2018 Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid Sport Turismo: Too much of a good thing?

[MUSIC] The Panamera Sport Turismo checks a lot of boxes that I like to see checked on a Porsche. It's powerful, it's nimble, it's crammed with technology and style, and most importantly, it's stupidly fast. But then they just kept adding things. This one's a wagon for some reason. Who asked for a Porsche wagon? Plus it's a plug-in hybrid like some kind of Prius prime? Is this just a case of too much of a good thing? Well let's head for the hills in this 2018 Porsche [UNKNOWN] four sport tourismo e hybrid to find out. Jeez, even the name's too long. [MUSIC] [SOUND] [MUSIC] Now the Sport Turismo is basically the Panamera Sedan with a little bit more [MUSIC] more trunk for your junk. You get about five more cubic feet of space, thanks to the hatchback design. But that extra space is all high up top, which means that it's not very useful space for most people, unless you carry a lot of bulky items, like antique furniture, or something like that. Now the sports [INAUDIBLE] does come standard with Porsche's three-chamber air suspension, it's got a little ride height adjustment, but it also Autoleveling. So if you put something heavy back in that boot, well, you don't have to worry about your ride quality degrading as a result. Ever the most important thing about this vehicle is that e-hybrid system. That's going to make at 2.9 liter twin turbo charged V6 and makes 330 horsepower and 331 pound. of torque, and he's going to pair that with an e-motor that brings 300 [UNKNOWN] of it's own to the party. A total system output is 462 horsepower and around 516 [UNKNOWN] of torque. That is not bad for a vehicle of this size and weight. That actually puts this in a nice performance sweet spot between the Panamera four and the much more expensive turbo model Models. Now speaking of that performance sweet spot, you're looking at a 0 to 60 time of 4.4 seconds. That's faster than I can say, 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid 4 Turismo. [SOUND] And you've got a top speed of somewhere between 150 and 170 miles per hour, depending on whether you believe this sticker on the dashboard or Porsche's spec Now all of that power is gonna go through an eight speed PDK that's the Porsche double cup [INAUDIBLE] dual clutch transmission. And it's gonna send that to all four wheels via an all wheel drive system. It's mostly a rear bias for performance but it can very quickly send power to the front which makes it also good for inclement weather. Now every E hybrids comes standard with the The Porsche sport chrono setup. And that's basically adds this cool lap timer to the dashboard. But it also adds this knob to the steering wheel which allows us to select between different drive modes. The first mode is gonna be E-power and that basically is full electric mode for up to the first 16 miles per 3-hour charge of it's batter pack. And it's a full range electric mode. You could do the entire full speed range in it The next mode is hybrid which is basically comfort. It is going to allow the system to choose between using the gas and electricity as it seems fit. There are also two sub modes that allow you to preserve your electric charge for some later point. Or also even generate electric charge using the gasoline engine. And then there are the two fun settings. There's Sport, which behaves like you expect a Porsche to. It basically firms up the suspension and lowers you down a little bit, tightens up the steering, and also makes the whole powertrain just a little bit more responsive. And then there's Sport Plus, which I've been in for most of the day. And that's actually gonna take things a little bit further. It's gonna really amp up the transmission shift program to give you the best possible performance when you're cornering and things like that. Now it's interesting how in the sport mode this vehicle just really shrinks around the cockpit. It's easy to forget there's all this car back there and so much more up front. The way this thing tucks into a corner. Part of that is due to our optional rear wheel steering system that's gonna make this car feel much more nimble around bends. Now I haven't driven this car without that set up but my gut instinct tells me that on something this long it's really working hard back there to make this car feel really nimble. So it's definitely worth the upgrade. Great in my opinion. Now, at lower speeds, when you're not driving like a maniac, the hybrid system can feel a little bit sluggish. And that's because it's kind of working between the gasoline and electric systems to give you the best possible fuel economy. Economy. For those first 16 electric miles, you're looking at around 44 miles per gallon equivalent, which ain't bad. And then beyond that, you step down to 22 miles per gallon combined, which is still decent for something that makes over 500 pound feet of torque. There's one more mode I wanna show you, and that's the Sport Response setting. Now, if you look at the Drive Mode selector, there's a button in the middle And when you press that it sets everything to its most responsive, most race ready settings. Everything just gets a lot more amped up. It's like a shot of adrenaline to the car's performance and to the person sitting In the driver's seat. It's just awesome. It only lasts 20 seconds, which means that it's only really good for things like maybe that one part of the race track where you need a little bit more of an edge, or when you come up on your favorite set of twists on your favorite curvy road. And then it just goes back to being a regular, easy to drive car. Now overall I feel like the hybrid system Performance gains place this car in a nice sweet spot between the standard Panamera 4 and the much more expensive turbo models, I mentioned that earlier. The fuel efficiency upgrades, well that's just a nice bonus. [BLANK_AUDIO] [MUSIC] The hybrid system makes more sense then you might think, given the performance and efficiency gained. But the wagon form factor, well, that's a little more tricky and personal. I mean, the standard Panamera is already pretty spacious for a Porsche. And if you need more room than that, well, the Cayenne actually makes more sense for people in cargo. It's basically the same car as an SUV. But then you get a long look at that [UNKNOWN] sports [UNKNOWN] roof lining, you consider the audacity of Porsche building a hybrid wagon in today's SUV heavy climate And then you just kinda gotta appreciate this thing. And that's got me reaching for my wallet. It's just too bad there's nothing in it. [MUSIC]