Road test: Porsche Panamera Turbo

The first-generation Panamera wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But don’t be too quick to dismiss the second – because it’s totally different.

By this, we mean that first and foremost, what you are looking at here is Porsche’s first ever true luxury four-seater. And it’s brilliant.

This is a new Panamera. New platform, new engines, new gearbox, new styling, new cabin. All new, and all better.

That cabin is a good place to start. It’s more spacious front and rear, and you can really feel it. The luxury levels have been kicked up a notch or three and the high-tech stuff is pure eye candy, with triple screens and clean, smooth, touch-sensitive surfaces interfacing you to the sort of experience that once existed only in the imagination of Arthur C Clarke.

It’s all clothed in a body that’s recognisably Panamera but somehow no longer looks like it’s trying to apologise for the fact. If one appears in your mirrors, you might take a glance and think you had a 911 on your tail… until it overtakes you and there’s twice as much of it.

Not that it’ll take twice as long to get past, if we’re talking about this twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 range-topper. The engine is good for 542bhp, and the eight-speed auto box sends the old-school tacho needle firing back and fourth as the revs and ratios scramble upwards.

Actually, there’s no scrambling whatsoever, especially not with four-wheel drive gluing you to the road. Instead, the sensation is… well, a little numb, actually. Nail the throttle and while it’s by no means slow, the Panamera gathers speed with a distinct lack of drama.

That comes when you look at the screen in front of you and discover just how much speed you’ve gathered. Which will be a lot. Very few cars can accelerate this hard while retaining so much refinement – you’ll need to keep right on top of it, because seldom has your licence been in so much peril.

The unflustered surge into the distance ends at 190mph, Porsche says. But we suspect it might get rather closer to the magic two tons.

Of course, none of this is of more than academic interest unless you live near an autobahn (or in Bonneville). But the good news is that if anything, the Panamera is even more remarkable cross-country.