Porsche Panamera

	Porsche Panamera
	Debut: 2024 Maker: Porsche Predecessor: Panamera Mk2

Published on 16 Aug 2024

Third gen Panamera remains a sportier choice in the luxury car segment.

Panamera has never been a star in Porsche’s lineup. To the hardcore fans of Porsche, it is simply too big to be enjoyed driving excitement. However, Porsche needs such a big car to steal sales from the likes of Mercedes-AMG S-class or BMW 7-Series. Especially in China, plenty of millionaires desire to have the Porsche badge on their luxurious daily drivers, which can take them to workplaces comfortably yet sporty enough to distinguish themselves from conventional rich people. Since its birth 15 years ago, the Panamera consistently captures around 30,000 sales annually, good enough to justify its business case. Moreover, the sporty limousine is built on the platform of the higher volume Cayenne, so it is not as expensive to develop and build as a dedicated model like Maserati Quattroporte.

The third generation Panamera should be even cheaper to develop than its predecessors, because it carries over the last generation platform. This can be easily seen from its virtually unchanged dimensions and silhouette. The exterior styling evolves a little bit though. Its front end gets a bit more angular, employing squarer LED headlights. The front fenders are more pronounced to mimic 911, but unfortunately the nose doesn't drop low enough. With larger cooling intakes at the front bumper and an extra intake opened above the number plate, it looks a bit closer to Cayenne. Further back, the rear quarter windows abandon the round shape of 911 for something like BMW’s Hofmeister kink. The fastback tailgate flows backward and takes a waterfall drop at the now vertical LED light stripe. Porsche design chief Michael Mauer seems getting tired of the round, 911-style look of the second generation and determined to inject a crisper, more angular theme into the new car.

Base car displays great balance between ride comfort and handling.

Porsche insists that 70 percent of all components are new, but the essentials are intact. The Panamera still uses an 8-speed DCT gearbox, something unusual in the luxurious car class but perfectly suitable to the sportier nature of Porsche. Again only the base Panamera is rear-drive, while others employ active all-wheel drive and assisted with active rear differential. Also carried over is the optional rear-wheel steering, which is quite useful to make the big car more agile. The chassis remains a steel-aluminum hybrid monocoque, where high-strength and hot-formed ultra-high-strength steel are used around the survival cell and aluminum parts at front and rear subframes as well as floorpan. The double-wishbone and multi-link suspensions are carried over, but air springs are now fitted standard across the board, including the base Panamera. Regrettably, it has been downgraded from 3 chambers to 2 chambers, theoretically offering narrower range of adjustment. However, this is compensated with new 2-valve adaptive dampers which can adjust compression and rebound rates independently.

This biggest news to the Mk3 Panamera is perhaps a game-changing active suspension called Porsche Active Ride. Developed in conjunction with ZF which supplies its hardware, it is a £7,000 option available to only E-Hybrid models. Each suspension comprises of a single-chamber air spring integrated with ZF’s 2-valve adaptive damper and a motor-driven hydraulic pump. The latter can pump oil into either the compression chamber or expansion chamber of the damper, pushing the suspension up or pulling it down at lightning speed (up to 13 times per second !). Moreover, it can exert a force up to 1000 kg to each damper, easily countering the weight and momentum of the car. As all 4 wheels can be independently controlled, the Panamera may glide over bumps with very little body movement, or corner quickly yet flatly, or brake without dive. Ride height can be adjusted according to speed or drive mode, too. It allows the Panamera to ditch PDCC active anti-roll bars. The only downside is power consumption, which is up to 34 hp on really bumpy surfaces, no wonder PAR depends on the 400V electrical system of E-Hybrid models.

Who really needs 680 or even 782 hp from their limousines?

On the engine side, the Mk3 keeps using the existing 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 and 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engines in conjunction with 8-speed PDK box. Compared with the last Panamera and Panamera 4, the base V6 has gained 23 hp to 353 hp, but a higher power version is no longer available, as Porsche sees E-Hybrid assistance as a better option.

The V8 received some real modifications, chiefly to comply with Euro 7 emission standard without losing performance. These include replacing twin-scroll turbos with single-scroll ones (as it absorbs less heat, allowing the cat to get up to operating temperature quicker), introduces 2-stage variable intake valve lift by means of switching cam profiles as well as a higher pressure fuel injection. Losing twin-scroll turbos might increase turbo lag, but the most heavily boosted Turbo and Turbo S pair with a more powerful E-Hybrid system so that low-end response is actually improved.

