FOR PAN'S PEOPLE (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_porschepanamera_2021

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 158

Named after the Carrera Panamerican road race, Porsche's Panamera has long been the brand's offering to Luxury segment buyers wanting spacious rear seat accommodation and a properly sporting Gran Turismo driving experience. This model could have ended up being a four-door version of the company's 911 coupe or a low-slung interpretation of the marque's Cayenne luxury SUV. In the event, it was always very much its own car, a long, low five-door hatch that offers something very different in its sector. The second generation G2 version of this model arrived in 2017, then was significantly updated in 2020 to create the car we're going to look at here. In this form, the second generation Panamera not only looked a little smarter but also offered a fresh electrified PHEV option - and an uber-powerful performance flagship variant. Whatever your preference, for boardroom buyers who yearn for Brands Hatch, used versions of this car promise to be a tempting proposition.

Modelsword count: 10

5dr 2.9 V6 / 4.0 V8 [petrol] [Hatch, Sport Turismo]

Historyword count: 477

Porsche makes sportscars. And some of them look like this. Like its predecessor, this second generation Panamera, first launched in 2017, set out to be more than simply another powerfully performing Luxury segment saloon. It was a machine instead created around the uncompromising sportscar principles that so characterise its brand - and a design that in 2020 was significantly enhanced in this much improved form. To understand this car, you have to understand the way that Porsche sees it. This contender may have been priced against Mercedes S-Class-style Luxury saloons, but ever since the MK1 model's original launch back in 2009, its role in life has been styled to be subtly different. The brand sees the Panamera as a 'Gran Turismo', the kind of car that allows two rear seat passengers to recline in comfort while the driver enjoys himself. Forget Audi A8s and BMW 7 Series models. Think instead, faster versions of the Audi A7 or Mercedes CLS, perhaps a Maserati Quattroporte or even the old Aston Martin Rapide. In other words, a four-door luxury conveyance to really get the pulses racing. This car won't be chauffeur-driven. It shouldn't be anyway. It would, after all, be such a shame to ignore all of this Panamera's dynamic attributes and merely treat it as a limo. Porsche seems to agree, which was perhaps why as part of the G2 design's 2020 update, we could no longer have the lengthened 'Executive' body shape in our market. So body style choice was restricted to either the standard 'Sports Saloon' body shape (which is actually a 5-door hatch). Or the more practical 'Sport Turismo' body variant, a kind of 'Shooting Brake'-style sports estate that offered a little extra carriage space and the option of taking a third person in the rear. Whatever your Panamera preference, if you can stretch to this second generation model, see if you can stretch further and get yourself this 2020 model year-onwards updated version of that design. By then, diesel power had been dropped, but a package of updates brought sharper looks and a package of handling, media and safety updates. As well as a higher output and even more addictive aural fireworks for traditional derivatives like the V8 biturbo Panamera GTS, which in this updated form offered 480PS and sat beneath an even faster variant that Porsche had added to top the conventional part of the line-up, the Turbo S, with 630PS. By 2020 in our market, up to 70% of Panamera sales were of the PHEV plug-in hybrid versions, so for this update Porsche concentrated much of the update budget on them, improving battery range and adding in a fresh 4S E-Hybrid derivative, which sat between the base 4 E-Hybrid and top Turbo S E-Hybrid models. The Panamera sold in this form until the introduction of the third generation G3-era model in late 2023.

What You Getword count: 636

Shut your eyes, picture what a four-door Porsche 911 sports coupe might be like and you won't be a million miles away from the reality of this G2-era Panamera. The old pre-2017 first generation '970'-series G1 version of this car set out to deliver on that brief too, but never quite managed it, sleek from some angles but distinctly awkward from others. Everyone seems to be agreed that this '971'-era second generation model was a much more stylish piece of work, thanks to its longer wheelbase and lowered rear roofline. So much so that Porsche wasn't minded to make too many visual changes as part of this mid-term facelift. As before, there was a standard body shape, the alternative to which was the almost identically-sized 'Sport Turismo' 'shooting brake' estate. Move to the front and if you owned the original version of this MK2 model, you might pick up on some of the detail changes that Porsche made to this updated model. All variants got the previously optional 'Sport Design' front end styling pack, which delivered more striking air intake grilles, large side cooling openings and a single-bar front light module. Move to the rear and the sportscar cues continue. The restyled three-dimensional LED rear lamp clusters that were added as part of the update feature darkened lenses with the GTS variant and on all Panameras are connected by a narrow illuminated strip, also re-styled and there to help create a unique night time signature. At the wheel of this Porsche sportscar that also happens to be a super-luxury saloon you appreciate the implications of this curious combination almost immediately. The low-slung seating layout with its perfect positioning and almost infinite adjustability really is quite similar to a 911's, while the tall centre console that runs down the middle of the cabin hems you comfortably in, fighter aircraft cockpit-style. Virtually nothing really changed with this facelifted version of the MK2 model; there was a re-designed multi-function sports steering wheel - that was about it. As ever in a Panamera, the tall centre console that runs down the middle of the cabin hems you comfortably in, fighter aircraft cockpit-style. Around the gearstick there's a shiny black panel that comes to life with touch-sensitive controls once you fire the ignition. And just above lies the other defining feature of this cabin, the huge 12.3-inch colour touchscreen controlling the standard 'Porsche Communication Management' infotainment system. More screens are found in the instrument binnacle either side of the prominent rev counter gauge. All of it's configurable to your personal preferences as part of one of the most sophisticated cabins you'll find anywhere in this segment from this era. And in the back? Well settle in here and immediately, you feel a bit more special that you would in rival models thanks to two individual sports seats that replace the usual bench. Original buyers could also add in an optional small '2+1' centre rear seat that could be used for a child. The main outer seats aren't the compromised pews you'd expect to find in something professing to be a four-door sportscar, instead offering standards of leg and kneeroom not really that far off the kind of thing you'd get in a similarly-priced Mercedes S-Class or a BMW 7 Series saloon. As for luggage space, well if you approached this car expecting that its hatchback configuration would mean a class-leadingly large boot, then you might be a touch disappointed. Click the keyfob button for the standard power-operated tailgate and you'll find that most models offer a shallow-shaped 495-litre capacity (though it's less with the PHEVs). With everything flat, a massive 1,334-litres of space is available in most standard variants. Go for the 'Sport Turismo' estate model and a slightly larger 515-litre boot can be converted into a 1,384-litre total loading area.

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