Porsche Panamer a GTS

FIRST DRIVE The latest luxury flagship might fly in the face of Porsche's electrified future, but it's a terrific performer

- Steve Sutcliffe

REX THE Porsche Panamera GTS is a hard car to pigeonhole. Yet it's a model that UK drivers seem to like more than most - we buy more GTSS than any other nation, perhaps because it contains such a wide range of ability under one (long) roof.

This is the third-generation model and it's had a host of updates for the new model year, some unique to the GTS, although most have been applied across the new Panamera range.

While the GTS remains a focused driver's car at heart, it's also a more refined and technically sophisticated offering. One that Porsche says passengers should enjoy travelling in just as much as whoever is behind the wheel.

Visually, the restyle is subtle but distinctive.

Porsche's intention was to make it "more technical yet elegant", and you can spot the differences around the nose easily enough - the front wings are taller and bolder. The new high-definition matrix-LED headlights, deeper splitter and more aggressive restyle at the rear are less obvious.