The Porsche 911 is now turbocharged – but don’t let that put you off. The addition of turbos to the regular rungs of the 911 ladder have brought even more usable performance and greater efficiency. The racy soundtrack might not be quite as noticeable at the top end, but it still barks like a Porsche should, and with even more tech underneath the 911’s chassis offers even more grip, poise and comfort – which is a very clever trick.
• Best sports cars to buy right now.
Borrowing tech from the halo Turbo and GT3 models, the iconic sports car has moved on once more – and that extends to the interior where there’s more equipment on offer than ever. With over 50 years of development behind it the 911 is still one of the world’s best sports cars.
The previous 911’s interior was solid and functional, rather than a feast of craftsmanship and interesting design, like in the new Audi R8. However, with this model Porsche has injected some extra tech and more equipment options to give it a more modern feel.
The basic layout is still the same, so the high dashboard and centre console surround you, placing the focus on the driver and giving a nice cocooned feeling.
It’s not the most stylish dash, with an upright centre console and flat fascia, but material quality is excellent and it feels solidly screwed together. Plus there are some neat little features, such as the two cupholders that pop out of the thin strip in the dash.
However, the big news is the updated PCM Porsche Communication Management system. The new seven-inch touchscreen recognises swipe gestures just like a smartphone, so you can swish side to side from menu to menu. Plus, real-time traffic info and online navigation now come as standard, while Apple CarPlay is also available.
Porsche says it’s also developing the system for Android users, and with the Porsche Car Connect app you can check the status of your car remotely, including features such as fuel level and remaining range, as well as folding the wing mirrors remotely.
As with all 911s, the car’s clever 2+2 layout remains. This means there are two small seats for young children – the back rests can be folded down to create a larger luggage space as well, complementing the 145-litre boot in the car’s nose. It’s a surprisingly usable shape and is big enough for at least two overnight bags.
Other neat features include the digital screen next to the central rev counter – this gives different readouts including car and audio info, as well as the sat-nav map, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road for too long.
You can personalise the interior of the 911, just like the outside. Porsche has added a number of bright exterior colour options for this mid-life model update, which really work well with the subtly revised design.
You might not want to go quite as bright on the inside, but with extras such as contrast stitching, bucket seats, carbon fibre and aluminium trim inlays, there’s plenty of scope to customise the cabin to your tastes.
Porsche Exclusive allows customers to match the interior and exterior of their car to their favourite colour, while you can also choose different hues for the seat belts. There’s even a choice of steering wheels, and both are now smaller than before, making the 911 feel even quicker to respond to inputs at the wheel.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
As above, the higher-res graphics on the new infotainment system improve its functionality. It’s also more responsive, and the gesture recognition is a nice touch – literally. USB, Bluetooth and sat-nav all come as standard, while you can upgrade the system with a better stereo.
Connected services are now available, further improving the 911’s usability, which has been a big target for Porsche with this 991.2 update.
The new engine is the big news in this 911, but Porsche purists needn’t worry, as it’s a great unit.
Kicking out 365bhp, the base Carrera can sprint from 0-62mph in just 4.2 seconds if you opt for the PDK box. But those figures don’t tell the whole story – with 450Nm of torque from 1,700rpm to 5,000rpm, it’s incredibly flexible, too. Whereas you’d have to work the old car’s gearbox hard and keep the revs high to extract the performance, in this new 911 you can leave it in gear and just let the 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six pull.
It’s the same story in the Carrera S, except it’s quicker. Go for the PDK gearbox with Porsche’s Sport Chrono option and you’ll rocket off the line and onto 62mph in 3.9 seconds, making this the first ‘normal’ 911 to dip under the magic four-second barrier.
The S gets 414bhp and 500Nm of torque, so it feels even more ferocious in the mid range. Compared to the first-generation 991 911, each model benefits from a 20bhp boost and 60Nm more torque, and with only 45kg of extra weight, it’s no surprise Porsche has taken performance to the next level.
However, while the shove at normal road speeds is much stronger and sustained longer than before, the 911 has lost a little of the old car’s high rpm fireworks. Maximum revs are now capped to 7,500rpm, and that charge towards the rev limiter isn’t as strong as before.
