Car Reviews

Sometimes what a car lacks can be just as significant, if not more so, than what it has in abundance. Take for instance the new 2020 Audi e-tron Sportback, which has no shortage of technology, luxury, and engineering. And yet, its arguably standout quality is how little noise it actually makes, or at least how little of it you can actually hear. If silence is golden, then the e-tron is the gilded chariot of electric SUVs.
Just how quiet is the e-tron Sportback? Our sound meter registered a low 63 decibels inside it at a steady 70 mph—one decibel less than the standard e-tron. The Sportback nearly matches the $335,350 Rolls-Royce Cullinan’s 62 decibels in the same test. Yet, even R-R’s rolling sensory-deprivation chamber makes a comparative racket (71 decibels) when you unleash its 563-hp V-12 engine. In contrast, matting the e-tron Sportback’s accelerator only raised the volume to a 65-decibel whir.

HIGHS: Supremely quiet inside, improved range, beautiful and spacious cabin.

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Audi

Audi e-tron Is an EV Hiding in Plain Sight

All the Right Moves: 2021 Audi e-tron S Sportback

This is not surprising. EVs are inherently quiet due to the absence of controlled explosions under their hoods, which is why safety regulations now require all new electric vehicles to hum like spaceships at low speeds to avoid running over pedestrians. But Audi deserves kudos for refining the e-tron’s aerodynamics so as to generate almost no audible wind noise at speed. In addition to laminated side window glass on higher trim levels, there’s enough sound insulation packed into the Sportback’s structure to account for a good chunk of its massive 5819-pound curb weight. Tire roar on the highway is faint, and even rough roads and pavement seams produce only distant thumps from the wheel wells.
The Sportback’s quiet operation was particularly noticeable on our loaded Edition One test vehicle—one of only 200 built for the 2020 model year—because it otherwise performed the same as the mechanically similar 2019 e-tron we last tested. The Sportback weighs a negligible 24 pounds less than the standard e-tron. Like its sibling, toggling the Sportback’s shift trigger to S mode unlocks an overboost setting that juices the combined output from its front and rear motors from 355 horsepower to 402, which is good for a plenty adequate 5.1-second run to 60 mph. There’s certainly no confusing it with a cheetah-mode Tesla, as it passes the quarter-mile in a 13.8 seconds at 101 mph. But the e-tron powertrain’s quick responses and instant torque make passing maneuvers a snap. Its 3.0-second 50-to-70-mph time is seat-pinningly impressive, although we’ll hold our full excitement for the three-motor S version of the Sportback that we’ve already driven in prototype form.

LOWS: Range and performance doesn’t match Tesla, regen isn’t aggressive enough to allow one-pedal operation, $3200 more than the standard e-tron.

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Audi

The e-tron Sportback is also un-Tesla-like in that it won’t regenerate as aggressively as the Tesla when you lift off the accelerator. There is no one-pedal driving for this Audi. The deceleration from the regeneration system’s default Auto setting is minimal, but you can ratchet it up via the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. The strongest of the three settings noticeably slows the vehicle when you let off the accelerator and was our preferred setup, allowing the friction brakes to be used only for larger braking events and when pulling to a complete stop.
The big news for both 2020 model-year e-tron SUVs is that Audi now uses more of their 95.0-kWh battery packs—91 percent, up from 2019’s 88 percent—which earns the Sportback an EPA-estimated range of 218 miles. Based on our 75-mph highway test, we calculate a real-world range of 220 miles versus 190 miles for the 2019 e-tron. That figure is average for today’s electrified SUVs, but it can’t match the Tesla’s models. But it’s a useful improvement for what is a large and accommodating SUV that can pull up to 4000 pounds when fitted with its optional towing package. Audi says the e-tron can recharge to 80 percent in about 30 minutes using a 150-kW Level 3 DC fast charger, but hook it up to a 240-volt household outlet and a full refill of electrons takes around 10 hours.

