2024 Porsche Panamera revealed and driven

On sale March 2024 Price from £80,000 (est)

If you’re the kind of person who isn’t quite ready to embrace a future dominated by electric cars, then the new Porsche Panamera might be for you. 

You see, while we know Porsche can do exciting electric cars very well – the Porsche Taycan is, after all, our reigning Performance Car of the Year – there will still be a good cross-section of buyers who might want good old-fashioned petrol power. And for those drivers, the new Panamera will keep things partly traditional by offering V6 and V8 petrol engines from the outset.

We say partly, because, as with today's car, most of those engines will be paired with an electric motor, turning the Panamera into a plug-in hybrid. The hybrid launch range consists of a 4.0-litre V8 option which, together with its electric motor, develops a heady 671bhp. That means the Panamera can reach 0-62mph in just 3.2sec if you see fit to deploy all of its pulling power at once. And if you can keep its 25.9kWh (gross capacity) battery topped up, this Panamera's 56-mile electric range could mean a significant reduction in your fuel bills.

More hybrid options will come later, pairing Porsche's 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine with an electric motor. For now, however, drivers can order that V6 engine on its own, and in rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive forms. In the former, simply called the Panamera, the engine develops 348bhp, can reach 62mph in 5.1sec, and offers official fuel consumption figures of 29.4mpg. In the four-wheel drive Panamera 4, that consumption drops to 27.9mpg, but the 0-62mph sprint time also falls to 4.8sec.

With statistics like those, our hopes are high for this Panamera to be engaging and agile, while still offering comfort and family friendly practicality. Is it worth a place on your shopping list, then, over rivals including the Audi A7 Sportback and Mercedes CLS? 

What’s the 2024 Porsche Panamera like to drive?

We’ve driven the range-topping V8-engined plug-in hybrid version of the Panamera, badged as the Turbo e-hybrid, in late-stage prototype form in Germany. And it’s good news for anyone who has worried that the time of the V8 petrol engine is over – because the one in the Panamera delivers exactly the kind of pace you’d want. Put your foot down and it rumbles into life, thrusting you forward with grin-inducing urgency. We just wish it sounded a little more raucous when you want to push on, like the V8 engine in the Audi RS7 Sportback.

Switch into electric-only e-power mode using the small dial on the steering wheel, and the Panamera will rely mostly on electric power – at least until you put your foot down, at which point the petrol engine again joins the fray. Hybrid mode, by contrast, mixes petrol and electric power efficiently, while Sport and Sport Plus let the V8 engine play a little, by letting it rev higher before changing gear, and upping the noise level a little.

Steering is well weighted and direct, giving you a good sense of what the front wheels are up to. This in turn gives you confidence to push on through corners, even on the rain-lashed roads of our German test route. 

The ride on standard air suspension is firm but well controlled, much like that of the current Panamera. Larger lumps and bumps are well taken care of, and the car resists body roll through corners well.

For keener drivers, plug-in hybrid versions of the Panamera will be offered with a new active system dubbed Porsche Active Ride, which adjusts each corner of the car to counter body roll even more through corners, or to stop any pitching under acceleration or braking. It’s impressive to see in action, but you’ll need to be pressing on to notice the biggest differences.

What’s the 2024 Porsche Panamera like inside?

The centrepiece of the new Panamera is a trio of screens which put a vast amount of information right in front of you. First up is the 12.6in digital instrument cluster, which isn’t as configurable as what you’ll find in the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupé, but it looks sharp, and can be optionally supplemented by a large head-up display.

Then there’s the central infotainment screen itself, which runs Porsche’s own software. It responded quickly enough to our inputs, but if you’d rather use apps from your smartphone, there are also wireless connections for Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

The third screen is a 10.9in unit which sits in front of your passenger, and offers them the same functionality as the driver. This could let them change the radio station, for example, while you keep an eye on the sat-nav map. This screen also offers Netflix streaming, among other features, but is tinted so it cannot be seen by the driver.

The technology-fest continues in the rear seats, where your passengers have access to another 7.0in screen which shows most of the same car and journey information as the main screen.

In an extra nod to usability, we’re pleased to see that changing the temperature in the Panamera can be done using physical switches below the infotainment screen, alongside touch-sensitive icons for your heated seat and other features.

Nobody should worry about their devices running out of charge, because as well as a wireless charging pad in the centre console, there are also four USB-C charging ports inside the Panamera.

As you’d expect for a car at this price, everything in the Panamera feels premium and built to last. The front seats are pleasantly supportive, and while headroom is at a premium for taller passengers in the rear, there is at least plenty of legroom – even if you’re sitting behind a tall driver.

Porsche hasn’t confirmed how big the new Panamera’s boot is, but it’s a usefully square shape, and we’d suggest that your holiday luggage is unlikely to pose a problem. On non-plug-in hybrid models, there’s also a deep well under the boot floor, which could provide somewhere to put your walking boots or hide items away from prying eyes.

Verdict

The new Panamera is more comfortable than ever before, and features more technology designed to take the stress out of long journeys – whether your trip ends in Crawley, Cornwall or Cannes.

The range-topping V8-engined plug-in hybrid we’ve tried so far shows that this new car isn’t short on pace, or driver engagement, but given its price tag of £141,400 – and the fact that Porsche doesn’t do discounts – we suspect that most drivers will be better served by the lower-powered but cheaper V6 plug-in hybrid option, which starts from £79,500. That said, it's hard to ignore the low Benefit-in-Kind rate attached to this range-topping Panamera if you're lucky enough to be considering one as a company car.

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Porsche Panamera prototype

Price £141,400 Engine V8, 3996cc, turbo, petrol, plus electric motor Power 671bhp  Torque 686lb ft Gearbox 8-spd automatic 0-62mph 3.2sec (est) Top speed 196mph Fuel economy 235mpg CO2, tax band  26g/km, 8%

Rivals

BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe
Audi RS7 Sportback

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