Used 2022 Porsche Panamera

The 2022 Porsche Panamera is a large luxury car that benefits from the profound expertise Porsche exercises in making some of the finest sports cars the world has ever known. To the company’s credit, it did things the hard way when it could have just made a big, comfy conveyance with features like massaging rear seats and charged a lot of money for it.

Admittedly, it still charges a lot of money for a 2022 Panamera and massaging rear seats are indeed available, but no other luxury car has Porsche’s handling and engineering talents. To make something of this size and weight so agile and accelerative, yet still absolutely smooth and comfortable, is an incredible feat. It’s evident in the first model in the lineup as well as the last — a fabulous 690-horsepower plug-in hybrid.

This 2022 Panamera range borders on epic, there are so many variants. Of the seven drivetrains, three are hybrid. There are three body styles: regular, Sport Turismo (with a sleek, almost wagon-like rear end), and the longer-wheelbase Executive with the most rear legroom. Then there’s a long and expensive list of options. The array of personalization choices could mean that virtually every new Panamera is a one-off.

New for 2022 are three Panamera Platinum Edition models: the Panamera, Panamera 4, and Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, each sporting elevated comfort and convenience. Each new Platinum Edition model rides on exclusive 21-inch wheels with a satin platinum finish (or 20-inch Panamera Style wheels), and the same satin finish also appears on the side air outlets and the Porsche lettering on the rear of the vehicle.

Other Platinum Edition upgrades include LED Matrix Design headlights with Porsche Dynamic Lighting System, active high beams, gloss-black side window trim, black tailpipes, and unique Exclusive-design taillights. Moreover, the Platinum models are available in 13 different standard and metallic paint colors at no extra cost or a handful of other hues via Porsche’s Special and Custom Color offerings.

Inside, the aluminum door sill guards feature “Platinum Edition” lettering, and Porsche crests are embossed in the headrests. Adaptive air suspension and Porsche Active Suspension Management are standard, as are blind-spot monitoring and power-steering with a reduced effort at slow speeds. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, along with Sirius satellite radio and a Bose surround-sound audio system.

There’s something about driving any Porsche that’s really special, even the smallest crossover. It’s how the driver inputs are calibrated, requiring exactly the right amount of effort to make it easy yet not over-assisted. It can be driven softly and calmly, while rewarding those who get more involved.

The lowliest Panamera can zip from standstill to 60 mph in a respectable 5.3 seconds and hit a top speed of 168 mph. The fastest Porsche Panamera is the 620-horsepower Turbo S with the optional Sport Chrono package (that adds a launch-control function), hitting 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and reaching maximum velocity of 196 mph. The Turbo S weighs about 2.3 tons. This performance is phenomenal.

Along with a well-tuned suspension that provides both comfort and athleticism, Porsche offers rear-wheel steering (which also enhances low-speed maneuvering) and torque vectoring, where the outside rear wheel is made to go faster through a curve than its inside counterpart, optimizing this large sedan’s cornering talents.

The GTS version is the sportiest Panamera, even if it’s not the fastest or the most powerful (although 473 horsepower is well on the way to delightfully excessive). It comes standard with an adaptive air suspension riding almost half an inch lower than a regular version, in addition to Integrated Porsche 4D Chassis Control (see our Favorite Features).

Plush, hushed and ready for the rush, the cabin of the 2022 Panamera is undeniably classy and luxurious with superb materials and build quality. Yet it’s also business-like.

The Sport Turismo has a small middle seat in the back, otherwise the Panamera is a 4-seater. Buttons are kept to a minimum, partial leather upholstery is standard, and buyers can choose wood, carbon fiber, or aluminum trim accents.

Although the regular Panamera has plenty of rear passenger space, the Executive version’s longer wheelbase (122 inches as opposed to 116) caters to the occasional long-legged eccentric who owns a Porsche but doesn’t want to drive it.

The Sport Turismo body style improves rear headroom a touch, as well as brings more cargo space. While the regular and Executive models have 17.6 cubic feet behind the 60/40 split-folding rear seats and 47.3 when they’re folded down, the Sport Turismo has 18.3 and 49 cubic, feet respectively.

We would argue that this second generation of Porsche Panamera, which debuted for the 2017 model year, finally cracked the code on how to get hints of the famed 911 sports machine into a large luxury car. The 2022 Panamera, by the way, is a hatchback, not a sedan.

Unless we’re talking about the Sport Turismo, which brings a wagon flavor to the tail end. But that’s not a bad thing. We can easily imagine people preferring the Sport Turismo over the regular and Executive variants. On the subject of the stretched Executive, it still looks in proportion.

Telling the difference between the trims without looking at the badges can be tricky. The GTS sits slightly lower on its suspension and the hybrids have acid green brake calipers. The really powerful variants also have massive 10-piston front calipers and huge brake discs.

