They don’t much care for eco cars in India. After a week touring the country, my asthma has returned with a vengeance and I’ve experienced more smog than an episode of Sherlock Holmes in London town.

Just what the good people of Delhi would make of the Porsche E-Hybrid, Lord only knows. It’s not big enough to carry eight people (a common sight in any hatchback there), it doesn’t make a squeak of noise in battery mode (tractors are a favourite in Agra) and those 20-inch optional alloys wouldn’t last five minutes in Jaipur.

This is a 2.1 ton car that on paper at least, looks sensational. Not only that but when the Panamera was launched in 2007, it didn’t win any beauty contests. Now, the 2016 model has gently morphed into something quite special.

I’ve only driven to the shops and back this morning but there’s something quite uncanny about a silent Porsche – especially as the ‘must have’ option of the moment on most models are noisy sports exhausts.

So far so goo anyway. The Panamera is a big touring car and I’m looking forward to racking up some serious miles over the next six days…