The gorgeous interior has all manner of luxury features, with sporty styling in Porsche's usual fashion. (Photo: Porsche)

Interior: Sporty, sculpted and richly luxurious, Panamera’s cabin reflects Porsche’s sports-car style while adding dramatic touches all its own. The four bucket seats are supportive, with plenty of headroom and legroom, despite the sedan’s relatively low seating position.

The rear seat is quite roomy, a real-world arrangement for even the overly tall and long-legged, like me, for instance. At 6-foot-6, I’m a great test dummy for rear-seat roominess.

Porsche calls Panamera a sports car for four, and it's hard to disagree. (Photo: Bob Golfen)

Leather and wood seem hand-crafted and well finished, with real-metal fittings and trim. In Porsche’s traditional Le Man’s style, the ignition key inserts to the left of the wheel.

Controls are very well laid out in a unique fashion, with driver’s settings and climate controls lined up along the console. A bit distracting at first, but they become quickly familiar and easy to manipulate.

Really, a first-rate cabin that displays Porsche’s mastery of sporty style in a whole new context.

One of the many options available for Panamera is a 1,000-watt Bose 5.1 audio system with 14-speaker surround sound. We got a demonstration of the system, which is specially tuned for Panamera, and it is truly incredible.

Bottom line: Panamera comes in three versions, the S with normal engine and rear-wheel drive, with a starting price just under $90,000; the 4S with all-wheel drive, starting at about $94,000; and the Turbo, also with all-wheel drive, that starts at a significant $132,600.

These are some towering totals but about in line with the competition. There’s a whole bunch of tantalizing options available, which can make the prices soar even higher.

Details

What it is: Four-passenger, four-door sedan, rear- or all-wheel drive.
Engine: 4.8-liter V-8, 400 horsepower at 6,500 rpm, 395 pound-feet of torque at 3,500 rpm; 4.8-liter turbocharged V-8, 500 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 516 pound-feet of torque at 2,250 rpm.
Transmission: Seven-speed double-clutch automatic.
Wheelbase: 114.9 inches.
Overall length: 195.6 inches.
Curb weight: 3,968 – 4,343 pounds.
EPA fuel mileage: 16 city, 24 highway (naturally aspirated); 15 city, 23 highway (turbo).

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEEDtv.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event. SPEEDtv.com fans email veteran Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at