We drove a $175,000 Panamera Turbo to see if it's really a Porsche sports car for the whole family — here's the verdict

Porsche Panamera Turismo Turbo

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo is new for 2018. It's Porsche's first production wagon.
The Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo is powered by a 550-horsepower, 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine.
According to Porsche, the Turbo Sport Turismo can hit 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 188 mph.
We love the Sport Turismo's power, poise, luxury, tech, and versatility. However, it's very pricey.
The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo starts at $96,200, but our option-laden Turbo test car carried an as-tested price of $174,730.

The new Porsche Panamera is one of our favorites here at Business Insider.

In fact, the Panamera is so good that it bagged Business Insider's 2017 Car of the Year Award. The Porsche sedan beat out contenders like the Chevrolet Bolt, the McLaren 720S, and the BMW 5-Series to nab the honor.

We praised the Panamera sedan for its impeccable combination of power, poise, luxury, tech, and style. In short, it's quite possibly the finest sports sedan in the world.

For 2018, the Panamera is back with a new twist: a wagon. Unveiled ahead of the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the Panamera Sport Turismo is the first production wagon in Porsche's illustrious history.

Over the past 30 years, the wagon has fallen out of favor with American consumers. Its place as the family transport of choice was taken by the minivan and then the crossover SUV.

However, a recent infusion of hot new wagons into the market from the likes of Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo signals a comeback of sorts may be underway.

As for the Panamera Sport Turismo, we decided it was just too intriguing for us to stay away. We had to check it out.

This spring, we had the chance to spend a week behind the wheel of a burgundy red 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo. The base 2018 Porsche Panamera starts at $85,000 while the most affordable Sport Turismo wagon starts at $96,200. Our 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo starts at $154,000. With the more than $20,000 in options and fees, our test car came to a grand total of $174,730.

Here's a closer look at the hot new Porsche Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo:

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