USED Porsche 911 Coupe (01 - 06)

My car

I have driven my lovely Carrera now for 2.5 yrs almost every single day through sunshine, rain, snow & ice (north east scotland winters haven't stopped me yet). I can say hand on heart that everything written about the 911 being an everyday option is entirely true.

I can fit 2 sets of golf clubs in the back (without any serious contorting) and still have room for luggage in the boot (in the front) and a passenger - more than my mate can manage in his baby Aston.

Yes, the back seats are really for kids only, although adults can fit in there if they need / want to, but at least you always have the option of sharing the fun with 3 passengers.

I'm 1.9m tall (6'3 in old money) and it's not cramped in any way. With the wife and kids on board, we regularly blast the twisty bits and see who's first to scream !

As for running costs, my insurance is sensible, I get 25mpg as an average with maily town driving and the odd weekend country blast. Of course, you shouldn't expect it to be cheap if things go wrong (which they don't very often), but main dealers are friendly and you get to drive lesser boxters & caymans as courtesy cars (and the horribly ugly Cayenne if you're unlucky). I have to admit this is quite a fun perk although it mainly serves to remind you what a fabulous all rounder the 911 - whilst the boxster and cayman are terrifically good cars, the 911 is the daddy.

I may just keep mine for ever - looks like it's going to run that long . . .

My car

I have a 997 first registered in December 2006. This car goes like stuff off a shovel. Great fun but to my surprise not that much more fun to drive than my wifes MX5 which has more character. Steering is a overly twitchy. An 18KG weight in the luggage compartment seems optimum to fix that. The stability control system can be a bit worrying as it allows the car to get too sideways before intervening. It is the poorest build quality car that I have had in the last 15 years. Dodgy gear change even after a replacement gearbox, trim and window rattles, unpredictable oil consumption, and other annoying things. It is not a good car for long distances because the noise level from the engine and tyres and the hard ride make it tiring. It is not worth the very high price compared to a Boxster which does nearly everything a 911 does at a much more realistic cost.

My car

I had a Carrera 4 for about a year and got rid of it. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fantastic car in many ways. It has great looks, is very reliable, fairly practical, has excellent performance and fantastic handling and feel.

So why did I get rid of it? Well, driving the 911 is like playing the most exciting computer game you can imagine, but in God Mode, you know, where you have all of the weapons with unlimited ammo and health.

You see, when in God mode you can still marvel at the game itself but there is no adrenalin because your character is completely safe and that’s the Carrera 4’s Achilles heal.

When driving the car you never really feel that you are in full control because, however well or badly you drive, the electronic wizardry will ensure that everything is calm and controlled without you knowing that you have had anything to do with it.

The only slight sign of imperfection is the occasional ‘pendulum’ feeling from the back end as that large lump of metal, known as the engine, swings about. It’s not a pleasant driving sensation but you just know that nothing bad is ever going to happen.

So at the end of the day if you are a keen driver, it’s a beautiful car without soul. Instead, try the standard Carrera 2 as it hasn’t got soo much software in the way of the driving experience.

However if you are the type of driver who wants to pretend that you are Lewis Hamilton on speed then the Carrera 4 might just be what you’ve been looking for.

My car

i've owned several 911. The turbo is the one to have, mine is now 4 years old and recently went round all the high end garages to try out something different. looked at astons etc. in the end i signed up for another 911 turbo and decided to go by a cheap second hand 5 series estate for longer work journeys. Have not driven a more sure footed exciting car than the turbo. once you own one of these you'll have to find something else to save your money for because you'll have the ultimate driving experience.