|
|
||
 |
||
| Road Test Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupé PDK |
||
|
||
|
Three Little Numbers Despite all this, the fact is that you only have to drive it for about five yards before the ten-year old inside you starts jumping up and down and screaming, "Hey, I'm driving a Porsche 911! Woo-hoo!" Such is the enduring magic of one of the most iconic sports cars ever devised. Although this is the entry-level 911, it's not exactly slow - the 3.6-litre engine produces 345bhp and gives the car a sub-five second 0-62mph time. The exact figure depends on a number of factors: the manual version can manage 4.9 seconds, but the PDK (a merciful shortening of Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, which is easier to pronounce than spell) improves on this by two tenths, and the launch control system included in the optional Sport Chrono package fitted to the test car brings the time down still further to 4.5 seconds. PDK is Porsche's version of the increasingly common technology which allows a manual gearbox to be controlled like an automatic (other examples include Ford's PowerShift and the Volkswagen Group's DSG). It works very well indeed, with changes which are both fast and smooth, though I do have a couple of issues with it. To begin with, the shift levers on the steering wheel are very well positioned if you have your hands in the quarter-to-three position, but if, like me, you prefer holding the wheel at ten-to-two they're uncomfortably far out of reach, and I preferred to make manual changes using the gearlever. The PDK cars also have a switch at the bottom of the throttle pedal travel, and if you hit it the gearbox will immediately select the lowest ratio it can without causing the engine to explode. This caused problems when I took the car round Knockhill race circuit and, because I'd operated the switch, selecting second instead of third on a couple of corners. The solution is to press the pedal to the extent that you're touching the switch rather than actually clicking it (a helpful Porsche person later confirmed that you still achieve maximum throttle opening by doing this, even though it doesn't feel like it). You can also make PDK select the lowest available gear by very briefly flooring the pedal and then letting go. This gets the revs up in preparation for an overtaking manoeuvre, and it strikes me as a sensible feature, though the effort saved in not selecting the gear in question yourself is fairly minimal.
Although we're considering PDK as being part of a separate model here, it's actually on the options list for the manual-transmission car. At £2288 it's by far the most expensive of the ones we tried, but there were many, many others - so many, in fact, that their total cost added up to more than you would be asked to pay for a modestly-equipped Ford Fiesta. The list included Cream White paintwork at £1528, the previously mentioned Sport Chrono package at £713, Porsche Active Suspension Management (including 20mm lowered ride height and a limited slip differential) at £1745, 19" alloy wheels at £1229 (no, wait, actually £2198, because these ones were black, which mysteriously makes them much more expensive) and satellite navigation at £1256. More outrageously, Porsche also charges £217 for iPod compatability (which is standard on many city cars these days), £109 for floor mats, £132 for Porsche emblems on the headrests and - get this - £225 for a rear wiper! I won't comment further, except to report that on hearing this the Assistant Editor asked if you also have to pay extra for a steering wheel. (You don't, but the point was well taken.) As well as finding ways of extracting fearful amounts of money from its customers, Porsche has steadily worked its ways round the limitations of the crazy layout over the years, and I would have to say that this is the most user-friendly 911 I have ever driven. It was not at its happiest at Knockhill, partly because the surface was very wet and partly because there is not a single flat corner on the track - the exit is significantly higher or lower than the entry in every case, and when it was lower there was always a moment when the nose seemed unwilling to turn in, followed by several more moments when I imagined the heavily-laden tail swinging out with unfortunate results (though in fairness this never actually happened). On the road this effect is almost unnoticeable, but the ride - which is very smooth even with the uprated suspension and larger wheels - is very obviously compromised by the fact that the suspension has to deal with an enormous amount of weight at the rear and very little at the front. The engine, for all its power, is very docile, and indeed disappointingly quiet, at low revs, though there are delights in store if you're prepared to rev it. A sturdy growl makes itself known as the revcounter needle passes 4000rpm, and by 5500rpm there's a delicious and very Porsche-like scream which can hardly fail to stir the emotions of any keen driver. From a purely dynamic point of view, it's not as good as the mid-engined Boxster or Cayman, and the prices of the optional extras are just laughable. But as I said before, it's desirable simply because it's a 911, and a very good 911 at that. Price: £64,032 Comment on this story on Facebook or Twitter.
|
