Porsche Panamera review - Engines, drive & performance

The Porsche Panamera is built to go fast and does so with aplomb. Every engine configuration offers more power than you’re ever likely to need, yet despite its prodigious performance, the Panamera isn’t intimidating or difficult to drive. True, its size means parking is tricky (though made easier if you specify the optional reversing camera), and it can feel too big for narrow roads, but the higher spec versions of Panamera can be ridiculously fast in a straight line, and it really shines in terms of its handling.

Winding B-roads reveal the Panamera is easier to place on the road than its dimensions might suggest, and it’s quite a feat how Porsche’s engineers have managed to make such a large car feel so driver-focused. Meanwhile, motorway cruising is effortless. Overtaking can be accomplished almost instantaneously, and even the entry-level rear-wheel drive car provides enormous amounts of traction.

We first tested the latest Panamera base model and the Panamera 4 and found them to be brilliantly capable, and while there are more powerful options, many buyers will be completely satisfied with their eagerness through the bends. This time around, we felt a surprising amount of feedback through the steering – something that was slightly lacking in the outgoing car. The four-wheel drive system was faultless, even in the wet, giving a secure feel to the Panamera’s drive. We liked the sound of the V6, too, and there was a notable difference in tone when using different driving modes, particularly with the optional sports exhaust system fitted. It’s a nice noise, without being loud enough to go against the Panamera’s luxury feel.

One downside to the Porsche’s sports-focused chassis setup is that comfort can slightly suffer when compared with comfort-focused rivals. Our car was fitted with a complex air-suspension system as standard, and this did a good job keeping the car flat through the corners in Sport and Sport Plus modes, but while respectably comfortable, it’s still a bit firmer than most luxury saloons even in the least-sporty setting. At lower speeds, the Panamera also feels comfortable enough and handles speed bumps and potholes impressively well.

In October 2024 we drove the Panamera GTS as it joined the line-up. It feels incredibly driver focused, but still refined and sophisticated, meaning its appeal is broad enough to appeal to lots of buyers. There’s a great deal of adjustability to the suspension and drive mode settings so you can go pretty in-depth if you want to set the Panamera up to your liking. The ride is admittedly firm but it’s full of feel in any setting, and the steering offers a great deal of feedback.

The brakes are astonishingly powerful, and offer lots of feel through the pedal. While the GTS may not be the most potent of the Panameras on sale, it’s in this area where it trumps all the other models because it’s easy to modulate your inputs through the brake pedal.

Another standout feature of the GTS is its twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the sound of which is brilliant straight out of the box, but can even be enhanced digitally at the touch of a button. It revs highly and pairs well with the eight-speed gearbox. In manual mode it's very responsive and fun, while auto mode does a good job of smoothing out gear changes.

While in other areas refinement isn’t an issue, the Panamera does suffer from quite a bit of road noise in the cabin – most likely down to its massive tyres.

Every Panamera uses an eight-speed, dual-clutch PDK automatic gearbox rather than the old-fashioned conventional type found in the previous-generation model and it’s very quick-shifting. It also does a brilliant job at low speeds – an area where some other dual-clutch systems can struggle. 

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Porsche Panamera petrol engines

The entry-level Porsche Panamera and Panamera 4 come with a six-cylinder 2.9-litre turbocharged petrol developing 348bhp, enough to take the car from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds, or five seconds with the extra traction of the Panamera 4’s four-wheel drive. These figures are also reduced by a few tenths if the optional Sport Chrono Package is fitted, thanks to its addition of launch control to help the car rocket away from a standstill.

It’s a smooth engine, with a decent response even from low revs, but if you really mash the throttle it will shift down a few gears before providing its full acceleration. The gear shifts are still very smooth, but this might surprise drivers used to the instant punch of an electric car.

The GTS model joined the range later with a twin-turbocharged V8 that produces 493bhp, propelling the Panamera from 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds when fitted with the Sport Chrono package that includes launch control. It goes on to a top speed of 188mph.

Hybrid engines

The rest of the latest Porsche Panamera’s lineup comprises plug-in models, of which there are now four: the Panamera 4 and 4S hybrid, and top-of-the-line Turbo E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid. These combine even higher performance figures compared to the entry-level petrol models, with the benefit of an electric motor which can be used to waft silently around town for up to around 58 miles to a charge. Should you wish to, the electric motor can be used at speeds of up to 87mph or can be switched to work in tandem with the engine for maximum performance.

There are multiple drive modes for the hybrid models, including an E-Charge function which helps top up the battery with surplus energy from the engine (while stunting fuel efficiency) or an E-Hold mode, which allows you to save electric power for when you know you’re going to hit a more built-up congested area to use it. Hybrid Auto mode offers the best compromise between the two, and appeared quite good at preserving electric range.

The Panamera 4 E-Hybrid uses the petrol cars’ 2.9-litre V6 engine, but produces an impressive 464bhp when paired with a 187bhp electric motor. The result is a 0-62mph time of 4.1 seconds and 174mph top speed. 

The 4S E-Hybrid makes use of this same combination of V6 and electric motor, but the combustion engine in this model has been amped up to a higher output giving the total system 537bhp. 0-62mph takes a rapid 3.7 seconds. 

We’ve driven the pre-facelift version of the 4S E-Hybrid, and found it to be thoroughly impressive – its performance felt at odds with its ability to deliver such impressive official fuel economy figures, because the Panamera is one of the few cars to have plug-in hybrid variants that quite effectively flaunt their on-paper credentials. Many rival high-performance plug-in hybrids don’t ever feel quite as powerful as their performance figures suggest.

The best news is that the E-Hybrid’s acceleration is immediate when you put your foot down and nothing suggests you’re behind the wheel of anything other than a seriously powerful petrol car. In electric mode, there's just a faint whine if you ask for full acceleration, and in Hybrid mode the petrol engine will cut in quickly and smoothly to pile on more forward thrust.

It has a tougher job convincing the driver it's up to Porsche's usual standards on more challenging UK roads, where it struggles to disguise its 2,200kg bulk. Body lean is still kept in check, but you can feel its momentum and size if you try to push too hard. The 4S E-Hybrid could also do with a better soundtrack, because a lot of the time there's nothing but a distant hum or drone from the electric motor to accompany the view out of the windscreen.