Key Points in This Review:
- The 2025 Porsche Panamera GTS is both fast and quick, with a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 that’s good for 493 horsepower, a 0-60 mph run of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 188 mph.
- With a firm ride and heavier steering, the GTS is also the most sporting trim level in the Panamera lineup.
- Expect to pay up for this performance: The as-tested price of the Panamera GTS in this review was $178,000.
I’m a big fan of grand touring. Or rather, I love labeling some of my road trips as such, all depending on how evocative the journey is with regard to the “what” and “where.” An Aston Martin up the coast of France? Magnifique. Grand touring! A long drive through Iowan and Nebraskan cornfields in an F-150? Rustic, but that’s a road trip. A blast from Los Angeles to Monterey, Calif., in a 2025 Porsche Panamera? A tour, done grandly.
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Grand touring is, after all, almost entirely down to the car — or in this case, the grand tourer. Classically speaking, a GT is fast, luxurious and capable of comfortably fitting two adults and with enough luggage for a weekend getaway. These days, the lines are blurred between sports car and GT to where cars like the Ferrari 12Cilindri and Aston Martin Vanquish are nearly as happy on the track as on the Route Napoleon. Even the edgy Porsche 911 is big enough, comfortable enough and well-composed enough to simultaneously elevate a road trip while fading into the background when not needed.
But even the plushest and most upfitted 911 isn’t Porsche’s best big-distance bruiser. That honor falls to the Panamera. Its big power, beaucoup features, sharp handling, fine materials and a big-arse cargo area trunk makes for a proper GT — albeit with an extra set of doors.
What Is Porsche’s GTS Trim?
There isn’t a bad GT in the Panamera lineup, though you’d best weigh your priorities when considering the available trim levels. My test drive began with a lovely Gentian Blue Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, complete with Porsche’s trick Active Ride tech — which, in the 25 or so urban miles I put under its wheels, turned pavement to pillows. The plug-in hybrid Panamera 4 variant is far from the raciest, but I was quite looking forward to floating my way up to Monterey, happily trading pace for grace.
It wasn’t to be. Quite literally as I pulled out of my street to head out on a five-hour “tour,” a glitch in the air-conditioning system resulted in the E-Hybrid being swapped for a Panamera GTS — the most driver-focused entry in the Panamera lineup. I was immensely grateful for any replacement at all, but gone was the Active Ride system, the sedate plug-in powertrain, creamy leather touchpoints and cushy-sidewall tires. In their place were carbon fiber and simulated suede trim, ceramic brakes and launch control.
The GTS is the only way to get a V-8 in your Panamera without stepping up to either a Turbo or Turbo S E-Hybrid. Porsche’s familiar twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 snorts and whistles out 493 horsepower and 486 pounds-feet of torque and sends it to all four wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Those are healthy figures, but at the same time, they’re also relatively dowdy in the context of the GTS’ purpose and its $178,000 as-tested price.
This blasé reaction to nearly 500 hp is a direct symptom of perspective rot: Backed by standard all-wheel drive and that eight-speed transmission, launch-control starts are violent enough to fling phones from cupholders and press you deep, deep into the GTS’ ventilated leather seats. The metallic gnash you hear from that boosted V-8 is an oily, mechanical racket, more salvo than sonorous — but also quieter than you might expect.
How Comfortable Is the Porsche Panamera GTS?
The exhaust is about the only thing that’s muffled in this car. An adaptive air suspension cuts the range between firm and yeeowch, while massive 275-wide front and 325-wide rear Bridgestone tires hop and slip during low-speed parking lot and U-turn maneuvers. Steering is on the heavier side, and you must be vigilant to not scrape the car’s low front end as you exit carparks and shopping centers.
Sound like too much for daily use? Hardly. This is all within the context of the Panamera lineup, and it proves that Porsche was serious about positioning the GTS as the driver’s choice. Left alone and in Normal drive mode, the GTS’ powertrain is no more aggressive than Porsche’s entry-level V-6, and its transmission is no harsher than the gearbox found in the base Macan SUV.
It’s right there in the name — “Gran Turismo Sport.” You only really notice these titanium-tipped edges when crawling through traffic or nosing it around a dense urban environment with broken pavement and tight parking. Out on the open highways that cut through California’s Central Valley, the GTS was a leather-wrapped railgun, swallowing miles by the hundreds while I sat at the wheel enjoying Porsche’s excellent adaptive cruise control and the GTS’ upgraded Bose sound system.
How Does the Porsche Panamera GTS Drive?
Passing and merging are an explosive affair, with any obstacle buzzing along under the “irresponsible” mark easily dispatched with audible turbocharger whistle and a filthy roar. Then, it was back to a refined background grumble as I settled into a cruise speed best described as, ah, healthy.
Handling? Well, as my weeklong loan was intended to take me to Monterey Car Week, I had little opportunity to hustle the GTS outside the straight and narrow environs between there and Los Angeles, which were traffic-clogged at least two-thirds of the time. However, a few cheeky chucks on 17 Mile Drive and a very brief venture into Big Sur revealed I was really missing out. Body roll is minimal and grip is tremendous, backed by options like rear-wheel steering and brutally effective carbon-ceramic brakes that will wrest your fillings from your mouth (and $9,870 from your wallet).
You get all of this plus ample space for passengers and luggage. It’s quiet when it needs to be, comfortable when left alone, faster than its numbers suggest, and loaded to the gills with tech and creature comforts. Like the best grand tourers and greatest performance sedans, it’s all things to everyone with no flat spots.
A grand car, a grand trip, a grand GTS.
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