Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

With the success of last year's Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid (based on the second-generation Porsche Cayenne SUV), Porsche raises up the green ante by introducing a second hybrid model and this time, it will be based on the Panamera, Porsche's first premium sedan.

The Porsche Panamera S Hybrid uses the same Panamera architecture but with the added hybrid ability to make it the ultimate high-performance hybrid designed and engineered in Leipzig, Germany. (Sorry Infiniti M Hybrid, but the Panamera S Hybrid is deserved to be the high-performance hybrid)

The new Panamera Hybrid is powered with the 3.0 litre V6 supercharged engine, capable of releasing 380PS/5500rpm worth of power, 580Nm/1000rpm worth of torque and a 288V electric motor that releases 34kW of power output. With the motor and engine powered, this hybrid is highly unstoppable, it can tear down the Infiniti M Hybrid by whatever means necessary. The top speed of the Panamera S Hybrid is 270km/h while the Infiniti M Hybrid goes for about 250km/h. However, there's a twist; when compared on a 0-100km run, the Infiniti M Hybrid scored 5.5 seconds while the Panamera S Hybrid scored .5 seconds more but whatever.

In terms of fuel consumption, the Panamera S Hybrid consumes 7.1 Liter/100 km combined while the Infiniti M Hybrid consumes 7.0 Liter/100 km combined. It's a shame that a 1L/100km difference made the Infiniti M Hybrid more fuel efficient than the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid.

The 8-speed Tiptronic S seems to be a handy transmission offered on the Panamera Hybrid but even when you shift it to Manual Mode, it seems to be more stressful like the Lexus ISF, which also has an 8-speed transmission. It would be nice to drop a few gears to make the Panamera Hybrid fun to drive but 8 gears wouldn't been a good preference and it could ended up being a total nonsense but still it will do whatever it can for the Panamera S Hybrid to bring compensation to the drivers.

My Comment:
I would kindly take back the words I said. I would still prefer the Asian-American Infiniti M Hybrid over the German-made Porsche Panamera Hybrid because of the time lapsed at the 0-100km, the fuel economy, and the emissions but if I'm bored, I would just give the Panamera Hybrid a try.

The Porsche Panamera Hybrid is the second Porsche hybrid car since the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid.

Photo: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.