Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo Review: A Family Wagon for the 0.1%
Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo Review: A Family Wagon for the 0.1%
(Bloomberg) -- “I suppose you think since you drive a Porsche, you can park anywhere.”
The words came from a Lycra-clad local who objected to my boyfriend and me blocking the gray stone portico of the Lyndhurst Mansion near Tarrytown, N.Y. (We had pulled in front momentarily, to take a photograph.) I found it so funny, I wasn’t thrown by the guy’s tone. I was driving what is basically a station wagon, with a humble mauve tone. What have we come to that such a car now screams “entitled”?
We’ve come to an era in which Porsche makes wagons with 550-horsepower engines that retail for $154,000.
The 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo certainly does swagger. I drove it for a few days around Manhattan, Brooklyn and upstate New York and found that between the low, reptilian grille, the fiercely angled, elongated rear, and the throaty roar of the V8 engine, it commanded attention from every angle.
The Superior Shooting Brake
The standard-issue Panamera looks great in a lot of situations. Last year, Porsche sold 28,000 of them worldwide, up 83 percent over sales in 2016. So you’ve seen plenty of them on the road since they debuted in 2009. At first, they generated a lot of “What is that?” head turns, along with some skepticism from the 911 speed-racer crowd. Now the Panamera has nestled into its own niche in the luxury automotive vernacular.
The latest version in the Panamera family is the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo. This “shooting brake”-style car debuted at the chic auto show in Geneva last year. It is the Panamera you want to buy if you’re a wealthy, die-hard driving enthusiast who craves the thrill of racing-bred German performance—it’s here in spades—but needs the storage space of a true station wagon.
While it sits on the same wheelbase as other Panameras, the Turbo Sport Turismo has been stretched to offer five doors, increased seating for five, and significantly increased cargo space, with a lower roof line and a lower rear gate height as well. (With seats down, the back has a total of 49 cubic feet of cargo space.) Its price is amped-up, too: The one I drove, which included a smattering of general upgrades, was priced at $175,000. The base Porsche Panamera costs $85,000.
It’s a car for families of the 0.1%. I can see it seducing buyers of the higher-end Mercedes E Class wagons, which start at $63,050 and can climb from there. This looks less anonymous, less cautious.
But don’t be fooled by the wagon-like exterior. The car can be shockingly fast, if you’re not prepared: It races to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds. Top speed is 190mph, and the car shoots to 100mph and back without hesitation, maintaining plenty of torque between 50mph and 70mph to do some aggressive passing. Smooth, firm, eight-speed paddle shifting and all-wheel drive come standard. The front- and rear brake disks bite the road with expert grip; they’re bigger than in previous models.
From behind the wheel, the Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo feels long and wide to drive. But it’s comfortable: The multi-height adaptive suspension was calibrated to thrilling responsiveness over South Street Seaport cobblestones, Hudson River highways, and potholes in Brookyn’s Red Hook. Better yet, the bossy push-button exhaust enhancement lets everyone know you’re coming.
The Challenges
For all its considerable strengths, the Turbo Sport Turismo can be annoying. It took way too long (days, in one case) to discover the most elemental operations on the dashboard, such as how to turn off the seat heater (a hidden button flush with the lower inside of the steering wheel) and activate the excellent seat massagers (buried a few layers into the second-generation entertainment- and cockpit control system, which is housed in a central, 12.3-inch touchscreen; I recommend the Shiatsu setting). Nothing like a new car to mystify two capable, intelligent adults.
There’s also the fact that, depending on how you feel about your driving companion, it’s physically impossible to reach over and open the opposite door while sitting inside. Shaq could, but mortals will struggle.
Most distressingly, both front and rear visibility are hampered significantly by the car’s front and middle pillars. While the lane-changing and crash-avoidance lights work excellently and flash when another car is in the considerable blind spot, swerving through traffic can feel a bit like flying blind. Not good.
Still, the sum value of this spacious and athletic car is considerable. If you are willing to pay the sizable premium to get this big a footprint, you’ll find it a useful, handsome, ever-potent Porsche. Just remember: Even though it’s almost a station wagon, people passing by may accuse you of being entitled. But that’s all right. It’s no problem if they’re correct.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Rovzar at crovzar@bloomberg.net.
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