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Audi

The Sportback’s less-than-sporty demeanor makes it easy to nurse its energy capacity. Ride comfort over bad roads is quite good with the standard air springs, even on our test car’s optional 21-inch wheels and 265/45R-21 all-season tires (20s are standard). And the e-tron’s substantial mass combined with the Quattro all-wheel-drive system—which operates in rear-wheel drive most of the time—gives it a solid sense of composure. Competent, secure, and isolated, despite having Sport in its name, there’s not much to urge the driver to crank the Sportback’s numb and heavily weighted steering wheel around corners. Pushed to its limit of adhesion, our test car returned a modest 0.84 g of grip around the skidpad and needed a lengthy 184 feet to stop from 70 mph.
Anyone that’s sat in an Audi Q8 will be immediately at home with the Sportback’s interior. Most of the controls, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and the dual MMI touchscreens on its center stack are all from the Q8. Overall comfort, refinement, and perceived build and material quality are excellent, all of which make the Sportback a lovely (and quiet) place to relax. If you’re taken by the Sportback’s sleeker fastback silhouette versus the standard e-tron, know that its back seat remains cavernous for two riders and generous for three, with plenty of headroom for all but the tallest occupants. And its truncated cargo hold, at a decent 27 cubic feet, is a mere two cubes smaller than the standard model’s.

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Audi

With limited production for the 2020 model year, 2021 will be the e-tron Sportback’s first full year on sale. Major changes include an expansion of the lineup to Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trim levels, up from 2020’s Premium Plus and Edition One. But you’ll want to opt for at least Premium Plus to get the thicker side windows, a convenient second charge port on the passenger-side front fender to allow you to charge from either side, and fancy matrix LED headlights, even if archaic headlight regulations in the United States limit their advanced capability to cheeky animations when the vehicle is parked.
As with most fastback derivatives of conventionally shaped SUVs, the stylish roofline costs more. A 2021 e-tron Sportback Premium has a base price of $70,195, the Premium Plus version asks for $79,095, and the top Prestige model costs $83,395. Compared to the standard e-tron, that works out to an upcharge of $3200 regardless of the trim. The value of silence, however, is harder to put a price on.

Specifications

Specifications
2020 Audi e-tron Sportback
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE AS TESTED $89,490 (base price: $78,395)
MOTOR TYPE 2 induction AC motors, 184 and 224 hp, 228 and 262 lb-ft; combined output, 402 hp, 490 lb-ft; 86.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION 2 single-speed direct drive
CHASSIS Suspension (F/R): multilink/multilinkBrakes (F/R): 14.8-in vented disc/13.8-in vented discTires: Bridgestone CrossContact LX Sport, 265/45R-21 108H M+S AO
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 115.0 inLength: 193.0 inWidth: 76.2 inHeight: 65.0 inPassenger volume: 102 ft3Cargo volume: 27 ft3Curb weight: 5819 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 5.1 sec100 mph: 13.3 sec120 mph: 22.2 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.2 secTop gear, 30–50 mph: 2.3 secTop gear, 50–70 mph: 3.0 sec1/4 mile: 13.8 sec @ 101 mphTop speed (governor limited, mfr’s claim): 125 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 182 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.84 gStanding-start accel times omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
C/D FUEL ECONOMY 75-mph highway driving: 75 MPGeHighway range: 220 miles
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 77/76/78 MPGeRange: 218 miles
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED

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Ford’s 7.3-liter truck engine is back, and this time it’s a gas. More

Ford’s new Godzilla engine rides high, literally, in the 2020 F-350 Tremor. More

Smoke hangs in the air. Not tire smoke. That will come later. Half of California is on fire. The closest blaze to Malibu is more than 50 miles away, but the shifting winds have grayed its coastal skies, turning the air thick and bitter. White flecks of ash, like hell’s own snowfall, have coated the Jeep Wrangler 392 concept’s dark Granite Crystal paint and custom Red Rock leather upholstery.
The Wrangler’s Hemi explodes to life and quickly settles down, idling like a 450-hp V-8 should: ba … ba … ba. It exhales through an active exhaust system with a large muffler and four tailpipes hidden below its rear bumper. Pushing a button amplifies the V-8’s volume and drops its timbre a few octaves: BA … BA … BA.

450-HP V-8–Powered Jeep Wrangler Is Coming

Jeep Seen Testing New V-8–Powered Wrangler Rubicon

The long tease is over. For years Jeep has tantalized us with dirty talk of a V-8-powered Jeep Wrangler. Now it’s finally happening. Earlier this summer, in response to the introduction of the Ford Bronco, the Wrangler’s first real rival in more than a decade, Jeep made it mostly official. First it unveiled the beastly 392 concept with a 6.4-liter Hemi, and then it unleashed production-ready prototypes into the wild for spy photographers to capture. They didn’t miss.

