Porsche Panamera S Hybrid was Porsche’s Geneva hybrid

Porsche Panamera S Hybrid - Revealed at Geneva

I Know. You’re shocked. Porsche had teased us by saying they were bringing a hybrid to Geneva to reveal. How on earth could we have known it would be the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid that was going to turn up. What a shocker.

Still, after lying down in a darkened room for an hour or three after we discovered the other week it was the Panamera hybrid destined for Geneva and not another long-expected Porsche hybrid, it seemed only right we let you know what’s special and bespoke about this Porsche hybrid, the second production hybrid after the Cayenne S for Porsche.

Actually, there appears to be nothing original about the Panamera Hybrid at all. It gets exactly the same hybrid setup as the Cayenne – that means 3.0 litre V6 with 330bhp mated to a 44bhp electric motor – and there appears to be nothing new to add.

Except perhaps to comment that we’re not really sure how effective the Panamera Hybrid will be at gathering sales. It’s offering reasonable performance from its hybrid gubbins with a 0-60mph of 6 seconds and decent economy too at 41.5mpg.

Which is astonishingly good for a big, four door and powerful saloon car. But the Panamera Hybrid costs a whopping £86k. By comparison the range-topping Jaguar XJ 3.0 litre diesel Portfolio costs £20k less. It’s actually better equipped, has almost exactly the same performance and does almost exactly the same mpg.

The Jag is also brilliant to drive – as the Panamera may well be – and is so much better looking than the Porsche. The only place we can see anything positive for the Panamera is that its NoX and particulate emissions are a lot better than the Jag’s.

Still, we can’t see £20k in it.

By Cars UK