All E-Hybrid models use the same 190hp / 332 lbft electric motor which is incorporated into the ZF dual-clutch gearbox and shares its oil cooling. Battery size is nearly doubled from 14.1 to 25.9kWh, improving zero emission range to 91 km (56 miles), which is crucial to taxation in many countries.

By mixing the E-Hybrid system and the 2 engines in different states of tune, Porsche manages to offer 6 Panamera models:

Panamera or Panamera 4: V6 with 353hp, rear or all-wheel drive.
Panamera 4 E-Hybrid: V6 with 304hp, combined 470hp, all-wheel drive.
Panamera 4S E-Hybrid: V6 with 353hp, combined 544hp, all-wheel drive.
Panamera GTS: V8 with 500hp, all-wheel drive.
Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid: V8 with 519hp, combined 680hp, all-wheel drive.
Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid: V8 with 599hp, combined 782hp, all-wheel drive.

None of them could be called slow. Even the base Panamera can do 0-60 mph under 5 seconds when equipped with Sports Chrono launch pack. Most models take just over 3 seconds, while the flagship Turbo S E-Hybrid needs a jaw-dropping 2.8 seconds only and reach a top speed of 202 mph, even though it weighs a massive 2365 kg!

Active Ride is game-changing...

Inside the cabin, space remains the same as before, which is a tad smaller than its more conventional rivals, but easily roomier than a Taycan. In standard form the rear is configured as 2 individual seats. You may opt for bench seat, but the unfortunate guy sitting in the middle will have his legs blocked by the prominent transmission tunnel. Up front, the Panamera differs a lot from your conventional AMG, most notably a low seating position. Instead of large span of touchscreen, the Panamera’s dashboard is more classical, even though it has ditched the old car's conventional analogue rev counter for a fully digital instrument display. There is an infotainment touchscreen integrated neatly into the dashboard, not standing atop the dash like a flat panel TV or freely like a PC monitor – thanks God. A wide and sloping center console still dominates the transmission tunnel, but it loses the previous gearlever (moved to paddles behind the wheel). Fortunately some physical switches and a rotary knob survive the process of “modernization” and continue to serve as straightforward control for HVAC. Less amusing is the gloss black panel, which looks a bit cheap to a luxury car like this. The fit and finish of Porsche won’t disappoint, but materials richness will never match Bentley or Mercedes.

On the road, the base Panamera offers just about sufficient power. Performance is never dramatic, of course, but the V6 is smooth, responsive and quite flexible. Quiet if you don’t rev it, or plays a tuneful note if you do, provided the optional sport exhaust is fitted. The PDK gearbox always makes quick and smooth gearshifts. The air suspension rides comfortably in normal mode, if not as magic-carpet as an S-class. Only the excessive tire noise spoils its otherwise high-standard of refinement.

On the other hand, the big Porsche is enjoyable to steer. Its steering and brake give you a more connected feel. Its suspension strikes a great balance between handling and ride comfort. Body movement is clearly better controlled than its luxury rivals. Front-end bite is remarkably strong, while traction is outstanding, even on the rear-drive base car – now you see the extra road noise is justified. While the Panamera is no 911 or to lesser extent a Taycan, it is still clearly sportier than any AMG or M-badge large limousines.

GTS might be the sweet spot of the range...

Naturally, the Turbo and Turbo S are the performance choices. The electric boost gives them instant throttle response and pulls the car relentlessly from a stop to well beyond triple-figure speed. It is hard to imagine who needs to exploit so much power on a public road. The combination of variable all-wheel drive, active differential and 4-wheel steering works brilliantly to make the car feel smaller and lighter than it is. You do feel its weight on hard braking or in tighter turns on a track, but on normal roads it hides its weight very well.

With active suspension installed, the Panamera’s body control is magical. Bumps are dealt as if non-existent, as the car glides over uneven surfaces smoothly, completely unfazed. Fast corners are taken with minimal body roll. Porsche could have counteracted the centrifugal force with “negative roll” like Mercedes’ Active Curve Tilt (see the last generation Mercedes S-class Coupe), but decided to skip this function in Sport or Sport+ mode, leaving a certain degree of roll, pitch and dive as crucial feedback to the driver. Having said that, the main benefit of PAR remains to be comfort and composure in normal driving. Keen drivers might feel its functioning unnatural and harder to engage with the chassis.

If the Turbo and Turbo S feel too powerful and heavy, the sweet spot might be GTS, which is the only model served with pure combustion V8 power. It carries a good 300 kg less yet 500 ponies are plenty for the road. In the world of excess power and features, Porsche needs to build more cars like this.

Verdict: