If you want to ‘save the planet’, while enjoying one of the best 4 door luxury saloons out there, or you just want to have more frugal/cheaper to drive Porsche Panamera, you really do have a choice. Three choices in fact. You could either go more sensible way in the form of the new and improved Panamera 4 E-hybrid, more powerfull Panamera 4S E-hybrid, or you could just go the full length, and simply buy all 700 HP of the most powerful Panamera on sale – Turbo S E-Hybrid. Which way should you go? It might seem like an easy question, but it is not that simple. For making it a little bit easier, we will just be comparing the least and the most powerfull one, which we also have in our fleet.
Lets start with the sensible choice first. New and updated Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is less powerful version of the base Panamera 4S E-Hybrid, with almost identical drivetrain. It consists of the 2,9 liter petrol V6 engine, which is good for 330 HP, and a small electric motor capable of providing aditional 136 super silent electric horsepower. Combined power is rated at 462 HP and 700 Nm of torque which is enough for sprinting to 100 km/h in just 4,6 seconds, and 275 km/h top speed. Not what you would call slow and boring then. With its smaller petrol engine it tends to also be quite a bit more economical, and with a bit less weight to move around, also a bit better in corners with addition of better electric range. Speaking of which, Porsche says that you can do up to 44 km of pure electric driving on a single charge. This comes in handy for urban city centers or a no cost trip to your local grocery store, while at the same time lowering consumption on longer trips. All this adds up to one very pleasant hybrid experience. You could say that Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid suits those proverbial ‘hybrid buyers’ perfectly and is therefore a go to choice if your main concern that you want frugal Panamera, with low emissions and ample performance.
Moving on from sensible, to the insane, tarmac shredding Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. For the full indepth review you can visit this page but here, lets just focus on differences between the two. For starters you could say that elecric bits are almost identic. This means the same 136 HP electric motor, the same battery pack and the same electric driving modes. What is different though, is right under the bonnet. Gone is the 2,9 liter V6 from Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, replaced by thumping 4.0 liter, 571 HP V8 petrol engine. Combined power output has therefore risen to a supercar beating 680 HP and 850 Nm of maximum torque, enabling this thing to rocket itself to 100km/h in brutal 3,4 seconds, and on to a maximum top speed of 310 km/h. Knowing Porsche and its understated performance, we wouldn’t be surprised if this thing dipped to 3 seconds flat to 100km/h – it really is that violent.
Because it uses bigger motor, it is also some 125 kg heavier which means you can drive it slightly less far on a single charge (around 5 km less), and is as a whole, quite a bit less frugal than the less powerfull 4 E-Hybrid. Monumental performance doesen’t help its consumption either. You just get addicted to pressing its GO pedal, and screaming for your life as this 2,425 kg luxury super saloon accelerates at the rate, similar to most supercars. It is different animal this.
How to summ up then? You could say that these two cars are as similar as they are different. The less powerful Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, still has 462 HP and all the performance you’ll ever need, but you get the sense that it purposefully uses its hybrid technology to really save you money(and the planet), using less fuel and costing less to tax. It is a great companion for daily driving, and also having a bit of a blast when you need to let of some steam.
The faster Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid in the other hand, just gives you impression that it uses its hybrid boost to just go faster, be more violent and save you some money in the mean time, when you are not up for it. Hugely impressive ultimate cross continent stormer, Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is the car for someone, who really wants the pinnacle of automotive technology and performance, despite the huge price tag which is at least 50% dearer than that of the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid.
What would be your choice then?