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Jeep

It appears the production version of the concept will be a Rubicon Unlimited and wear the non-functional scooped hood from the Gladiator Mojave pickup, just as the 392 concept does. We expect the same engine under that hood as well—Fiat Chrysler’s iron-block 392-cubic-inch Hemi, which presently brings 475 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque to the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and Dodge Durango SRT 392, and 485 horsepower to Charger and Challenger variants.
Fitting the engine into the Wrangler required reinforcements to its frame and engine mounts. It’s crammed in there with about a finger’s width between its accessories and cooling fans. But the bulk of the engine sits behind the front axle line, and there’s still room for the battery against the firewall. Overall Jeep says it’s roughly 200 pounds heavier than a Wrangler with the standard, aluminum-block 3.6-liter V-6, which would put it at roughly 4800 pounds.
Jeep has also fitted the concept with the Grand Cherokee SRT’s strengthened ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, and it borrows the two-speed Selec-Trac transfer case from the Wrangler’s Sport and Sahara models with the same 2.72:1 low-range gearing. The Rubicon’s standard part-time Rock-Trac transfer case has 4.0:1 gears, and an optional full-time four-wheel-drive unit is newly available for 2021. Strengthened with heavy-duty ARB differential covers, the Rubicon’s Dana 44 axles with electronic locking differentials front and rear are still in place, as is its disconnecting front anti-roll bar.

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Jeep

Since the 392 concept was originally destined for this year’s Easter Jeep Safari, which was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a two-inch lift kit was installed, as were Fox shocks from the Gladiator Rubicon. A Warn winch was added to its front bumper, and bead-lock wheels, which are projected to make it to production in some form, wear 37-inch BFGoodrich mud-terrain tires and provide an additional two inches of ride height. Jeep says there’s a total of 13.3 inches of ground clearance and that the 392 can ford 34 inches of water, 4 inches more than a Rubicon.
Jeep also says the 392 concept gets to 60 mph in less than five seconds, but we weren’t able to launch it with any anger. Its transfer case is jacked. It’s only sending power to the rear tires, and those big, knobby BFGs don’t grab asphalt very well. With a functioning all-wheel-drive system, a Grand Cherokee SRT rips to 60 mph in a little more than four seconds, so the Wrangler will probably be in that neighborhood. But anything more than half throttle sends the traction-control system into panic mode and turning it off just results in a smoke show that lasts through first and second gears. We spent quite a bit of time contributing to southern California’s current air-quality problem.

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Jeep

Even nailing the throttle at 50 mph sends the traction-control light flickering. Usually such intervention is cause for complaint, but in this case there’s a sense that the electronics are the only thing keeping the Jeep on the road every time we put the pedal to the floor. The V-8 feels its strongest above 3000 rpm and carries its power curve to the 6400-rpm redline. Its rumble is always there, whipping through your hair with the hot winds of summer. The transmission’s calibration could still use some tweaking. Left in Drive, the eight-speed short shifts into second gear at around 5900 revs and is slow to respond to downshift requests.
The driveline malfunction also bins any hope of exploring some trails, so we spend our time on the two lanes that carve through the Santa Monica Mountains, where the Wrangler feels tall but surprisingly sorted. Its steering is sloppier than stock, but its ride is relatively supple, and there’s little indication of its increased curb weight and heavier nose. It isn’t nearly as clumsy as you’d expect.
Jeep says customers have been asking for a V-8 Wrangler for some time. Probably since the CJ-7 lost its AMC 304 V-8 in 1981. Well, it’s almost time for those power-hungry Jeepers to spend their money—at least $50K to start, if we had to guess. If our time in the Wrangler 392 concept is any indication of what we expect to be coming, they won’t be disappointed.
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From the Archive: Maybe the world’s quickest ovoid. (Go look it up.) More

