New Porsche 911 Review

You buy the Porsche 911 because you want a fast sports car that you can use every day. It’s lots of fun to drive, quick no matter what model you choose, and relatively practical.

The range runs from the ‘basic’ 370hp 911 Carrera to the somewhat more energetic 700hp GT2 RS. In between you can pick from manual and automatic gearboxes, coupe and wind-in-the-hair convertible body styles and from two or four-wheel drive.

The popular Turbo has the latter, which makes it the ideal performance car for the UK’s slippery roads, and an auto gearbox that means it isn’t a pain to drive in stop-start town traffic. Its 540hp is enough to rocket the 911 from 0-62mph in three seconds and onto a heady top speed of 198mph. Yet despite this, you can realistically expect to return 30mpg on a motorway run. In fact, all models are surprisingly good on fuel considering their performance.

The 911’s brilliant to drive whichever model you choose. The fact that the engine sits in the back of the car gives it a unique driving experience and grip out of corners that few can match. Throw in hugely powerful brakes, confidence-inspiring steering and suspension that cuts out body lean and you have yourself a very capable sports car.

Yet it’s also an easy car to use every day. It’s thin enough to fit through width restrictors, raised enough to deal with speed humps and has subdued looks that draw less unwanted attention than a full-blown supercar such as a Ferrari.

It’s not a family car, but you get plenty of space up front and the steering wheel and driver’s seat have enough adjustment to make it easy to get comfortable. There are rear seats, but to call them usable would be a stretch – children will fit, but they’ll have to be small. You’re more likely to use them as additional luggage space on top of the 145-litre boot under the bonnet.

The dashboard’s as usable as a normal car’s and has the quality to match a posh Audi. Leather seats comes as standard and there’s an options list as long as your arm that can make your 911 as sporty (or as luxurious) as you want it, although things can get pricey very quickly.

That also true of the optional safety kit such as Active Cruise Control (£1,557) that matches the speed of the car in front before returning to your chosen cruising speed, lane-keep assist (£488) that gently guides the car in lane and a speed limit display (£294). Even without this kit fitted, the 911 should stand up to a crash well, although it’s relatively small sales mean safety body Euro NCAP has never put that to the test.

You don’t really choose the 911 because it’s safe, though – you choose it because it’s a brilliant sports car that won’t punish you if you use it every day. It’s pretty much unparalleled at fulfilling that brief.