Sunday Drive: Porsche Panamera GTS Sport Turismo

Saturday, 3 July 2021

• PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS SPORT TURISMO

• Base price: $284,000

• Powertrain and economy: 4.0-litre turbo-petrol V8, 353kW/620Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD, combined economy 11.7L/100km, CO2 269g/km (source: RightCar).

• Vital statistics: 5053mm long, 1937mm wide, 1422mm high, 2950mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 487 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels.

• We like: Superb performance, impressively agile for a big car, it’s a black-on-black AWD V8-powered station wagon…

• We don't like: Only a fraction more boot space than the normal Panamera, V8 thirst.

Porsche continues to flesh out its refreshed Panamera line up, quietly slipping in a GTS version of the sexy Sport Turismo wagon which might just be the perfect mid-life crisis car for a wealthy bogan.

That’s a mighty slim demographic, isn’t it?

Probably not quite slim as you might imagine, because – let’s be honest – most people have a little bogan in them, even rich people. So a powerful, sexy V8-powered wagon has some potentially broad appeal. And besides, Porsche has always played in slim demographics – that’s exactly what makes its cars so focussed and awesome.

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But all vague justifications aside, as a bogan myself, a black-on-black 350+kW V8-powered station wagon that looks as damn good as this is probably my soulmate as far as cars go. And that’s even before we get into the serious performance on offer…

And that performance is very serious indeed, with the Panamera GTS packing a 353kW/620Nm version of the company’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8, which positions it above the V6 turbo Panameras, but below the hyper-powered Turbo S variants.

It will also scamper to 100kmh from a standing start in just 3.9 seconds, which is… well, fast enough, really.

Does that mean it slots in that Goldilocks-inspired ‘just right’ spot in the line up?

Yeah, it does really. While more power is always good, the associated astronomical asking prices for the big-hitting Turbo S models makes the GTS’s still-hefty $284,000 price tag look like a relative bargain, while its superb ability to blend effortless power, wonderfully agile handling and impressive comfort make it a deeply satisfying thing to drive on a daily basis.

Slip inside the GTS for the first time and it is pretty much business as usual if you are familiar with the current Panamera’s interior. It’s an intriguing blend of modern and traditional, with a more sparse, minimalist look than before, but with a few ergonomic oddities and frustrations thrown in due to the over-reliance of the touchscreen in order to keep the physical button count under control.

While there’s nothing that is an absolute deal-breaker, and most things become more familiar over time, some of the oddly structured menus initially had me scratching my head from time to time…

But you do get used to that, while firing up the engine raises a smile and wipes all such concerns away. It is all very refined and restrained, but an ominous muted rumble fills the cabin on startup and quickly settles into a quietly threatening idle.

Nail the throttle and the GTS belts off the line like a car the fraction of its 2040kg curb weight, while the superbly slick PDK transmission slips through the gears fantastically quickly.

The GTS will slam its way to the legal open road speed limit from a standing start in just over 4.0 seconds or, crucially, just under it (3.9 seconds) with the optional Sports Chrono package, which you would have to add simply to get the cool dash-mounted clock/stopwatch that is in no way positioned so visibly that passers-by would know if you cheaped-out and didn’t add it…

Okay, so it’s fast, but what about corners?

Smashing down a winding road is absolutely where the GTS shines.

It is remarkably agile and responsive for a two tonne wagon, and just so beautifully balanced it is an absolute delight to chuck around. In fact, if you wanted to take your two tonne station wagon to a track day, the GTS would be perfectly happy to do that, and leave you with a huge grin as well.

While I didn’t drive the Sport Turismo on a track, I have previously driven the standard panamera GTS around Hampton Downs and was frankly blown away by just how wonderfully fun, responsive and, most impressively, adjustable it was. Given the Sport Turismo only weighs 20kg more, it wouldn’t be any different. Or less enjoyable.

So the wagon is only 20kg heavier?

Yep, that’s because the wagon body style of the Sport Turismo is largely a styling feature – the boot space is only 25 litres larger than the liftback shape of the standard GTS, meaning that the is no real tangible advantage of buying the Sport Turismo over it.

Of course, the Sport Turismo costs $6400 more than the liftback which, depending on your level of weird, obsessive love for station wagons is either a waste of money or an absolute bargain. There is no middle ground.

However, whichever body style you go for you still get that fantastically effortless performance, delightful handling and the beautifully high-quality and superbly comfortable interior.

Any other cars I should consider?

You could buy the cheaper, more powerful and quicker ($222,500, 441kW and 3.6 seconds respectively) Audi RS6 Avant, but that looks like a cartoonishly aggressive Transformer design from a Michael Bay fever-dream (which isn’t necessarily bad) and is disappointingly distant and anodyne to drive (which is).

Or you could spend a bit more ($299,900) and buy the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo and get a Porsche wagon that is even quicker, even sexier and won’t make polar bears cry.