The Porsche Panamera emerged from the freshman class as a true luxury sedan competitor, and in its second year is poised to give Porsche a big shot in its sales arm.

There are numerous reasons the Panamera, the largest Porsche ever, has been a sales success. Not the least is its sleek fastback design with a coupe-like appearance, a typical Porsche front end and a wide, planted rear. Its hatchback is well concealed in the gorgeous body work.

The design certainly is not over the top, it's clean and neat, but yet not conservative. The Porsche designers it seems got it just right making little doubt if the badges were missing that this is, indeed, a Porsche. At the same time they managed to create a spacious cabin for four adult passengers and decent storage space under the rear hatch.

The Porsche Panamera is a winner.

MotorwayAmerica photos by Jim Meachen