- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
2.9TT, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
243kW, 450Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (98) 9.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2021 Porsche Panamera review
With a fresh sport sedan in the Porsche range, is the Panamera's time up? Justin Narayan jumps behind the wheel to find out.
- Rear-wheel-drive entry model is fun
- Second-row space
- Hits those GT-car notes
- The Taycan genuinely makes the Panamera a hard sell
- Will require $20K of options to feel legitimate
- Boot is small for the size of vehicle
If you walk into a Porsche dealership wanting a sedan, the first call is deciding between a Panamera or Taycan.
The Porsche Panamera – once ground-breaking in 2009 as the brand's first four-door (plus a tailgate) passenger car – is now in its second generation. It was also recently facelifted, where it received more tech and bigger prices.
The other is equally as trailblazing. The Taycan is Porsche's first-ever electric vehicle, and happens to be a similarly sized four-door sedan too. It's been on sale in Australia since the start of 2021.
If your budget is sub-$200K, you're going to be looking at the entry points to either range. If we compare both, one is $47,200 cheaper. The same car continues to be better on paper, too, getting to 100km/h from a standing start two-tenths faster.
Here's the kicker – the quicker, cheaper one is fully electric. Given how bloody good the Taycan is, where does that leave the Panamera?
The range starts with our test car, simply titled the 2021 Porsche Panamera. It starts from $203,500 before on-roads, up $4000 versus last year's model. Sure, you can order a car with no fruit, pay your on-road fees and off you go, but the experience won't hit the mark. In order to instil a satisfactory amount of Porsche in your Porsche, you're going to have to apply the options book quite liberally, in my opinion.
Our car was fitted with $40,890 worth, with the whole list in the table below. While 21-inch wheels ($10,480) and GT Silver metallic paint ($7470) could be swapped out for more affordable choices, things like the sports exhaust ($7100), tinted LED Matrix headlights ($1040) and heated GT sports steering wheel ($1140) are musts in my book.
As a cheeky reminder, the cheapest Porsche Taycan starts from $156,300, leaving you plenty of cash to splurge and 'Porscheify' via the options list.
Back to the Panamera, however. Up from here, the range is strangely complex. There are eight other Panamera models offered in Australia, which brings the total range to nine. The other models put on money as quickly as they put on performance, with the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4 up next for $213,700, 4 Executive for $223,100, and 4 E-Hybrid costing $249,500.
From here things get stratospheric, with the Panamera GTS after $312,900, and the range-topping Turbo S E-Hybrid a whopping $426,500 – more than double our entry-level car. Competition for the Panamera outside of its own wheelhouse is slim, with cars like the Maserati Quattroporte and BMW 8 Series GT being likely alternatives.
At a glance | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
Price (MSRP) | $203,500 |
Options | 21-inch Panamera exclusive design sport wheels ($10,480), GT Silver metallic paint ($7470), sports exhaust system ($7100), Sport Chrono package ($3950), interior carbon package ($3420), thermally and noise-insulated privacy glass ($2850), 4+1 seats ($1750), heated GT sports steering wheel ($1140), tinted LED Matrix main headlights ($1040), Porsche crest on headrests ($950), ambient lighting with rear compartment lighting ($740) |
Price as tested | $244,390 |
Colour of test car | GT Silver metallic |
Rivals | Mercedes-AMG GT53 | Maserati Quattroporte | Audi RS 7 |
Inside
Sinking behind the wheel of a Porsche Panamera is a good feeling. The seating position is low in the hull, with stacks of adjustment offered by the standard-fit heated and cooled sports seats.
The same goes for the controls, with the wheel offering large amounts of height and telescopic adjustment. Our car was equipped with a heated 'GT' sports item, codeword for a more classic, thin-rimmed tiller. It's a personal favourite of mine and worth the $1140 expense it carries.
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There's a sense of being cocooned by the cabin, with both high door frames and an elevated centre console bolstering you from either side. It creates a narrowed arc of visibility for the driver, which will make first encounters with a Panamera feel daunting to some.
What's harder to fathom is the vast array of icons on that elevated centre console. It's especially the case if you've picked a bunch of options that add more, like the costly yet incredibly worthwhile sports exhaust. These icons are replacements for buttons, and powered by clever haptic and acoustic feedback that turns a flat piece of plastic into something more tactile.
Still, the arrangement of these button-replacing icons feels uncouth. For example, the suspension adjustment and traction-control icons are located on the passenger's side of the centre console, and not next to the driver, arguably where it should be.
In order to validate my thoughts, I compared a left-hand-drive cabin to a right-hand-drive one. The layout bugbears are merely hangovers from focusing on left-hand-drive cars over right. You'd expect the move to a touch-sensitive panel – devoid of physical buttons – means greater flexibility in layout, but apparently not.
Another questionable ergonomic decision is air vent adjustment now being controlled via the touchscreen. It means you have to faff around in the touchscreen to change the direction of air being blown at you. The Porsche Taycan also features a similar system, but ironically its dino-juice-powered brethren gets the more intuitive version of the two.
