Porsche 911 Carrera S facelift review, test drive

What is it?

Water cooling, electric power steering, direct fuel injection, rear-wheel steering – these are but some of the things that have gotten the Porsche 911’s die-hard fans frothing at the mouth with rage over the years. The introduction of each of these new technologies has no doubt improved the car in some way or the other, but because they deviate from the ‘classic 911’ formula, the purists tend to go up in arms. Well, the pitchforks are undoubtedly being sharpened again, because Porsche has implemented one of the biggest changes to the 911 yet – downsizing. Fitting a smaller, turbocharged engine for better fuel economy and lower emissions is met with criticism in most everyday cars, so imagine what it’s like when it happens to one of the world’s most beloved sportscars. As we’ve seen already, the new Porsche 718 Boxster with its turbocharged flat four didn’t quite get the downsizing formula right. So what of its big brother?

Let’s just quickly run through the other minor changes made to arrive at this facelifted, ‘991.2’ Porsche 911. There are sharper looking front bumpers, optional full-LED headlamps and new, three-dimensional tail-lamp clusters, with Porsche’s new ‘four-dot’ light signature given lots of prominence. There’s a new engine cover too to help vent that new motor better, and the rear tyres have grown one inch wider for better grip. On the inside, not much has changed at all, so you still get the classic, upright, driver-focussed 911 dashboard with the five big dials staring straight at you. You can now option the sports steering wheel from the 918 Spyder supercar, as well as the new drive mode selector that sits on the steering boss itself. Finally, there’s Porsche’s new touchscreen infotainment system that’s a huge step-up from the old unit and easily one of the better systems on the market today.