A “Sport Turismo” in Porsche speak is a wagon. It should therefore not come as a surprise that an automotive journalist is a big fan of the Sport Turismo body style, as we have long been and forever will be enthusiasts of the long-roofed automobiles. They’re sadly almost as endangered as manual transmissions, though, so kudos to Porsche for keeping the torch alight even if it takes avoiding the dreaded W word.
Now, when it comes to actual cargo space, the Panamera Sport Turismo wouldn’t seem to actually grant you much beyond the regular Panamera. The specs say there are 17.6 cubic-feet behind the raised back seat in the Panamera, whereas there are 18.3 cubic-feet with the Sport Turismo. The Taycan Cross/Sport Turismo body style has a similar “who cares?” cargo advantage on paper.
Unfortunately, without a regular Panamera on hand, I can’t speak to that difference. What I can talk about, however, is whether the cargo space really is as pathetic as that 18.3-cubic-foot figure would indicate. That’s subcompact SUV territory, a volume that in theory, should not be able to accommodate all the bags in my standard luggage test. Not in a hatchbacked vehicle like the Panamera, at least.
Let’s see how it does in practice.
This is a very deep space with a notably wide portion at the very back. Golf clubs? No problem, in fact, this looks like it was specifically designed with golf clubs in mind. Thankfully, those extra-side insets should prove just as useful for those who couldn’t tell a 4 iron from a sand wedge.
The Panamera includes a unique cargo cover. It’s much narrower than normal and therefore compact. It also attaches to the liftgate, which allows it to automatically get out of the way for access, and includes little plastic panels that seal the gap between cover cartridge and seat back.
Now, normally I would do this luggage test with and without the cargo cover cartridge in place. This is for the “airport scenario” in which you suddenly find yourself in need of max cargo space but forgot to take out the cargo cover before you left. This would be a problem as there’s usually nowhere to store a giant cargo cover cartridge. The Panamera’s is so small, however, and the rest of the cargo area so big, that it could actually remain on board and (spoiler) still fit all the bags.
Before we get to that,, the usual disclaimer of as in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife’s fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).
There, all the bags fit and although you have to eject the cargo cover from its usual spot, it still fits easily inside. No sweat.
This is WAY better than the Porsche Cayenne Coupe, which has a huge plank-like rigid cargo cover that definitely can’t remain inside.
Alright, let’s still take the cover out.
Those golfer-friendly areas on both sides allow the two narrowest bags to fit inside and free up loads of bonus space. This seems comparable to that Cayenne Coupe’s remaining volume, but this was much easier to load thanks to its boxier roof shape.
In short, the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo’s cargo area is way better than that official cargo volume figure would suggest. Porsche is clearly measuring in a different way than most other manufacturers — I’m guessing just to the top of the seatbacks rather than to the roof. As a result, the volume figure is more akin to that of a fully enclosed trunk. Indeed, an 18.3 cubic-foot trunk would be similarly large and functional.
All told, this is yet another example of cargo volume figures not telling anywhere close to the whole story. Now, would the Sport Turismo really be 1 cubic-foot better than the regular Panamera on the regular car trunk scale? Well, check out the rollaboard bag up there that’s standing upright. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to do that in the regular Panamera, which would totally change the rest of this Tetris arrangement. That would indeed make the Sport Turismo more functional. Still, just guessing.
In the end, the two could be literally equal and I’d still want the Sport Turismo. #SaveTheWagons
