Porsche Panamera Review 2024

It isn’t cheap, but the Porsche Panamera combines all the precise handling prowess of a sports car with the luxury, comfort and practicality of a high-end saloon. It isn’t quite as family-friendly as a Cayenne nor is it as luxurious as a limo like the Audi A8, but it’s much easier to live with than a 911 - just as the previous Panamera was. Read on for our full review of the Porsche Panamera. 

It’s seriously impressive just how well the Porsche Panamera blends typically paradoxical qualities. If you want to simply drive to the local restaurant or pick up some shopping it's quiet and cosseting, with excellent ride quality and an almost silent cabin. Similarly, it will cope with long motorway drives.

But take it to your favourite road and it really comes alive, with surprising poise, fantastic steering and lots of lovely noise, even if you go for a hybrid version. The engine range consists of all petrol engines now.

You can also get two plug-in hybrid versions, which combine a battery pack and electric motor with either the 2.9-litre V6 or 4.0-litre V8 . Both versions are capable of covering a short commute on electric power alone, provided the batteries are charged up.

Inside, the Panamera is exquisite. The fit and finish is impeccable and there’s a high-tech layout, with touch-sensitive controls for more or less everything in the centre console and stack. There’s also a large, clear, responsive touchscreen system and sensibly-placed steering wheel-mounted controls.

The Panamera is a four-seater, so there is no middle seat, but the rear row provides a good amount of leg and headroom, while the hatchback makes access to the sizeable boot very straightforward compared to a saloon. The rear seats can be folded down for bulky items too.

Compared to the Audi A7 Sportback or BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, or even the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door, the Porsche Panamera looks, feels and drives like a more special car. It’s a superb piece of engineering that does everything any enthusiastic driver could hope for. But there is a very high price to pay, and full-size executive saloons like the Audi A8 are more comfortable if you're more interested in sitting in the back.

the Panamera is very quiet and comfortable most of the time. The seats are supportive, the driving position is good, the suspension soaks up bumps and the level of refinement is superb. You can spend hours at the wheel without getting tired.

But the Panamera works on a road with corners too. The steering is precise and beautifully weighted, body control is great and there’s loads of grip, thanks to the all-wheel drive system fitted to all but the most basic, 3.0-litre versions. The muted engines also start to sound a bit more exciting when you push them hard and use all of the rev range.

It’s surprising just how enjoyable the Panamera is to drive, given the level of comfort and refinement it provides. It outpoints its rivals from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes while still feeling every bit as relaxed as a Jaguar.

With no diesels offered for the Panamera any longer, Porsche has simplified the engine line-up to a 2.9 litre V6 and a 4.0 litre V8, both using turbochargers to get the best from them. They can also be ordered in E-Hybrid versions that use an electric motor to further boost performance and efficiency with an EV driving range of up to 35 miles.

The 330PS 2.9 V6 feels like all the engine you'll ever need in daily driving as it deals with 0-62mph in just 5.3 seconds in the four-wheel drive version. Of course, if you want or need more, you can go all the way to the Turbo models that cover off the same acceleration benchmark in as little as 3.1 seconds - in a four-door, four seat saloon this just feels sensational.

They hybrid system comes in and out of play very smoothly, so you don't pay any attention to it in normal driving unless you want to select EV mode around town. The eight-speed automatic gearbox is equally silken in operation, too.

There's no Euro NCAP crash result for the Porsche Panamera as it has not been tested. All models come with seven airbags, but some significant gaps are left in the car's standard portfolio of safety kit. For example, automatic emergency braking is an option, along with adaptive cruise control. In a car of this price, that's unacceptable and why the Panamera does not register a much higher overall rating in this section.

The Panamera can tow an unbraked trailer of up to 750kg, and Porsche will fit a tow bar to your new model for £1037.

There’s a surprising amount of space in the Porsche Panamera, with room in the two rear seats for adults to get comfy – although there is no middle seat.

The boot is a good size at 495 litres, which is plenty for shopping trips, luggage or golf bags. You can also fold the rear seats down to free up some extra space, which should enable trips to Ikea. The sloping tailgate design does limit the bulkiness of the objects you can carry, but with the rear seats folded you can pack in as much as 1334 litres of cargo.

Material quality is wonderful. The cabin not only looks space age, it feels like it could survive a trip to Mars and back – everything is beautifully installed and feels as durable as it is luxurious. 

Porsche has given the Panamera a very modern, clean layout. The chunky centre console and stack is covered in touch sensitive buttons to control everything from temperature to drive mode – but these cleverly have haptic feedback, so respond with a click, just like an old-fashioned, analogue button.

There’s also a wide, responsive 12.3-inch touchscreen system at the top of the centre stack that works well and is packed with high-tech features including controls for in-car WiFi. The instrument binnacle has digital elements too, which the driver can configure to show their choice of info. A big, central rev-counter remains the focus though, as is typical for Porsche cars.

Some might be surprised to learn the Porsche Panamera range starts at £72,900 for the base model with its 330PS 2.9 litre V6 petrol engine. That’s not much more than a generously equipped BMW 5 Series or Mercedes E-Class, and you can have the all-wheel drive Panamera 4 from £3000 more.

A Platinum Edition of the Panamera 4 makes a bit more of a price leap at £85,200, while the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid will relieve you of £86,700. The Platinum Edition version of this model moves into very serious financial territory with a price of £94,500.

Beyond this point, the Panamera line-up goes into sic figure prices, starting the 4S E-Hybrid at £105,300, and followed by the £110,700 GTS. Then comes the Turbo S at £141,400, and the range is capped by the mighty 700PS Turbo S E-Hybrid that costs from £145,900.

A three-year old Panamera 4S will cost you from around £60,000, which will also give you a choice of E-Hybrid models too.

Don’t expect any discounts from Porsche when buying a Panamera, but the company’s own finance deals will help ease the financial burden if you don’t want to buy outright.

No Panamera is going to come with supermini running costs, but owning this Porsche super saloon need not break the bank either. The petrol models offer combined fuel economy between the low and high 20s, depending on which version you choose.

However, pick a hybrid version and economy jumps to as much as 141.2mpg if you make the most of the plug-in charging. The PHEV models can also travel up to 35 miles on battery power alone in the most efficient versions.

It followed the hybrid models also enjoy the lowest carbon dioxide emissions and, consequently, road tax. Reckon spending from as little as £10 for first-year road tax all the way to a much heftier £2605, which is the highest rate.

When it comes to getting insurance, the Panamera line-up sits in the top couple of bands, so none will be cheap to get cover for.

Porsche fires the pistol on the Panamera with the model of the same name that uses the 2.9 litre V6 motor. It comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, powered tailgate, and front and rear parking sensors, Inside, there's part-leather interior upholstery in black, cruise control, and the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen. It also sits on standard steel springs for the suspension.

The 4 brings all-wheel drive to the party, while the Platinum Edition provides adaptive air suspension, 21-inch wheels, and heated front and rear seats.  The 4S only comes with hybrid power and has 20-inch wheels along with the Sport Chrono pack included as standard. The 4S also enjoys a full leather interior.

Go for the GTS and you get its individual styling, as well as carbon ceramic brakes as part of its performance focus. ON the inside, leather is replaced by Alcantara on the seats and steering wheel.

At the top of the Panamera food chain sit the Turbo S variants that have their own 21-inch wheel design and revert back to leather for the seats. However, the steps in the Panamera range are as much about the engines and performance as any upgrades in equipment and luxury goodies.