Porsche 911 Carrera Cabrio

A stunner -- but let's get real about the back seat, okay?

by John Pearley Huffman

The worst thing about the Porsche 911 Carrera is its iconic status. There's just too much about this car that its buyers won't let Porsche change. Some of it is minor stuff like the ignition switch on the left side of the steering wheel. And some of it is major, like sticking engine way out in the far-ass end where it shouldn't be, insisting that the overall shape change not-all-that-much and making sure the microscopic rear "seats" remain minuscule jokes.

The best thing about the Porsche 911 Carrera is that, despite that worst thing, it's simply the best sports car you can buy and realistically use as daily transportation. All the compromises built into the 911 to please the well-attended church that worships it simply don't matter - the moment the flat-six hums to life (and it does hum) this car is charged with mechanical charisma and positive male essence. But it's built like a 3075-pound beryllium atom, its nose doesn't scrape going up steep driveways, and those rear seats may be useless for carrying people but they're perfect buckets for holding gym or grocery bags.

Ferraris have even more personality, but they're fragile, there's no place to store anything, they're voracious gas hogs and the attention they attract quickly becomes a chore. A Ferrari is a playmate - good for a romp in the hay or as arm candy, but not much for domestic chores. The Porsche 911, on the other hand, is ready for a long-term commitment.

Subtly better outside

Porsches have never been cheap, and the 911 Carrera Cabriolet (no "S," no "4," no "Turbo") test car looked like money from every angle. Last year's evolutionary update from 996 to 997 cleaned up the water-cooled car's nose by simplifying the headlights, re-sculpting the front bumper and better integrating the under-bumper air inlets. And all the fender shapes seem more voluptuous. The current 911 now looks more like the last air-cooled 911 (the beloved 993 that left production during 1998), and less like the Boxster (though it was similarly updated). The basic Carrera comes on five-spoke 18-inch wheels that are better looking than the 19-inch wheels standard on the Carrera S and the Carrera's P235/40R-18 front and P265/40R-18 rear tires have a bit more sidewall height than the S' front 35- and rear 30-series rubber. That results in a car that appears more secure and sophisticated and less adolescent and rambunctious.

The 997 is no larger than the 996 in most dimensions, but it is larger than the 993 and it looks it. But that doesn't mean the 997 is large. At 175.6 inches long overall, it's 0.8 inches longer than a 2006 Honda Civic Si coupe and the Porsche's 92.5-inch wheelbase is almost a foot (11.8 inches) shorter than the same Honda's. At 71.2 inches the Porsche is wide, but it's a narrow-waist car with much of the width being the fenders covering the widely spaced wheels.

The air-cooled 911s had a more upright windshield and may have been less aerodynamically efficient, but they still trump all their water-cooled successors for purity of line and flat-out beauty. From some angles, the 996 is even actually awkward. But there's nothing awkward about the 997.

Obviously better inside

There was always too much going on with the air-cooled 911's dash for its own good. The instrumentation was easy enough to read in four large circular gauges, but the ventilation controls were always a nightmare and sound system was segregated off in front of the passenger and always had itty-bitty buttons. Ergonomically the 996 was an improvement, but mashing the gauges together under a hood pretty much eliminated the charm. In contrast the 997 dash is logical, useable, and the best 911 dash yet.

That's not to say, however, that it's beyond criticism. The gauges are still five intersecting circles and while they're easier to scan than those in the 996, the speedometer may as well not be there at all. The tachometer is positioned as the center (and largest) gauge and features a bold digital readout for speed at its bottom. With the digital number so prominent, there's no reason to ever look at the speedometer needle sweeping less precisely just to the right of the tach.