This week in Autocar they road test the 991 Carrera (manual) and generally give it a very favourable review (4.5 stars out of 5).
BUT - is it just me or is this car very, very poor value for money? Let me be clear - I'm talking about the entry-level 991, not the S (which has yet to be figured in the Uk press).
Let me illustrate my point a little further.
The price
The car costs £71,449 (but that doesn't include a rear wiper, mats or cruise control).
The options list includes things such as 20" Carrera S wheels £971, Limited-slip Diff £890, Sports Exhaust £1,772, Sport Seats £312, Parking sensors £639, Bluetooth £558, Metallic Paint £801, Cruise Control £299, Adaptive Sport Seats £4,427 (
), Rear Wiper £235, PASM £1,691, Bose £963. I don't consider the majority of these as getting carried away with the options list. So I reckon most 991's will leave the showroom costing in the region of £80k (or a lot more if you tick the ceramic brakes and adaptive seats boxes). Oh and PDK is £2,387 more if you want that !!
For your £80k you get a 345BHP@7400rpm car with 288lb ft of torque at 5600rpm. In other words, slightly more in both respects than our 4-6 year old M's (which cost nearly half as much as the Carrera). The current Cayman R costs £20k less, weighs nearly 100kg less, is only 20BHP and 15lb ft torque down, uses the same engine, and probably handles better and laps faster. Get the feeling Porsche are taking the p*ss?
The performance
According to the full Autocar road test the straight line performance is :-
0-60 in 4.8
0-100 in 10.8
0-130 in 17.6
0-140 in 21.6.
That's as near as damn it about the same as an E92M3 (bit slower to 100mph, ever so slighly faster to 140mph) but miles slower than an M5 which costs virtually the same (0-100 in 9.0, 0-150 in 19.9). Our M was tested at 5.1, 11.9, 20.0 and 25.2.
In gear it is a similar story. Frankly the Porsche performance is pathetic for a car costing that money. In every day driving the Z4M is quite a bit faster. The M is quicker in every single gear over every 20mph increment between 20-40 and 70-90 (i.e normal road speeds). At 80-100 and beyond the 991 has a small advantage in the lowest gear but the M is quicker in every other gear.
Conclusion
It might handle well but the £20k cheaper Cayman R will handle better with virtually identical power. In normal road driving, when you need power to safely execute overtaking manoeuvres, this car is massively wanting for something costing £80k. A large family saloon costing the same money will totally destroy it and be so far down the road the Carrera will have lost sight of it.
The emerging view on PH and other Porsche forums indicates that the 991 might be to future generations of the 911 what the 996 was to the 997. Too early to make that judgement in my opinion but the pricing and performance don't do anything to disprove this.
I think this car is £10k over-priced and there are whispers of discounting/deals possible.
BUT - is it just me or is this car very, very poor value for money? Let me be clear - I'm talking about the entry-level 991, not the S (which has yet to be figured in the Uk press).
Let me illustrate my point a little further.
The price
The car costs £71,449 (but that doesn't include a rear wiper, mats or cruise control).
The options list includes things such as 20" Carrera S wheels £971, Limited-slip Diff £890, Sports Exhaust £1,772, Sport Seats £312, Parking sensors £639, Bluetooth £558, Metallic Paint £801, Cruise Control £299, Adaptive Sport Seats £4,427 (
), Rear Wiper £235, PASM £1,691, Bose £963. I don't consider the majority of these as getting carried away with the options list. So I reckon most 991's will leave the showroom costing in the region of £80k (or a lot more if you tick the ceramic brakes and adaptive seats boxes). Oh and PDK is £2,387 more if you want that !!For your £80k you get a 345BHP@7400rpm car with 288lb ft of torque at 5600rpm. In other words, slightly more in both respects than our 4-6 year old M's (which cost nearly half as much as the Carrera). The current Cayman R costs £20k less, weighs nearly 100kg less, is only 20BHP and 15lb ft torque down, uses the same engine, and probably handles better and laps faster. Get the feeling Porsche are taking the p*ss?
The performance
According to the full Autocar road test the straight line performance is :-
0-60 in 4.8
0-100 in 10.8
0-130 in 17.6
0-140 in 21.6.
That's as near as damn it about the same as an E92M3 (bit slower to 100mph, ever so slighly faster to 140mph) but miles slower than an M5 which costs virtually the same (0-100 in 9.0, 0-150 in 19.9). Our M was tested at 5.1, 11.9, 20.0 and 25.2.
In gear it is a similar story. Frankly the Porsche performance is pathetic for a car costing that money. In every day driving the Z4M is quite a bit faster. The M is quicker in every single gear over every 20mph increment between 20-40 and 70-90 (i.e normal road speeds). At 80-100 and beyond the 991 has a small advantage in the lowest gear but the M is quicker in every other gear.
Conclusion
It might handle well but the £20k cheaper Cayman R will handle better with virtually identical power. In normal road driving, when you need power to safely execute overtaking manoeuvres, this car is massively wanting for something costing £80k. A large family saloon costing the same money will totally destroy it and be so far down the road the Carrera will have lost sight of it.
The emerging view on PH and other Porsche forums indicates that the 991 might be to future generations of the 911 what the 996 was to the 997. Too early to make that judgement in my opinion but the pricing and performance don't do anything to disprove this.
I think this car is £10k over-priced and there are whispers of discounting/deals possible.
Liverpool
:evil: 
