Except for green e-hybrid badges on the front doors, green brake calipers, and green ‘Panamera 4’ at the rear, Porsche’s new-generation Panamera 4 E-Hybrid looks just like its non-hybrid V-6 sibling. But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that justifies this plug-in hybrid model’s additional $10,000 cost. For beginners, the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid combines a 330 horsepower twin-turbocharged, 2.9 liter V-6 and a 136 horsepower electric motor to produce a total of 462 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, providing some pretty stellar performance.
The Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is offered in a base model along with Sport Turismo and Executive variants. The Sport Turismo is the closest Porsche is likely to ever come to building a station wagon, with this model stretching the roofline with new sheetmetal aft of the B-pillar, plus a more upright rear window and larger hatch. This greatly improves rear headroom while also delivering marginally more cargo space. The Sport Turismo seats five with four place seating optional. Even more spacious is the Executive model, which adds 5.9 inches to the wheelbase and provides additional rear legroom. Along with other amenities, the executive model has a large rear center console with 10.1-inch screens that can double as tablets.
Internal combustion output is delivered to all four wheels via a ZF eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The electric motor is positioned between the V-6 engine and transmission. Electrical energy is stored in a 14.1 kilowatt-hour battery pack located under the trunk floor. This is sufficient for an all-electric range of 31 miles and a maximum speed of 87 mph, with the speed limitation intentional to maximize battery driving range. The battery pack can be charged in 12 hours using the car’s 3.6-kilowatt, 120 volt onboard charger or in just three hours with an optional 7.2-kilowatt, 240 volt charger. The E-Hybrid automatically starts driving in pure EV mode. When the battery is depleted the powertrain switches to hybrid mode, delivering varying combinations of combustion and electric power for maximum fuel efficiency.
A standard Sport Chrono package offers default E-Power and Hybrid Auto modes, plus Sport and Sport+ modes that sharpen throttle response and shifting, stiffen dampers, and open the optional sport exhaust. The car’s E-Hold mode conserves the battery’s state of charge so the Panamera can run in pure EV mode at a later time. In E-Charge mode the V-6 engine generates more power than needed to recharge the battery while driving. Driver assistance systems like Night Vision, Lane Change, and Lane Keep are options. Also available is InnoDrive adaptive cruise control that reads upcoming corners, changing gradients, and traffic conditions.
