Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 > Reviews (2)

In the road of life, there are cars that take you from A to B and than there are cars that make life worth living. I personally don't even consider the Boxter as a real Porsche, so I am going to let you decide which category the 911 belongs to. Porsche is one of the most famous sports cars throughout the world, its name sitting next to Ferrari and Lamborghini even though it is not a car that is as outrageously priced as its Italian competitors.

Completely redesigned in 1999, the new Carrera looks like a squashed up version of the beetle. Its not as round as the beetle, but it is undoubtedly as cute. It being a sports car, its edgy ends do give it a slightly more aggressive look and the large dual exhaust pipes do nothing but add to this factor. But overall, the Porsche is a cute car, neither aggressive looking as American Sports cars nor futuristic seeming as the Japanese.

For a car costing around 70k, the 911 offers excellent performance with its flat-6 engine. The 300HP DOHC can rev all the way up to 6500RPM, with a 258lbs/ft of torque that is easily enough for a mini-bus. The car looks small, but it does weigh 3k of lbs. I would have thought for 70k you could get a lighter car, maybe one made of fiberglass?:> That would be crazy indeed. Trying to find dead-on 0-60 data on any car seems like an impossibility these days, but I can guess by the specifications that the Porsche can make it within a blink or two before 5 seconds. Take a plastic butter knife with you when you go out, because you will need to peel yourself off the seats later.

There are two types of transmissions available for the 911. One is the highly acclaimed Triptonic S: a 5-speed automatic that can be controlled like a clutchless manual via buttons. The other option, and my favorite, is the 6-speed manual. I can't say anything about the Triptonic S, but the manual seems to fit the right hand like a joystick. The incredibly short gear shifts are smooth and precise; it doesn't seem like you can skip a gear unless you were purposefully trying to.

Porsche is renown for its handling characteristics, and driving the AWD under heavy rain makes you realize how hard it is the loose control in this car. 4-wheel drive always handles better in bad whether conditions, and taking off with this baby even on wet-ground is child's play. With the German 'stability management (PSM)' mechanism, it seems like the car dares you to do a mistake so that it can fix it for you. In simplest words, the engine will direct power to the needy wheels depending on which ones are slipping. Even with over 50% throttle, I launched this baby without skidding. To me this is an amazing factor; to the owner it can be a real problem solver. The term 'handles like a dream' must have been specifically written for this car.

Although, Porsche is not for everyone, and especially not for me. As much as I love this car, I think I would be obsessed with it if I were to own it, to the point that I would be too afraid to drive it. Is that a con, or maybe I am just exaggerating? Handling, power, looks...they all get unquestionable 5 stars from me. And indeed, if I were to own this car, I would work out until I can carry it around with me everywhere I went.