Borderline perfection. That’s the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo. This wagon exemplified a car that did it all. Practical. Versatile. Exhilarating. Luxurious. Nearly every description you can throw fits this high-performance super wagon, especially in plug-in hybrid form. It’s the ultimate no-compromise car. Unfortunately, Porsche only produced the Panamera Sport Turismo for one generation, and didn’t bring it back as part of the existing lineup. With that said, let’s look back and celebrate this unique performance machine and experience the thrill of the 4S E-Hybrid variant once again!
Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo: A True Porsche By Design
Porsche’s design MO revolves around evolution, and it’s no different in the Panamera Sport Turismo. There’s no question about its relationship to the Cayenne, Macan, Taycan, 718, and of course, the legendary 911. Only this time it’s applied to a low, wide, and long-roofed four-door vehicle. It works well, too, resulting in an unconventional wagon design that feels distinctly Porsche.
Inside, the driver-centric layout hints at the Panamera Sport Turismo’s intentions. Supportive yet supremely comfortable sport seats add to the performance-focused vibes. Most importantly, this wagon has plenty of space for four and their gear, making it impressively useful. It doesn’t stop there. The Panamera Sport Turismo also shines as a luxury car. Impeccable fit and finish mean everything you interact with feels expensive. Plus, it manages to keep the cabin as quiet as a vault, all while letting in all the beautiful sounds from the powertrain. The only bits we’d change are the haptic feedback controls and touch-sensitive buttons on the center stack, which felt out of place in a cabin so well built.
In terms of tech, the Panamera Sport Turismo keeps it all driver-centric. The 12.3-inch touchscreen housing the PCM interface worked well and had minimal submenus. However, we’d suggest finding an example with the Burmester premium audio system, because the other option, which comes from Bose, sounded out of place with its lack of clarity and isn’t very immersive. On the other hand, the driver assistance tech worked fine in most situations. Every so often, the lane keeping felt a little jerky, but never overly intrusive, highlighting this wagon’s performance car positioning.
Electrifying Driving Pleasure
No matter which powertrain you chose, the Panamera Sport Turismo drove like a proper Porsche. From its telepathic steering to its impeccable chassis balance, this wagon gleefully ate up winding roads. Additionally, it kept the driver in control of everything because you knew what the car did. Despite its unflappable grip and awesome agility, especially for its size, the Panamera Sport Turismo felt approachable. This car communicated limits well, meaning you knew where your limits were, minimizing the chances of you going past them and doing something stupid. And if you did so, that’s cool too, the car gladly cornered faster and easily left your talents behind if you chose to push your luck.
In typical Porsche fashion, the Panamera Sport Turismo offered a broad range of powertrain options, ranging from fast to incredibly fast. However, our pick remains one of the three plug-in hybrid variants, but specifically the middle child: the 4S E-Hybrid. Yes, it’s complex and likely isn’t as reliable, but it’s as close to perfection as possible. Featuring a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, an electric motor, and a 17.9-kWh battery, it made 552 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. Power came on relentlessly, yet smoothly, without a single hint of turbo lag. The eight-speed PDF dual-clutch automatic transmission snapped off shifts quickly when left to its own devices or when you’re using manual mode and the paddle shifters.
Best of all, it remains playful thanks to its rear-biased AWD system. Yes, it came with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. No, it’s not a one-trick pony. This hot wagon grips tenaciously, yet still allows the rear end to step out when you want it to by overdriving the rear wheels.
Effortless Cruising
When it came time to chill down, the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo happily obliged. To complement its exceptional body control and agility, this wagon also effortlessly eats up highway miles. The adaptive air suspension and dampers are just as good at turning the Panamera into a cushy highway cruise missile as they are at giving it proper sports car handling. As a result, this plug-in hybrid luxury wagon is an excellent road trip companion and a great car to commute in.
The Panamera Sport Turismo’s merits didn’t stop there. This big, powerful sports wagon also possessed surprising efficiency. The EPA gave the 4S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo an all-electric driving range rating of 19 miles. However, during our time with it, we nearly doubled that, consistently going 30 miles or more before depleting the battery. It was an efficient hybrid, too. The EPA gave it a 21/23/22 mpg city/highway/combined rating, but once again, it easily eclipsed those figures in the real world by 3 to 5 mpg.
Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo: An Enthusiast’s Dream Ride
There’s no denying that Porsche made a true enthusiast car with the Panamera Sport Turismo. No matter what’s under the hood, this epitomizes a performance car for four. It’s the one car solution for those with the means and who want a race car hiding under the shell of a large wagon. The plug-in hybrid variants take it a step further with the versatility of all-electric driving capability and even more power.
Sadly, Porsche no longer offers a wagon variant with the third-generation Panamera. Yes, it’s a sedan with a liftback-style hatch, but it’s nothing like the Sport Turismo. The all-electric Taycan remains the only Porsche offered in a wagon body style. That means you must go to the used market to pick up a Panamera Sport Turismo. Should you find one for yourself, enjoy every minute of it, whether cruising along on a road trip or attacking the twisties.
