Why we love the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid
THE TIDAL WAVE is coming, friends, and there’s no use trying to deny it. Electric cars, or at least hybrids, en masse are right round the corner, so you better get used to the fact that your automobile will soon not only be powered by fuel, but juice from the mains too. We give it five years until there is a marked difference in the numbers sold, perhaps pushing as high as fifty per cent of all new cars, and then a decade until market penetration is total. Trust Porsche to only go and build a model that has made us think this is the best possible future imaginable. Of course, there’s the positive environmental impact, which is wonderful, but with the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, the German manufacturer has illustrated that not only does hybrid technology satisfy emissions, it can dramatically improve performance and make us fall in love with a car about which we have never been wholly over the moon. Let’s see why.
A Panamera we’d have
Since its arrival around 2010, we’ve always thought the Panamera was an attractive car, a decent approximation of a Porsche in fact, but never quite embodied the marque’s spirit we crave. Four seats and four doors was such a departure from the traditional nippy models we all know and love. A few re-jigs and various additions including redesigns and Sports versions have improved the situation, but this Turbo S E-Hybrid has, for us, brought the Panamera home. Power, precision and speed – it doesn’t matter that the car is larger than its stable mates, it drives like a Porsche should. Sat behind the wheel you feel in control of a bona fide sports car. And you can fit stuff in the back! Bonus.
Why is this one the real deal?
In a word: horsepower. When the electric and V8 petrol motor combine this thing produces 680hp launching the car from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds to a top speed of 310km/h. Lovely numbers there - as good as a 911. Even the electric motor alone can get it to a top speed of 140km/h and can do 0-60km/h in six seconds. Buy a Porsche and you want to go quick. This is seriously quick.
Okay, tell us more about the electric power
We can tell with the performance figures we’ve got your attention, now for the Star Trek stuff. The key to getting the most out of the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is knowing what mode to put it in. The car will automatically start off in E-Power. Creeping away from the curb or going slowly around a parking lot, you’re not going to be burning any fuel. To be honest the silence is unnerving the first couple of times. Usually when you have that distinctively-styled key in your pocket, pressing the ignition button is like setting off a particularly noisy thunderstorm. After a while, though, it’s rather nice floating around for a bit. The E-Power mode can then actually give you up to around 50km range at a normal speed for local completely emissions-free driving.
What if we want the noise and that power?
Then put your foot down. It’s as simple as that. Before we get ahead of ourselves we just have to say in Hybrid Auto the Panamera changes and combines the drive sources automatically for ultimate efficiency. But for tearing around you want Sport and Sport Plus modes. The V8 is continuously active. In Sport mode, the battery charge is constantly maintained at a minimum level to ensure that sufficient boost is available when needed. Sport Plus mode is all about maximum performance. In addition, the battery is charged as quickly as possible to ensure maximum performance. It’s delicious and smooth. Perfect.
How often do I need to charge it?
The high-voltage battery integrated in the rear is fully charged in less than six hours at 10A via a 230-V connection. If the Panamera uses the optional 7.2-kW on-board charger and a 230-V, 32-A connection instead of the standard 3.6-kW charger, the battery can be fully charged in 2.4 hours.
What else did you like?
In short: the way it looks, the all-wheel drive as standard, the ceramic brakes and the 21inch wheels. Inside it was comfortable and luxurious, but it is the fact this is the most powerful model in the Panamera line, which had us excited.