Porsche Panamera S Hybrid Review: Electric dreams

What we like:

The most economical Porsche ever

strong performance

luxurious interior

What we dislike:

Awkward looks

heft

Inside, the hybrid is just like any other Panamera models bar small detail changes like the ‘E-Power’ button on the centre console. The Panamera is a true four seater so only two of your mates can take the rear seats. The two rear occupants will be comfortably cocooned on the two individual seats at the rear whilst enjoying more than enough knee and headroom. Access to the boot is fantastic thanks to the wide opening hatch. Boot space is pretty impressive and if required, the rear seat backs can tumble down to further increase load carrying capacity. With the hybrid system’s batteries neatly tucked under the boot floor and only the stereo’s sub-woofer taking up any of the load area, the Panamera suffers from less packaging compromises when compared to the Cayenne hybrid.

Up front, an electrically adjustable seat that not only looks good but also is also both comfortable on long drives and supportive in the corners greets the driver. The dashboard features the trademark Porsche hooded instrument binnacle with the rev counter taking centre stage and a rising centre console design. The latter features a myriad of switches that look like they came off a Vertu mobile phone’s. The sea of switches around the gear lever look a tad messy and not so intuitive to use at first but closer scrutiny will reveal that the switches are logically clustered according to their functions – switches to alter the car’s dynamic settings for example, are grouped on the area below right of the gear lever. Overall build quality is exemplary – Perceived luxury and quality in Porsches have improved by a quantum leap since the introduction of the 997 911 models seven years ago.

The new Panamera S Hybrid and the Cayenne S Hybrid will be joined by the 918 hybrid hypercar when the latter appears in production form in a couple of years’ time. While Porsche’s first hybrid, the Cayenne S Hybrid needs some convincing, the brand’s second stab at a part gasoline part electric model in the form of the Panamera S Hybrid is certainly a much more successful effort. Average Joe will find that a hybrid Porsche won’t be that much of a surprise at all in time to come.

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai Photos by Yang and Raymond Lai