2009 Porsche 911 Reviews

Ewan Kennedy reviews the 996, 997 and 991 Porsche 911 between 1998 and 2016 as a used buy.

Why did I go to school? I can mix pool chemicals without needing to understand the hieroglyphics of chemistry.Biology was fun and interesting but I've yet to find the time or inclination to come home after work and studiously slice up a frog.I know that when a violent woman in the shopping aisle pushes her trolley against mine in order to get to the salted crisps first, we're not interested in directional forces and any theory of relativity. Despite me getting relatively angry.So I didn't need physics. Which is just as well.One thought of a car that is basically a pendulum and shouts at all the principles of physics would be enough to make me refuse a ride.Except that in this case the car is from Porsche and the physics lesson was a distant decade, or two — or four — ago.Porsche has stuck its engine out beyond the rear axle since 1948 (though the very first car was mid-engined) and each year its engineers brilliantly mask this unusual layout.This year it's probably relative only to those who hammer Porsches on the track.Owners who test their cars on leafy streets en-route to the office would never know the limits of a Porsche's rear tyre traction.If the car tested here, the Porsche 911 second-generation 997 big 3.8-litre, rear-drive Carrera — in summary, 911 Carrera 2 S — has limits then it rarely showed them. PricingThe 911 Carrera 2 S costs $248,100 but this is a Porsche and the option list awaits.As tested, the car was $258,580 — remember, this is without any on-road costs — thanks to the addition of metallic paint ($1990), the three-spoke multi-function steering wheel that I consider should be standard ($1490) and of course the PDK transmission that you wouldn't want to leave home without. Add a cool $7000 for that gearbox. AppearanceThough externally it appears practically identical to its predecessor, beneath the curvaceous steel body is a whole lot of changes.Externally the second-generation 997 adds LED daytime running lights and tail lights. The Carrera S has quad exhaust pipes.Inside it's business as usual — in this case, well thought out controls in a rather austere environment.Upgrades include a screen monitor for the sat-nav and radio, though controls on the steering wheel are optional. There's more personal storage space than a few models previous but it's hardly cavernous.Though low and occasionally awkward to enter and leave, there is comfortable room for two adults. The rear seats are purely for children and are better flipped forward to boost luggage space from the bin-shaped boot box.That beautiful flowing body shape that so identifies Porsche bites back at the driver by offering zero hint to the placement of the front and rear bumpers. Parking is, at best, a very gentle manoeuvre. Drivetrains and chassisPorsche kept the S engine capacity at 3.8-litres but it's not the same engine as before. It whacks out 283kW/420Nm at higher revs thanks to an improved direct-fuel injection system.This system allows it to breath a cooler fuel-air mixture so the compression ratio has been pushed to a whopping 12.5:1 for maximum efficiency. Most cars are 8:1 or 9:1.There is also a sophisticated on-demand oil pump and scavenging arrangement that saves 2 per cent in fuel and adds the same in power.Power and torque are up though emissions and fuel consumption is down. So impressive was the leap over the old engine that Porsche's next model, the 998, is likely to have smaller-capacity engines that reap equivalent or increased performance with even less fuel use.Aiding navigation down the green route is the PDK dual-clutch transmission. Its seven cogs perfectly match the engine and further help economy.Blisteringly quick in its shifts, the PDK unit is quicker than the old — yet incredibly reliable — Tiptronic box, delivers better acceleration, less fuel use but is a bit heavier. DrivingThe Carrera 2 S's biggest asset is its tractability. The 3.8-litre engine's low-end grunt makes it surprisingly easy to drive and the PDK in auto mode could be just like any other automatic gearbox.That's matched by its responsiveness. Touch the accelerator and this thing's just poised to fire. And it will, so be careful.It's also addictive. The roar of the exhausts and the subdued whirr of the engine's moving metal parts combine with a nose-up stance under acceleration.The steering is direct and, combined with the car's tail-heavy bias, lightens at speed so that imperfect bitumen at high speed makes it subtly — though initially disconcerting — dance. It's something you get used to.Corner speeds can be phenomenal. This car sits flat, shows a bit of understeer and will start to break traction at the rear but is (nearly) always controllable.Things get messy if you lift off the accelerator during hard cornering but that's physics.It can be a bit noisy inside but it's never annoying. Coarse-grade bitumen will make the tyres howl and there's a bit of wind noise around the window at higher speeds.The split-second reaction of the gearshift lever to the manual mode is just glorious but the rocker-shifters on the steering wheel are badly designed, too easy to knock and illogically each combines the up/down shift.But the Bose sound system is delightful, the comfort an absolute surprise (though you can select a firmer ride) and the quality is close to perfect.Above all, it's easy to drive. This is specifically where the Porsche trounces most of its opposition. This is a car that will thrash most other four-wheeled vehicles in performance, yet will happily putter down to the shops and into work.I want one. It's just as well I failed physics. SnapshotPorsche 911 Carrera 2 SPrice: $248,100 ($258,580 as tested*)Engine: 3.8-litre, 6-cyl, direct-fuel injection, quad-cam, variable-valve timingPower: 283kW @ 6500rpmTorque: 420Nm @ 4400rpmFuel economy (official): 10.2 litres/100km, (tested): 11.6 litres/100kmTransmission: 7-speed dual-clutch PDK semi-automatic, sequential, rocker shifters; rear drive 