When we look back on the late era of the internal combustion engine, the new Rolls-Royce Ghost may well prove to be the last sedan powered by a V-12 without hybrid assistance. This is a distinction that might be celebrated noisily, but 220 pounds of expertly applied sound-deadening material has other ideas. This is a car that never shouts and rarely does much more than whisper. It seemingly requires wide-open throttle to produce any evidence of internal combustion, and even then the V-12 merely issues a distant but purposeful hum of the sort you’d hear on the bridge of a luxury yacht a few seconds after moving the engine order telegraph to full ahead. Many brands will struggle to maintain their identities in the age of electrification, but for Rolls-Royce it will be a liberation from the small amount of disruption its engines still cause.
Much about the new Ghost is familiar, for the simple reason that the first version became the brand’s best-selling model of all time over a decade-long run. The new car is slightly bigger and considerably cleverer but looks very similar from the outside. Exterior styling is cleaner and less fussy, Rolls reckoning it has identified what it terms a “post opulent” trend among the sharp-end one percenters who make up its clientele. But although more visually modest than the full-baller Phantom, the 218.3-inch, 5700-pound Ghost is never going to be short on presence, especially now that its rear-hinged second-row doors have gained power operation for opening as well as closing. It also gets the option of an illuminated radiator grille.

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Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Goes All In for the Last Ghost Zenith

2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost Changed, Still Elegant

Beneath the surface, all has changed. The first Ghost sat on the same underpinnings as the F01 BMW 7-series, but this one is based on the modular Rolls-only Architecture of Luxury platform that underpins both Phantom and Cullinan. Like its SUV sibling, the new Ghost gets both all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering, with its 6.7-liter twin-turbo V-12 making the same output of 563 horsepower.
Yes, it will hustle. Those Ghost buyers who will drive the car themselves—a clear majority in the United States—will be able to enjoy the surprising accelerative forces it is capable of generating. While never unseemly enough to chirp its tires, the Ghost will launch hard with the nose-up attitude common to the powerful but softly sprung. We didn’t confirm the claimed 4.6-second 60-mph time during our drive in the United Kingdom, but considering the nearly 400-pound-heavier Cullinan has beat that, we’re expecting the Ghost to be a bit quicker. It certainly seems quick enough. Steering is light and short on resistance, but front-end responses are accurate and grip levels are keen. An active anti-roll bar is fitted to the rear, but this is powered by a 12-volt motor (the Bentley Flying Spur has a 48-volt system), and the effect under harder cornering is limited. The brake pedal is weighted to make ultra-smooth stops easy and thus is also a little too soft for accurate modulation under hard braking.

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Rolls-Royce

The Ghost is much happier at a gentler pace, with the most important statistic being the supine 1600 rpm at which the mighty engine attains its peak torque of 627 pound-feet. There is no way to manually select gears for the eight-speed automatic transmission, nor is there any obvious need to with the system software working as unobtrusively as an attentive valet. Just as in Phantom and Cullinan, the transmission uses GPS assistance to help intelligently select the right gear for approaching corners and junctions. Rolls-Royce is now happy to publicly state power and performance figures—it used to just claim an “adequate sufficiency”—but it still refuses to fit anything as vulgar as a tachometer to the instrument panel. Yet even with the Power Reserve meter showing more than 80 percent of the engine’s output untapped, performance is still brisk.
At first, suspension settings feel too soft. The Ghost’s pillowy initial response to a bump feels as if it will be followed by the wallow of a ’60s land yacht, but the air springs and adaptive dampers arrest the seemingly inevitable counter heave. At higher speeds it turns into a true magic carpet, with a road-reading stereo camera system informing the dampers of upcoming undulations. There are also dampers fitted to the top control arms that are designed to counteract vibration. Even sizable compressions are digested without apparent effort, with snug sound insulation doing a similarly good job at stopping the too-real world from spoiling the tranquillity of the Ghost’s cabin. At 70 mph it is as quiet as most cars would be at 30 mph; conversations between front and rear seat can be conducted in a whisper. One strange omission is lane-keeping cruise control. The Ghost will keep distance from a car in front but doesn’t have active lane assist.

