Porsche 911 Targa review

What is a Porsche 911 Targa exactly? Well, back in the 1960s, there were worries that the US would ban full convertibles on the perfectly reasonable grounds that, if you rolled one, it might very well knock your block off.

So in 1966, designers came up with a clever solution for the Porsche 911 sports car. Instead of the whole roof folding away, the Targa had removable roof panels above its front seats that kept you blissfully aerated on a summer’s day, but behind you, the rear window and roll-hoop stayed in place to protect you. Genius.

Fast forward nearly sixty years and convertibles never were banned, they just grew a lot safer, and this means the full-blown Porsche 911 Cabriolet is there for wind-in-the hair motoring if you want it. Yet, seemingly anomalously, the 911 Targa still exists, too, for reasons that mainly boil down to style; folk just love its classic looks. What’s more, its roof – now electrically operated – arguably offers better insulation in the depths of winter than the Cabriolet’s.

Porsche 911 Targa video review

Could the 911 Targa actually be a better convertible than a 911 Cabriolet? And can it trump rivals that include the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster and Mercedes-AMG SL? Find out in our in-depth review…

Firstly, let’s examine the pub-talk platitude that the 911 Targa isn’t as good to drive as the 911 Coupé. In absolute terms, it isn’t, but everything is relative. The Targa’s body and all the gubbins that make up its clever folding roof make it around 100kg heavier than both the Coupé and Cabriolet Porsche 911. 

Simple physics dictates that this extra weight will make the Targa accelerate, stop and turn less keenly than the Coupé. What’s more, without a permanent roof to hold things together, its chassis is also less stiff than the Coupé’s, in turn affecting how the car handles. 

So, the differences are real and, in terms of handling ability, the Targa is the most compromised of the 911’s. In the real world, though, the difference is minor. It’s like saying that the Lockheed Martin F-35 is less nimble than an F22 Raptor – at the end of the day, they’re both incredibly nimble fighter jets.

With its sweetly-weighted steering, you can guide it intuitively through S-bends, while four-wheel steering and torque-vectoring ensure that the nose dives into corners. Meanwhile, its superb body control (especially with the standard Porsche Active Suspension Management adaptive dampers set to the firmer sport mode) allows you to push right up to the limit of adhesion with utter confidence.

To help combat the higher centre of gravity, due to that complex roof mechanism, you can add optional active anti-roll bars (called Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control or PDCC) to the GTS. But, even without that fitted, our test car still exhibited very little body lean, and you’ll only really notice the difference when you’re pushing close to the limit. 

Put simply, this is a car that is incredibly rapid from A to B, and while the Targa’s standard four-wheel-drive might reign back some of the tail-wagging playfulness that runs through the veins of rear-drive 911s, it does make it particularly surefooted, even on greasy roads.

You have the choice of 473bhp Targa 4S and 534bhp Targa 4 GTS engines. Both come with twin-turbochargers but the GTS adds some mild hybrid assistance, too. Don’t go thinking you’ll be using that for driving around on electricity though, oh no. It’s there solely to give you even more power off the line.

Both the 4S and 4 GTS come with an eight-speed dual-clutch PDK automatic transmission as standard, allowing for 0-62mph sprints of just 3.7sec and 3.1sec respectively. Unfortunately, there’s no manual transmission on offer anymore, but that’s the same for all of the Targa’s rivals. 

So far, we’ve tried the most powerful GTS version, and it feels every bit as fast as the sprint suggests. Save the odd turbo whistle when you lift off the accelerator, you wouldn’t actually know that the engine has two turbochargers strapped to it, with the mild hybrid system filling any gaps and ensuring relentless power from low revs all the way to the 7500rpm redline. 

You really appreciate the PDK gearbox’s speed and smoothness, too; it ensures that the car never feels unbalanced, even if you happen to change gear mid corner. It really is in another league from traditional automatic ‘boxes, although the sheer number of gears means you sometimes have to pull the downshift paddle several times when braking into corners or overtaking in manual mode. 

The Targa’s ride is also supremely well judged, with standard-fit PASM (Porsche’s adaptive suspension system) allowing you to easily change the firmness of the suspension. Set to Normal, it’s supple enough to round off most sharp abrasions but remains remarkably flat and stable over challenging crests and dips. 

In terms of refinement, with its roof up, the Targa does an even better job than the Cabriolet at suppressing wind noise at speed. More noticeable is the considerable road noise drummed up by the Targa’s meaty tyres, particularly over coarse road surfaces – an affliction that also affects both the Coupé and Cabriolet. 

Meanwhile with the roof down, it can get a little noisy at motorway speeds, but thanks to the clever wind deflector mounted on the top of the windscreen, there’s not much buffeting. 

“With the roof down, I found the noise of the GTS’ standard sport exhaust really intoxicating … it’s just a shame it revs so quickly and you don’t get to enjoy it for long enough!” – Will Nightingale, Reviews editor

There’s little wrong with the Porsche 911 Targa’s basic driving position, with a good range of seat and steering wheel adjustments to help you to get comfortable. It is, however, a real shame that you don’t get lumbar adjustment unless you add the optional 14-way electrically-adjustable seats. Sure, they’re really configurable and supportive, but it seems a tad stingy given the list price. 