The sheep, hidden from view by the crest, looks up from the road at the same time the Porsche driver has a clear view of the animal from over the road's brow. Both freak out.The sheep goes one way and then back again, like Dancing With The Stars NZ-style, to the horror of the driver who's now trying to crush the brake pedal into the firewall. The only one unfussed by all this is the Porsche.In a millisecond it drops from sixth to second and, urged by the crushing weight of the driver's right foot, enables ABS, brake assist, electronic stability control and traction control.The subsequent — and alarmingly rapid — deceleration of the Porsche is matched by the sudden acceleration of the sheep out of the danger zone. Here are some of the tools provided by quality carmakers to avoid accidents and save a life or two.The PDK — it's a German acronym meaning dual-clutch transmission similar to theVW/Audi DSG — has the ability to intuitively and rapidly react to driver demands.Porsche has been working on dual-clutch transmissions since the late 1970s, though it aimed to benefit its racing campaigns and was of little interest to street cars.In the early to mid-1980s, PDK-equipped Porsche racers won on the track and the technology was then enhanced, civilised and harmonised with the 911 chassis and engine. This year, it finally sees the showroom.The seven-cog (but six gears in Sport mode) PDK replaces the Tiptronic gearbox and is an option on the 911 range at a $6600 premium to the delightful six-speed manual box.PDK's electronic monitoring means it's immediately compatible with a host of other electronic gizmos so can be made to interact with suspension, brakes, stability aids and most importantly, the engine. Brilliant.So good that it can save a sheep's life.All the eye-blink gear changes used to avoid lamb french cuts have more appealing use on the Symmons Plain race track near Launceston.The driver can attack a corner in sixth gear, stab the accelerator and the PDK snaps into second gear just in time for a power-out corner.The new transmission can be left in D for Drive or punctuated by flicks of the gear lever or steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.Or, save the $6600 and experience one of the finest gear changes of any rear-engined car.Porsche's latest 10-model 998-series of the perennial 911 — it's now 45 years old — starts at $210,300 for the manual.There are bigger messages all over the latest car. The engine, for example, is a new generation that, from next year, filters into the Boxster and GT2/GT3 models.It shares no components with its predecessor, has 40 per cent fewer parts, lighter and more compact casings, an on-demand oil pump,a semi-dry oil sump to reduce drag and low-friction materials. It weighs 6kg less, has extraordinarily high 12.5:1 compression ratio and uses direct-petrol injection.The result is more power and torque, faster acceleration, less fuel consumption and emissions that better the stringent Euro-5and US LEV-2 levels.It also has 30,000km service intervals to save up to 7 per cent in ownership costs — except in Australia. Apparently our low-grade, high-sulphur premium fuel affects sump oil quality so 15,000km service intervals are specified here.This all skips over the fact this is the most sensational 911 to pilot.Porsche test driver and ambassador Walter Rohrl recently cracked an amazing 7min 56sec lap of the Nurburgring. It's not the production-car lap record (7min 29sec for the NissanGT-R), but it's damn quick for a showroom-fresh 3.8-litre Carrera S with PDK and optional Porsche adjustable suspension.The 3.6-litre 254kW Carrera with PDK leaps to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, averages 9.8 litres per 100km and has a modest 230g/km of CO2 emissions. In comparison, the 3.8-litre 283kW Carrera S accelerates in 4.5 seconds, drinks10.2 litres per 1000km and has 240g/km.Acceleration feels more impressive than the numbers. The 911 sits low and despite wide wheel arches, the cabin is intimate with simple, glaringly efficient instruments and switchgear. The touch screen is a bonus to people in a rush.Optional Sport Plus accentuates engine and gear shift reaction. Where the standard 911 is as keen as a butcher's knife, the option hones it to razor sharpness. Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) changes the action of the shock absorbers and has “normal” or “sport” modes activated by a dash button.But it's not intended for all circumstances. The 911s tend to display their displeasure at rutted bitumen by adopting a tip-toe dance motion. This happens at anything from80km/h to well above posted speed limits. Itcan be unnerving. Best not to grip the steering wheel but let the car find its preferred path and turn off the PASM, Sport or Sport Plus buttons. Back on smoother bitumen, these buttons engage to flatten the ride, firm the nose and tail through the sharpest corners and add razor-sharp gearbox and engine systems.The steering is delightfully well balancedand weighted, positive enough to get the nose precisely where you want even though the bonnet is invisible to the driver.Ride comfort even rates highly — except for gnarly roads when PASM Sport is engaged — making this one of the very few Euro sports cars that combine a weekend thrashing on the track with a Monday morning crawl in traffic.The same applies to the all-wheel-drive 911, the Carrera 4, though this comes with much higher levels of grip and bigger driver grins.The new drive system — from viscous coupling to an electronically controlled multi-clutch — is more positive and adaptable. Up to 100 per cent of power can go to the front wheels. One corner tells you it's a lot better.AWD gives bite, of course, but what really sharpens the teeth is the mechanical limited slip differential that has a 22 per cent lock under traction and 27 per cent in over-run.Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S Cabriolet are at either end of the AWD price list, costing $226,500 and $274,600 respectively as manuals and an extra $6600 for the PDK option.Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler is holding three months worth of orders for the new 911. Of those, 80 per cent are for the PDK version.“Tiptronic now accounts for 50 per cent,” he says. “I expect PDK volume to settle to about 65 per cent. The Carrera 4 will do better as there's a tangible benefit in the drive system.”

    Car and road are made for each other and we took great pleasure imagining we were Jim Richards carving the curves, leaving the field in a wailing wake of flat six power.The new 911 makes even mug drivers look good.As the mid-model update of the 997 series, the new 911 ushers in a swag of under-the-skin improvements and a mild tweak to its appearance. Blink and you'd miss the body changes which centre on different bumpers, tail lights and headlights and the adoption of an array of LED running lights at the front.Dig deeper and there's been plenty of activity to make the 911 perform and handle better, use less fuel (under 10.0-litres/100km) and deliver more driving pleasure.The 3.6-litre and 3.8-litre engine capacities are retained but both Carrera and Carrera S engines are totally new.“Every screw is new” said Porsche's engineering guru Thomas Krikleberg.“We have equipped the 911 with direct fuel injection for gains in power and fuel efficiency,” he added.“ It also features Variocam Plus (variable cam timing) and a variable oil pump that saves a couple of kilowatts.”A semi-dry sump system is used and the engine internals treated with low friction coatings.The other major development is a double clutch, seven-speed, automated transmission called PDK that consigns the fully automatic Tiptronic 'box to oblivion - at least for 911.Like other automated double clutch manuals appearing on the market, the PDK system offers rapid-fire changes up and down the range, quicker than any manual or auto.For all intents and purposes, these “PlayStation” transmissions make anything else redundant unless you are a stickler for tradition and want a manual.But why would you, manuals are slower and use more fuel.Both flat-six-cylinder engines are naturally aspirated and are good for 254kW/390Nm and 283/420Nm in ascending order. Both can go well into the four-second bracket for a 0-100kmh sprint with the PDK transmission proving that you don't need eight, ten or twelve cylinders and huge power to make a quick car. A few variants of the new 911 Carrera are available including rear wheel drive, all wheel drive and also soft top cabriolet versions of the same. Prices start at $210,400 for the 3.6-litre Carrera coupe manual.The manual is a six speeder and offers a superb driving experience for the purist.But we went all gooey over the PDK especially in the Carrera S with rear wheel drive and Porsche's optional Sports Chrono pack. Apart from other goodies, this offers Sport Plus driving mode at the touch of a button transforming the Carrera S from a hotrod road car into a no-beg-your-pardons track day special.On the drive, the multi-mode suspension system proved a godsend on some of the rougher sections. Normal mode allows the 911 to waft over undulations and potholes in full control with barely a hint of reaction. The steering is absolutely superb, rating as arguably the best in the business and the brakes, even the standard units will bring a blood rush to your head under full application. Bigger multi-piston units and ceramic brakes are available.But it's the way they go that is so satisfying with a Porsche 911. Hit the throttle and it's “see you later.” There's no mucking around, just whoosh, a blood curdling wail and away you go. It's heightened in the PDK Sports Chrono cars that have launch control. Inside has been mildly revised offering plenty of luxury and style as well as leather colour choices and a killer audio system.Wonder how much equity we have in the house?