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Rolls-Royce

The cabin is spacious, although slightly less roomy than you might expect given the car’s external dimensions. In regular form, the new Ghost is only barely shorter than the extended-wheelbase version of the outgoing car. Large adults can sit comfortably in the rear but without the ankle-twirling room that many associate with true luxury, a deficit that the inevitable stretched version will rectify. The combination of a high beltline and huge pillars also limits visibility, especially from the driver’s seat, where there are substantial blind spots to the front three-quarters and over the shoulder. We also noted that, at a regular seating height, only the top half of the Spirit of Ecstasy hood mascot can be seen, meaning the visible silhouette looks more like Dumbo than the Flying Lady.

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Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce continues to deliberately make its cabins feel closer to the 1920s than the 2020s, with archaic details like mechanical-style rotary heater controls in place of the omnipresent digital climate readouts of every upmarket rival. For the Ghost, it has added individual digital instruments that look and behave exactly like the conventional dials they replaced. But the overall effect still feels entirely special, thanks to details like the perfectly weighted metal air vents and the beautifully stitched leather dashboard. Even the starry headliner—which uses hundreds of fiber optics to mimic a clear night sky—doesn’t feel like a gimmick.
It is hard to criticize a car that betters a successful predecessor in every key regard, which is what the new Ghost manages. As ultra-luxury buyers follow the herd toward a preference for SUVs, it seems unlikely that this Ghost will be as popular as the outgoing version. But on every empirical and even subjective regard, it is the superior car.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE $320,000
ENGINE TYPE twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 412 in3, 6749 cm3Power 563 hp @ 5000 rpmTorque 627 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm
TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 129.7 inLength: 218.3 inHeight: 61.9 inTrunk volume: 18 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 5700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 4.3 sec100 mph: 10.4 sec1/4 mile: 12.7 secTop speed: 155 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 14/12/19 mpg

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From the Archive: What a $109,000 luxury car looked like in 1981. More

Has the electric Porsche Taycan pushed the Panamera aside? Is the Panamera now redundant, archaic, and possibly even unnecessary? We’re here to say that the Panamera isn’t ready for its last rites.
Evidence of that is the 2021 Panamera 4S E-Hybrid Executive. Like all Panameras, it is undergoing a mid-cycle refresh for 2021. The long name reflects all of the best features of the car. The 4 is for all-wheel drive, S stands for high performance, E-Hybrid tells you that it’s a plug-in hybrid, and Executive denotes the wheelbase stretch. Think of it as a limousine that ate a 911 Turbo, had a Toyota Prius Prime for dessert, and then was itself covered in Hershey’s chocolate syrup. It’s freakishly good.

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Porsche

2021 Porsche Panamera Doubles Down on Power

New Porsche Panamera Sets Record at Nürburgring

The internal combustion side of the hybrid system is familiar. Under the hood is the corporate twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V-6. It’s the same engine Porsche uses in versions of the Macan and Cayenne and that Audi bolts in, among other things, the S6 and S7 sports sedans. A 325-hp version of the 2.9-liter is now the standard powerplant in the base 2021 Panamera. In the new Panamera 4S E-Hybrid it has a more serious 443 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque.
Between the new engine and its eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, Porsche crams in the heart of the E-Hybrid system: a 134-hp electric motor. While 134 is a modest number of ponies, the motor also thumps along with 295 pound-feet of instant torque. The combination feeds the V-6 and the electric whizzer directly into the transmission. And it’s all good for 552 horsepower and a thumping 553 pound-feet of torque. If you’re checking our math, the motor and engine outputs don’t add up to 577 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque because the motor and engine don’t peak at the same rpm.

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Porsche

Last year’s twin-turbocharged V-8-powered Panamera Turbo had a mere 550 horsepower. The 4S E-Hybrid replaces the discontinued Turbo in the 2021 Panamera line, though the monstrous new Turbo S with 620 horsepower and the even more insane Turbo S E-Hybrid stand at the top of the performance mountain.
The Executive model has a wheelbase that is 5.9 inches longer than ordinary Panameras and stretches out a full 204.7 inches long. But the dimensions that announce the Panamera Executive’s presence are its 78.2-inch width and sleek 56.2-inch overall height. This isn’t a car that’s trying to hide its bulk.
While the Taycan uses a floating gauge panel displaying the instrumentation, the Panamera’s centered tachometer and other gauges are still burrowed into the dash. The riot of control buttons that were a hallmark of the first Panamera’s cockpit were replaced by sleek touch-sensitive controls and a touchscreen in this generation, but even that seems like throwback tech compared to the Taycan.

