Can you actually live with a Porsche 911 every day?

The Porsche 911 is widely regarded to be one of the best all-rounders money can buy. I’m sure no one expects it to be as practical as a big SUV, but it’s roomy enough for most people’s needs, has four seats, is lovely to drive, and absolutely oozes badge appeal.

In fact, it’s often referred to as a sports car you can live with every day. While many alternatives make compromises to performance – often at the expense of seats, boot space and comfort – the 911 manages to be quite civilised when you need it to be.

So I decided to put it to the ultimate test: seven days as my sole family car. That means nursery runs, trips to the shops and daily commutes to the office.

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Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet: The specs

Before we get into the nitty gritty, a little about which of the countless 911 variations I’ve been driving. This is a Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, meaning it has four-wheel drive, a soft-top roof and, more interestingly, a hybrid engine. You won’t be pootling around on silent, emission-free electric power, though. Instead, the motor is designed to spool up the turbocharger for more instantaneous engine response.

The 3.6-litre six-cylinder engine, sat in the back of the car, makes 541hp and can go from 0-62mph in just 3.1 seconds. The top speed is 194mph, which would probably be quite an unpleasant experience with the roof down. We didn’t quite get to test that on the A27 outside Chichester, though.

How does the Porsche 911 handle daily driving duties?

I could bore you with details of what the 911 is like to drive on a twisty road, but you already know: it’s fantastic. Lots of power, lovely noises, and direct steering that makes you feel directly connected to what the car is doing.

But what’s it like to live with during the boring stuff? Well, I used the 911 for all my everyday driving tasks to find out, and the short answer is that, yes, you absolutely could use it as your only car.

It’s incredibly easy to just pootle around town in – visibility is pretty good, it doesn’t jiggle you about unbearably over bumps and the engine is nice and responsive so you can drive smoothly even at low speeds.

The only compromise that would put me off was motorway driving, with the tyre roar from the massive wheels – 20-inch front, 21-inch rear – becoming annoying on longer journeys. After a 5am start and eight-hour day in the office, the long drive home at 70mph was a touch overstimulating, where the lounge chairs and ultra-refined driving experience of my Volvo V60 long-term test car would usually help me unwind from a long day.

Can you use the Porsche 911 as a family car?

Technically, yes. Would I? No. While there are rear seats in the 911, they’re really limited for space, so my three-year-old son was sitting really close to the seat in front, meaning he couldn’t really swing his feet and his view forward was obstructed.

The front passenger seat had to be as far forward as it would go to accommodate him in his child seat, too. The dashboard and footwell are designed cleverly so my girlfriend’s legs could still fit underneath, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable.

Worse, the sculpted seat bases made it incredibly difficult to fit the child seat. Fortunately, with this being the Cabriolet, I could drop the roof and climb around the cabin to get the ISOFIX points secured, but I was left out of breath and wondering how you’d ever manage in the coupe.

To be fair, with the roof down and sport mode engaged on a twisty road, my son’s hysterical giggling more than made it worth the effort. If you have older kids, though, I’m not convinced they’d be too impressed with the legroom on offer.

Is the Porsche 911 practical enough for running errands?

One of the key advantages of the Porsche 911 is that it has a surprisingly spacious boot. Under the bonnet – the engine is in the back, remember – sits a 135-litre storage area that’s just about big enough for a weekly shop for a couple or small family, which is more than you get in most other sports cars.

Sure, if you’re trying to transport buggies or regularly fill your car up for tip runs it won’t suffice, but I think most people would be surprised at just how adequate the space is. We managed to fit a few Sainsbury’s bags in the nose without any issue at all.

Interior space is a bit more restricted. I found it was generally fine for my lonely commutes, where I could easily find space for my coffee cup and phone, but once the family was loaded up the storage spaces quickly ran out.

So, can you live with a Porsche 911 every day?

The answer is a definitive yes, you can live with a Porsche 911 every day in a way that would require more compromises in alternatives. If you usually drive alone, or even with one other person, and you just want something good-looking and fun to get around in, the 911 is easy to drive and practical enough most of the time.

However, if you were hoping this article might help you convince your partner that you can sell the Volvo estate and get a 911 for family duties instead, I’m sorry, I did my best…

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.