Hello all,

I'm looking for a 2014 Panamera S or hybrids..

just wondering if anyone can guide me.. are the hybrids problematic cars?

would it be better to get justa Panamera S

thank you all

 

Personally I don't like hybrids... just got a 2014 cayenne hybrid loaner, there's a loud fan noise coming from the battery in the trunk. Really loud and annoying.

Read through these if you have time...

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...pressions.html

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-e-hybrid.html

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...g-anomaly.html

 

In 2014 the Cayenne Hybrid was a different set up than the Panamera. The Panamera went ehybrid in 2014 where the Cayenne didn't until 2015.

 

Solrac,

There were a few charging software update required on the charging station and all is well. Very happy with mine. Have 17K miles on it and don't regret it one bit. One can drive it slow like a hybrid and get great gas mileage or drive fast like a sports sedan...you pick..that is the beauty of the e-Hybrid. I have driven +1000 miles one way and it is very very comfortable. Also with some planning you CAN get close to 900-1000 miles between gas fills specially if most of your trips are short.

 

I've owned a PSeH for a bit over a year. The "first day with a PSeH" thread is one I started to share my experiences that kind of grew to a more general discussion.

Which you should choose really depends. What's motivating you to look at the S e Hybrid?

If it's about fuel cost, that's really the least expensive part of owning one of these cars. I was rather disgusted to get hit for $370 for an oil change. I'm stuck with dealer service because I'd never take the Hybrid to an independent mechanic. There's too much unusual stuff in the car.

If it's about just liking the idea of using less gas without driving something awful like a Prius, it does make sense. That was my motivation.

It's much more fuel efficient than the S. How much more efficient depends on your driving habits. Shorter trips (under 14 miles) can potentially be entirely or almost entirely on electricity. It's still very fuel efficient even on long trips on gas alone. I've gotten 33-35 MPG on the highway on 400+ mile trips. I gather that's about 50% more than you can expect from an S in real-world driving.

It has a bit of a split personality. It's most efficient in e-Power mode, but dull and underwhelming. This isn't about the electric motor, which is fine, it's about the conservative throttle mapping and low shift points.

It's more-or-less comparable to an S in Sport mode, but that precludes electric cruising. In Sport it's a bit better than an S in some ways because of the terrific low-speed torque, but not quite as fast if you're looking at 0-60 times. I've never found it disappointing in Sport or Sport+, regardless.

The main reason I'm not in Sport all the time is traffic. If I'm behind someone and can't use more than 25% of the car's capability anyway, I might as well be in e-Power mode. Usually it's impossible for me to use more than electric power because I'm limited by the speed of the car in front of me.

I'd say the main thing you give up with the PSeH vs. an S is that you get an automatic transmission instead of a PDK. I haven't driven a PDK-equipped car so I have no idea how much of a difference that makes.

One thing you gain is that you'll never, ever worry about the car starting. Instead of having a starter driven by a 12 volt battery, the 384v traction battery and 95 HP electric motor provides all the energy to start the engine. There's no starter noise, it's just suddenly on with no apparent transition. It's the only Panamera model where engine start / stop is completely painless.

I've never had the fan noise problem that Goonie describes.

Ace10's had terrible trouble with his, but that may just be his car. It's possible that his trouble are at least partly related to parking it outside in winter. If so, it could be a general weakness of the car's charging port dealing poorly with that, something that could affect any owner. I've never had that issue, but I keep mine in a garage.

Porsche dealers and service departments in general don't really understand the car all that well. They can do what the service manuals tell them easily enough, but they're not so adept at diagnosing issues relating to the hybrid system as they are with regular cars.

For example, I tried to get my dealership to install the software update to the charging station that Mickey mentioned, with no luck because they really don't know what I'm talking about. The problem it fixes - a reboot loop - doesn't show up all that often for me, so I can't demonstrate it to them easily.

 

The fan noise is from the mild hybrids. Not plug ins.

Two ENTIRELY different vehicles.

 

thanks guys, great info, thank you all for taking the time with all the explanation...the Hybrid sounds like a really cool car.. I was looking for S caught my attention that price on used ones is similar to the regular S

 

be sure to pay attention to (i.e. experience by driving) the difference between the automatic transmission used in the hybrid and the PDK used in the rest of the panamera lineup. I find the PDK to be an incredible compliment to our '15 GTS, especially compared to automatic in our VW Touareg (sister car to the cayenne)