Test Driving The Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid
Porsche's design and engineering philosophy is distinct, like none other. Even if it shares supplier companies with its fellow European carmakers—German suppliers are the ghost in the machine, particularly with electronics where one finds industry-wide adoption of certain strategies—a Porsche remains a car like no other. You realize the difference within minutes behind the wheel.
Providing the conclusion at the start for those who only like to browse, here goes: within the confines of possibility in a heavily regulated industry, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is as close as a high-performance 4-door can be to perfection. They have killed my job here: nothing to complain about, nothing to debate with my grumpy engineer pals…nothing.
Power is always the heart of the story, and Turbo S E-Hybrid does not disappoint.
Panamera's Turbo S 4-liter twin-turbo V8 produces 591 horsepower at 6500 rpm, and 590 lb. ft. of torque between 2400 and 4500 rpm. That's 79 horsepower more than the next most potent Panamera, the Turbo E-Hybrid. It feeds through Porsche's dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive system.
Ahh, but then we add the 331 lb. ft. of instant torque of the electric motor and Porsche's hybrid math totals are 771 horsepower at 6000 rpm, and 737 lb. ft. between 1860 and 5260.
Let's give that number perspective. The electric motor sandwiched into the transmission housing adds exactly the same amount of torque, instantly, as produced by the 4-liter flat-6 engine of the Porsche 718 Spyder RS, a car I consider one of the world's finest pure sports cars. That's a whole lot of torque fill-in at launch and into the lower and middle rev range.
Beyond the phenomenal power, one is never truly aware of the electric motor, unless using the Hybrid or EV calibration settings. In Sport and Sport+, you hear and feel the V8, but there's no sense of a 'hand-off' with the electric motor. Porsche, like the best car companies, has seamlessly integrated the two powerplants, gas and electric.
I defaulted to Sport for most driving because I love V8s but found the EV setting far better than adequate on boulevards and residential streets, and I truly enjoyed it. Funny, but I either wanted lots of gasoline power to easily blast by anyone, or Full Gattaca in EV mode, which allowed Panamera to glide in near silence with easy acceleration. EV is not a hair shirt experience. I found it soothing when I had a thought-knot in my head.
Notice how the range of maximum available torque widens dramatically when the electric motor is factored in? It's nearly impossible to catch this car flat-footed or outwitted when streaming on a lonely midnight highway or a mountain 2-lane. Turbo S E-Hybrid just never, ever runs out of oomph, making it an utter delight for long-range travel covering hundreds of miles in a day, or for that mind-clearing blast up a favorite onramp.
At least since the age of the hot rod in the 1950s, standing start quarter mile and then 0-60 mph acceleration times have been key performance measurables in America, even if such antics can be incredibly hard on the equipment.
Here, Turbo S E-Hybrid stands without caveat amongst all supercars, able to wallop pretty much any cars short of the most outrageous 2-seat hybrid super sports cars. Never mind the generous cargo hold, long wheelbase, comfortable rear seats and hefty curb weight of 5311 lbs.
Set to Sport+, Turbo S E-Hybrid delivers a 0-60 mph sprint in 2.8 seconds—yes, under 3 seconds. Such launches are hard on the powertrain, and I only perform them once or twice on any given test car, to see how the computers and the mechanical bits play together. Otherwise, I perform roll-ons from 4 or 5 mph to save the gearbox, clutches and all those joints and shafts.
The other classic measurable in America is the standing-start quarter mile. Turbo S E-Hybrid does it in…drum roll…10.8 seconds. Yes, a sport-luxury 4-door 4-seat sedan rips the quarter mile in the tens. Unless you've experienced that sort of acceleration, little can explain just how quickly the verge of the road in your peripheral vision begins to blur, how the world starts to narrow to that point on the horizon where you are aiming the prow of your craft. Suffice to say, only the most radical hybrid 2-seat supercars and pure EV hypercars like a Porsche Taycan Turbo S or Taycan Turbo GT will have the drop on you, ever.
Excepting street racing moments, it's roll-on performance that matters, the ability to easily overtake dawdlers, the ability to hole-shot, that slingshot sensation accelerating out of a tight corner. Turbo S E-Hybrid can rush from 15 or 20 mph to 60, 70, 80 or 90 mph in a breath or three. Turbo S E-Hybrid can shoot from a highway speed of 70 to triple digits in a mere moment.
Panamera gauge display.
Porsche
Where does that performance pay dividends? When overtaking a freight train of 2 or 3 Class 8 big rigs hauling loads of green tomatoes through our California Central Valley, or getting around a similar raft of gravel trucks on the 210 freeway in Los Angeles. Roll-on performance limits exposure during overtaking, allows one to dispatch lesser vehicles in moments.
Panamera turbo S E-Hybrid. The office.
Porsche
Best proof of Turbo S E-Hybrid's phenomenal roll-on acceleration came some months ago. Porsche's Ace of the Nürburgring, Lars Kern, set a new 4-door hybrid record lapping the famous12.9-mile Nordschleife, crushing the existing Panamera record by 5.6 seconds. This is best proof of the Turbo S E-Hybrid's mighty powertrain. Such a significant reduction in lap time is due primarily to acceleration out of corners, leaping from 60 or 70 mph to 150 mph in mere moments, shrinking those straightaways. Of course, enormous brakes and huge sticky Michelins don't hurt, either.
Other side of that phenomenal performance on the Nordschleife is Turbo S E-Hybrid's incredibly well sorted active suspension, which more than makes up for the added weight and complexity by greatly limiting chassis roll when cornering by in essence holding up the outside wheels, keeping the car's cornering posture very flat. My video and photos of my hand in the wheel well shows the potential range of adjustment. In a right-hand corner, the electric pumps will increase pressure within the left-side dampers, which will push against the forces of physics to keep Panamera from heeling over too much or too quickly. In short, the left-side will be propped up with hydraulic pressure and the car will be kept in a flatter stance, a more assured stance.
Steering, and the weight and action of pedals, are flawless. Seating position for the driver and all three passengers are exceptional. Rear seats are best for people of median height, who will be able to manage a lengthy trip. Taller people might prefer nothing more than a cross-town jaunt.
In EV mode, Panamera works beautifully on boulevards, with ample power to flow with traffic. Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid now also has a 25.9 kWh lithium-ion battery under the cargo floor, replacing the 17.9 kWh of the previous version.
This car will be around for a very long time. Due to governments who cannot commit to industrial policy, the best car companies are being forced to engineer gas, hybrid, EV and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for years to come. For those of us who love piston engines, well, these are the best of times.
To repeat the conclusion given at the start, Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is as close to perfect as any car I've ever driven. Yes, it must exist within the framework of government regulations, which means it's heavier and larger than E-class sedans of 20 and 30 years ago. But if we accept the parameters imposed by regulations well, Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is about as close to perfection as we've seen in recent decades.
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