I hop into the Panamera Turbo with high expectations. Giving it the beans from a standstill, the torque and power gain is not perceivable, but the twin turbo V8 is far from ferocious. In the first esses, the Turbo understeers surprisingly early, front wheels agonizing under the forces at play. Being more aggressive only makes matters worse, the only solution is to ratchet ambitions down and take more margin on turn in. The PSM is a lot less lenient too, stepping in brutally before the first hint of oversteer. The additional 110 kg (242 lbs) that the Panamera carries under the bonnet over the 4S affect handling in a considerable way. I was expecting an endless tap of torque in an impeccable chassis, I got out of the car underwhelmed.

The first half of our road course is an opportunity to experience the Panamera from the rear seats. Short doors and high seams do not make ingress easy, but once in, comfort is very decent, with sufficient head and knee room. Zooming down the hairpins from Seelisberg, I am struggling a bit with forward visibility and lateral support, but while cruising at nearly reasonable speeds on the Gothard freeway, I find myself at ease. Porsche did not try to squeeze a fifth seat from the rear bench, one does not travel shoulder to shoulder in business class. The optional sports seats bring marginally more support at the front, anecdotally at the back.

In road use, the normally aspirated 400hp V8 feel really thin. Cruising at 120 km/h (75 mph) in seventh gear, downshifting three gears to fourth is necessary to squeeze some juice out, and the most humble turbodiesel would already be 300ft away. Adequate at mundane speeds, the engine struggles to convince at a more hurried pace or when overtaking. The Turbo’s 700 Nm (770 with overboost) of torque would really come in handy in such conditions. The exhaust note is a satisfying snarl, with an optional sport system that brings additional fanfare, but sheer performance is disappointing.