I drove a $144,000 Porsche Panamera GTS Sport Turismo to see if this high-performance wagon was as good as it looks — here's the verdict

I tested a 2019 Porsche Panamera GTS Sport Turismo, a wagonified Panamera GTS that cost a well-optioned $144,000.The Panamera has long been considered an unattractive car, but I think the Sport Turismo treatment fixes that. I'd previous driven a more powerful and more expensive Turbo version of this car.The Panamera is available with a twin-turbocharged V6 or V8 engine. I favored the 453-horsepower V8 mill in the GTS. The best thing about my Panamera GTS Sport Turismo tester was the dynamic-chassis feature and an impeccable torque-vectoring system for the all-wheel-drive setup. The Panamera GTS Sport Turismo has a snappy eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and suspension and drivetrain combined to create one of the most enjoyable go-fast experiences I've had in a while.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Don't pity the ungainly Porsche Panamera. The four-door that everybody loves to hassle for its looks has been improved, unexpectedly, by the addition of a wagon trim to the lineup.

Remarkably, the ugly sedan has become a more swan-like estate.

Well, not really. But adding rear volume has ironically made the Panamera's bulbous back end tolerable. 

Meanwhile, even though I don't like V8 Porsches all that much, or even at all, I found that when Stuttgart's US representatives flipped me the keys to a 2019 Panamera GTS Sport Turismo, a change of heart was on the horizon.

Here's what happened:

Original author: Matthew DeBord