Porsche 911 review

The standard Carrera model undercuts more exclusive rivals such as the Aston Martin Vantage and Audi R8 by a wide margin, but does look quite expensive next to the Jaguar F-Type Coupé.

The meagre amount of standard equipment (more on that later) means it’s easy to add thousands of pounds to the price, while discounts are hard to come by. Porsche also tightly controls the number of cars built, so waiting lists are usually at least three months. However, this does mean resale values are consistently strong. Just bear in mind that depreciation becomes a bigger issue as you move up the range towards the Turbo versions, which – while cheaper than similarly rapid supercars such as the McLaren 570S – are expensive to buy and run. An Audi R8 is cheaper to buy and better equipped as standard – that's another reason we favour it over the 911 Turbo.

Other running costs are comparatively good. Automatic rear-wheel-drive models offer the lowest CO2 emissions, while the Carrera auto version promises more than 38mpg (although you won’t see anywhere near that in real-world driving).

We’d go for the entry-level Carrera version, which offers the best value for money and comes with leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, a touchscreen sat-nav system and bi-xenon headlights. Several desirable bits of equipment aren’t included, though; cruise control, heated seats and rain-sensing wipers are all on the options list, as are parking sensors.

Despite a big price increase over the entry-level car, the Carrera S still doesn’t come with electrically folding door mirrors, rear parking sensors or a rear wiper as standard.

In fact, only the Turbo models come with a substantial list of equipment – as you’d expect of any car that costs considerably more than £120,000.

Porsche had to fix a high-profile reliability problem with the GT3 after several cars caught fire due to a faulty engine part. Also, Porsche as a brand came towards the bottom in our most recent reliability survey. So, despite the solid-feeling interior, it seems the 911 is not free from mechanical issues. Repairs or replacement parts from a main dealer are expensive, too.

On the plus side, the 911 comes with a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty covering all of its major mechanical parts (you can also pay extra for an extended warranty), plus you get three years’ European breakdown cover.

Six airbags are standard, as is a sophisticated stability control system. There are also Isofix child seat-mounting points on each rear seat; an Isofix point on the front passenger seat is a cost option.

The options list doesn’t include some of the more advanced safety aids such as blindspot monitoring or lane-keeping assistance that are available on some rivals, but you can get adaptive cruise control, which will automatically apply the brakes if it senses an impending crash.

The 911 hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP, so no scores are currently available. An engine immobiliser and an alarm are standard, but if you want more protection you can pay for Porsche’s vehicle tracking system, which makes it possible to trace stolen vehicles across most of Europe. Thankfully, the 911 will be a hard car to steal; security experts Thatcham Research awarded it five out of five for resisting being stolen and being broken into.

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