BEHIND THE WHEEL: Porsche 911 Carrera S
MONDAY JANUARY 16, 2023
I sort of lost my love for Porsches after the 911 transitioned to electric steering as they have lost a lot of that rawness that Carreras used to have. The experience is further removed from growing in size. Being more of a Gran Tourer than ever, one would have to opt for a GT3 to experience some of that mechanical feeling 911.
There’s no point in complaining about how it doesn’t sound as good without a gas filter or saying there’s no longer chatter from the steering wheel because there’s nothing Porsche can do about emission laws. I don’t hate the 991 because this is what progress is and I can always buy the 997 if I like it so much.
PRO
Driving dynamics
All-day comfort
911 charisma
CON
Road Noise
SPECIFICATION
3-litre flat-six
450hp 530Nm
8-speed PDK
0-100 km/h: 3.7s
Top speed: 308 km/h
From A$ 335,000
So let’s move on to the 992, even bigger than the last generation car but doesn't feel all that big once it gets moving. Road noise is evident once the wheels get rolling otherwise a really nice place to be in for two.
It’s got a nice small steering and the whole car fits like an extension to yourself after 10 minutes of acquaintance. Fun can be accessed at neighbourhood speeds avoiding oncoming traffic which is amazing. Connection is phenomenal especially for cars in this day and age. Brakes, engine and steering feels close to you like an extension to whoever that’s driving.
Even with particulate filters installed, the exhaust manages to still bring out the raspy flat-6 sounds and pop when valves are open. Just like the car it replaces, more sounds can be heard in Sport mode than Sport Plus. Off the line, it’s got the twin-clutch hesitation that I enjoy as it feel a bit like getting off the line in a manual car. On the run, the gears are imperceptible and does not hesitate to go all the way down into first.
Power is plenty on roads with strict laws and more than ever, paying more for an S model is very much unnecessary. On sportier driving modes, response is immediate so we can finally stop grieving over the loss of natural aspiration. The car was so responsive that at no one point, I need to deploy the overboots function. Springs are perfectly damped even on its stiffest so daily driving in this thing brings on more road trips.
There's a lot of technology where people want in a car to a point where even a tech savvy person like me will need time to learn what most things do so I wonder how older boys and girls feel about these screens. Fortunately, the important ones are all physical buttons which is all anyone needs.
The crayon painted car I tested had all the required options and maybe a little more. It wore Carrera Exclusive Design wheels which is how I imagine specifying my 911. Everyone needs a car to get somewhere and if you are lucky enough, why not make it a car like this one.
Having made my way back into the C63S, the front end feels acres in front of you. The exhaust feels miles behind and there’s a lot of metal to manage around you. Well, it is not fair to compare a, bluntly put, heavily modified C-class as it has a lot of sedan shortcomings to work around. At least it sounds better.
Some old school 911 traits have been engineered into the 992 which is something to be celebrated. Porsche has once again mastered the steering in a 911 and the car as a whole is very fitting for its time. There’s nothing bad to be said about this car aside from being pricey for us common folks. Even that cannot be a criticism as the waiting time for one is over a year and when you get your car, it will be a 992.2.
Maybe things haven’t really changed from the days of the 991 but I have and I’m no longer the person who’s trying to extract every drop of performance from each car I drive. If I have the money, I’d get a sufficiently specified base Carrera or a Carrera T to keep it for the rest of my time here. There is a smarter alternative here which is to save a huge chunk of money and get possibly the last of its kind, the 982 GTS 4.0.