Panamera 4 E-Hybrid: The Car I Should’ve Bought?
This Panamera E Hybrid is one of the best sports sedans I've ever had the chance to live with. Yes, I said sports sedan. Don't let the modest badging of this Panamera 4 fool you. This is very much a Porsche sports car. And in this generation, it's helped by the fact that it's a plug-in hybrid rather than it being a massive negative like it was in the previous Panameas. This G3 Panamera is one of the lightest, most advanced plug-in hybrids that you can get today, making this car agile, fast, and this particular car has that amazing active ride suspension, giving it noticeable levels of body control. So, let's go back home and allow me to show you just how Porsche have made the plug-in hybrid so much better than it was. that that feature of the active ride suspension never gets old. Now, there is a ton of nitty-gritty. Like I said, the Panamera hybrids previously not really convincing as daily cars, let alone being convincing as proper Porsche performance cars. But this new generation has seen huge advancements in every single area to make them not just convincing as daily partners, but potentially the best versions of this particular car that you can buy. So, we're going to go through all those details. We're also going to go through the other Panameraas that are available in the range because there are a lot of them and the rivals that make this car a little bit problematic as well. So, so many cool things to talk to you about. So, dive in with me and let's check out just how good this new Panamera 4 Hybrid really is. Jingle balls, jingle, sorry, jingle bells, bells, guys. Welcome back to RBR and to our oldest partner who are Manscaped. The only people who care about your balls as much as I do. So guys, Manscaped are our oldest partner because I think we all resonate as modern men with this idea of looking and feeling great everywhere to give us that feeling of confidence no matter what we're doing or who we are with. And in this season of gift giving and finding great deals, how about finding a great deal and giving yourself a gift with this performance package 5.0 Ultra? And it starts with their Hero product. This is the Lawn Mower 5.0 Ultra. And it's special because it doesn't just come with one head, it comes with two. Your first one, which is the trimmer blade, you can adjust the lengths in it. And this cuts thicker, longer hairs to do your stage one of your trimming. Once that's done, and you want that baby skin, fresh close shave like finish, you put on the foil blade. In addition to that, within this you get an LED light with different temperatures to help you light up where it's more difficult to shave. You can use it in the shower as well because these are waterproof and they both have skin safe technology to stop from those nicks and cuts that you would get elsewhere. My other favorite thing is it's USBC so you're not getting ripped off with other silly chargers like other brands do. There's a travel lock so it doesn't suddenly turn on and you've got LED indicator on the front so it doesn't suddenly give you a surprise of turning off at the wrong time. So really the hero product that's then supported by the crop soother for your post shave and the crop preserver so you are smelling great and feeling fresh everywhere. And that's not all. In this package you also get the weed whacker 3.0 Pro with its interchangeable heads for getting rid of your nose hairs, your ear hairs, trimming the eyebrows. Again, it's usable in the water, in the shower as well. And it doesn't end there. We get two more gifts in this package, which is why I said it's a great package. The shed 2.0 travel bag to store everything in and to travel with, and the boxes 2.0 to package yourself in. So, like I said, the ultimate package for your personal hygiene this holiday season. And it's the season of deals, so I got you a great deal. RBR15 will get you a straight 15% off, free international shipping at manscape.com. Just use RBR15. And guys, just a huge thanks to you guys for supporting our older sponsor and for taking care of yourselves as well and for taking care of RBI. It's hugely appreciated. Now, let's get back to the car. So, guys, this is your third generation Panamera or G3 Panamera. Now, before we dive into the nitty-gritty of this car, and there's an absolute ton of amazing Porsche innovations to show you, let's just have a slow clap for Porsche GB Press team on what is an immaculate specking exercise with this car. Just look at this Panamera. Montego blue, which is now what they call a legendary color. Looks absolutely gorgeous on this body. Silver wheels, blackened window trims, black exhausts, and inside another level with the black and cream interior with gold neodym details and wood trim. Amazing guys. So guys, this is your third generation Panamera. And in typical Porsche fashion, while it looks like a mild facelift, and in some ways it is, this is the first Panamera hybrid that I think deserves that illustrious