Porsche 911 Carrera PDK 2011 review

THE all-new Porsche 911 is everything you expect, then more. Actually, it can also be less if you just want to doze along the freeway in seventh - yes, seventh - gear in the latest manual transmission with the engine turning at just 2000 revs.

But it's still a sports car to dream about, to tussle and tease along a twisty road, and one of the rare cars to make a memorable entry at your favourite haunt.

Spending? No-one will say, but it's unlikely there was any change from $800 million.

It's just as fast as always, but bigger, more refined, and with the quirkiness of previous generations either removed entirely or damped down almost to Camry levels. And there is lots of efficiency, headlined by better fuel economy and a smaller 3.4-litre engine in the Carrera starter.

PRICING

The first of the new 911s will reach Australia in March, priced from $229,900 for the Carrera or $263,100 for a Carrera S with the larger 3.8-litre engine. The new coupes will be followed quickly by the cabrio - look for pictures on Carsguide next week - and eventually the hero cars including the GT3 track monster and the Turbo in 2013.

TECHNOLOGY

For now, work on the 911 is concentrated on a new and lighter body, a cabin with noticeably more space and a dashboard that's been morphed from from the Panamera, with everything from a wider front track and a stretched wheelbase to controversial electric power steering.

Engine outputs are 257 kiloWatts/390 Newton-metres for the 3.4 and 294/440 for the 3.8, which means sprint times as quick as 4.3 seconds to 100km/h and a top speed of 304km/h in the S.

Fuel consumption can be as little as 8.2 litres/100km and all new 911s have a stop-start system as standard, headlining a suit of efficiency improvements.

There is also the seven-speed manual - with an extra leg on the usual H pattern - that shares its casing and basic mechanicals with the quick-shifting PDK twin-clutch manumatic.

Other details run from standard wheel sizes up from 19 and 10 inches, with all sorts of options including sports seats, sound systems, leather choices and special luggage. And there is a new hero colour - a creamy brown - called cognac.

But it's still a 911, from the body shape to the feedback at the wheel.

DRIVING

The first and most-obvious improvement for anyone who has driven any previous 911 is the elimination of the pitchy, jouncy ride that has always had the front wheels pattering and drumming to any changes in road surface. The improvement is partly in the front suspension, partly in a steering system that eliminates unwanted distractions.

The car is also noticeably quieter and there is more room for both of the people in the front. The back? It's not something to test, unless you're younger than five.

The performance is as strong as the recent 911s, perhaps a touch better but it's hard to know in the real world, and it still has the mid-range punch and throaty exhaust note that makes the car special.

Braking is great, the ride is good, and the new dashboard is simpler to use, although the electronic park brake is hidden below the dash.

For me, the multi-adjustable electric seats in the Carrera S are set too high, and the fake-ceramic steering wheel looks a bit cheap. And it's easy to get lost in the new seven-speed manual gearbox, which is also sprung towards the 3-4 plane and means you have to concentrate to go from seven to five.

The PDK gearbox is great and my choice now Porsche has paddles, and the sound systems punch.

My complaints are mostly very minor stuff and that's no surprise on any 911, and especially not on a ground-up rework.

The Porsche people have done everything they can to ensure the car is headed for greatness.

They even laid more than two kilometres of smooth new bitumen road at a California airfield to ensure the car would make the best possible impression on the world's motoring press ...

VERDICT

How good is the new 911? Very, very good. How good? Ok, I want one.

RATING