BURMESTER AUDIO
Although it costs $7,530, this Burmester surround-sound system not only provides beautifully clear audio through a 21-speaker/1,455-watt setup, it also has a microphone to analyze conditions and make adjustments accordingly. And it improves the quality of compressed MP3 files.

4D CHASSIS CONTROL
We’re all familiar with three dimensions, with time being the fourth. Porsche’s 4D Chassis Control monitors everything that’s going on with the Panamera then, in milliseconds, orchestrates the settings of the active suspension and rear-wheel steering to provide optimum sportiness or comfort — whatever the situation requires.

The plain Panamera comes solely in the regular body style, with an adaptive suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, panoramic roof, powered hatchback, keyless entry/ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, and heated/8-way power-adjustable front seats.

Some manufacturers provide an array of driver aids as standard. Porsche doesn’t. It equips the 2022 Panamera with lane-keeping assistance, front/rear parking sensors, and road sign recognition.

The infotainment system includes wireless Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, wired Android Auto, three USB ports, satellite radio, wireless charging, Bluetooth, navigation, and a 150-watt/10-speaker audio setup.

Buying a new Panamera means long and careful consideration of what to choose from the options list, once the decision has been made regarding body styles and drivetrains. Incidentally, there’s no Executive version of the GTS.

Any color that isn’t black or white costs extra. Then there are wheel sizes and designs. Porsche always offers a Sport Chrono package that adds an analog clock, stopwatch, and launch control for the fastest acceleration from a standstill.

A Premium package for the base Panamera brings an air suspension, soft-closing doors, 14-way adjustable front seats, ambient lighting, and a Bose surround-sound system. An Assistance package adds adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera system, head-up display, and upgraded LED headlights.

The range-topping Turbo S E-Hybrid has full leather upholstery as standard, plus those 14-way front seats. But the Assistance package still applies here, albeit a version with night vision (using infrared technology).

No matter what gasoline engine is in the 2022 Porsche Panamera, it has two turbochargers. The range starts with a 2.9-liter V6 generating 325 horsepower. The straight-ahead Panamera model is the one rear-wheel-drive (RWD) variant. When we get to the Panamera 4 and above, it’s all-wheel drive (AWD) all the way.

The GTS is where the 4.0-liter V8 comes in, developing 473 horsepower. The Turbo S is the most powerful Panamera without a hybrid drivetrain, at a considerable 620 horsepower.

The E-Hybrid variants use the same V6 and V8 engines to varying degrees of craziness, augmented by electric motors running off a lithium-ion battery. These are actually plug-in hybrids, where the driver connects the battery to an outside charging source to make maximum use of the electric side of things. Running solely in electric vehicle (EV) mode, a Panamera E-Hybrid can cover 17 to 19 miles.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a way of calculating miles-per-gallon equivalent figures (MPGe) for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The mind-blowing thing about the range-topping Turbo S E-Hybrid is that it has an incredible 690 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful Porsches on sale, yet it can achieve 48 MPGe.

All 2022 Panamera models require premium gasoline. And they all have an 8-speed automatic transmission. It’s technically a dual-clutch automated transmission, but it works just by putting it in D. There are also paddle shifters mounted beneath the steering wheel for when drivers want to change gears themselves.

2.9-liter turbocharged V6 (Panamera/Panamera 4)
325 horsepower @ 5,400-6,400 rpm
331 lb-ft of torque @ 1,800-5,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/24 mpg (RWD/AWD), 18/23 mpg (4 Sport Turismo), 17/23 mpg (4 Executive)

2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 (4S)
443 horsepower @ 5,750-6,600 rpm
405 lb-ft of torque @ 1,900-5,750 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/24 mpg, 17/23 mpg (4S Sport Turismo/Executive)

4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 (GTS)
473 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm
457 lb-ft of torque @ 1,800-4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/21 mpg, 15/20 mpg (Sport Turismo)

4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 (Turbo S & Sport Turismo)
620 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm
604 lb-ft of torque @ 2,300-4,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/21 mpg

2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 + electric motor (4 E-Hybrid)
455 total horsepower
516 lb-ft total torque
EPA combined city/highway fuel economy: 22 mpg/52 MPGe
Battery-only range: 19 miles

2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 + electric motor (4S E-Hybrid)
552 total horsepower
553 lb-ft total torque
EPA combined city/highway fuel economy: 22 mpg/50 MPGe
Battery-only range: 19 miles

4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 + electric motor (Turbo S E-Hybrid)
690 total horsepower
642 lb-ft total torque
EPA combined city/highway fuel economy: 18 mpg/42 MPGe
Battery-only range: 15 miles