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Porsche

Though the Panamera is a big sedan, it seems far smaller than its Volkswagen Group chassis-mate, the Bentley Flying Spur, or any big Mercedes sedan. It would be better if the front doors were a bit longer to make it easier to get in and out, some of the controls may as well be marked with hieroglyphics, and in a car as elegant as this, we could do without the E-Hybrid’s lime-green badging and painted brake calipers.
The E-Hybrid system’s battery pack has grown from 14.1-kilowatt hours to 17.9, and that 27-percent boost in capacity should be good for 18 miles of electric range. EPA ratings will be released closer to the on-sale date. That, however, misses what’s best about this hefty brawler. Put the 4S E-Hybrid Executive into Sport or Sport Plus, and all the resources go into the service of high-performance entertainment. Porsche claims it will, using launch control, slam to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and thunder all the way to 185 mph. The short wheelbase version, says the company, will get to 60 mph a tenth quicker.
With the electric motor’s instant low-end torque combined with V-6’s revving character, this isn’t what you might expect of a hybrid. With all the power funneling into the transmission, it feels like a seamless, heavily muscled battleship. Using the paddle shifters to great effect, the 4S E-Hybrid accelerates and responds like a vehicle weighing about a ton less than it does.

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Porsche

Previous Panameras were always impressive at handling despite their mass but were remote in their feedback to the driver. This one, on the other hand, is nearly sports-car chatty. The revised damping and 21-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires, sized 275/35 up front and 325/30 in the rear, transmit just enough of the car’s movement into the driver’s butt to feel the tail tucking in or the nose taking a bite into a corner. It’s best in Sport and Sport Plus modes, but it’s even good when trawling in electric cruise. Porsche has also revised the electronic power steering’s assist map to add more effort just off center when the car is at speed.
This particular example was equipped with adaptive sport suspension, 48-volt active anti-roll bars, and carbon-ceramic brake rotors. That the driver doesn’t notice all the computerized negotiation going on between the Panamera and the pavement doesn’t mean it isn’t going on. Porsche is effectively curating what sensations make it into the cockpit and which are filtered out.
The computers are doing such a good job that sometimes this massive machine can briefly act like a 911. There always seems to be traction available, thrust to order, and chassis reflexes that would send an NFL cornerback to All-Pro. The gigantic brakes could stop aging.

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Porsche

Porsche has done such a good job tailoring the driving experience that you might not want to ever sit in back. Yes, there’s plenty of legroom because of the wheelbase stretch and the command controls in the rear center console will satisfy all of your Jean-Luc Picard “Make it so” fantasies. But do you love your chauffeur so much that you’d hand over one of the world’s best sports sedans? Why would anyone want to deny themselves the pleasure of piloting this starship themselves?
And that’s why the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid remains relevant despite the existence of the Taycan. While the Taycan delivers its own brilliant driving experience, it’s a different and quieter one than the Panamera’s. The Taycan simply can’t match the Panamera for the auditory and visceral joy that comes with its internal-combustion engine.
The 2021 Panameras won’t make it to North America until next year; this Truffle Brown example was an early European-spec example. Look for official pricing to be announced right before the car goes on sale. Judging by the current price of a 4S E-Hybrid Executive, we’d guess that the 2021 model will open at about $150,000. That’s a large outlay of cash, but it slots nicely between the prices of the 522-hp Taycan 4S and the 670-hp Taycan Turbo S.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Porsche Panamera 4S E-Hybrid Executive
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback
BASE PRICE (C/D EST) $150,000
POWERTRAIN twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 2.9-liter V-6, 443 hp, 405 lb-ft; permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor, 134 hp, 295 lb-ft; combined output, 552 hp, 553 lb-ft; 17.9-kWh lithium-ion
TRANSMISSION 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 122.0 inLength: 204.7 inWidth: 78.2 inHeight: 56.2 inPassenger volume: 96 ft3Cargo volume: 14 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 5200 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 3.3 sec100 mph: 9.4 sec1/4 mile: 11.8 secTop speed: 185 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 23/21/24 mpgCombined gasoline+electricity: 51 MPGeEV range: 18 miles

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