The 2024 Porsche Panamera is easily overshadowed by Porsche‘s better selling SUVs, it’s more exciting sports cars and its more forward-looking sedan, the TaycanThe . PanameraThe car’s body style, dimensions and handling also stand in stark contrast to other sedans in its high price range, which are large, comfortable limousines like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-ClassIt’s a different kind of Porsche and a different kind of luxury sedan for sure.
But you know what? Different can be great. Wasn’t that Porsche’s modus operandi from the beginning? I mean, that damn engine was dangling out the back. If you want a regular luxury sedan, the Panamera clearly isn’t it. It’s a Porsche. It looks like a Porsche, and it drives like a Porsche. Unfortunately, there are a few areas where this updated Panamera has strayed from the Porsche norm. I’ll address them below, but overall, my time in what is almost the base Panamera was a delight.
While I was given the opportunity to updated Panamera E-Hybrid versions in Germany this yearthis was a 2024 Porsche Panamera 4, meaning it had the base 2.9-liter turbocharged V6 good for 348 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. As the 4 in the name implies, it had all-wheel drive. The base price is $108,550, but a vigorous campaign of checking the configurator resulted in an as-tested price of $140,230. Ka-ching.
Air suspension is the work of magicians.
My test car didn’t have the crazy Active Ride Suspension I tested in Germany, which does things you wouldn’t expect from a car. The standard air suspension, on the other hand, does a masterful job of delivering a lovely ride (the tasteful and reasonably large 20-inch Panamera Design wheels on my test car no doubt contributed to that) and impeccable body control. There’s a series of undulations at the bottom of my nearest motorway on-ramp that would confuse most suspensions, but the Panamera just sliced through them. Insanely impressive. I’d stick with the standard suspension.
Wait, this is the slow one?
The Panamera 4 hits 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. And remember, this is the base car. The 4 shaves a tenth of a second off the time of the base rear-wheel-drive car, but I’d imagine that’s due to the increased grip of launching off four tires instead of two. At no point did I think, “You know, this seems slow.”
I also can’t say that I would want or need four-wheel drive.
Aside from the tenth of a second, I don’t see any reason not to go rear-wheel drive. I live in Southern California and I seriously doubt that removing the front axle from the used car would hinder the experience. Less weight would probably improve it.
Not a great performance from PDK.
This is the first time I’ve been disappointed by Porsche’s dual-clutch automated manual transmission (PDK). At times I had to put the car in Sport mode to wake the transmission up and prompt it to downshift a gear – too often it was a gear or two further north than I’d like. In the mountains I found even Sport less than up to the task, and my test car lacked Porsche’s Sport+ mode, which generally removes any thought of using the paddle shifters.
By the way, I couldn’t figure out how to keep the transmission in manual mode. I would tap the paddle to downshift, but it would eventually shift up by itself. This despite the fact that I was only using manual mode to control my speed downhill. Apparently I had to hold the shifter down for three seconds, which is not exactly normal.
Wow, that one steers really well.
A Porsche with superior steering, that’s the norm. Notice that there are no multiple modes. Notice that it’s not unpleasant to steer at low parking lot speeds. Notice that it connects you beautifully to the car, whether you’re pulling out of that parking space or tearing through a canyon road.
Also a compliment for the steering wheel itself: it feels great in the hand and is mounted noticeably vertically, which is another typical Porsche element.
Drive elements now on touchscreen.
Now for the bad news. Anyone who complained about all the buttons that used to adorn Porsche’s center consoles should go sit in a corner and think about what they’ve done. Instead of quickly tapping a button or even a touch-sensitive icon to soften the suspension or, in another car, change the exhaust note, you now have to click-click-click via a touchscreen. Worse yet, the touchscreen doesn’t recreate those old buttons. It looks more like a drop-down menu on a website. This is not in the spirit of Porsche. If the center console’s buttons not goodthen at least consider a steering wheel controller like Mercedes-AMG has for finer adjustments of the driving mode.
Touchscreen air vents are ridiculous.
This generation of Panamera still has touchscreen-controlled air vents, which is still ridiculous.
“Oh, for the love of…”, my wife said when I showed her how to change the airflow in the car.
I’m sure Porsche already knows this, as the vents were not carried over to models introduced later.
The wireless charging station is good, but the lid of the box is bad.
By moving the gearshift to a tactile tab next to the instrument panel and consolidating the climate controls, Porsche freed up space in the center console for a deep, easily accessible wireless charging tray. That’s good. Unfortunately, the tray covering it is flimsy and struggled to close smoothly. Not good enough, Porsche.
Piano black finish looks cheap.
Also not good enough: the piano black finishes on the center console. There’s a lot of it, and I can’t imagine any that look better than what’s on my wife’s center console. Be Niro which costs $95,000 less than this Panamera. In short, it just looks cheap.
Worse yet, that shiny black rim constantly reflected the sun into my eyes (top right)
Barrique Red Club Leather appears to be a $5,920 option.
In contrast to the piano black, the Barrique Red Club Leather option on my test car looked, felt, and smelled like… well, not a million bucks, but the $5,920 it costs. It’s on almost every surface that isn’t piano black or matching Barrique Red plastic. The intricate cross-stitching on the dash is a nice touch. This is clearly an expensive option, but it looks expensive.
This is probably the most comfortable back seat ever.
It’s not the roomiest. I’d probably struggle to sit behind my 6-foot-3 self, but the Individual Comfort Power Rear Seats in this test car are probably the most comfortable rear seats I’ve ever sat in. And no, not in a comfortable couch-like way, but in exactly the same way as the Panamera’s front chairs are probably the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in. They’re snug, supportive, and yes, they’re adjustable to perfectly suit your body. One of the adjustments is the chair’s tilt function, which increases the support under your thighs for those with longer legs. There’s even a powered thigh extension and of course, a powered recline to keep you relaxed for the long haul.
While my Panamera luggage test proved that the old Sport Turismo is a more functional body, it’s hard to argue with this Panamera’s capabilities as a four-person long-distance cruiser. The driver will be happy, and so will his passengers.