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Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs Porsche Panamera

What's the difference?

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Mercedes-Benz S-Class

$169,800 - $189,800

2021 price

Porsche Panamera
Porsche Panamera

2021 price

Summary

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2021 Porsche Panamera
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Twin Turbo V6, 3.0L

Twin Turbo V6, 2.9L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
8.4L/100km (combined)

8.8L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

4
Dislikes
  • Price of entry prohibitive for most
  • 3D instrumentation can make you woozy
  • A tad conservative in design

  • Rear room compromised
  • It gets expensive
  • V8s are thirsty
2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Summary

It's only in the running for the title of world's best luxury car. No biggie here, then.

Like Rolex and Concorde, S-Class has become a byword for ultimate, and deserved or not, the Mercedes-Benz defines its segment despite the best efforts of the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, Lexus LS and (sadly now-defunct) Jaguar XJ, as well as pointing the way forward with new technologies that eventually trickle down to more proletarian models.

Replacing the half-million selling W222 unveiled in 2013, the W223 is the latest in a long line since the first W187 Ponton debuted in 1951, and includes the famous ‘Finnies' and Stroke-8 models that followed immediately afterwards, but it is the 1972 W116 that really set the template.

Now, seven generations in, the 2021 S-Class is all-new again, with progressive safety and interior features that should help keep it Australia's bestselling full-sized upper-luxury sedan.

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2021 Porsche Panamera Summary

It’s a good thing the Porsche Panamera doesn’t feel emotions. Otherwise it might be feeling like the forgotten member of the Porsche family.

While the 911 remains the evergreen hero, the Cayenne and Macan the popular sales darlings and the new Taycan the exciting newcomer, the Panamera simply plays its part. 

It fills an important but small role for the brand, giving Porsche an executive sedan (and wagon) to compete against the big players from the other German brands - Audi A7 Sportback, BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz CLS

However, while it may have been overshadowed of late, that doesn’t mean Porsche has forgotten about it. For 2021 the Panamera has been given a mid-life update, after this current generation launched back in 2017. 

The changes are subtle in isolation but add up to some big improvements across the range, most notably extra power has seen the previous range-topper, the Panamera Turbo, become the Turbo S. 

There’s also a new hybrid model and tweaks to the air suspension and related systems to improve the handling (but more on that later).

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 2021 Porsche Panamera

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