Porsche 911 Carrera 2020 Review

Calling the Porsche 911 Carrera an entry-level model is like calling Donald Trump a loud American. The description is accurate but doesn’t really encapsulate the subject at hand.

Thankfully we’re here to assess the German that goes hard not the American blow-hard!

The Carrera is the latest eighth-generation 911 to arrive in Australia. It is also the cheapest, least powerful and slowest version we will get.

However, it is neither cheap, underpowered or slow. It is in fact a pretty convincing argument for opting for the base model.

Okay, calling the Carrera a base model is no better than using entry-level as a description.

That’s because the coupe version we’re testing here – there’s also a cabrio - costs $229,500 before on-road costs, can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.2 sec and has a top speed of 293km/h.

All from a 285kW/450Nm 3.0-litre twin turbo-petrol boxer-cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual clutch gearbox (there’s no manual yet) and hangs - as tradition dictates - over the rear axle.

Also traditional is the hunched frog styling that continues to ensure 911 stands alone among its sleek rivals, including the Aston Martin Vantage, Mercedes-AMG GT and the Audi R8, the latter soon to return from hiatus.

If you’re wondering how the Carrera compares to the S, well here it is in a nutshell: It’s $35,100 cheaper, has 48kW less power, 80Nm less torque, accelerates from 0-100km/h 0.5 sec slower and has a 15km/h slower top speed. It has smaller wheels and brakes (standard).

We’ve covered off the fundamentals of the 992 generation 911 extensively. You can read an overview here, the first local drive of the Carrera S here, a comparo with the BMW 8 Series here and another with the Vantage here.

Essentially, the latest 911is bigger in all key measures except wheelbase than its predecessor, but manages to keep the weight gains to a minimum.

The Carrera gets a small 11kW power boost over its predecessor, while torque remains unchanged. A bigger gain has come dynamically with the transition to wider tracks and wide-body rear-end previously reserved for models further up the chain. It really does make the Carrera look tougher, as well as bigger.

One weird setback for the Carrera is a dramatic jump in the fuel consumption claim from old to new generation for fundamentally the same engine. The climb from 7.4L/100km to 9.4L/100km claim is being put down to theoretical calculations brought on by adapting to the tough new WLTP testing standard to ADRs.

In the real world, consumption stays much the same. Our drive on freeways and country highways netted an average around 10.0L/100km. Pretty good for a car with this performance potential.

The 911’s servicing intervals are set once a year or every 15,000km and comes with a three-year warranty. Service pricing varies from dealer-to-dealer, so check their websites.

While we’re talking dollars there’s no escaping the fact the 911 Carrera isn’t drowning in standard equipment and has a long list of expensive options to choose from.

For instance, our test car came with 20/21-inch staggered wheels rather than the standard 19/20 combo ($7230), fantastic LED matrix headlights ($6100), a sports exhaust ($5470), Sports Chrono – cos you really want to get to 100km/h in 4.0 seconds! ($4890) and a panoramic sunroof ($4720).

Also in there was $3570 adaptive cruise control that brought with it more sophisticated autonomous emergency braking that adds a radar to camera sensing for emergency stops.

All up there were more nearly $40,000 worth of extras adorning the Carrera. Yikes.

Standard safety gear does include six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, lane change assist and the new ‘wet mode’ that dials back settings like throttle input to make the car very settled in damp conditions.

Comfort equipment includes dual-zone climate control, leather trim, 14-way adjustable front seats, Apple Carplay connection – still no Android! – a Bose audio system and a much wider 10.9-inch touchscreen in the dashboard that is at the heart of a total revamp of controls and interfaces.

And there’s no doubt the 911 now presents in a very slick way once you’re settled in behind the steering wheel.

The five dials remain in the dash, although only the central tacho is analogue. Outboard on both sides the smaller dials are digital and swap through multiple modes.

However, the most outboard dials are blocked by the horizontal spokes of the steering wheel.

The infotainment touchscreen looks a bit like a windows computer in the home mode, but it is quick to scroll around and has high quality graphics.

The sloping centre console is a similar to what’s been seen in Panamera, and Cayenne. It features a gear tab that looks odd, but quickly proves itself a good idea. For instance, it’s a quick flick to change from reverse to drive, while manual changes are slickly handled by the flappy paddles on the steering column.

The front seats are capable of body-squeezing tightness or loosely controlling ample girth thanks to the substantial amount of adjustment on offer. The steering column is also power adjustable. Combine the two and you can quickly find your favourite driving position.

The 911 Carrera is a 2+2 but even though the new generation is bigger, the rear seat is still only a place to send your worst enemy. Treat it as storage space.

Which is handy, because actual storage is pretty much an afterthought inside and outside the cabin. The front boot – or frunk as it is known – offers 132 litres of space. Enough for a couple of soft bags essentially.

Settle deep into the cockpit like you're sliding into a bathtub, key the starter – yes you still have to toggle a switch! – and the 2981cc twin-turbo engine barks into life.

Touch the gear-stub into drive and if you’re in the default ‘normal’ drive mode, there’s no sense of dual-clutch hesitation or roughness as you pull away.

There’s even some compliance to the suspension. Gee this thing is now liveable… Then you hit some coarse-chip and realise for all the promises, Porsche has not been able to quieten the 911’s din. Hey, 305-section rubber can make a hell of a noise.

The response of the engine in normal mode is amiable. Press into the throttle deeply and there is yowl and a howl and things start happening quickly – perfect for that quick overtake.

Get off the highway and onto the byways and the 911 is into its element. Wind the rotary dial up through sport and sport plus and the throttle gets cleaner, the shifts more urgent and the suspension more disciplined.

The electro-mechanical steering is pin-sharp and feel-some. It’s a delight to arrive at a corner travelling too fast, squeeze on the 330mm discs with the four-piston aluminium monobloc calipers, rap-rap down through the gears with the exhaust snarking and barking and then peel into the corner on rails, sitting flat as a pancake, and realise you were actually going nowhere near fast enough to worry the Carrera.

If there’s a lot of bumps and the suspension is at its stiffest then the Carrera will get little jiggy. But even with that it still feels so capable and confident.

This is the sort of car in which a quiet flowing road becomes an all-encompassing mesmeric experience. You become immersed in process; throttle, gear, brake, turn and go again… and again. Emerging from this revery is like breaking the surface of crisp, clear water back into the world we know.

It’s wonderful that a car can do that. Even isolated moments deep in the daily traffic grind - a tickle of feel through the steering, a throaty growl from the exhaust during a downchange, that first skerrick of bite as the brake pedal is engaged – bring pleasure and an irrefutable illogical desire just to drive.

For all its compromises, the cost, the options, the lack of storage and the road noise, the 911 Carrera does a better job than ever of the driving.

Unlike Donald Trump it’s getting better through the years.

As good as the Carrera S is, as good as the GT3 and the Turbo will be, if the entry-level model is all you can afford be well assured you’re getting a great 911.

How much does the 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera cost?
Price: $229,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre flat six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 285kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 9.4L/100km
CO2: 214 g/km
Safety Rating: N/A