The noise is still there though, this time overlaid with a faint whoosh from the turbos as they spool up and provide extra power. The standard cars still have that typical, bassy Porsche sound at idle that morphs into a bark in the mid range. Go for the twin-pipe centre-exit Sports exhaust and you’ll liberate a few more decibels, too.
While you might not have to work the gearbox quite as much, it’s still a pleasure if you want to, as the PDK swaps cogs smoothly and quickly – it’s great in auto mode and gives a delicious blip when changing down using the paddles.
There’s a revised manual option for this model, too, with a twin-plate clutch design that makes the pedal lighter and therefore more usable in traffic. The gear lever throw is short and the action light, but like all Porsche manuals, it’s mechanically precise and lovely to snick up and down the box with.
Porsche has increased this car’s breadth of ability by fitting its PASM Porsche Adaptive Suspension Management adjustable dampers as standard. This means the car sits 10mm lower than before, but don’t think it means the ride is back breaking.
With Normal and Sport modes for the suspension, you can cruise around in plenty of comfort, even on big wheels. The car soaks up bumps and bad roads well, but if you go for bigger alloys you will feel potholes.
Switch into Sport mode and the 911 takes on a harder character, with firmer damping giving even more body control. It still boasts a supple ride and is fairly comfortable, but we’d save this for sportier driving or track days. If you’re into that sort of thing, it’s worth considering the optional rear-wheel steering system on the S model – at lower speeds the back wheels steer in the opposite direction to the fronts, giving incredible agility and turn-in grip. At high speed the rear wheels steer the same way as the fronts, improving stability in fast corners.
Engines
Both the Carrera and Carrera S engines feel very similar from behind the wheel – that’s because they are. The models both use the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six, but the S gets bigger turbos that push more air into the engine, therefore giving it the extra power over the non-S variant.
Throttle response can sometimes be a problem with turbo engines, but here Porsche’s engineers have worked hard to give the feel of a naturally aspirated unit. Push the throttle to the stop, and at anything other than very low revs the 911 takes off rapidly, as you feel the torque swell and sweep the car along.
And if that’s not enough, PDK-equipped cars with the Sport Chrono pack get a new Sport Response button – push it and the gearbox changes down to the perfect gear for a burst of acceleration, while the engine is primed to deliver maximum power. It lasts for 20 seconds and is great for overtaking.
Lots of Porsche’s road car tech has been developed on the track, and the brand’s big motorsports presence means good things for road car reliability. If you can prove yourself in a 24-hour non-stop race, road miles shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
As a result, Porsche is a consistent performer in our annual Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, and in 2015 it equalled its 2014 result of sixth place overall. It scored a fourth place for build quality, too.
Safety is strong on this car, and although Euro NCAP doesn’t crash test the 911, expect it to stand up well to an impact. There are plenty of electronic systems to keep a watch over you, including PSM Porsche Stability Management.
This 991.2 model features a new PSM Sport setting, which allows the driver a little more margin for error for a bit more fun in safe circumstances. However, if you brake hard enough to trigger the ABS system, PSM will default back to its most restrictive mode.
On top of this buyers can also go for features like adaptive cruise control and LED headlights, as well as upgraded carbon ceramic brakes for increased stopping power.
Warranty
All Porsches come with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty as standard, as well as three years’ roadside assistance. This is pretty much the industry standard.
Servicing
With a brand like Porsche, servicing isn’t going to be cheap. Due to the unique layout, with the engine in the rear, access is difficult, so jobs can sometimes take longer to complete than on a regular car.
Servicing prices for the new 911 haven’t been released yet, but we don’t expect them to differ much from the previous model, so you’ll be looking at around £480 for a minor service and £610 for a major service.
The saving grace is the car’s service intervals are every two years or 20,000 miles, so you’ll be able to go longer than usual between routine maintenance appointments, which makes the prices that bit more bearable.
With a low nose and front bumper, you might think there wouldn’t be much room underneath the 911’s ‘bonnet’. However, there’s 145 litres of luggage room in the two-wheel drive version.
This drops to 125-litres in the four-wheel drive Carrera 4 due to the front differential eating into space, but it’s still a surprisingly usable space. Plus there’s that area behind the front seats – if you fold the rear chairs down you’ll find another 260 litres of room on offer.