badge. And that sounds really harsh, but when we look at it in the cold, harsh reality and look at our previous versions, they seem like pretenders wearing the badge because they were more of a technology showcase. But in the end, early adopters ended up suffering because they didn't provide that Porsche experience. Let's look at the first ever one, which was in our original series G1 in the facelift. And this had a laughable 20 mi range from a really small 9 kW battery. It was less powerful than our Panamera S at the time. It cost the same as the brilliant GTS and all for the privilege of having another 285 kg added to the car's weight with nothing really to counter that. Our G2 improved things a little bit when it came to the battery, which was a bit larger, the range, which was a bit better, and the power that was a bit better as well, and the facelift of the G2 helped as well, but still nowhere near as compelling as the IC versions of G2. It did sell really well. 60% of UK sales were the six-cylinder hybrids, but probably because this was more of an accountant, tax benefit, government pleasing exercise than it was something that would really appeal to Porsche enthusiasts like you and me. But now G3 Panamera is a different game all together. And let's first start with the design, okay? Why it looks like a mild facelift to me a huge glow up. I absolutely love every element of this car, particularly the front end that is now so much more angular and aggressive, which much wider front intakes, even in the standard body. Sports design package gets even more aggressive with that front bumper. But I really like the standard one, and I love the lights. I think they're some of the best lights that Porsche do at the moment, being really angular and quite aggressive looking. The side is the best that Panamera has ever looked with that revised roof line and a huge choice of awesome wheels. now and you go to the rear and it is lovely with a lot of elements of even 992.2 911 now that you can see within the bumper and our light bar with really really strong Porsche DNA throughout the entire design. Then our main topic which is technology and thanks to the huge shift in focus to EVs during this period where we saw huge leaps in the technology for batteries and motors plug-in hybrids have reaped the benefits of those better technologies and we can see that immediately in this new generation of Panameas. Let's start with the battery which is so much bigger now at 25 kW and it's still packaged in the same size sitting in the rear. And this now of course gives you so much more range rather than the range sitting in the 30s. We are talking 57 miles which gives you now finally a good reason to start taking that weight penalty compared to before. And then you look at the boot in this case which still really good despite the fact that the battery is sitting right there. The packaging they've nailed it and lots of space thus in a hatchback like this. That battery then pairs with an electric motor that sits within our 8-speed dual clutch PDK and rather than sitting in its own housing, it sits within there to to save weight. That's moved from water cooling to oil cooling. So, it could be more powerful more of the time. And boy, is it more powerful compared to G2 which was 136 PS additional. This gives 190 PS more power. And that's like a 40% increase, which is absolutely brilliant. And then that motor supports our engine lineup which consists of either a V8 or our V6 like we have today. And in this case, it's the lovely 2.9 L V6 which has seen a number of updates in order to be more powerful uh including increased boost pressure. And this for the first time comes with an optional lightweight sports exhaust system that you can get for around about £25,000. This car doesn't have it, but I did get a chance to experience this on the Spain test drive. So have a listen to this. So the combined output this whole system is 470 PS 650 Newton meters and a 0 60 or 3.9 seconds on sports chroner. And of course, you have the range of 57 miles and a weight figure that is surprisingly lightweight for this end of the market in plug-in hybrids of around about 2.2 tons. Remember, something like the M5 is around about 2.5. So, very impressive in that regard. And the other thing that's super impressive to me is how much progress we've made in 10 years from the original to this one. We've seen the increase in power of over 50 PS. We've almost tripled the battery capacity. We've almost tripled the range. And we've almost tripled the charging speed as well. And that's all been really happening in this G3 generation, like the majority of it, which is why it's so compelling. Now, this 4E hybrid, I think, will be the pick of the bunch again when it comes to sales because it has that really good level of performance, but at a at a decent price. If you want more power, go to the 4S, which uses the exact same electric output, but the engine is more powerful. And similarly, you want more power again