2025 Porsche Panamera Review: GTS Vs. E-Hybrid Showdown

There is no bad choice in Porsche's 2025 Panamera line-up. Arguably you could say much the same thing about all generations of the performance-minded luxury sedan, since 2009 when the German automaker reignited "no, you shouldn't be building that!" complaints that'd had not long died down over the Cayenne SUV.

More recently, though, the decision has taken on almost philosophical overtones: is electrification the right route for the Panamera, or can gasoline alone deliver the juicy Porsche goods? With a 2025 Panamera 4 E-Hybrid (from $115,500 plus $1,995 destination) on the one side, and a 2025 Panamera GTS (from $157,000 plus destination) on the other, I found myself in the unexpected — and hardly arduous — position of trying to settle that debate. After all, while a 2025 Taycan may have plenty of merits, not everyone is ready or willing to go all-electric at this point.

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For 2025, the Panamera looks crisper and sleeker. It's still long and relatively low, but there are new LED Matrix Design headlamps at the front, and a trunk-spanning enclosed lightbar at the rear. The rear window is now frameless, too.

Porsche's gas-electric hybrid drivetrain in the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is a fairly complicated matter. On the ICE side, there's a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6, which contributes 300 horsepower. It's combined with an electric motor — integrated into the standard 8-speed PDK transmission — taking total system power to 463 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque.

The result, Porsche says, is a 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds with the Sport Chrono package, with the hybrid whooshing all the way to a 174 mph top speed. Electric range is also improved over the prior generation car, with a 25.9 kWh battery almost doubling capacity (and charging faster, too: the 11 kW onboard charger means flat to full in potentially just a few hours). In E-Power mode — the default, assuming the battery has some charge — the car will drive at up to 87 mph on electric power alone, and figure on around 40 miles of electric-only driving.

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Hybrid Auto mode balances gas and electric power, selected either manually using the mode dial on the steering wheel — complete with a central button that summons the most potent settings for taking full advantage of, say, sudden overtaking opportunities — or automatically when the battery is depleted. Its goal is, unsurprisingly, frugal driving; it'll even take into account your upcoming route, if you've set it in the Panamera's native navigation, to decide the best blend of gas and electric for the roads to come.

The result is smooth and refined, though — perhaps unsurprising, given Porsche also has more potent Panamera 4S E-Hybrid (536 hp), Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid (670 hp), and Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (771 hp) variants it'd love to upsell you into — not ridiculously urgent from behind the wheel. Throttle response is careful, lending the E-Hybrid a stately sort of composure. Appreciated by my rear-seat passengers, certainly, though not quite the ticket for some back road action.

Human cargo ditched, the Sport and Sport Plus modes felt far more compelling. This entry-level Panamera hybrid isn't exactly nimble — it's decently powerful, certainly, but it also weighs just over 5,000 pounds — but with gas and electric shove both permanently engaged, it accelerates neatly. Regenerative braking and the sizable physical brakes work together smoothly (Porsche does have a carbon ceramic option, but it's overkill here). All 2025 Panamera models get adaptive two-chamber air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), and it does an excellent job at avoiding undue body roll when you drive more aggressively (without sacrificing comfort and compliance the rest of the time).

My particular car lacked the Porsche Active Ride option, which adds an individually-controlled hydraulic pump to each wheel, promises eerie-levels of flatness regardless of road surface, and can rapidly raise or lower drive height. Having experienced Audi's version of it (and its occasionally uncanny sensation) in the Audi RS e-tron GT Performance, I suspect the $7,390 option would be overkill in this most-affordable Panamera E-Hybrid. Better to spend your money on the $1,350 rear-axle steering.

Composed, usefully-electrified, and — in Porsche terms, at least — aggressively priced, the E-Hybrid flavor of the big four-door feels like the future. I was all set to declare the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid as the obvious choice, then, only to swap it out for the Panamera GTS (from $157,000 plus destination) and hit the gas. Unfortunately for my EV-leanings, the GTS flavor feels so much more Porsche-like, it's near impossible to think otherwise.

