With 550 horsepower, this grand touring wagon belies its heavy weight in spirited driving
COWICHAN, British Columbia ? Aside from the occasional cringe-worthy swath of denuded forest, the interior of Vancouver Island is a scantily populated oasis of towering pine, rugged stone, and narrow meandering roads perfect for a leisurely Sunday drive. They?re less than ideal, however, for rather large German luxury cars.  The patchwork surface is cracked and pockmarked and the occasional wince-inducing thump was inevitable when 21-inch low-profile sport Michelin meets the bottom of a pothole.  To its credit, the active air suspension system on the Porsche we?re driving does an admirable job of absorbing a surface better suited to the camper vans and 4x4s we pass along the route. Cruising through the small towns, we receive several thumbs up from the locals  ? but surprisingly, didn?t rate so much as a second glance from the other Porsche drivers we encountered. Curious, because this car, the new Panamera Sport Turismo, was a sensation at its Paris Motor Show debut as a concept five years ago.
The Panamera certainly has its detractors ? and the criticism isn?t entirely unfounded. While most of it came from hard-core sports car enthusiasts appalled at the soiling of their beloved brand by a heavy four-door with a wrongly situated power plant, the original car?s rather ungainly design earned its fair share of barbs from public and motoring press alike.
The Sport Turismo?s estate wa...