Porsche 911 reviews

2002 Porsche 911 Driving Impressions

The performance of this Porsche is nothing short of extraordinary.

There are those who argue Porsche's Boxster does nearly everything the 911 can do for $24,000 less. The Boxster is, of course, a terrific sports car and the Boxster S comes even closer. But the 911 provides much more power. Even more noticeable is its chassis sophistication. An example: Charge into a bumpy turn and you'll need to slow the Boxster down a bit because the car will slide toward the outside of the corner as the tires skip over the bumps and momentarily lose grip. In a 911, the massive tires stay in contact with the road because the suspension keeps them there. Whether it's a 30-mph switchback or a 100-mph sweeper, the 911 driver can blast through at the absolute limit. You'll be busier and slower in the Boxster.

The 911 rides very nicely over rough pavement. You know the bumps are there, but they aren't jarring. Some writers have accused this refined new 911 of losing some of its feel, but the Carrera 4 offers plenty of feedback. You can sense the rear weight bias and you can actually feel the changing amounts of grip the front tires have as the car goes through an undulating corner.

With all of its technology, the Carrera 4 may offer better accident avoidance capabilities than any other car on the road. First of all, it has excellent brakes. Huge brake rotors and one-piece calipers derived from the GT1 racecar, along with ideal weight distribution and massive tire contact patches allow the 911 to generate incredible braking forces. As a result, this car takes off speed in no time. Porsche requires brakes to provide 25 consecutive full-force stops without fade. Its anti-lock brake system is excellent, allowing the driver to steer around the problem while braking at the threshold. These 911s stop quicker than just about any production car built.

While the Carrera 4 offers superior traction on slippery surfaces, Porsche designed the system to offer superior handling on mainly dry surfaces; it's designed for performance, not as an all-weather traction assistant. Though it adds a substantial $5,430 to the price, the four-wheel-drive system improves safety and makes this Porsche even easier to drive. From a standing stop, you can crank the steering wheel over for a 90-degree turn and stand on it without any need for steering corrections. The rear end won't slide out (power oversteer) and the front end won't wash out (understeer); the Carrera 4 simply accelerates away -- very quickly. In the middle of an on-ramp, you can stab the throttle then lift abruptly off the throttle and the car won't do anything nasty. It merely takes a different set on the suspension as weight is being transferred fore and aft.

Sports car enthusiasts can easily recognize a Porsche by its sound. Whether one is driving by on a country road or roaring past at Le Mans, they have a distinctive sound that is legendary. Granted, there is no such thing as too much horsepower, but the Carrera 4 did not leave me longing for a Turbo. Output has been increased to 300 horsepower through a new exhaust system for model year 2000, allowing both models to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.0 seconds.

Our Carrera 4 came with the Tiptronic transmission. In automatic mode, it's possibly the best, smoothest-shifting automatic I've ever driven. Upshifts and downshifts are super smooth in manual or auto mode. The manual mode is fun: By pressing a button on the steering wheel, you can go down through the gears as you brake for an exit ramp. But it's not necessary to shift manually. The automatic mode works superbly. Auto holds it in gear when it senses you are attacking the corners. All in all, the 911's Tiptronic is a fantastic automatic.

In spite of all that, I'd order my Carrera 4 with the manual gearbox for its superior control, superior performance and superior fun.

Pirelli's P-Zero tires offer good grip. In a week's worth of driving through rural Maryland, I never came