Porsche Panamera vs Taycan: A tale of 2 Turbos

The Taycan may be the new whiz kid on the block, but let's not forget the original Porsche super sedan, the Panamera.

Published On Aug 18, 2023 07:00:00 AM

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There came a moment, during the course of shooting this story, that I started to doubt myself, and worse still, doubt the point I had set out to make. My confident hypothesis was being eroded just a little bit with every passing kilometre. But then, just as I was about to bin the whole idea and try and reshape this into something else entirely, affirmation came. It arrived suddenly, beautifully, loudly and rewardingly, manifesting in a spontaneous, loud guffaw from me. And quite frankly, if I bought a Porsche over the dozens of comparable high-performance cars available these days, it’s what I’d want every single time I got behind the wheel.

The Porsche Panamera: introduction

Of course, you need to know how we got here, and it started with a question. When someone says Porsche, what’s the first car that comes to mind? The 911, right? How about the second? Cayenne? Boxster? Taycan? And maybe further down the line, the Macan, the Cayman, one of the supercars, race cars or classics? You see what I’m getting at here.

The Panamera is by some margin the most overlooked, and I think underrated, model in the Porsche line-up. On paper, it does everything right. A special platform (the MSB – shared only with Bentley’s Continental GT and Flying Spur), including a slick and quick 8-speed PDK dual-clutch auto, and in this particular case, a 630hp twin-turbo V8 mounted way back in the chassis, and a quick-acting, rear-biased AWD system.

Turbo V8, the heart and soul of the Panamera; worth half the asking price.

But then there’s the kind of car the Panamera is – a grand tourer or GT – which is arguably one of the toughest jobs in the business. It has to be fast, luxurious, comfortable over long distances, powerful, engaging to drive and practical too, which is a diverse range of abilities not even the Cayenne or the 911 are expected to have. And the big sedan does it, with consummate ease.

So, then, why isn’t there more love for the Panamera? Perhaps there’s an aftertaste of its predecessor lingering in the back of people’s throats. A predecessor that was arguably even better at driving like a 911, but alas, tried too hard to look like one. This new car, to my eyes, doesn’t just fix the old one, it looks amazing in its own right. Sure, GT Silver isn’t the most adventurous colour for a car specced out by Porsche’s Exclusive Manufaktur personalisation programme, and chances are you wouldn’t even have realised this was the facelifted model, but the distinctive shape, the muscular proportions, the tiny details; it’s just so right. And few cars do rear spoilers as cool as this one’s split-folding motorised wing.

The Porsche Taycan: introduction

But the two bigger reasons why the Panamera isn’t on as many buyers’ radars as it should be can be found in the same showroom. The Cayenne, Porsche’s bestseller, has that SUV appeal everyone is after, and has gotten hugely capable in its newest iteration. More cannibalistic than that, however, is the Neptune Blue bolt you’ll see shadowing the Panamera on these pages.

Both take corners unlike anything their size should, but next to the Panamera, the Taycan feels relatively anaesthetised.

The Taycan zoomed onto the scene in 2019, looking near-indiscernible from the stunning Mission E concept that heralded it. Some would say it achieved the design goal of a ‘four-door 911’ that the Panamera struggled with across two generations. Its sizeable battery and powerful motors gave it good range and strong performance, air suspension (standard in India) gave it comfort and usability, and despite working with a lot of weight, the wizards at Stuttgart made it drive like a Porsche too. Its GT abilities, combined with its new-age EV appeal quickly yanked the spotlight away from the Panamera.

The Taycan gets up to four screens

But that’s exactly what I set out to do here; put the spotlight back. And I wanted to do this with a long drive between cities, through highways, mountain roads and a bit of gnarly traffic for good measure. Trouble is, my colleagues felt the Taycan should come along for the ride, just to keep it honest. Reluctant as I am to let silly comparisons get in the way of my ode to the Panamera, they do have a point. Both wear the Turbo S badge, an honour bestowed on only the fastest Porsches, both cost around Rs 2.4 crore (ex-showroom) before options, and yes, despite their drastically different power units, they both have the same job description.

