Porsche 911 Turbo 2022 Review

The GT3 remains Porsche’s ultimate road-legal track weapon, but the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo is also a seriously well accomplished performer at the racetrack, where it delivers brutal performance and easily copes with the punishment of at-the-limit lapping for as long as you can afford the tyre bill.

But for all its high-performance resilience, it’s also easy to live with. Indeed, the hackneyed ‘everyday supercar’ cliché has long been used to describe the 911 Turbo and the latest 992-series iteration underlines that moniker better than any 911 flagship before it.

Getting into the low-slung two-door coupe takes a little bending and arching but once seated it’s smooth sailing. The 18-way power-adjustable adaptive sports seats ‘plus’ ($2120) fitted to this 911 Turbo are well worth the extra outlay, combining excellent side body support with enough cushioning and contouring to make my 60-minute crawl to work a comfortable experience.

The updated 10.9-inch infotainment touch-screen looks great and is now more functional. All the controls and buttons have been condensed, creating a cockpit that’s very driver-focussed but provides easy access to primary functions. It’s a very nice place to spend your time.

The Panamera-style switchgear clustered around the tiny gear shifter looks and feels great too – Porsche has done a great job of making the cockpit feel new and exciting without making things overly complex.

Behind the classically-styled three-spoke power-adjustable steering wheel is a large central analogue tachometer, dominating the classic three-dial Porsche instrument cluster. Its flanked by a pair of 7.0-inch LCD displays that are easy to manipulate via the new (and also condensed) steering wheel controls.

Some of the standard features of the 911 Turbo include Sport Chrono package including launch control, steering wheel shift paddles and a mode selection dial with 20-second ‘boost’ button.

Dual-zone automatic climate control, twin USB-A ports and wired Apple CarPlay are standard, but there’s no Android Auto and precious little storage space – barely enough room for a phone under the central armrest.

That said, the central cup-holder is a work of engineering art with spring-loaded hinging beverage grips and the Bose surround sound system delivers impressively crisp audio.

While the standard Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe has a hefty list price of $404,900, the soft-top Cabriolet will set you back an extra $20,800 and the more powerful Turbo S costs $76,700 more at $481,600.

But the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe on test here will set you back $453,380 – not including on-road costs – because it comes with several significant extras.

Chief among them are Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control or PDCC ($6750), a sports exhaust system with black outlets ($6470), Carmine Red exterior paint ($5700), tilt/slide glass sunroof ($4720), LED matrix headlights ($5310) and a front axle lift system ($5070).

After living with the car for a week, only the latter would be a must-have if I was putting in an order. The PDCC suspension upgrade that’s standard on the more potent Turbo S improves at-the-limit behaviour with hydraulic active anti-roll stabilisation, but it doesn’t really improve the experience when you’re sitting behind a slow-moving truck.

Annual or 15,000km service intervals are pretty good for such a high-performance vehicle, but the three-year warranty is one of the shortest in the industry.

There’s some very cool – and theatrical – active aerodynamic technology fitted to the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo, including a larger and more adjustable extending rear wing and a bigger active front spoiler that extends further than the previous model’s.

More useful systems for the everyday drive include a surround-view parking camera system and proximity sensors that makes parking the now-wider 911 Turbo a (slightly) less stressful affair.

The comfort access system allows for keyless door unlocking and engine starting (via a dummy turnkey), which speeds up the ‘get in and go’ procedure, while autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane change assist and blind-spot monitoring add extra eyes and ears when cruising.

The widebody 911T comes with regular cruise control but if you want adaptive radar-based cruise you’re out of luck and nor are there any lane keeping or departure warning systems like those in some $30,000 cars.

Porsche has never subjected its models to independent NCAP crash testing, and without those safety features the 911 would be unlikely to receive a top five-star rating.

The 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S is powered by a 3.8-litre (3745cc) twin-turbo six-cylinder boxer engine that generates a tempestuous 427kW of power at 6500rpm and it loves to rev, but not as much as the GT3’s 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat six.

