Porsche Panamera 4S Sport Turismo Fast Fleet test – 9000 miles in the hybrid V6 estate

Our Panamera, the snappily titled 4S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo, faced its toughest task during its last weeks with us when it was pressed into service as a photography car on 2022’s evo Car of the Year test. It’s a challenging week for the contenders, but the support vehicles are equally pushed to the limit of their capabilities, and when they’re in the hands of our photographers that also includes in the region of 100kg of kit being hauled around too. 

During that week AEE didn’t flinch. It chomped through the 300 miles to our base two-up and loaded to the gunwales and still returned mid-30s mpg, even with the last 20 miles driven with a little more spirit as we homed in on an end-of-journey cold beer. But it was throughout the week that it shone, its exceptional ride quality providing the perfect platform for car-to-car photography. ‘It’s the best car I’ve ever photographed from,’ enthused Andy Morgan. ‘Are you sure Porsche wants it back?’ 

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Its turbocharged V6 provided enough get-up-and-go to keep the finalists in sight (although when driven by a photographer it didn’t matter which supercar you were in, the Porsche’s tangerine rump was always disappearing over the horizon), its chassis was always predictable and surefooted, and the £1563 charged for the optional rear-axle steering was worth every penny. Had it been included in the test there’s every possibility it would have finished ahead of the SL55.

After living with Mercedes-AMG’s M177 V8-powered E63 S supersaloon, the expectations of running a plug-in hybrid as its replacement were mixed. In theory there would be fewer fuel stops, but the price saved at the pumps was going to be paid for on the road, wasn’t it? Yes and no. A plug-in hybrid is not a Porsche GT model, unless we’re talking 918 Spyder of course, but AEE had no pretensions of being an RS. Rather it’s the result of what happens when Porsche builds a do‑everything car for those who don’t want an SUV. 

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If you don’t have cause to chase a bunch of 2022’s very best performance cars around the country, it’s equally adept at carrying everything you would need for a family beach holiday without complaint from those onboard, or spending hours on soulless motorways with only yourself for company. Sinking into the driver’s seat guaranteed hours of calmness ahead. Interior space wasn’t to Mercedes E-class levels, but the quality was a league above and when it returned to Porsche with nearly 14,000 miles covered it still looked as fresh as when it arrived. 

A question mark for many, possibly the only one, hangs over the car’s powertrain and why you should bother having two power sources rather than just one. Which is a fair point when you consider the V8 GTS model only commands a £5000 premium over the £107,800 4S E-Hybrid. The former’s 473bhp is nearly 80bhp down on the combined 552bhp of six-cylinder petrol and 100kW electric motor, but the latter carries a 200kg weight penalty so the pair are neck and neck against the clock. There’s little in it in terms of how they drive, either. Which brings me back to the point that the Panamera isn’t a GT model. It’s not even on Carrera levels. Its remit isn’t to set a lap time, but to carry you quickly and effortlessly.

Without a home charger it would be unwise to go down the plug-in route, but with one you have the benefit of starting every journey with at least one full power supply. A fully charged Panamera means around 30 miles of guaranteed electric range, which when coupled to an energy recuperation system that’s constantly adding some kilowatts meant easily covering over 700 miles on each 80-litre tank of petrol in ‘normal’ driving – 160-mile office runs, 25-mile school and station runs, the day-to-day fetching and carrying. The first tank of superunleaded lasted over 900 miles, highlighting just how many short journeys we all actually do. 

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Over the 8948 miles I covered in six months the E-Hybrid returned a combined 37.3mpg, with nearly 30 per cent of those miles covered on electric power. Charging the battery would take just over three hours – the optional 7.2kW on-board AC charger (£536) is a must – and on a 7kW charger cost between 84p and £3.50, depending on the tariff. 

Hybrids had a bad start to life, returning single-digit mileage on electric power, taking a lifetime to charge by today’s standards and having poorly integrated electric and ICE powertrains. The benefits were hard to seek out and those early years damaged the hybrid’s reputation. Today, however, to be able to drive through urban areas on electric power alone, while knowing you can still cover several hundred miles without the stress of relying on the joke that is the UK charging network, means a plug-in hybrid offers a perfect blend. I didn’t think this flavour of Panamera would suit my needs, that the majority of journeys would result in a heavy battery being lugged around and providing no benefit whatsoever. How wrong I was. The 4S E-Hybrid is one of the most impressive models Porsche has offered, and is a car I miss more than I ever thought I would. 

This story was first featured in evo issue 306.