Porsche Panamera vs Porsche Taycan: interior and features

Before we’ve turned a wheel, I’ve had to concede a point, and one I didn’t expect to. The Panamera’s liftback boot is a sizeable 467 litres compared to the Taycan’s 400-litre sedan rear boot. But since both house a spare tyre on the boot floor, fitting a big suitcase is easier in the Taycan, owing to its squarer shape. It fouls with the Panamera’s sloping rear glass, but with a bit of luggage Tetris, we are able to fit it in.

Big liftback boot, but spare tyre means large suitcases can foul with rear windscreen.

Retaliation, however, comes swiftly, as I’m determined to try out the back seats before we get moving. Neither car is a limousine, but clearly the Panamera is better packaged for rear passengers. You sit a bit lower (no batteries under the bench), but you can really stretch your legs. You can recline the individual backrests, there are rear window and windscreen blinds as well as an independent sunroof shade, and the seat cushioning is so much plusher. The Taycan seats you bolt upright on its bench seat, and though comfy enough, it’s not as good on a long journey.

The Panamera is one of the last to still get an analogue tachometer.

More than a little smug, I hop in the driver’s seat and we head out. It’s a glorious feeling, with the sporty, optional 18-way seats holding me tight, the iconic five dials with the analogue tach in the centre staring me in the face, and this long bonnet stretched out before me, a sign of the monstrous engine underneath. The interior is heavily optioned, with the likes of Abachi wood inserts, embossed crests and logos, and Bordeaux red leather – an acquired taste which I’ve quickly acquired. It all feels rich and luxurious, in a way the Taycan’s cabin, also heavily optioned, simply doesn’t. Sure, the EV has the techy edge with its floating centre console and overdose of screens, but give me that classic GT layout every day; call me old-fashioned if you like. Don’t get me started on both cars absurdly making you use the touchscreen to adjust the AC vents; I’m just glad the Panamera still has a few physical buttons left.

Porsche Panamera vs Porsche Taycan: drive

It’s early still, so we’re on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in no time, and it’s here the Turbo S twins are most evenly matched. Whether you’re holding a comfortable three-digit cruise or want to gap three meandering trucks in one fell swoop, both give you immense confidence. Each car’s steering has weight and precision, their ride is unwavering, and the power they have in reserve is way more than the speed limit will allow us to fully deploy. However, only one of them has you opening the windows every time you reach a tunnel.

Unflinching stability out on the highway, with a surprising amount of comfort too.

We pull in for breakfast at the first Expressway services, and I’m happy to report the Panamera, boring paint notwithstanding, racked up just as many stares and selfies as the Taycan. As we refuelled ourselves, the thought of topping up the cars did arise. I mean, EVs are always on the back foot in a range comparison with petrol, but then the twin-turbo V8 can also chug down a tank of 100-octane really quick if you’re not careful.

Big Panamera feels a little out of depth on packed Pune streets.

Still, despite a climb up and down the Lonavala ghat with loads of spirited driving included, both cars reach Pune with a surprising amount of juice left – the Taycan at just below 50 percent, the Panamera just above 50 percent. Safe to say, we can top up on the way back, then. Lunch is planned at German Bakery in the suburb of Koregaon Park, tucked deep inside Pune, and with the city alive and buzzing, my poor Panamera starts to crack.

Porsche Panamera vs Porsche Taycan: ride

That low-slung driving position? It starts to close in around you as bikers whizz past in all directions, way too close for comfort. I find myself raising the seat height a bit to better see the edges of the bonnet, and a glance at the rear-view mirror reveals precious little through the rear glass. Rear visibility in the Taycan is equally abysmal, to be fair, but without a big engine up front, the bonnet is lower, like a 911’s, and the two rising fenders let you place the car easily. And although it’s a wee bit wider than its ICE sibling, it feels small and nimble, while you’re constantly being made aware of the Panamera’s size.

