph sprint time to 5.0 seconds. But don’t expect anything remarkable when it comes to running costs – Porsche claims around 27mpg with CO2 emissions in the region of 235g/km (depending on version).
Porsche Panamera plug-in hybrids
Plug-in hybrids are expected to dominate the Panamera’s sales, and there’s a choice of three – the 4 E-Hybrid, 4S E-Hybrid and flagship Turbo E-Hybrid.
The first two use a 2.9-litre V6 engine paired with an electric motor, producing a combined 470hp and 544hp respectively The Turbo instead gets a 4.0-litre V8 engine, with its combination of petrol and electricity generating an outstanding 680hp, equating to a 0-62mph time of just 3.2 seconds and it would keep going to a 196mph top speed.
All the plug-in hybrids also now use a much larger 25.9kWh battery, increasing the claimed electric range to an impressive 58 miles. Porsche gives fuel economy figures in the region of 200mpg but you’ll have to complete just about all your miles on electricity to ever see such figures, with the Panamera rather thirsty as soon as the engine kicks into life.
What’s it like to drive?
The Panamera manages to strike a balance between everyday comfort and sportiness like few other cars can manage. Even with one of the more mild V6 engine engine under the bonnet, you can tell this is a car designed for the driver – it might sound a given, but many other luxury cars have a bigger focus on rear-seat passengers.
The steering has a wonderfully linear feel to it, and the body control is well-contained – even more impressive given this Porsche’s sheer size. Adjustable driving modes, changed via a little dial on the steering wheel, quickly let you tailor the Panamera’s settings, but even in comfort-oriented modes, the handling is still superb.
We did find the Panamera to have quite a lot of road noise on the motorway, especially on rougher stretches, though our test car’s larger 21-inch alloy wheels won’t have helped matters.
The optional Active Ride is also expected to have a pronounced effect on the overall comfort, too, though we only had a chance to try a Panamera with this fancy setup within the confines of a track, so we’ll reserve full judgement until we can have a go on UK roads.
What models and trims are available?
Porsche doesn’t do trim levels in the same way other manufacturers do. You pick your engine and then go down the options route.
Standard equipment is fairly generous, and includes heated and electric front seats, 19-inch alloy wheel, Matrix LED headlights and a reversing camera. You don’t get as many standard features as you do from its rivals, though, and then lies Porsche’s excessive options extra list, which is almost never-ending. It’s possible to double the Panamera’s starting price with options if you tick every box.
What else should I know?
Speaking of prices, the Porsche Panamera starts from £79,990, which buys you the entry-level rear-wheel-drive car. The four-wheel-drive Panamera 4 comes in at £82,500.
The cheapest plug-in model – the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid – starts from £90,300, while the 4S E-Hybrid comes in at £102,100. If you want the ultimate Panamera, the Turbo E-Hybrid comes in at an eye-watering £141,400, and that’s before you’ve even looked at the options list.
If you’re choosing a plug-in hybrid, it’s worth stumping up the extra money for the Active Ride suspension. Its talent really is exceptional. Click through to how we rate the Porsche Panamera overall.