That's the worst of it, though, with the rest being A-grade material. Directly In front of the driver sits a fantastic gauge cluster uniting analogue with the digital. In the centre is a large, classic-looking tacho, which is flanked by a pair of customisable screens.
As for more basic amenities, there's a decent-sized pair of cupholders, a small covered storage area, narrow door bins, and a shallow armrest centre console complete with one USB-C port.
The second row is spacious, with a smart notch carved into the first-row seat backs and B-pillars allowing your knees to swing freely. It may sound minor, but it greatly assists ingress and egress.
Once in and sitting behind a front driver's seat adjusted to suit my 183cm-tall frame, space is fantastic for fully grown adults. There's more room on offer in the back of a Panamera than a Taycan, so if you're looking for a reason to justify the internal combustion engine, think about doing it for your kids.
Our car was optioned with a '4+1' seating arrangement, which prioritises comfort for the two outbound seats, but still leaves somewhat of a middle seat for emergency situations. If you're a family of four, or plan to never exceed this limit, it's the ideal configuration. The back row is extremely comfortable, with well-bolstered and raked seats that encourage you to sink in and relax – much like the first row.
Extras in the second row include a rear console with air vents, temperature control and buttons for operating the rear sunroof, two USB-C ports, a small storage tray, and even more air vents, this time in the side pillars.
If you're only two-up in the back, you can also fold down the secondary armrest to create a place to park your elbow and your drink. The 4+1 seating arrangement has another ace up its sleeve by offering a ski-flap behind the armrest too.
Boot space measured up at 467L, which is decent enough in isolation, but small given the size of the vehicle. It's a well-proportioned area, however, with a compact stroller going in both longways and lengthways, and still leaving plenty of room for shopping and a large gym bag. With the second row dropped, space increases to 1306L, and under the floor lie a tyre repair kit and air compressor.
At a glance | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
Seats | 4+1 |
Boot volume | 467L / 1306L |
Length | 5049mm |
Width | 1937mm |
Height | 1423mm |
Wheelbase | 2950mm |
Turning circle | 11.9m |
Infotainment and Connectivity
In the middle of the dash is a new 12.3-inch infotainment system that made its debut in the Taycan. A joy to many will be the MY22 Panamera's introduction of wired Android Auto connectivity, something missing up until now.
Another bonus is that Apple CarPlay can now be accessed both wired and wirelessly. Other features include DAB+ radio and a unique native integration of Apple Music that allows for a richer user experience.
It's also smart in terms of featuring a data connection and being powered by the internet. Porsche appears to have not skimped out on audio either by offering a 14-speaker Bose stereo as standard. Despite the fancy branding, I found it to be flat and slightly muddy with rock or other high-treble mixes.
Safety and technology
As a low-volume, high-cost car, the Panamera has not been subjected to localised ANCAP crash testing. It's also the same case globally, with neither the European NCAP nor American NHTSA authorities having crash-tested one either.
Standard fit safety features include lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control , parking sensors at both ends and a 360-view parking camera.
As an entry-level product however, some of the nice stuff can be found on the options list. One such item is called 'Night View Assist ($5370), that gives a Taycan the ability to see over 100 metres further than its headlights can reach, displaying the imagery in-front of the driver in the gauge cluster. Expensive, but worth it for those who dash between home, and a country property.
At a glance | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
ANCAP rating | N/A |
Year tested | N/A |
Safety report | N/A |
Value for Money
The biggest challenger to the Panamera's value-for-money proposition comes from the brand's own stable. Its fans love and crave the latest technology, too, which is why the far cheaper, entry-level Taycan looks to offer more to the same potential customer.
Not only is it all-new and future-proof, but it's also significantly cheaper and faster on paper. First, its $156,300 list price is $47,200 cheaper than the Panamera at $203,500. With your change, you could opt for the performance battery package for $168,380 before on-roads, and it's still cheaper than the most affordable Panamera.
It was already faster, but now way more powerful. An entry-level Taycan with the boosted battery makes 280kW all day, every day, and a huge 350kW in launch-control situations. A far cry from the Taycan's fixed and rather archaic-sounding 243kW at 6400rpm.
Range will be an issue for some. Whereas a beefed-up Taycan will go around 400km on a full charge, a Panamera will go over double, or around 800km, if we use the official figures. It's also able to replenish its range in approximately four minutes at many locations across Australia – something that can't be said for the Taycan just yet.
The other is space, which the Panamera can offer more of. It's hard to cut it any other way, however, with the Taycan overshadowing the Panamera when assessed on more objective, rational fronts.
