2024 Porsche Panamera First Drive: Rounding Into Form
The third-gen launches with three models that show this is probably the best Panamera yet.
We're on the track at Circuito Monteblanco in Spain, near Seville, hurtling toward a corner in the newly updated 2024 Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid. We go hard on the brakes, and then something unexpected happens: The nose rises . What in the great flaming paella is going on? Porsche Active Ride, that's what.
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How It Works
The new system counteracts the natural weight transfer that occurs during braking, acceleration, and cornering to minimize occupants' spatial movement. So 2024 Porsche Panameras thus equipped squat when you brake, dive when you accelerate, and lean into turns when you spin the steering wheel. It works via new dual-valve dampers and a four-corner hydraulic pump system that reacts quickly—two to three times more so than the old Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control active anti-roll bars—to loads on the wheels.
How It Feels
It's far less disconcerting than it might seem, as the only time it's blatantly obvious is when driving hard in the softer Hybrid mode, an unlikely scenario. Really, in Hybrid the goal is supreme luxury and minimal disturbance as you waft around town, and the setup is relatively transparent at sane speeds. In the most aggressive Sport+ setting, though, the system is tuned for max attack, lowering the ride height by an inch and keeping the body as flat as possible. Drive behind a Panamera with Active Ride, and you can see it at work; it really does look like magic. The system can also quickly and automatically raise the body by 2.2 inches when you open a door for easier entry and exit.
We experienced the system on the track, as well as via exercises that included back-to-back runs in 2024 Panameras equipped with Porsche Active Ride and without. A lane-change exercise was highly informative, with the Active Ride car's body stability enabling speeds 5 to 10 mph faster. Head toss is greatly reduced in all situations, too, and it's spooky watching a two-plus-ton car scream to a stop with very little body movement.
Different Levels
The mighty 2024 Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid is a 671-hp, 686-lb-ft plug-in land rocket. Even though it carries as much as 1,000 more pounds than the base nonhybrid V-6 Panamera we drove on Spanish roads, the E-Hybrid's poise and grip levels are outstanding. The steering offers decent feel, and even with Active Ride enabled there's just enough lean to communicate how close you are to the car's ultrahigh limits. What this new Panamera is capable of at its size and weight is practically voodoo, and it feels light on its feet—until it suddenly doesn't. At a full clip, the 2024 Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid gives its sticky Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires a yowling, howling workout. But, oh, the thrust. Porsche predicts a tidy 3.0-second sprint to 60 mph, and there's zero reason to doubt the claim. If history is any indication, our test team will discover it's even quicker than that.
The base-model Panamera has a lighter and lither feel even if it can't match the Turbo E-Hybrid's overall capabilities. It handles and rides superbly without the benefit of the complicated Active Ride system's two-valve dampers and hydraulic pumps, gliding over the few imperfections we encountered on public streets and highways. Credit its newly standard air springs, the only springs now available for any Panamera. The twin-turbo V-6 is stout enough for the daily grind, too, with 349 horsepower and a likely sub-5.0-second 0-60-mph time.
Fresh Inside and Out
Porsche Active Ride may be the new 2024 Panamera's showpiece, but it's far from the only highlight. The interior is wholly redesigned and a bit less fussy; you still aim the central vents' airflow via the touchscreen—a solution to a problem that still doesn't exist—but the infotainment setup seems simpler and more intuitive than before. Moving the gear selector from the center console to the dashboard freed up room for the center stack controls to breathe, as well as some additional storage. Anyone familiar with the Cayenne SUV will feel immediately at home in the 2024 Porsche Panameras.
On the outside, the new Panamera looks more comfortable in its own skin, like it's done trying so hard to fit in with the cool kids (read: the 911 and 718s) at the dealership. The cleaner, more confident profile looks properly upscale, and the simple decision to substantially raise the front fender peaks finally balances the car's visual weight. The new Turbonite trim package provides a bronze-gray visual cue for Turbo models, and awesome-looking 21-inch center-lock wheels are available on this four-door for the first time. It's still not a sultry thing, but the Panamera is no longer ungainly.
What's Next
This being Porsche, there are of course many more updated Panamera models to come, including a bevy of the plug-in hybrids the company says its customers demand. There will also be the requisite S, 4S, and GTS versions, as well as a lineup-topping Turbo S E-Hybrid with an expected output of 725 horsepower or more. The Sport Turismo wagon is gone, unfortunately.
The Panamera E-Hybrid's battery pack is now 25.9 kWh, up from 17.9. Combined with "significantly improved" energy recapture, it allowed Porsche to increase the car's all-electric driving range by a claimed 75 percent on the European test cycle. While our less optimistic EPA process might see that improvement percentage dwindle a bit, you can still probably expect something like 45 miles of silent operation. An 11-kW onboard charger (increased from 7.2 on the previous Turbo S hybrid) means you can top off the battery pack more quickly than before.
The third-generation Porsche Panamera remains the sportiest big luxury sedan you can buy, but it's now even more comfortable, technologically impressive, and handsome. Fifteen years into this model's run, it's better than ever.
Erik Johnson fell in love with cars before he could talk, carrying that passion through graduation from the University of Michigan. He's led digital content for Automobile and Car and Driver, and now oversees print and digital content for MotorTrend. He still pinches himself every day.
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