2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid

Porsche's joumey along the hybrid production car road has reached the point of no return. The Cayenne S Hybrid was the launch pad in 2010, revealed alongside the 918 Spyder hypercar, the halo supercar for the future that will see the light of day before the end of 2013 wearing a cool €700,000 price tag. Before this, and the return to LeMans in 2014 with a hybrid-powered racer, there will be a hybrid-powered 911 road car based on the new 991. And right now, the hybrid buzz continues around the new Panamera S Hybrid.

The big Porsche is a curious breed, for beneath the debatable looks of the Panamera (I like it, although it is very colour and wheel dependant) lies the latest incarnation of Porsche's hybrid drive technology. The drivetrain has been developed with Volkswagen and is a further evolution of the original system used in the first Cayenne S Hybrid models. This means a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 producing 333hp and 3241b ft of torque; but when you included the 47hp and 221lb ft of torque produced by the electric motor that's also fitted to provide the parallel hybrid part of the drivetrain, these figures climb to a substantial 380hp and 4271b ft of torque. This final figure is only bettered by the turbocharged petrol-fuelled V8s found in the Turbo and Turbo S models.

To look at, the S Hybrid is only distinguished by the smattering of hybrid badges - one on each flank and one writ large across the boot. Which brings the first dilemma: do you leave them on, as per Porsche's press cars, so the world is aware of your green( er) credentials and onlookers understand your smug look as you sit behind the wheel driving a silent Porsche? Or do you have them removed and let people think you're driving a beastly V8? The only other external giveaways are the wheels and tyres. Obviously being a 21st century Porsche you can have 20- inch wheels fitted, if you are prepared to pay for them, but the standard fitment in the UK is a 19- inch wheel with all-season low rolling resistance tyre fitted as standard. The benefits of these are twofold: first, their compound and construction are designed to reduce rolling resistance and therefore drag, which improves fuel economy; and second, being all-season tyres they combine the benefits of summer and winter tyres. The only other mechanical change the S Hybrid has over the existing V6 and V8 petrol engined models is that it uses the same eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic gearbox as the Diesel.

To drive the S Hybrid feels very like any other Panamera. The standard PASM and air suspension cushions you from any nastiness that lies beneath. The servotronic steering is eerily light at manoeuvring speeds but picks up the weight evenly when you begin to push; but like all speed-sensitive systems there's a switch-like feeling to your first turn of lock from dead ahead. Where the S Hybrid does let its mechanical makeup affect the process is when you begin to push on. Tipping the scales at 1980kg the car is 110kg heavier than a 300hp V6 Panamera and 110kg heavier than a V8 S. And it shows, especially when you start to hustle it along like a Porsche is designed to be hustled. The Hybrid is slower to react to your inputs and the additionaI mass makes itself felt when speeding cross country where the undulations become more frequent and the PASM dampers start to run aut of room to manoeuvre. It's not as extreme as that perhaps sounds, but when you've had prolonged exposure to the Panamera range these traits begin to show themselves.

The S Hybrid isn't about being hustled though, Its remit is to be the green flag bearer in the Porsche line-up, reducing emissions and sipping petrol as parsimoniously as is possibly. The C02 figure is 159g/km, the claimed fuel consumption figures are 35.3mpg on the urban cycle, 46.3mpg on the non-urban, and 41.5mpg on the combined cycle. Compare these to a V8 S (15mpg, 31.7mpg and 22.6mpg) and you can see the attraction. Being a parallel hybrid also means a lower VED rating (155 GBP) and for UK business users you can write down 20 per cent of the car's value against your tax bill (as opposed to 10 per cent for any other Panamera in the range). The hybrid drive system is the latest evolution of the system first introduced in 2010 in the Cayenne S Hybrid, and with 18 months of further development combined with the Panamera's lower weight and sleeker design, less drag and more efficient aerodynamics, it works far better and more seamlessly than when experienced in a Cayenne. The switch from electric to petrol power is barely noticeable, the V6 firing without a murmer as drive is reconnected and the engine is asked to take the strain once more.

A criticism of the original Cayenne S Hybrid system was that the switch from, and baek to, petrol power was quite abrupt with noticeable driveline shunt, and even with E-Power selected - a function that allows you to run on battery power alone without interrupting the engine - you had to be very gentle with your throttle inputs otherwise the engine would kick back in and ruin your emission-free motoring. But in the Panamera it's a lot easier to drive using the electric motor powered by the batteries. The energy for which is hamessed when you are braking or when you lift off the throttle (the car will then go imo sailing made, killing the engine and allowing you to coast) and when you are driving around town or at law speeds (up to 46mph) it's easy to run the full 1.2-mile range offered by a charged battery pack. Of course, if during that distance you find yourself braking or coasting the electric range is extended further still. In terrns of efficiency in over 850 miles of mixed motorway, A- and B-road driving and urban traffic I averaged 37.7mpg and squeezed 611 miles from the 80-litre fuel tank. During my hour and fifteen minute, 50-mile commute the Panamera S Hybrid would complete between 35 and 45 minutes of the journey on electric power. Do you need to adapt your driving style? Yes, of course. Drive it like you stale it and you'll be rewarded with a gruff sounding V6 and a fuel range to rival a Cayenne Turbo S doing a lap of 'Ring, but slip into sensible made, turn your anticipation levels up a notch or two and you will reap the benefits of Porsche's cleanest production car to date.

However, there is one fly in the ointment, and it has a whiff of diesel about it. The Panamera Diesel isn't hugely different to drive than its hybrid cousin; after all it uses the sarne gearbox and carries a similar weight penalty over the V6 and V8 petrol models. But it is also more economical and, perhaps this is the deal breaker, (24,000 GBP) cheaper than the S Hybrid ... and that buys you a lot of VED road tax and a great deal of options, even from Porsche! If it was my money I'd opt for the Panamera that pulls up to the black pump and enjoy spending the change. Impressive as the S Hybrid is, until the costs can be bought down to an approachable level it will rernain a niche mode!. But as a sign of things to come from Porsche with regards to its hybrid drive technology, it's reassuringly encouraging

ENGINE
2,995cc, six cylinders in a Vee, supercharged with additional electric motor
Compression rate: 10.5:1
Max Power: 333hp from 5500 to 6500rpm (V6 engine) with 47hp from 1150rpm (electric motor)
Peak torque: 324lb ft from 3300 to 5250rpm (V6 engine) with 221lb ft up to 1150rpm (electric motor)
Output per litre: 111.3hp per litre

TRANSMISSION
Eight-speed Triptronic S, rear-wheel drive

MEASUREMENTS
Weight: 1980kg

PERFORMANCE
Top Speed: 167.8mph
0-62: 6.0 seconds
CO2: 159g/km
Fuel Consumption: 41.5mpg (combined cycle)





Story: Stuart Gallagher
gtpurelyporsche dot com

September 21, 2012, 6:30 am