However, they’re best used for small children when they’re up, as adults will feel very cramped back there due to the sloping roofline.
There are plenty of different seat options available, but even the standard electrically adjustable seats offer lots of comfort and support. Sports seats are standard, with four-way adjustment, while you can upgrade to Sports seats Plus or Adaptive Sports seats Plus.
The standard Sports seats provide the best balance between long-distance cruising and fixing you in place on a twisty road. However, if you want even more figure-hugging seats to hold you through fast corners, there are carbonfibre-backed two-piece bucket seats available.
Size
As this updated 991-generation 911 is based on the same chassis, the car’s physical size is broadly the same. Although the 911 has grown over the years, it’s still one of the smaller GTs on sale today, which combined with the quick steering makes it easy to place on the road. For reference, the new Carrera is 4.5 metres long, 1.98 metres wide and 1.3 metres high.
Visibility is good, so the Porsche is easy to park and manoeuvre. Front and rear parking sensors are available to help out here, as is a reversing camera.
Despite the lower ride height, the long coupe doors mean it’s easy to get in and out of for a sports car, and the low front bumper means you don’t have to lift bags very high to get them into the boot.
There’s also a nose lifting kit available, which raises the front of the car hydraulically to improve ground clearance when going over speed bumps or ramps.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Legroom in the back is limited, but this is not meant to be a full four-seater – those occasional rear seats are a bonus. In the front there’s lots of room, and the 911’s cabin manages to combine a cossetting, driver-focused feel with enough space and comfort for longer journeys.
There’s plenty of adjustment as well, and with a steering wheel that moves in and out as well as up and down, it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position. With its low-slung seating, headroom isn’t an issue, but you still get a great view of the road ahead thanks to the car’s plunging bonnet.
If you’ll be carrying young children, you can specify an Isofix option for the front passenger seat, while the front airbag can be disabled.
Boot
As we’ve mentioned, the boot is a good size for a sports car, but importantly, it’s also a good shape. In the two-wheel drive model the luggage bay is deep and square, so it’s more practical than it might first appear. It’s not big enough to need a luggage net or any tie down points, however.
Some people bemoan the use of turbos in performance cars like this, but when they add even more performance and boost the 911’s green credentials, it’s hard to argue.
The base Carrera PDK will officially return 38.2mpg and 169g/km CO2, meaning it’ll cost £205 to tax per year, which isn’t bad for a high-performance coupe like this. Go for the manual and the figures aren’t quite so good, but 34.0mpg and 190g/km is still impressive.
The more powerful Carrera S isn’t quite as efficient, as you’d expect, but it delivers a best of 36.7mpg and 174g/km, so it’ll actually cost the same £205 per year to tax as the Carrera.
Go for the more involving manual and these figures are eroded further, with mpg falling to 32.5mpg and CO2 rising to 199g/km.
However, if you’re buying a performance coupe costing £75,000 or more, fuel economy might not be at the top of your priorities list. But as this new 911 is much more usable, the chances are you’ll drive it even more, so eking out what you can from a tank of fuel, improving cruising range, is actually a big benefit. Thank the turbos for that.
Active aerodynamics and stop-start technology help to shave a few more g/km compared to its predecessor, too. With its 64-litre fuel tank, cruising range is up to an impressive 538 miles in the Carrera PDK.
Insurance groups
Insuring a Porsche isn’t ever going to be a bargain, so expect some hefty quotes, even if you shop around.
Insurance group ratings for the new car haven’t yet been confirmed, but with the old base 911 manual model coming in at group 46, and the S PDK at group 47 out of 50, expect cover costs to be fairly steep.
Depreciation
Despite its high purchase price and relative lack of practicality compared to some cheaper performance saloons like the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63, the 911 resists depreciation well.
According to our experts, the basic Carrera manual car will hold onto a surprisingly strong 53.2 per cent of its original value after three years/60,000 miles. At the other end of the range, the Carrera S PDK is actually very similar, with a predicted rating of 53.1 per cent.
There’ll no doubt be a bit of a wait for the new 911, too, as buyers wanting the latest thing trade in their old cars. This means second-hand prices of the new model should stay high for quite a while until demand is satisfied – but it might also mean values of the older naturally-aspirated car take a bit of a hit.