In terms of visibility, the Targa is much easier to live with than the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. You see, while both cars have excellent forward visibility, the Cabriolet suffers because its fabric roof creates big over-the-shoulder blindspots that aren’t present on the Porsche 911 Coupé. 

What’s more, even when it’s stowed, the structure behind the rear seats is high enough to limit what you can see. This simply isn’t a problem in the Targa. Roof up or down, the Targa benefits from a wraparound rear window with no C-pillar, giving you an almost panoramic view of what’s behind you. 

Parking will be easy too, with front and rear sensors and a rear-view camera coming as standard. You can add a 360-degree camera and self-parking to the Targa as options, but they’ll cost you a fair amount.

You won’t find a traditional speedo and rev counter behind the steering wheel, instead the latest generation of 911 now has a 12.7in digital display. The graphics are really crisp, making them easy to read, and you can even change them to a fullscreen map or show useful performance data. 

Infotainment is fed to you on a really crisp 10.9in touchscreen that sits within easy reach of the driver and front passenger. It’s quick to respond to all of your prods and is easily one of the best systems among its rivals, even if physical buttons would be less distracting to use on the move.

It’s a well-equipped system too, getting DAB radio, Bluetooth, built-in sat nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring as standard. The eight-speaker stereo is decent, but audiophiles might want to consider the optional Bose or Burmester sound systems – the latter being particularly impressive.

Build quality is every bit as good as you’d expect. The few buttons and switches on the dashboard are well-damped, sturdy and classy to look at, while the majority of your other frequent contact points are made from metal or covered in leather. It doesn’t quite have the same sense of occasion as the more striking Aston Martin Vantage, mind, so you might want to add some of the fairly expensive personalisation options.

“While you can operate the 911 Cabriolet’s roof up to 31mph, you have to be at a standstill to use the Targa’s. I found that slightly annoying when stuck in traffic and the UK’s weather inevitably took a sudden turn.” – Doug Revolta, Head of video

Being that it’s a sports car, you might not expect the Targa to be roomy, but there’s a surprising amount of space in the front – you’d have to be unusually tall to run out of leg or head room. Even the large centre console has padding on its sides to keep your left knee comfortable on a long journey. 

In the rear, it’s a different matter. Those two back seats are really small; an adult will have very little leg room and no headroom unless you crouch significantly. They’re really for small children at best; in fact both seats have Isofix fittings so you can fit a child seat on either side of the wide transmission hump. 

This all said, the back seats can still be considered a bonus because they act as a handy supplement to the boot, giving you space for bulkier items such as a set of golf clubs. Meanwhile, the 135-litre front-mounted boot is big enough for a couple of weekend bags, but is way smaller than the proper boots that you’ll find in the Vantage Roadster and Mercedes-AMG SL. 

“The rear seats are only there for children or storage – we tried to fit two of our 5ft 11in roadtesters back there and it was nearly impossible.” – Lawrence Cheung, New cars editor

While the Porsche 911 Targa 4S will cost you more than the entry-level Mercedes-AMG SL 43, that rival comes with a smaller and less characterful four-cylinder engine. Upgrading to the SL’s V8 or more exclusive rivals including the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster will cost you more than both the 4S and GTS to buy outright. 

The Targa only coming in two different – and relatively high – trim levels means that it also adds a premium compared with its siblings, so it’ll cost you more to buy than entry-level versions of the Porsche 911 Coupé and Porsche 911 Cabriolet. 

With a long options list, it’s easy to add thousands of pounds to the price, too, and discounts are non-existent. However, this fact – along with how tightly Porsche controls the number of cars it builds – helps to ensure that resale values are very strong. In fact, the Targa is predicted to hold onto its value well. 

Fuel consumption figures of 26.3mpg might not surprise you too much, but we found you can achieve closer to 30mpg if you have a light right foot. Just remember, however, that you’ll quickly see that drop to the low teens if you’re having fun. 

Surprisingly, given its reputation, Porsche finished in a disappointing 21st place out of 31 manufacturers in our most recent reliability survey. It’s not all bad news though, because every Porsche 911 comes with a comprehensive three-year, unlimited-mile warranty, including breakdown assistance.

Even if you go for the entry-level 4S you get a good amount of equipment. As well as everything we’ve already mentioned, it includes 20in front alloys (21in at the rear), matrix LED headlights, cruise control, keyless entry and start, wireless phone charging, heated front seats and a sports exhaust.

Upgrading to the GTS, meanwhile, adds sportier front seats, a heated steering wheel, an upgraded Bose stereo sound system and even sportier styling. 

In terms of safety, you get six airbags, automatic emergency braking (AEB), a sophisticated stability control system, lane-keeping assistance and traffic sign recognition as standard. You also get Isofix child seat mounting points on all three passenger seats. 

“It’s very easy to spend a lot of money on options with any 911, but at least the two Targa trim levels are fairly high up the order and come with plenty of kit.” – Steve Huntingford, Editor

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