Yet it delivers everything you’d expect a 911 Turbo to – enough bottom-end torque to make it quick and easy to launch from a standing start, huge mid-range stomp for overtaking and a giddying top-end that helps it achieve a 320km/h top speed.

Peak torque of 750Nm over 2250-4500rpm is what really matters on the road, giving the car the sort of effortless driveability that requires only the gentlest of throttle tickles to result in brisk pick-up.

No, it’s not quite as responsive as the GT3’s big-bore atmo boxer, but the induction and exhaust notes are actually pretty good for a horizontally opposed six. There’s no headache-inducing monotone clatter but a gravellier timbre, not to mention barks and crackles on the overrun.

The benchmark 0-100km/h acceleration sprint is claimed to take just 2.8 seconds, which is just a tenth slower than the Turbo S and makes the latest 911 Turbo one of the world’s quickest supercars, and fast enough to make your passenger gasp for breath.

Sub-3.0sec sprints to the national highway limit are easily achievable in the real-world, too – time after time. You can whack the launch control again and again, but unlike some other supercars you won’t void your warranty and there’s no degradation in performance.

Indeed, the 911 Turbo just cops the beating and then asks ‘again?’ It’s almost as if this car has been built for drivers with no mechanical sympathy, it’s that robust.

Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission and a sophisticated all-wheel drive system that ensures maximum thrust when required but always remains rear-biassed.

But as manic and intense as the Porsche 911 Turbo can be, it’s entirely happy to dawdle around town at low revs and pedestrian speeds. Indeed, it never feels burdened by a lethargic pace.

Average fuel economy is rated at 11.5L/100km by Porsche. During this test we managed 13.2L/100km.

Driving the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo at 9/10ths is an incredible experience. You can trust the vehicle to do what you need it to, so long as there’s a healthy respect for the fact there’s a heavy lump of engine positioned over the rear axle.

It’s engaging like few other cars on a tight and twisting ribbon of road and on the racetrack it’s simply epic, but almost as impressive is how it deals with slow-speed bumps and lumps, stop-start traffic and the daily commute.

Set to ‘normal’ mode, the adaptive suspension delivers somewhat supple ride quality that won’t turn half-fixed road works and pot holes into jarring, searing, cascades of spinal smashing impacts.

OK, outward vision isn’t great which can make head-checks and lane changes a little dicey in a thunderstorm, but as supercars go the 911 Turbo is a highly capable commuter.

The ultra-direct steering is a benefit around town, making short work of tighter turns and carpark manoeuvres. But it should be noted the ultra-wide tyres – 255/35 ZR20s front, 315/30 ZR21s rear – often protest during three-point turns at full steering lock.

Some say the 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo looks too much like its garden-variety siblings and that it also lacks exclusivity of some its $400K-plus supercar rivals.

But anyone that knows anything about cars understands that over generations of slow but steadfast evolution, the 911 Turbo has always delivered benchmark performance and a fierce intensity that gets the endorphins pumping.

The latest 911T is no exception, but for many it will be the controlled aggression it offers at less extreme speeds that impresses most.

We doubt many 911 Turbo buyers will choose this car as their primary urban runabout, but it would be far from the worst sports car to press into service as an A-to-B vehicle.

That would be a waste, but it wouldn’t cause the sort of traffic chaos that similarly priced exotica like the McLaren 570S, Ferrari Roma and Lamborghini Huracan will. That could be a negative depending on your personality.

The 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo is at its best when being pumped hard under brakes, pushed forcefully in bends and throttle-mashed out of corners. But it’s also the kind of car you can easily drive to the racetrack on Sunday then back to work on Monday.

If I had to pick one car to live with forever, the 911 Turbo would be high on my list.

How much does the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe cost?
Price: $404,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.8-litre flat-six turbo-petrol
Output: 427kW/750Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 11.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 263g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: N/A