There's no clever-electrified drivetrain here; no battery; no EV-only driving option. Instead, Porsche provides a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 gas engine that delivers 494 horsepower and 486 lb-ft of torque all on its own, routed to all four wheels via the PDK transmission, and sufficient for a 0-60 mph time in as little as 3.6 seconds and a 188 mph top speed. Like the E-Hybrid, air suspension is standard; however, while rear wheel steering is available, the Active Ride option is reserved for the electrified cars.

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Two more cylinders compared to the E-Hybrid don't outweigh the heft savings from stripping out the battery and other electrification contributions. The GTS tips the scales at just north of 4,600 pounds.

Where the E-Hybrid clearly prioritizes balance, the GTS is a far more eager affair. Even in its default Normal drive mode, throttle sensitivity is higher; it may not have the electric motor to fill in low-end torque, but the twin-turbo V8 is no slouch and pickup from a standing start is gleefully urgent. By the time you switch to Sport or Sport Plus modes, things get positively furious.

It's firmer, always, than the E-Hybrid, but still manages to be compliant enough not to entirely frustrate passengers. Even without the Active Ride magic, the air springs keep things poised in corners; the GTS feels balanced and taut, never exactly small but far more agile than something this size should really be. When I ventured out into less-trafficked roads, where the corners are more entertaining, but the road surfaces can be questionable, being able to selectively dial in the suspension firmness while keeping the drivetrain at its most aggressive was a welcome degree of flexibility.

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Fun, then, and that's before you get to the soundtrack. The GTS gets a sport exhaust system, and its grumbles, roars, and bellows are tremendous. If fellow road-users didn't spot you were driving something special from the GTS' black exterior trim and special 21-inch center-lock wheels, the glorious howl as you overtake them will hammer that fact home.

Porsche's cabin is a sleek and cosseting place, without leaning too far into the ostentatious luxury — or tech — of some more plush-minded rivals. The 12.6-inch fully digital driver display can be customized, while the 10.9-inch central touchscreen runs a newer version of the automaker's infotainment system. It's swift and straightforward, and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with a wireless charging nook for your phone. A 10.9-inch front passenger display is optional, as are a whole bunch of extras that will merrily send your final price spiraling up in a most Porsche-like manner.

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As in other recent models, the transmission selector is now a (nicely weighted) little toggle to the right of the steering wheel. That leaves the center panel to handle HVAC adjustment (dual-zone as standard) with a mixture of switches and touch-sensitive buttons. The glossy black plastic is a great way to record fingerprint smudges over time, a fitting record of how long it takes to build up muscle-memory for the array of vent, seat heating, and other controls. It's mainly noticeable because Porsche's switchgear elsewhere is so darn tactile: the paddle shifters are particularly pleasing to clack, and even the pared-back steering wheel buttons and wheels have a reassuring solidity to them.

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In the rear, there are two seats as standard, or an optional $1,000 2+1 configuration which adds a middle seat to the bench. As befitting the Panamera's road-trip-ready status, Porsche will happily outfit both the front and rear with ventilation, heating, and massage, if you have the budget for it. Even without such niceties, the second row is spacious, and you can't really argue with the 16.9 cu-ft trunk (expanding to over 46 cu-ft with the rear seats folded) or how easily accessed it is via the hatchback.

For all I'm a fan of electrification, and believe that plug-in hybrids represent the right choice for a whole lot of drivers, I can't bring myself to say that I'd pick anything other than the GTS were the choice my own. I'll concede this isn't a perfect side-by-side comparison, mind: the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid is more potent, a tenth of a second swifter to 60 mph, and closer in price (though still $26k cheaper!) compared to the GTS. And I've not driven the most potent iterations of the electrified Panamera.

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Porsche's pitch, though — of a 911 cousin that just so happens to have four doors, seating for a family, and space for all their luggage — sits so handily with the Panamera GTS' overall package. 

Yes, it's not quite as comfortable with its stiffer, slightly lowered suspension; no, you don't get the extra economy and convenience of the E-Hybrid drivetrain; sure, it's thirstier (18 mpg combined, says the EPA, but drive hard and that's so aspirational as to be laughable). Rationally, I know which is the "right" choice, then, but rationality just isn't the primary factor when you're spending six figures on a luxury sports sedan.