At a glance | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
MSRP | $203,300 |
Options as tested | 21-inch Panamera exclusive design sport wheels ($10,480), GT Silver metallic paint ($7470), sports exhaust system ($7100), Sport Chrono package ($3950), interior carbon package ($3420), thermally and noise-insulated privacy glass ($2850), 4+1 seats ($1750), heated GT sports steering wheel ($1140), tinted LED Matrix main headlights ($1040), Porsche crest on headrests ($950), ambient lighting with rear compartment lighting ($740) |
Warranty | Three year / Unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months / 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $2385 3yr / $4075 5yr |
Driving
Interestingly, the entry-level and self-titled Panamera is the only rear-wheel-drive option in the range. It's one for the purists, with its underpinnings being more in line with the original GT-car philosophy.
Before you go and presume it's better because it must also be lighter, think again – the all-wheel-drive model is just 40kg heavier. We're working with around 1900kg, so the addition of two per cent extra is going to have zero detriment to the all-wheel-drive version.
Still, the purists will love those two driven wheels. They'll also enjoy that there's no electrical assistance either, just a good old-fashioned 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine producing 243kW and a solid 450Nm from 1800-5000rpm. It's a brutish engine, with a strong amount of torque offered for the majority of the tacho.
While it doesn't display the crisp levels of throttle response associated with 911 and 718 models, it's still lively under the pedal. Activating sport response and kicking it in the guts will make it squirm and wiggle under duress, especially on a cold, damp morning and up a slight incline. It's these moments that make the rear-wheel-drive version feel fun and alive.
To activate fast mode, you first need to option your Panamera with the Sport Chrono package ($3950). What this does is introduce a drive-mode switch on the steering wheel complete with a small circular button in the middle. Pressing it gives you a countdown timer of 20 seconds, where you're free to explore a small window of extra performance.
It improves zero to 100km/h times by bringing the sprint's duration down from 5.6 to 5.4sec officially. After a handful of test runs, we can confirm that the claimed time is well within the realm of reality. Agnostic of the gains Sport Chrono provides, the engine remains buttery smooth and punches out a trebly bark along the way.
Part of the reason to opt for a Panamera over a Taycan is the engine, so picking the optional sports exhaust (as our car had for $7100) feels compulsory. When activated, the V6 becomes louder but no more melodic. If you buy one, please never listen to an Audi RS4 or RS5, as either makes the same engine sound more aggressive, and better, I think.
Fuel consumption over the week-long loan came in at 11.7L/100km - over two litres more than the official combined figure of 9.2L/100km. The performance was enjoyed, but it was used sparingly down the freeway in equal measure.
Control weights and calibration are spot-on, which is what you expect from Porsche. The steering comes across detailed and trustworthy, and does a great job of helping to make the big, heavy four-door feel nimble. Air suspension also supports the cause by offering fantastic levels of bump suppression and duality that springs just can't offer in this type of vehicle.
In the most comfortable setting, every road comes across smoother than it really is. Only some surfaces, the ones wavy due to being poorly built, caused the Panamera to feel unsettled. I'd wager that the sensation is due to the optional and heavy 21-inch wheels, complete with skinny tyres that our car wears, rather than its suspension.
Dialling up the firmness greatly increases body control, but sometimes at a lack of composure. On a very familiar road, I felt a large moment of bump steer mid-corner. It's the nastiest of bumps, mind you, and placed on a faster than usual bend that's fazed plenty of others. What's more interesting is how the event stood out as a surprise against the well-mannered behaviour the car had displayed in the hours of testing prior. Once again, my gut tells me those large wheels are party to blame.
Regardless of how you decide to customise your entry-level Panamera, it's always going to be a wickedly fast grand tourer, with space for four adults and luggage in comfort, and with the comfort of internal combustion. That latter point may not bother most, but it will some.
Key details | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
Engine | 2.9-litre V6 turbo petrol |
Power | 243kW @ 6400rpm |
Torque | 450Nm @ 1800-5000rpm |
Drive type | Rear-wheel drive |
Transmission | Eight-speed automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 134kW/t |
Weight | 1860kg |
Tow rating | 2200kg braked, 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 11.9m |
Conclusion
Some will say the writing's on the wall. A faster, future-proofed, fully electric Porsche sedan is almost 25 per cent cheaper, or to be specific, $47,200 cheaper, when compared to an entry-level Panamera. Given the options list on our test car, you could individualise a Taycan quite heavily via the options list and still put change in your back pocket.
So, what's so compelling about the Panamera?
Firstly, the second row is better. If you're the sort who shows compassion and cares about back seat comfort, or more selfishly is considering spending time there themselves, there's a reason here alone.
Another is obviously the engine, and the evocative nature that comes with high-power internal combustion. Without explaining the obvious ones, one last reason could be your lifestyle - where you frequent and what access to reliable amenities you have.
Whatever fuels the decision won't leave you high and dry, though, as the Panamera is still an incredible GT car, and quite a naughty one in entry-level, rear-wheel-drive guise.
Examining the sales figures is an objective way to look at things, however, and for every Panamera sold this year, the brand has sold 16 Taycans. Maybe that's all you need to know.
At a glance | 2021 Porsche Panamera (base) |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 9.2L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 11.7L/100km |
Fuel type | 98RON |
Fuel tank size | 75L |