2022 Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition Review

Automotive trendwatchers will have noticed that blackout trims are all the rage these days. Head to the customizer on just about any automaker website and you’ll find some variation of a blackout trim or package on anything from a Nissan Kicks to a Cadillac Escalade.

Porsche has jumped onto the bandwagon with its 2022 Panamera. But true to Porsche form, it’s done so with a twist that brings the concept further upscale: rather than opting for fully black details, Porsche’s four-door liftback sedan is now available in Platinum Edition.

Offered on the base rear-wheel-drive Panamera as well as the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4 and the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid PHEV, the Platinum Edition adds 21-inch platinum-painted sports wheels, platinum logos and badging, platinum air outlets behind the front wheels, black tailpipes, privacy glass, high-gloss black side window trims, and Exclusive Design tail lights. It also equips a set of high demand features: an adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) electronic active damping, auto-dimming side mirrors, LED matrix main headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (a forward and side-to-side adaptive lighting system), and an on-board 7.2-kW AC charger for the plug-in hybrid models.



On the base Panamera, this package takes the pre-fees price from $103,400 to $121,700, a difference of $18,300. Most Canadians considering a Panamera will opt for all-wheel drive, and doing so in the Platinum Edition takes the Panamera 4 from $108,700 to $126,500, a $17,800 difference. In the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, you’ll pay $15,800 more as the price goes from $121,800 to $137,600.

Each of these cars comes with the Panamera’s entry-level engine, a 2.9-litre biturbo V6. On the gas-only models it makes 325 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque, while opting for the PHEV adds an electric propulsion system that bumps total system output to 455 hp and 516 lb-ft. This latter setup starts to approach the power that’s available in the Panamera’s upper trims, but the Panamera and Panamera 4 don’t come close to the face-melting properties of the GTS or the Turbo S. In our road test of the 2022 Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition, we’d categorize the power output and throttle response as composed, not brash; sufficient, not excessive.



But that speaks to the type of driver at whom this trim is aimed. Those who wants tons of power and lauded Porsche performance are going to look to the GTS or Turbo S models, and they’ll take great delight in customizing their purchase down to the final detail. The build sheet for our test unit — which carries an as-tested price of $139,870 — is the shortest we can remember seeing for any Porsche because so many of the most commonly optioned features are pre-selected. This is a car for a busy executive who wants to point at a brochure and say, “I’ll take this one, in that Copper Ruby Metallic,” and end up with an elegant daily driver with exceptional build quality and brand cachet.



Even the busiest executive will still want to add a few features, though, and our test vehicle offers decent guidance in that regard. It tacks on adaptive cruise control ($2,570), rear-axle steering ($1,530, a very worthwhile upgrade in a car of this size), park assist and a surround-view camera ($1,050, and the same note applies), a beautiful grey leather interior ($4,330), the Sport Chrono Package to add drive modes, a Porsche Design clock, and performance upgrades ($3,690), and a 2-plus-1 configuration for the second row that places a divider between the outboard seats ($1,150).



These entry-level models can hustle well enough — zero to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 268 km/h, according to Porsche — but not as hard as the higher trims, where a Turbo S can bring those numbers to 3.1 seconds and 315 km/h. But not every car — no, not even every Porsche — needs to be a track beast, and the Panamera 4 Platinum Edition slots into the line-up precisely where it belongs as an approachable, classy, yet trend-forward executive sedan.

Like the Macan and Cayenne SUVs that sit alongside the Panamera on the fringe of Porsche’s performance line-up, there’s a Porsche for everyone with a desire and a healthy budget.

2022 Porsche Panamera 4 Platinum Edition

BODY STYLE: Liftback sedan

DRIVE METHOD: Front-motor, all-wheel-drive, eight-speed dual-clutch

ENGINE: 2.9-litre biturbo V6 (325 hp, 331 lb-ft)

FUEL CONSUMPTION: 11.5 L/100 km combined (11.0 L/100 km as tested)

CARGO VOLUME: 495/1,334 litres

PRICE: $139,870 as tested; from $128,250, including a $1,750 destination charge

WEBSITE: www.porsche.ca

 

The vehicle was provided to the writer by the automaker. Content and vehicle evaluations were not subject to approval.