Did you know that Porsche’s Panamera has been around for 16 years now? What began as an odd-looking but effective luxury sport sedan has subtly evolved into a pretty darn good looking, and even more effective luxury sport sedan. True, it used to also be available as a station wagon (Sport Turismo in Porsche speak), but that body style was killed off for the third generation, known by the internal code 976. Today’s Panamera is available in seven different guises. We’re taking a close look at the most powerful of the bunch, the 771-horsepower, 202-mph 2025 Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Big Power, Big Price, Bigger Weight
As the name indicates, the Turbo S E-Hybrid is partially electrified. Starting there, this car comes packing a stud of an electric motor mounted in the housing of its eight-speed PDK (Porsche speak for dual-clutch) transmission. How does 187 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque from the e-motor grab you? That’s enough oomph to allow the Turbo S E-Hybrid to run at speeds of up to 87 mph in pure electric mode. If you go easy on the throttle, you can travel as many as 40 miles to a charge according to the EPA, due to the S E-Hybrid’s relatively large for a plug-in hybrid (21.8 kWh usable/25.9 kWh gross) lithium-ion battery pack. The motor supplements a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 good for 591 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Don’t bother doing the math, as hybrid power numbers are a black art and don’t pencil out, but the total system output is 771 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque.
Sounds potent, no? Oh, it is, but all that power and range come at a price. Two prices, actually. The first is cost: $228,495 to start and over a quarter mill as tested at $253,655, which is, well, Bentley money. Bentley Bentayga money, but still. The other is heft. Ready for it? This car weighed in at 5,722 pounds on our scales. If you’re into performance cars, you’ll remember that the enthusiast community lost its bloody mind when we posted the weight of new BMW M5. In wagon form, the M5 Touring clocked in at 5,456 pounds. Heavy, sure, but this Porsche is nearly 300 pounds heavier. (You should probably contact your local ER if you know a Porsche-loving loved one who will be reading this review). Interestingly, the weight distribution is sort of Porsche-esque, 45/55 front to rear. The latest 911 we tested is a seriously rear-biased 37/63!
Aside from the battery and (we’re assuming) hefty electric motor, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid comes stuffed with all sorts of stuff that add both to its price and poundage, with one exception: The carbon-ceramic brakes add only dollars, not weight. This Panamera is AWD and has all-wheel steering. The air suspension, while effective from both a comfort and sporting sense, is anything but licht. There are acres of leather, too, as this end of the Panamera spectrum is full luxury. Which, for the money it ought to be.
Road-Tripping in a 5,700-Pound Porsche
To get a better sense of Panamera’s fundamentals as luxury performance sedan, we took it on a 1,000-mile road trip around California. The first thing to note is that the hybrid stuff doesn’t interfere with the huge amount of luggage space in the rear hatch, long a Panamera strong suit. This tells us that the vehicle was designed from the get-go as a hybrid. That said, PHEVs like the S E-Hybrid are next to useless on road trips.
Traveling with the flow of traffic (i.e., 15 mph above posted speed limits) meant that even when fully charged, the battery was good for just 25 miles or so of EV-only range before it became depleted. But on the plus side, unlike with previous long trips, we were able to easily top off the battery when we stopped. Both hotels we stayed at had chargers on site, but one in California’s capital of Sacramento was being remodeled and had shipping containers blocking all the chargers. That said, downtown Sacramento had a bunch of working, easily accessible Level 2 chargers. (Fun fact: California now has more EV chargers than gas pumps.)
As a long-haul road tripper, the luxurious-enough, big-dog Panamera proved more than adequate. On balance, it was quiet and comfortable at speed, with more than enough passing power when called upon. We found some back roads around Santa Cruz, and with a quick twist of the steering-wheel-mounted dynamics knob into Sport mode, the comfy ride instantly switched to a taut, sporty one. Like the new M5, the weight of the Turbo S E-Hybrid wasn’t apparent from behind the wheel when having fun on the canyon roads. The car’s pace is rapid, and the grip levels are nothing short of astounding. (Credit the race rubber Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires for that last bit.) Is it more capable than fun? Probably, but that’s long been the case with the Panamera.
Runs, Stops, and Corners Like a Supercar
It’s time to breakdown this Porsche sedan’s rather impressive performance numbers. Porsche claims the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid will hit 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. We knocked three ticks off that time to the tune of 2.5 seconds to 60 mph. Remember that 911 we were talking about earlier? It’s the new hybrid 911 GTS, and it reaches 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. The second-gen Rivian R1T Quad, with a monstrous 1,025 hp and 1,298 lb-ft of torque, matches the Panamera’s 60-mph time. To go quicker with a Porsche badge, you’ll need a 911 Turbo S (2.4 seconds) or a Taycan Turbo of some sort.
The quarter mile is also impressive, with a 10.6-second sprint at 130.3 mph. Not to keep picking on the poor 911 GTS, but that “blisteringly quick” (so sayeth us) sports car does the quarter in 10.7 seconds at only 129.7 mph. The R1T Quad, which we’re only mentioning because it has even more power (it’s also 1,150 pounds heavier), runs down 1,280 feet in 10.4 seconds, but at a slower 128.6 mph. We’re simply trying to contextualize for you how ridiculous the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is in a straight line.
Speaking of ridiculous, this Panamera stops from 60 mph in just 96 feet, which is borderline unbelievable. For a supercar, that’s considered great. For a 5,700-pound sedan? Unheard of. The last Porsche 911 Turbo S we tested stopped from 60 mph in 97 feet, and it weighed more than a ton less. Wild, no? The R1T needed 104 feet, which is still rather good. But 96 feet? Deeply impressive.
As for our figure-eight test, a 1,600-foot max handling course, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid ran it in 22.6 seconds, a figure that’s more shocking than the braking distance. A 22.6-second time excellent for supercars. The Turbo S from above did it in 22.5 seconds, the GTS 22.4 seconds, whereas the Rivian (just for fun) needed 24.7 seconds.
