If you’re on the look out for a real sports car driving experience in larger luxury vehicle, then you’ll be hard-pressed to top the Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition. That’s especially true when you measure it up against comparables like the Audi S7 and the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door.
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“Elegance” is the word that comes to mind, yes, especially in the Copper Ruby Metallic colour of the press vehicle – total retail price of $139,870 CAD. But it was also mean – hugging the corners of a highway on-ramp as we opened it up. Those few seconds right there was what we have come to expect in a Porsche vehicle.
The 2022 Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition came loaded with options. These include adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), exterior mirrors with automatic dimming, LED matrix main headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS Plus). The panoramic roof system is especially impactful. It has Park Assist with Surround View ($1,050), and an on-board AC charger with 7.2 kW charging power.
The Platinum-painted 21-inch Exclusive Design Sport wheels, Black sports tailpipes, privacy glass, side window trims in High-Gloss Black and Exclusive Design tail lights all play to the vehicle’s dynamic elegance.
That elegance flows right down the smallest of details, like the painted air outlet trims behind the front wheels, and that Porsche logo stretched across the back end. It’s an executive car with a sporty edge – it really walks the line well.
The interior is stamped by that analogue clock perched in the middle of the dash. That also speaks to the elegance of the car right there.
Inside, there’s a GT sports steering wheel and Power Steering Plus, Lane Change Assist, soft-close doors with Comfort Entry, 14-way electrically adjustable comfort front seats with memory package. Then there’s heated rear seats, a BOSE Surround Sound system, the brushed aluminium interior package in Black and the Porsche crest on the headrests. The door sill guards are made of brushed aluminium in Black and feature the Platinum Edition logo.
Through the first half of 2022, Porsche reported they had delivered 145,860 cars to customers worldwide, a number that was surprising considering the challenges around the world through last year. Those challenges included the Covid pandemic in China, supply chain issues, and an economic slowdown. There was a year-to-year five per cent decline, however.
Demand remains particularly high for SUV models. A total of 41,947 customers took the Porsche Cayenne. Next was the Macan, with 38,039 deliveries. The sports car icon, the 911, was delivered to 21,616 customers worldwide. The Taycan was handed to 18,877 customers – despite production limitations due to supply-chain bottlenecks, which particularly impacted the all-electric Porsche.
The Panamera was delivered 15,604 times, while 9,777 examples of the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman models went out to customers.
Overall? The 2022 Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition is a 4-door liftback executive sedan of exceptional quality, a cross between the 911 sportscar and the Porsche line of SUVs. The gas-only model does 325 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque (2.9 litre biturbo V6). There is a rear-wheel drive version, as well as the all-wheel drive and the E-Hybrid PHEV. If you go with the PHEV you’re bumping the power output with the electric propulsion system to 455 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque.
The leather interior in grey ($4,330) is worth the investment, for style and comfort.
