Porsche 996 Turbo road test.

What a way to travel.

I had the real pleasure in December 2001 to drive one of these 1200 kilometres from Strasbourg to the U.K. I was driving on my own so had no problems with passenger seat speed restrictions. It was a beautiful, 10,000km 2001 example, in seal grey metallic, but ideally should have been in invisible paint.

This car is absolutely superb at covering the miles, it eats them up at a rate you just would not believe. I have driven quite a lot of Porsche across Europe and enjoyed the freedom of German Autobahns in all of them. No other car I have driven enabled me to continuously drive, hour after hour at any speed appropriate.

Quiet and refined even at 270+kmh, its only the fact that the roads that usually seem straight are no longer straight , they are quit twisty that gives the game away.

This is a car you can do anything in. It has the basic Porsche qualities that I personally appreciate, you can trundle through town, fly down the Autobahn, always with a feeling of absolute security.

A superb chassis, steering , brakes are brilliant, seats great for me (needs a radar detector - if you plan on 280kph past dark blue Citroens with two French Policemen inside). The downside is that it is so damned good that it doesn't feel exciting in the way most imagine.

This is a well mannered, superbly engineered supercar my mum could drive (goodness help us) and she would never know what it really is.
I liked it, fantastic.

If you can afford one, go for it.

Adrian Crawford.

1998 model Porsche 911 996 Carrera 2 Coupe road test.

Driving a Porsche Carrera 996 .

I have driven many of these water cooled Porsche 911. They are often criticized by pure Porsche people because of the water cooling. For sure this takes away the traditional metallic sound you get with an air cooled 911 - but was that so important?

The best things about a Porsche 996 are in my view found on the inside, very comfortable and more roomy that any previous models. If you are a bit on the ample size, or cant cope with unfolding yourself from tiny sports cars than try one of these.

The 996 Carrera I am driving (see pic) is a '98 996 C2 coupe, LHD. In Ocean blue metallic with nephrite full leather (a green/grey colour which sounds a bit mad but looks so classy in the flesh).

It is everything a Porsche should be - capable, strong, well built and communicative.

Start it up and in fact it sounds pretty good, its very comfortable, you can find all the controls easily, the controls are nicely weighted - not hard at all. Out on the open road these cars go… although 'only' 3.4 verses the previous 993 size of 3.6 it has a few extra horses (300) and can really put them down well.

The effect on the handling of that big motor in the rear is now hardly noticeable, you no longer have to so cautiously explore the turns than any previous 911. It feels secure and composed.

To me it's a pity the front looks so similar to the Boxster (not ugly, just not clearly a 911). And in my view the performance and value have been improved at a cost.

Progress means less weight and thinner materials and you can notice the difference between an old 911 and a modern 996.The build quality is still high but the feel of the car is lighter, and I have found little bits of plastic trim broken and loose on very new examples.

Overall, it's still a great every day supercar, the likes of which you won't find with any other manufacturer. Very easy to live with, easy servicing, great performance and handling. Other cars make more noise but often don't work as well.
2 or 4 wheel drive? many owners would n't be able to tell the difference, but if you are keen - you can tell. Its not such a big difference but a C2 has a slightly sharper feel to the steering than a C4. But a C4 does feel more secure in poor conditions at speed.

For most people just buy the example you like best and don't worry. The Tiptronic S on 996 works very well and is worth considering , especially if you do a lot of town driving. The change is sharp, performance is similar, in fact there is little reason to have a 'stick shift' other than personal preference.

Coupe, Targa or Cabriolet? The coupe needs no explanation, the Targa looks superb doesn't it? Although I have not driven a 996 Targa I expect that there is a small penalty to pay in chassis rigidity and a little extra wind noise. But the way the roof works is fascinating. The full convertibles work very very well and Porsche pride themselves on their convertible tops. Don't be afraid of buying a convertible.

996 prices. At the moment in most of Europe these cars have suffered from oversupply and hence in some cases are perhaps too cheap. Often good 993 are more expensive. I doubt if this situation will last forever as people are conservative and will generally become more used to the 996 qualities as time goes by.