Bigger, plusher, better appointed, the Panamera is nicer over long distances.

The steering is noticeably heavier at low speeds, for one, and it feels just a bit slower than the Taycan’s, even though both cars have the helping hand of rear-wheel steer. It’s as if the engineers overcompensated for the extra weight (it’s 215kg heavier than the Panamera) and in traffic, that’s much appreciated. Then there’s the ride. Both cars roll on big, 21-inch wheels and incredibly wide tyres, and both have air suspension, but the Taycan is just that little bit plusher over the tarmac crumble that is urban Maharashtra in the monsoon. Over bumps, the Panamera feels lumpen and causes you to sashay around in your seat, but as a slight consolation, despite having the longer wheelbase, it’s less prone to scraping its belly on speed bumps than the battery-bearing Taycan. You also have to consider how much friendlier an electric powertrain is in traffic than a big old V8. It’s got a creep mode and even if you prod the throttle, it responds gently and predictably. The Panamera has turbo lag, and the moment you breach it, growls forward like a beast on a leash; not ideal.

Porsche Panamera vs Porsche Taycan: verdict

Filled up, fittingly, on schnitzel and Black Forest cake, we start the journey back, and here’s where the doubt starts creeping in. Soon, we’ll have to fill and charge up, and I’m lining the Panamera up to deliver its most devastating blow – convenience. The Taycan’s massive 93.4kWh battery will take an age to charge on anything less than a super-fast 100kW-plus charger, which are few and far between, while the Panamera will take five minutes to fill its petrol tank. As it turns out, when you’re away from a big city, high-octane petrol and fast chargers are equally rare.

We split off in search of our respective energy sources, agreeing to meet back at the entrance to the hill station of Lonavala. And we’ll need to be fully juiced up for the exciting finale we’ve lined up. Turns out the Taycan settled for a 50kW charger nearby, but I still haven’t found anything more than 91-octane. After some driving, finally, at the base of Lonavala, the full 100 octane, and in short order, the tank is filled, my credit card emptied, and I’m bolting up the hill.

It’s a comfy 20 minutes before the Taycan joins me, but before I can gloat, it bolts off up the mountain, and so I give chase. And here’s where we meet up with the start of this story. Sport Plus engaged, all 630 horses are chomping at the bit, the suspension and steering assume attack formation and the Panamera snaps into full-on supercar mode. That bulky feeling is gone, and we charge headlong into every corner faster than the last, never once losing sight of the Taycan. The big, plush cruiser has turned into a bruiser, fidgeting at the rear and forcing me to correct; it finally feels alive. All the while, there’s eight cylinders ringing in my ears, and one of eight gears locks into place the very instant I pull on a paddle. It’s tactile, it’s sensory, it’s emotional.

The Taycan is impressive, but when compared to the Panamera, it feels a bit sanitised.

And that’s when it hits me: not only was I right, there’s simply no contest. The Taycan is impressive with its all-encompassing ability, and you could even wring its neck till it steps out of line, but it always feels like it doesn’t want to. Capable, but compared to the Panamera, it feels like an appliance. I arrive at the top energised, giggling and just a little sweaty. The Taycan driver, impressed and pleasantly surprised.

The ICE age is coming to an end, and for some much sooner than expected. The electric car is coming up fast, and as the Taycan so amply proves, with some solid engineering, it’s possible to overcome many of the traditional shortcomings. In many ways, it feels like the third-gen Panamera that came to market early, which is interesting, because a new Panamera is coming, and it’s said to get both ICE and EV powertrains. That likely means these two cars won’t be so similar going forward, the Panamera leaning more into luxury, while the Taycan gets sportier. But the bigger takeaway here is that EVs are going to be around for a while; the V8 super sedan as we know it, in all its growling, chest-thumping glory, will not, so get in while you still can.

Also see:

Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Panamera Turbo S video feature

Porsche Taycan Turbo S India review: Porsche Unleashed