just go to the V8s where again the engine is even more powerful. But the hybrid system and in fact the suspension is exactly the same. And suspension is a hugely important topic particularly for the hybrids. And you'll understand why. First let's talk about the standard one which is pretty much one of the best in the market already. And this is their two-chamber, two valve PASM air suspension, which has a two- valve damper system that controls rebound and compression, and it has a really good breadth of both comfort and sporty driving. That by itself was brilliant. But Porsche went a few stages further, like generations ahead, and created this insane active ride control suspension that literally takes this car both to S-Class levels of refinement and at the same time motorsport levels of body control. Now, this is a e-hybrid only option because the standard Panameas can't take it. It relies on the car's high voltage setup in order to power this hydraulic network, which is incredibly advanced in this car. And the stars of the show are the active dampers at each wheel. And these use a two valve technology for both compression and rebound, but they also have their own hydraulic pump at each wheel. And the amazing part is how these pumps can control the flow and the volume in order to help each wheel push and pull of its own regard. What does that mean? Let me show you practically. I tested this out using a phone when I went to the press drive of the Turbo and the Standard 4 in Seville in Spain and you are able to control the car in ways that you would not be able to believe. and in an absolute instant. It is genuinely incredible to behold and in ways generally no rival can even come close to and of course allows you to do silly tricks like this. Now, here I am in a Panamera E Hybrid and we're going to go over a very rough and bumpy road. Now, watch how the system reacts up to 13 times per second, smoothing out every single imperfection but keeping the body impossibly level for the passengers. And the result is nothing less of astonishing. But it's not just for comfort. Under acceleration, it can stop the nose from lifting. Under braking, it can keep the front end from diving. Now, just imagine the body control that this can exert when you're driving faster down a B-roll or on a track. Now, that active suspension, while great, is a 7,000 plus pound option, which is going to be restrictive for most people. But look at the results. Whereas previously Porsche used an all IC Panamera to set the Nurburg Ring record, this time to break AMG's record, they used this exact active system in the Turbo SE hybrid driven by Lask and they did an amazing lap of 7 minutes and 24 seconds on the ring. Porsche now showing also confidence within their hybrid Panamera to allow it to be the flagship and the top dog. And please note, no other rival has yet tried to set a lap record with their hybrid V8 cars. And I suspect they won't because they simply won't be able to handle like the Panamera does with this suspension. So truly, the Panamera hybrid range has come a huge, huge way from the original days and now it joins a really extended Panamera lineup. We start with the IC only versions starting at around about 89K for the standard Panamera. You can then get the Panamera 4 or the ICU versions top out now at the GTS with this pure V8 and around about 500 horsepower which could be a really awesome car that I'm looking forward to driving. Then we have our hybrid lineup which consists of like we said two V6s and two V8s. We start with our car today, the four the 4S and then the V8. Do check out my turbo e-hybrid review because that was an incredible car and we had so much fun at the launch. But this is where the problem begins, and that is namely to do with pricing. Let's look at our 4S, which is a good midpoint, right? But it's at 110K when the 717 horsepower V8 new M5 is at 111K. And this is going to be problematic for some people. The closest V8 in the Porsche range is 150,000 plus in that turbo. And things don't look much better for the V6s that start at 99K for just 470PS. But then you look at something like AMG's E53 with the inline 6 at 612 PS again problematic. But when you speak to Porsche, it doesn't feel like they think this is in the same category. They feel this is more of a sports car being much lighter than those, which is fair point. And secondly, they see it as their executive option, the only one that they have at Porsche. I mean, just look at today's car. This has got over £43,000 worth of options on top of the base price. Okay, but this car has things in that options list that those cars simply cannot match at all. Let me show you some of them. Now, when I was clapping with regards to this car, it wasn't just to do with the exterior. The interior that Porsche Press have done in this is absolutely stunning. First, this general warm combination with the black and the cream interior, but then it's the options that the rivals just can't give you where this car