2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid: A Tale of Two Reviews
Tech reviewer and car guy agree: Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is great!
As car enthusiasts, we tend to notice the differences when we read reviews from different publications. Reading a review from mainstream press might miss a lot of the nitty gritty, but provide a good overall opinion. And those car journalists will give you the dirty details about every nook and cranny, giving an exhaustive look at a vehicle.
When Porsche invited journalists to take a look at the new Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (we’re going to call it the “E-Hybrid” from here on out), two reviews stood out as showing the different audiences that Porsche is hoping to appeal to with the new E-Hybrid. The sedan uses its hybrid technology, not to improve fuel efficiency (though it does that), but to improve performance. With the 100kwH electric motor assisting the V8, the E-Hybrid pushes out 680 horsepower. This is enough to intrigue any car guy. Plus, with all the technology inside the vehicle, car enthusiasts might not be the only people interested.
The Verge is a technology website, devoted to talking about all those gadgets we carry around. While they have written about cars in the past, they are not a car news site, by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, reading Sean O’Kane’s review of the E-Hybrid was a joy. He is car-savvy enough to know what he was talking about, but you get the feeling that he just loved the feeling of driving very fast in a $200,000 vehicle.
“The Turbo S E-Hybrid might look like it’s best suited to haul groceries, but it also absolutely hauls ass,” says O’Kane. “My time on the track was brief — 10 minutes or so — but the Turbo S E-Hybrid made it feel like the experience was happening in slow motion. It was so much more comfortable in a performance setting than I’d ever expect a Panamera to be. A four-door sedan that looks like a wagon shouldn’t be this good on a track.”
‘On a country road with no painted center line, I exhilarated in the feel of tucking in the Panamera through one turn after another. Precise steering and balance, made for a fun time.’
On the other hand, you have Wayne Cunningham, editor at CNET’s Road Show, who has driven his fair share of luxury, high-performance vehicles. In his thoughts on the E-Hybrid, Cunningham was equally impressed with his time behind the wheel.
“On public roads, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid felt comfortable, solid and heavy,” says Cunningham. “On a country road cutting across Vancouver Island with no painted center line, I exhilarated in the feel of tucking it in through one turn after another. Precise steering and balance, coupled with a suspension that kept it from wallowing, made for a fun time.”
While Porsche was mainly there to show how well this sedan performs in places you wouldn’t expect, like on a track, both reviewers found time to admire the interior as well. Particularly, they both seemed to enjoy the infotainment center and the 12-inch touch display.
“I particularly like the console panel, with haptic touch areas for quick access to car and infotainment functions,” says Cunningham.
O’Kane goes into a little more detail saying, “The centerpiece of that is a 12.3-inch touchscreen located in the center dash. It’s tack sharp, full of fluid animations, and, most importantly, refreshingly responsive. To wit, the screen is surrounded by infrared sensors that notice when you lift your hand. When this happens, the menu buttons peek out from the edges of the screen, saving you a step and some all-important seconds that otherwise would have been spent being distracted from the road.”
‘A four-door sedan that looks like a wagon shouldn’t be this good on a track.’
At the end of the day, both reviewers agreed that the E-Hybrid is a great car, but it has a hefty price tag. So, who is this car geared towards?
“Despite the 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid being a hybrid, fuel economy is not this car’s raison d’etre, and certainly not a concern of those that can afford it. No, this variation of the Panamera is all about its 680 horsepower, not only for on-road performance but also a boon for the type A-plus boaster,” says Cunningham. Clearly, he thinks those “type A-plus boasters” will eat this up.
“If you’re a rabid Porsche fan, and you want to drive something that reflects what the company’s doing in the motorsport world, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is one of the few ways to do that,” says O’Kane. One would definitely have to be an enthusiast to fork over $200,000 for the vehicle, for sure.
So, with the impressive power under the hood and the insane amount of technology throughout the vehicle, the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid is a car that makes tech guys and car guys weak in the knees. Hopefully, the E-Hybrid can appeal to those with the right size checkbooks, as well.
