Porsche Car Reviews: 911 Turbo, Cayenne, Boxster & Cayman

Review: 2010 Porsche Cayman PDK

By Mike Solowiow
June 23, 2009

The propaganda literature that accompanied the little batch of sleeping pills---complete with a waiver absolving the USAF of all liability---promised that I would awake refreshed and ready to battle desert ninjas. Sure enough, I awoke alert. But mentally, I wasn't all there. I was fully aware of my full potential, and could access it at will, but there was a disconcerting disconnect. No, I didn't drive the Cayman PDK in this altered state. It's the same feeling created by the German two-door. Yes, the paddle-shift Cayman is a full-on Porsche. It offers precise handling, a jewel of an engine and magnificent brakes. Yet the Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe stood in the way of the Porker's legendary man - machine interface. It created dynamic doubts that I've never experienced in a Porsche before.

Review: 2010 Porsche Cayman PDK continued »

rating summary and performance review: 2010 Porsche Cayman PDK

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 22 comments

2009 Porsche Carrera PDK Review

By Jay Shoemaker
October 8, 2008

In theory, a dual clutch gearbox offers drivers the best of both worlds: a corner-carving-compliant paddle shift system (complete with computer-controlled, rev-matching throttle blipping) and a waft-enabling automatic gearbox. As developed by the BorgWarner, the DSG version lifted a well-sorted VW Golf GTI into automotive Valhalla. Porsche fans arched their collective eyebrows, anticipating the day when Stuttgart would perform a similar transformation for the world's only best everyday supercar: the 911. Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) is here, attached to the model's 900th evolution. Is the system finally ready for hammer time?

2009 Porsche Carrera PDK Review continued »

2009 Porsche Carrera PDK rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 32 comments

2008 Porsche 911 GT2 Review

By Sajeev Mehta
July 7, 2008

There I was cutting, clipping and carving corners in the ultimate Porsche 911, balancing the need for speed with self-control. I felt like an Olympic skier or Iron Chef. But there was an element missing from the GT2 experience, a deficiency that niggled like a loose ski boot or a nicked Shun Santoku. Torque. As in instant-on shove. Porsche's brilliant 3.6-liter boxer engine has too much boost and not enough low-end grunt. But isn't perfection standard in a Porsche, especially for one that costs $197,000?

2008 Porsche 911 GT2 Review continued »

2008 Porsche 911 GT2 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 40 comments

2008 Porsche Cayenne Review

By Mike Solowiow
June 9, 2008

"The Porsche Cayenne is a deeply misunderstood machine," RF told me before my test drive. "It's one of the world's fastest off-roaders, not a house-broken truck." Huh? Why would a world famous sports car maker (if not THE world famous sports car maker) tempt infamy by making a kick-ass mud plugger instead of a FX-style sports-car-on-stilts? The answer, I'm told, lies deep in Porsche's DNA. In the late eighties, Porsche jacked-up their 959 supercar and entered it in the grueling Paris - Dakar rally. In their second attempt, the German automaker scooped first, second and sixth places. "Take the entry level V6 off road," RF commanded. "Thrash it without mercy. THEN tell me what you think." Sounded like a plan.

2008 Porsche Cayenne Review continued »

2008 Porsche Cayenne rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 41 comments

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS Review

By Robert Farago
May 2, 2008

Sam Adams Light. Porsche Cayenne GTS. Same deal. Both the American light beer and the German "sport truck" are fundamentally flawed concepts-- made palatable by knowledge, passion and invention. Did I say palatable? I meant enjoyable. You can quaff copious quantities of Sam Adams' 124-calorie-per-bottle beverage without thirsting for "real" beer. By the same token, you can drive the snot out of the 405hp GTS without asking your companion "Dude, where's my Boxster?" In both cases, if you didn't know better, you wouldn't, and you wouldn't care. But if you do, will you?

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS Review continued »

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 46 comments

Porsche 911 Turbo Review

By Matthew Neundorf
August 1, 2007

Since 1859, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has challenged religious fundamentalism. Forget Adam and Eve. Humans started as random spices in a primordial soup. Natural selection took us from soup to trees, trees to cars. And then Ferdinand Porsche created a mutant Volkswagen. Since its inception, the 911 has been evolution’s four-wheeled poster child, moving quickly from an oversteer monster to a supersonic pussycat. And then, on the seventh day, Stuttgart created the latest Turbo, a car so capable that driving it is a biblical revelation.

Porsche 911 Turbo Review continued »

Porsche 911 Turbo rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 61 comments

Porsche Cayenne Turbo Review

By Jay Shoemaker
May 4, 2007

Global warming. Some consumers consider hybrids the responsible response. Others are busy taking one last toke on the tailpipe of extravagance. Pistonheads, have I got a bong for you! After accelerating Porsche's 2.5 ton brick to 60mph in less than five seconds, I can only conclude that you NEED a Cayenne Turbo-- if only to outrun the Earth Day crowd tossing rocks at your windows. The Turbo is pointless and politically incorrect and you better get one now before all the oil and clean air are gone forever.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo Review continued »

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 70 comments

Porsche Cayenne Turbo S Review

By Robert Farago
December 27, 2006

About a decade or so ago, I traveled to BMW's Munich HQ to pick-up a press fleet K100RS. I arrived with a hard shell suitcase, intending to transfer its contents to the motorcycle's panniers. When a press flack asked about the case, I joked that I was going to bungee it onto the back of the bike. When we returned from lunch, German engineers had attached my suitcase to the butt of Beemer’s “flying brick,” complete with homemade aerodynamic addenda. They’d found an elegant way to accomplish a completely ludicrous task. Porsche Cayenne Turbo S? Same deal.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo S Review continued »

Posted in Car Reviews | Porsche | 55 comments

Porsche Boxster S Review

By Robert Farago
October 9, 2006

The English say it's horses for courses. The French say it's horses for main courses. And the German say it's horsepower uber alles Schätze. Well, everyone except Porsche. Since ’96, Stuttgart’s parsimonious power brokers have restricted their entry level Boxster’s engine so as not to steal big brother Carrera’s thunder. Porsche’s policy stands in direct contradiction to Mercedes and BMW, who happily pump-up the volume on vehicles that need more speed like an obese caffeine addict needs a bottle of Black Beauties. That’s just mean; the Boxster deserves proper motorvation. And now, finally, it’s got it.

Porsche Boxster S Review continued »

Porsche Boxster S rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Chapter 11 | Porsche | 70 comments

Porsche Cayman S Revisited

By Robert Farago
July 6, 2006

The moment I dropped the hammer on the Porsche Cayman S, an entirely unexpected emotion welled-up inside: fear. I was holding the wheel of the world’s best sports car on a perfectly-groomed country road and I couldn’t fully commit to a corner. I wasn’t afraid of crashing— the Cayman is far too accomplished and forgiving and electronically mindful for that. I was afraid of the unknown. What if some dumb ass pulled out of a hidden drive without looking? What if a child’s bike suddenly appeared just beyond the apex of a turn? My sightlines were good, but my nerves were shot. I suppose that’s what happens when you spend too much seat time in a Honda Odyssey.