stands out and you kind of understand why it sits an echelon higher. For example, we have in the back the individual seats. These are a special option. Individual rear seats, eightway adjustable electrically, and you have the screen in the middle. These seats are massaging both on the front and on the rear seats. Front and rear seats are both heated and ventilated as well. There's electric roller binds for all of the rear windows. We've got full zone climate control. So for the rear passengers, quite the executive space. Then for the driver, again, lots of options within this particular specification. We've got Porsche ENO drive, so the car will drive itself. The HD matrix lights I'll show you on the road because they're incredible. We've got the 3D Burmese sound system which with this neodyime gold trim on the speaker covers just looks so so gorgeous. This car is so well built. The quality and the materials are on another level. So yes, you have the neodym gold trim in our handles in our steering wheel. Then you've got the eucalyptus wood again looking so lovely and such a wonderful contrast to the rest of the technology within this car. all setting off perfectly against the black and cream leather and then the ambient lighting as it comes on when it gets darker. It's just wonderful. This car also brought in something that all other new Porsches use now, which is a wireless charging pad that also cools your phone, which is so important these days. Now, the PCM system in this car, it's a bit older now. It's not the new Android based one, but it still works really well. Um, and is very, very similar in that regard. But generally, I always say this, this interior is the best interior I've sat in, probably since the last time I sat inside a Panamera interior. These cars have always been built like tanks on the inside. The material quality has always been head and shoulders above the rivals. And it still absolutely is. And you can understand then why Porsche terms this genuinely a stage above because you get so much more bang for buck and it just feels like you're sitting in a much more premium car. So, a very S-Class 7 series type spec if you want it to be. If you don't, I speced one up at around about 109K, which is looking very similar to this car with the sports exhaust system and none of those extra luxury trinkets that we had inside. So, it really shows you how this car can kind of suit both type of lifestyles depending on where you want to take it, which again those rivals can't do. But that makes it sound like just because this is a more executive spec, it's not a samurai sword in the right hands. It absolutely is. Let's go out and have a drive. As a car review, it's hard to remember how each different car makes you feel, particularly after it's been a span of time. And it's been 2 years since I drove this active suspension Panamera. And oh my god, it's so good. There's truly nothing out there like it as well, which which is why I couldn't remember how good it was. But look, we are going to start with a launch control. As I said, I'm adamant that this is a performance car and this is my baseline to do a launch. So, let's see how the car does. It's one of the cleanest launches I ever experience when it comes to launch controls is in Porsches. Unbelievable traction. So, a 0 to 60 of 4 seconds, which is solid for a car with just 470 PS. Let's be honest, that's not huge performance figures. And we mentioned the E53, and it's so close to that car's figure with its, you know, late 500s horsepower. So, that is impressive, but that's not where this car feels quick. This car feels quick because of just how well it handles. The active suspension is nothing short of magical. The way I would describe it to you is let's say you're doing these really exaggerated turns as you do in B-rolls or track driving. Normally as you're driving around, you would be flung into a certain part of your seat or your passengers would. In this car, the opposite happens. The car kind of stabilizes and you stay where you are almost like it's defying the laws of physics because it kind of is. So, as you go fast into a corner, the car builds force against the body roll and it keeps you upright. And it's a weird feeling at first, but when you get used to it, the car feels unbelievably agile, particularly for a plug-in hybrid, you then begin to compare it to things like the M5 and everything else of that Elk you've driven. And it's on another level. And yes, it's that much lighter as well. that all of these things compound even in a base level car with just 470 PS into just a different experience, an experience that's so much higher. Lots of car manufacturers like to claim that their developments are revolutionary. It's not always the case, is it? But this system is revolutionary to turn a heavy car into such a nimble one. And then the great thing about Porsche is when they have a car like this, that's the base model, they don't underengineer the other basic things. And I'm not just