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2012 VW Passat Six-Month Road Test: Wash, Wax, And 40.5 MPG
It's been nearly a month since we took delivery of our Six-Month Road Test sedan, the 2012 VW... Read More
2012 VW Passat Six-Month Road Test: Wash, Wax, And 40.5 MPG
It's been nearly a month since we took delivery of our Six-Month Road Test sedan, the 2012 VW... Read More
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Likes:
- Blazing speed, with or without Turbo
- Brilliant, neutral handling
- Legendary looks live on
- Everyday usability-even in Cabriolet form
Dislikes:
- Dizzying ergonomic choices
- Nearly nonexistent rear seats
- Limited luggage space
- Also fast in the $0-$100,000 sprint
Since time immemorial-or was it the Sixties? Who can remember?-the Porsche 911 has been the outline for sports cars with its iconic teardrop shape and its iconoclastic handling. Never better than it is now, the 2010 Porsche 911 once again raises its own bar by dropping in a new Turbo model with faultless handling and urgent, propulsive boxer power. In coupe, Cabriolet, and Targa body styles, the 911 dazzles on many fronts. Porsche tempts with a choice of turbo and nonturbo flat-six engines; dual-clutch and manual transmissions; and rear- or all-wheel drive. Priced from $79,000 for a coupe to $145,000 for a Turbo Cabriolet-that's before options-the Porsche 911 occupies the same rare air as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the Jaguar XKR, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and in a stretch, the Ferrari California.
How do you describe a 911's styling, apart from "singular?" With more than 40 years behind it, the 911 doesn't answer too many requests to change with the times. It rolls on, like a Mustang, confident in merely refining its classic shape, year after year. Sure, the Turbo is a little wider and a little lower (and Turbo-look packages are sure to spread to other models after this year), but all 911s are squat little teardrops, with front fenders that frame a narrow, single-minded view of the road ahead. This year Porsche adds new mirrors, LED taillights, and exhausts, and Turbos get air intakes all over the place and an automatic rear spoiler-and still, a time traveler from 1965 would recognize this car as a Porsche. That's also true of the dashboard, which is a little less convincing with its newfangled LCD screen and dozens of buttons. Stark? Yes, it's still stark, and the ignition's still to the left of the steering column-but the delicious-looking Valrhona-brown leather trim available would shame an early vinyl-seated 911, or even some Audis, and the big LCD nods at all the modern conveniences even Porsche's fitting to its cars these days. Discerning between all the differently shaped ancillary switches can be distracting, but the large, clear gauges put the engine speed right in your sightlines.
