Porsche puts hybrid on the map

Soon after lockdown No1 was lifted we tested the Taycan, Porsche’s first all- electric car. Driven on the same day as the new 911 Turbo S – a 600bhp sports car with a petrol engine, twin turbos and performance that’s virtually unusable on the public road.

The Taycan is also powerful and fast but felt like we were driving the future of fast cars. I liked it a lot.

This week we’re in another four- door Porsche: the Panamera 4S E- Hybrid. Porsche brought a couple of German registered cars over that UK hacks could drive in Wiltshire. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Panamera: it’s not the prettiest saloon and it’s big and not easy to place on the road.

Particularly when the roads are narrow country lanes. So, with care and attention, off we go.

It is not the first time Porsche has fitted a hybrid powertrain to its sports saloon as the previous generation Panamera had two: in Turbo S spec with a colossal 671bhp and a considerably lower powered version.

This new car sits in the middle with a 434bhp version of Porsche’s twin- turbo 2.9- litre V6 combined with a 134bhp electric motor to give a total output of 552bhp. It might seem a small number in Porsche’s telephone number power outputs but it hits 185mph and 62mph from rest in 3.7seconds. Just not in Wiltshire.

The old Turbo S Hybrid had an electric- only range of 31 miles, but this has a 17.9kWh battery compared to that car’s 14.1kWh pack. So it now covers 33 miles silently, which might not sound like a big improvement until you realise the old car’s range was tested using the NEDC cycle and the new one on the more challenging WLTP test.

Also, the 4S E- Hybrid makes the most of what it’s got. Most plug- in hybrids start in electric mode and continue until the battery is empty at which point petrol power takes over.

Many have a mode you can select to conserve battery energy until you want to run in electric mode – typically when you come off a motorway and enter a town.

But Porsche has gone a step further.

The Panamera can make that decision for you. Put a route into its navigation system and it’ll work out where it’s best to use petrol or electric for top efficiency. It’s clever and it works.

The 4S E- Hybrid will do over 80mph in electric mode but if you hammer around at those speeds you’ll soon be burning petrol. The official fuel consumption of 124.8mpg will be shot to bits. But it’s a meaningless number in a car like this and, together with emissions of 51g/ km, it’s more to keep the accountant happy. As the 4 in the name suggests, this car has four- wheel drive.

Traction is terrific. The plug- in hybrid system makes the car 200kg heavier than the Turbo S, which has no electrification. So this is not a car to throw around.

But its reworked suspension makes it more precise, and in Comfort mode better at dealing with rough road surfaces. For such a heavy car, it handles very well, which makes it almost shrink in size even on country roads.

Very little has changed inside. A new steering wheel and slightly different trim materials.

There’s plenty of room in the back, but not as much as in the Sport Turismo body. Estate to you and me.

Porsche introduced this body style four years ago and it gave it a clearer purpose.

This hybrid version is also available in the Sport Turismo and that’s where my money would go. That, by the way, is £ 101,690 for the Panamera saloon and £ 103,840 for the Sport Turismo 4S E- Hybrid. I wouldn’t have either as for me the all- electric Taycan is the four- door Porsche to have.

It’s better looking, just as fast, has a good range and represents the future.

It handles well, which almost makes it shrink in size on a country road