talking about the suspension. I'm talking about everything else that makes up the dynamics of a car. Whether that's the way that the diff reacts, the all-wheel drive system, the steering, Porsche steering, best in the market. I always say they are so good at great steering feel. This car has rear wheel steering. I think you probably don't need it. It's good for daily stuff. Do you need it for dynamics? I'm not convinced, but when it's there, good god is this car feeling even more nimble and fast. And then this V6, it's one of my favorite six-cylinders on the market. I much prefer it to the inline sixes out there. Uh it's just such a quick to react engine. It feels so much more powerful than it should. Um but when it's paired to the electric motor, it's even more formidable because you don't get any lag at all. That's assisted then by a great gearbox, the PDK dual clutch gearbox. So much faster than the torque converters that the rivals use. It is your typical Porsche. You tap, it shifts just as it should be. And it's a great partner. The only let down here, and it could be fixed with an option, is the sound. You just can't hear the V6. And this is the only part I think where Porsche GB Press lost a bit of marks is they didn't spec the sports exhaust. Now, I experienced that when I was out in Seville on the Panamera launch in the standard Panamera 4. And that exhaust system was fantastic. You really got a burble out the car. It's kind of shades of RS4, which of course the engine is shared, so no surprise there. But 100% you want some emotion, you have to tick that box or find a car with it because it sounds really great. And I'll say from what I drove of that Panamera 4 with the standard suspension with the dual valve dampers, it was also very dynamic. So don't be afraid that just because it hasn't got the active dampers, it's not going to handle well. It will. And overall, just very reminiscent to me of that Pure IC Panamera 4, which is great. Look at these new hybrids. They are fast. They handle fantastically well. They remind you of the IC car. And then you have the added benefit, which of course is the hybrid side. Let's talk about the hybrid side. You've got hybrid mode here with a number of different driving options that I'll go into in a sec. But the range that we're getting at the moment in the colder months is around about 45 miles. And in the summer then you'll see the mid-50s as I've seen tracked with all plug-in hybrids. So that is a good usable amount. I've owned similar cars and I've done well over 60 70% of usage just on electric on that type of range. So that is genuinely usable daily. Now the Panamera adds to that with some extra modes which really helps. So when we go into hybrid you get the option of choosing for example the one that I like the most. It's e charge where when you're driving above 50 km an hour the engine will help recoup the battery up to 80% while you're on faster journeys say motorways etc. So when you come into the urban environments you'll be able to use the electric power more which is great and recuperation is a really key point in plug-in hybrids. You've also got the ability to go into e-hold mode, which will hold your battery where it is, or you can go into full e- power, which is just electric driving, and that's really great for inner city and when you don't want to be using the engine at all. I've actually used it an absolute ton. Now, another thing that people put against the plugins is that they only work if you can charge at home, which is often true. have a Porsche have a PCS charging service that they offer which you get for 3 years if you buy one of these cars new and you get really good charging out and about with this service all with fixed way more affordable pricing than you would have as a normal public user and if you go to Porsche or Ionity even cheaper like almost like charging at home so that case becoming a little less strong that you need to have it at home if you do have it at home though I found it to be an absolute gamecher now of course this is such an executive spec. The other side of it is the comfort element. And that is again where the active suspension, as you saw running over those bumps in the test in Seville, how incredible the suspension is. And it translates in daily usage. The roads I film on here are some of the worst in the UK. And I can hear things. I cannot feel a singular thing in this car interior. It's incredible. And that's this bizarre duality of this car when you spec it this high. And yes, you have that seven grand option, but you've got the executive saloon side as well as the crazy samurai sword performance car side. It's the best of both worlds. Then we have a few more tricks up our sleeves like Porsche Eno drive where the car will literally just drive itself uh steer through the lanes and again it's another great comfort feature. And then something I found while driving at night which was incredible in the matrix LED headlights was how the lights would light