Porsche Panamera 4 - on sale now

The bulbous rear design of the Panamera split the critics, but it does add width to Porsche’s range, extending it to luxury saloon customers and helping the German target Jaguar buyers.

One of the Panamera’s stand out features is the reason for that big behind. Despite its coupé looks, leg room and comfort levels are excellent.

This entry Panamera is a heavy car but the 300bhp 3.6 V6 is more than powerful enough to drag it into action and should be satisfyingly fast enough for those who don’t need (or can’t afford) supercar performance (6.1sec 0-62mph, 160mph top speed). The front end feels extremely heavy and razor sharp handling isn’t its forté, being much better suited to straight lines and motorways.

The seven-speed automatic gear box works well driving at speed and can be shifted manually using paddles or the gear lever for more control.

Porsche dealers will have ample opportunity to tempt customers with a multitude of options. AM’s test model has £10,000 worth of extras.

Price: £66,929

Rivals: Jaguar XJ, Mercedes CLS