The 2021 Panamera Configurator went active yesterday on the Porsche website. A lot of enthusiasts are more interested in the Taycan but Panamera for me. I am replacing my 2012 Mercedes S550 (W221) The Mercedes is a fantastic car (158,000 miles) but the styling of the 2021 S Class is tragic. Especially the interior.

 

It's been live for a week in this area. The S class is quite different from the Panamera in terms of how it goes about it's business, both would likely be called uber sedans by most but the S favors luxury while the Panamera leans towards sport. More than the numbers is the feel while driving that I'm referring to when saying that; the S class doesn't encourage hooliganism the way the Panamera does or at least not to the same extent, This is a long way of going about saying that if the S class was just the ticket you may find the Porsche to be a little bit more "on" than you might like. For some it's what makes the Porsche magic, for others performance should be available but otherwise stay out of the sight.

The Taycan is another fish altogether. It's smaller, enough so that it doesn't have the ability to get stuff done the way a larger sedan does and that's a factor for me. The Panny is my SUV, crossover, get stuff done, call it what you want, daily driver car. Then you've got the charging, I don't want to live around car charging, ever. I need a substantial range with an EV, enough so that I never have to do anything but plug it in when I get home. Taycan cant deliver that. The interior is another issue; it's way down market from the Panamera and I don't like that at all. An 80k interior in a car that costs 200k is not acceptable to me. And yeah, I know the base car is going to bring it down under 100k but even that one with the options I want would be 150 and I still wouldn't buy it because it's a dog by EV standards. It feels odd to say it but I like the Taycan and might be a buyer were it not for what I see as serious flaws of the deal breaker variety.

 

I am very pleased the price on the GTS trim (and seemingly all trim) have stayed the same. I kind of want to consider a Taycan estate but it doesn't exist yet and wanting the Turbo S makes it much more expensive than the GTS pana I have a config for. Can't go wrong either way!

 

I really dislike the center computer screen (infotainment system) of the Taycan; I've spent time in three Taycans at dealerships now, and just find that computer system to be frustrating and limited. I think that the Panamera PCM screen is much better. With the new E-Hybrids having an 18-kWh battery pack now, it's more conducive to me to buy another Panamera E-Hybrid than to go Taycan (and I'm eagerly awaiting the Cross Turismo version with better rear visibility, better rear headroom, and better cargo space, but it may still be a hard sell to get me to buy a CT over another Sport Turismo).

 

The new 4S E-Hybrid has same combined HP / Torque as the outgoing Panny Turbo at a much lower base MSRP ... that stood out to me big time
The only question would be how does it drive compared

 

Same offer I gave in the other forums here - I work with a lot of dealerships - if anyone is looking to place a custom build order - ping me and I can loop you in with the GM that's doing the best discounts at that moment. As always I don't make anything from this - just trying to help rennlisters and have helped over a dozen in the 911 & Taycan boards last few weeks.

 

@amelen what sorts of discounts are you seeing on orders for the new 4S e-hybrid in Sport Turismo?

 

Haven't had anyone place any orders for the Panamera yet, if you have a build code I can circle it around the dealerships I work with and check.

 

Don’t like the smooth touch center console, really like switches better. Drove one when car in for warranty work and didn’t like that design. AT ALL. No feel, no intuitiveness. Adjusting mirrors was horrible experience. Progress sucks lol.

 

Another thing I noticed is that the plain 4 E-Hybrid actually seems to be a little cheaper (like $5K or so) in the 2021 configuration compared to the 2020.

 

The pricing gives a man the impression they're trying to push buyers away from the gas models and into the hybrids.

 

I think it also has a lot to do with the incentives / tax breaks put forth by government in Europe .. it costs less for Porsche to make the Hybrid / EV's as opposed to the petrol cars where they get slammed with regulatory fees

 

Not just Europe. I can't remember exactly how it works, but they either have to pay per-vehicle emissions fees for non-electrics/hybrids or buy emissions credits from the likes of Tesla (where most of Tesla's "profit" comes from).

 

I just ordered a 2021 4S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo. April build and June delivery. Dealer gave us a $4,000 break on a $148,170 build.

 

Genuinely curious why you went toward the E-hybrid, is the extra weight and complexity worth it? What are the compelling features that helped you make your choice? I haven't looked too closely yet but also thinking about a Turismo