PORSCHE 911 COUPE READER REVIEWS

My car

Vastly improved interior and suspension from the 996 but it's still very noisy and the car vibrates with the engine when stationary and the autobox is engaged. Even the exhaust noise isn't particularly pleasing. Myths and legends!

My car

After six months misery with a DB9 I have returned to the trusty porker and found the 997 a significant improvement over its forerunner. The low rent interior has lept into the future whilst harking back to the 993 (as is the case, in more subtle fashion, with the exterior - anoraks please step forward).

Both performance and handling characteristics have been tweaked to give the car a much more lively feel whilst further negating the "backwards through a hedge" qualities of 911's of yore. Gorgeous engine note. Build quality is second to none. Essential options: sport seats, sat-nav, "short shift" manual.

I also drive a Gallardo and have owned a heap of rapidly depreciating exotica including a 450 bhp 996 Turbo (midlife crisis, me?) and can safely say that, pound-for-pound, the Carrera S is the best car I have ever driven.

My car

This car is FANTASTIC. The grip is superior and yet the car is still pretty comfortable on long hauls.

The best Porsche ever including the 928GTS which was my favourite till last year.

My car

Excellent car. Fun to gun, yet civilized when pottering about to the supermarket.

Build qualiity is very high, although mine has a boot lid alignment issue, and apparently I'm not the first to have this problem on a 997. The dealer will fix it under warranty, but it's still a hassle I didn't need.

Petrol running costs are not much higher than my two-yea- old BMW with a petrol 3.0-litre engine. A service will be due at 20k miles, or in my case two years; and this will cost a reasonable £290.

However, the engine does drink engine oil at a shocking rate. After the first 200 miles, I needed to pour in 1.4 litres to top the level back up, and you will need to buy the expensive stuff like Mobil One. However, the dealership says that this is normal for a brand new Porsche engine and once everything beds in, I won't have to continue topping up the engine oil at this rate.

In terms of driving, it's truly a masterpiece. Brutally quick if you want it to be, very precise and responsive handling, and the Carrera S has the braking system from the 996 Turbo as standard, which is very good.

I've had the 911 (997) Carrera S for about three weeks now and still get a big fat cheesy grin everytime I drive it.