New Porsche 911 Carrera 2024 review: engaging and fast even without hybrid help

Verdict

You needn’t think of the base Carrera as the poor man’s Porsche 911. It’s every bit as fast as it needs to be, throwing precision, stability and even refinement into the mix as well. The price has crept up in recent years, and you’ll need to pay close attention to how many option boxes you tick. But in short, the 911 remains the do-it-all everyday sports car it’s always been, with greater polish than ever.

The Porsche 911 is the quintessential two-door, four-seat sports car. It is the undisputed benchmark in this shrinking segment, and the model all others must beat.

Earlier this year, the maker gave its range stalwart a light nip and tuck in an attempt to keep the 992-generation fresh as it moves into its twilight years. While the GTS now features a neat but complex hybrid system, the base Carrera (which now costs the best part of £100,000) sticks with its rear-driven 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six – mated here to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Without wishing to skip straight to the star rating, it seems now, more than ever, that base is best when it comes to Porsche’s evergreen 911. Few people will need anything sharper, faster or better built; the Carrera, while not exactly cheap, is the undisputed sweet spot in an ever-expanding line-up.

Fit your car with the £1,797 Sport Chrono package and this is a supercar slayer capable of 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds. It doesn’t have electric car levels of instant torque, but select the right gear – or press the little red ‘Sport Response’ button on the steering wheel – and it’ll fire pass slower moving traffic in the blink of an eye.

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It feels so strong and so responsive, in fact, that it’s mind-boggling to consider the GTS now uses electrification to fill in any flat spots left by the engine’s turbochargers. That car shaves almost a full second from the Carrera’s 0-62mph sprint.

Putting the engine (and therefore much of the weight) over the rear axle means it can feel a little light in the nose at times, but grip is exceptional in dry conditions – and there’s the usual wet mode for when the heavens inevitably open. The steering is just beautifully weighted and there’s more feel than you might expect for an electrically-assisted rack. 

The PDK gearbox is as slick as ever, slotting home the next ratio with lightning fast accuracy time and time again. Yet leave it to its own devices and it’ll slur up and down the cogs without you even noticing.

Body control is fantastic, and while some might find the ride a little firm, it’s never brittle, so it’s easy to find a flow – even when tasked with some pretty bashed or broken roads. The entry-level 911 relishes crests and changing cambers, and even with our car’s lightweight (but noise insulating) glass, refinement is reasonable. There was a time not that long ago when such wide tyres would’ve sent a deafening drone to those in the cabin at motorway speeds, but our run down the M4 at the legal limit proved this is no longer the case.

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Elsewhere, quality continues to impress. This does, by no means, feel like an entry point to the 911 range – though given the near-three-figure starting price, expectations are naturally elevated. The driving position is bang on and was especially adjustable in our test car thanks to the optional 18-way electric sports seats. The side bolsters are a little tight, however, and may not suit larger frames – we’d advise trying the standard set-up before stumping up almost £3k for something that might compromise comfort. 

The infotainment system is still among the very best in the business; it’s super responsive, offers crisp graphics, and is even relatively easy to use. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make light use of integrating your phone’s functions on the move, while physical climate controls mean the heating and ventilation settings aren’t buried in the screen.

Of course, our car came fitted with a few choice options that added almost £25,000 to the list price, pushing it worryingly close to the new, £132,600 GTS. Of course, many of these are niceties rather than essentials, but we’d recommend stumping up the £2,249 needed for the fruiter sports exhaust, as well as the excellent matrix-LED lights. 

The fact Porsche charges almost £1,500 for adaptive cruise control is a tough pill to swallow, however, and another £740 for lane-change assist seems steep. Only you can decide if just over £1,000 for our car’s GT Silver metallic paint, or £206 for gloss back badges, is worth the extra. Ditto the £3,974 for the high-end Burmester stereo – you’ll need to know you’ll use it before signing on the dotted line.