The Sport Turismo is The Perfect Porsche Panamera
Autocar says the Sport Turismo isn’t the wagon you want, but it’s the Panamera you deserve.
The Panamera is a car that drives like a sports car and looks like a tumor with wheels. It’s continually derided for its visual design, which is a tragedy, as it really is a great car. With the second-generation model, the looks are much more appealing, but it still carries that “poorly-stretched 911” vibe. But now we have the long-roofed Sport Turismo version, and my how things have changed.
The Sport Turismo is a sloped wagon design for the Panamera that looks more “shooting brake” than “brick.” The new form feels much more natural, like the Panamera was supposed to be a wagon from its inception. Under the hood you get the same drivetrain options as the current sedan, from V6, to turbo V8 to plug-in hybrid. Europe gets a diesel option too.
On the surface, it looks like we have a Porsche wagon now, but there is a lot more to the Sport Turismo than a simple segment move. Autocar got to drive the new Turbo version in Canada, and we think they summed it up perfectly. The new wagon shape doesn’t really add any extra storage space to the Panamera, but it does add to the design. Autocar’s Matt Saunders really nailed it when he said, “It gives the Panamera an identity of its own. It gives you permission to want one.”
That’s the real key here with Sport Turismo. It’s not a massive wagon that will haul a week’s worth of camping and skiing gear like a Mercedes E-Class wagon will. Rather, it takes the Panamera and gives it a visual personality that matches its driving dynamics. It was already an immensely great driving machine, and now it looks immensely great as well.
