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While we have found in recent years that car styling has gone fluidly hand-in-hand with equally fluid categorisation, the Sport Turismo delivers a drop-dead gorgeous Shooting-Brake styled variation of the beautifully penned Panamera sedan.
Power is derived from a smooth 3.0 turbocharged V6 engine, delivering 330hp delivered to all wheels via an excellently-built 8-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. While it might not be the fastest 3.0 to hit the 100km/h mark, a 5.3 second timing is very impressive, and taking off with 450Nm is more than enough to put a smile on most.
The Sport Turismo model unlike the sedan, are offered in all-wheel drive only. And our base model Panamera 4 is unsurprisingly nimble. Coupled together with its superb suspension dynamics, adjustable in three modes, Normal, Sport and Sport Plus, keeps the large car feeling precise, with very good steering feel.
Directional changes are done with ease, and the car takes in weight transfers well, and only in very hard turns, will you feel a very slight bit of roll on “Normal” suspension setting. And it is this very adjustable suspension which lets the Panamera behave like a comfortable limousine, or a poised sports car, with just a simple few clicks of your index finger.
Optional extras will cost a considerable amount, with the rear-axle steering at the top of our list, which we see as a game changer. What little “turn with” the rear wheels provides at high speeds to allow the car to glide effortlessly into the next lane, improves driving stability, and the slight opposite steer at low speeds will help drivers get out of tighter spaces easily.
While we do know that there are some cars with similar engine capacities which offer more sound-for-your-buck, the Panamera comes across as a little more refined, a little more gentlemanly if you might. Most of what you will be getting is a faint sporty exhaust snarl and the equally faint whoosh of the turbocharger’s waste when off-throttle.
Placing this noise factor together with the base model Panamera’s intentions, and with added versatility, we feel that this entry Sport Turismo, which does not feel anything entry-level at all, will fit those who want a little bit of go in something a little more unique, yet remain understated.
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