up the lane in front of you almost like a carpet in front of you. Um particularly when you had ENO drive on and it's self-driving and then when you change lane the way that light carpet moves across. I've never seen anything like it and it's such a brilliant use of digital light and it really blew me away. So guys, yes it is expensive. Is it priced too high? Is the E53 and the M5 and those ilk of cars just much more attractive? If you're price sensitive, yes, I was price sensitive and I went for the E53 because I couldn't afford this car. If I could afford this car, I 100% would have gone for the Panamera E- Hybrid. I'm being honest about this. The fact remains, this car does not exist in the same segment as those cars. It is its own segment, the Panamera. It is this super saloon coupe executive segment that kind of exists in a strange place in between the traditional midsize and appetite, but is stranger and more wonderful still because it's also still a proper sports thing. The only other car to ever be in that space was AMG's GT63 SE performance four-door coupe. And that is a car that apparently is on the way out to be replaced just by an EV. So the Panamera is the king of its class and the class below and even the class of love when it comes to dynamics. To me, it's just the ultimate allrounder super sedan and luxury sedan. There's really nothing that can match the breadth of ability of this car even in this modest base level Panamera 4. And as a plug-in car now to help you save some of those costs and spend less on fuel, it's a great daily car to live with. Personally, I would love to own one, whether that was V6 or V8. V8 would be an absolute dream. But this is one of those cars that yes, I do think it's overpriced, but despite that, I can understand because of how special it is or how special it could be after you finish specking it. So guys, I hope you've enjoyed this full review of the Panamera E-Hybrid, a sports sedan that is absolutely Porsche, and I should say a type of Panamera that is finally a proper Porsche. If you've enjoyed this episode, please do like and subscribe, and I'll see you guys on RBR next time.
Thanks to MANSCAPED for sponsoring today’s video! Get 15% OFF your entire order this holiday season with promo code “RBR15” at https://manscaped.com!
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Is this finally the Panamera hybrid that is a real Porsche? And did I buy the wrong hybrid performance car?!
This is the third-generation #porsche #Panamera, and for the first time, I genuinely believe the base Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is a proper Porsche sports saloon — not a tax exercise, not an early-adopter compromise, and not a badge pretending to be something it isn’t. Underneath the modest badging sits one of the most advanced plug-in hybrid drivetrains on sale today, combined with technology that Porsche has never put into a road car before. And when you spec it like this — with Active Ride Suspension — it becomes something genuinely special.
In this video, I’ve lived with the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid to see whether Porsche has finally cracked the hybrid formula. The result is a car that feels lighter, more agile, and more convincing than any Panamera plug-in before it — and in many ways, more complete than both ICE and EV rivals.
This new generation has taken a huge leap forward. A vastly larger battery with real-world electric range, a much more powerful electric motor integrated into the PDK gearbox, and a revised 2.9-litre V6 that now supports a lightweight sports exhaust. Add Porsche’s revolutionary Active Ride Suspension — a £7,000 option that delivers motorsport-level body control — and you end up with a hybrid that doesn’t feel like a compromise at all.
See the V8 full video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pFFHJ-jVyE
It also raises a bigger question. With pricing creeping ever closer to M5s, AMG E-Class hybrids, and even Porsche’s own V8 models… is this the smartest Panamera you can buy — or simply too expensive for what it is?
In this video, I break it all down, we’ll cover:
Why the G3 Panamera hybrid is completely different to G1 and G2
Real-world electric range and daily usability
The new 190PS electric motor integrated into the PDK
How Active Ride Suspension actually works — and why no rival has anything like it
Ride, handling and steering feel in the base car
Interior quality, executive-saloon spec and configurability
Hybrid driving modes, charging behaviour and winter range
How it compares on price to M5, AMG E53 and V8 Panameras
Whether this really is the pick of the Panamera range
Here’s the Porsche code for how I would spec one: PTNDZNU7
This car quietly does a lot of things better than almost anything else in its class. The question is whether Porsche has priced it beyond its natural audience — or whether this really is the thinking person’s Panamera.
Let me know what you’d buy!
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