2022 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Review | The Gold Standard of Sport Cars?
if i asked you to imagine a sports car there’s a really good chance you’re picturing a porsche 911 that’s because the 911 has one of the longest production runs in sports car history and it’s stuck to its basic formula since 1964. and that formula is a two-door four-seater with a six-cylinder boxer engine mounted behind the rear axle in the decade since the 911 has evolved it’s gotten bigger more powerful handling has improved and it’s gotten a lot more comfortable obviously technology is a lot more prevalent too but at its core the 911 remains a lively
compact little sports car that delights and thrills its owners the 911 lineup is deep really deep there are 10 trim levels starting with the base carrera for around 106 000 all the way up to 228 000 for the turbo s cabriolet what we have here is what we consider the middle ground in the lineup both in terms of performance and price and this is the all new 2022 911 gts before we get too deep into this review do us a favor hit like and subscribe below to get all of our latest content so what makes
a 911 a 911 well it has one of the most recognizable silhouettes in history besides maybe the volkswagen beetle which was also designed by ferdinand porsche
little bit of a flip up wing here and in the gt3 which is more track focused you get a really big wing besides that compared to the carrera and targa models the gts gains larger brakes from the turbo models a lower sport suspension sport seats some additional faux suede and carbon fiber bits and the sport chrono package that adds an analog chronograph on the dash more drive modes from a steering wheel dial and launch control accessing the engine isn’t something that most modern 911 owners will ever need to do and with everything packed so deep
inside there’s not much reason to bopping the engine access cover only reveals these coolant and oil caps so you’re just gonna have to trust me on what’s underneath and that’s a turbocharged three 3-liter horizontally opposed 6-cylinder mounted behind the rear axle that has 473 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque and that’s mounted to an 8-speed pdk transmission that’s porsche speak for a dual clutch automated transmission i won’t even bother trying to pronounce what that says so here it is right there for you it operates pretty much like any other transmission but more efficiently transfers power
and porsche claims this will get to 0 to 60 and 3.4 seconds personally i’d go with the 7 speed manual transmission because i absolutely love the amount of engagement you get from a stick shift and that’s knowing full well that it’s slightly slower and probably less fuel efficient in the real world porsche claims it’ll hit 60 in 4.1 seconds and that’s not to say the pdk isn’t fun or engaging and i’ll prove that to you right now so here we are on another twisty road the perfect setting for a sports car and for a car
that weighs 3 600 pounds 473 horsepower is plenty it’s a very pleasant drive even when you’re just in normal drive mode like i am right now now compared to the supporting carrera models this is slightly firmer when it comes to ride quality but it’s not really that much of a difference now when i do want to turn up the driving aggression the transmission isn’t doing that great of a job keeping the revs up which means i kind of bog down coming out of the turns but switching to sport mode takes care of that to a
reasonable degree still i prefer having complete control so i go with full manual mode yeah that to me this is kind of the perfect driving mode for public roads but i would also hit the sport exhaust because it’s attracting just a little bit too much attention now it’s easy to do that with just a tap of that button there or also with just a few taps on the screen here you also have the typical individual mode as a shortcut a sport chrono package adds the sport plus mode that also stiffens up the suspension but i
think it’s just a little too much for this setting on a racetrack for sure i would use that mode but right now it’s just a little too nervous and jittery oh and this button here that’s the sport response button it temporarily sharpens a response from the engine and transmission which is really not all that noticeable and yeah sorry it’s not a nitrous button now this is the gts not the four gts with all-wheel drive so i need to be a bit more careful when i lay into the power you don’t have to be as judicious
as you have to be in a supercar but if i give the throttle a little bit of a love tap oh it’ll break the rear wheels loose combine that with a mid-corner bump and you might be looking at a trip to the body shop so in this case compliance is definitely your friend the gts is a good representative of the sweet spot in the 911 lineup it has more than enough performance for public roads and it’s still relatively comfortable as good as it is i really don’t see the need to upgrade to the turbo or
gt3 model unless i was doing regular track days but then again this gts is good enough that i would probably take it to the track as long as you’re not too obsessed with having the absolute quickest lap time of that day but in that case i would go with the coupe instead of this convertible oh and that reminds me this is a convertible it’s easy to forget that this is a convertible because this fabric top does a great job of keeping the outside outside the cabin is nice and quiet on the inside with no whistling
coming from the top so how good is it with the top down glad you asked dropping the top requires just pulling this one button here and according to porsche it’s only takes about 12 seconds and you can do it up to about 30 miles an hour now to demonstrate buffeting i can only see one way so yeah let’s see how bad it gets it’s really not that bad a lot of buffeting from any convertible comes from the back and underneath the car so it’s kind of blowing my hair forward but we do have this handy
dandy wind blocker that does a really good job of cutting down that back wind of course if you want even better isolation just roll up these windows and you still get that open air feeling without having your hair mussed up and going everywhere now i love convertibles and i’ve had a drop top in my driveway since the 90s they are getting a lot less common nowadays though so what would you do would you go with the coop or cabaret away let us know in the comments below on a sunday day like this going top down
is a moral imperative as a side bonus it gives you a great view of the interior so let’s talk about that next first off the 911 is a driver’s car that means it’s geared to keep your eyes on the road with quick glances down at the gauges for the most part porsche has resisted fads and trends that don’t really add anything to the driving experience everything is within easy reach and all the controls are logically grouped too materials quality is excellent it’s appropriate for a car that starts just above a hundred thousand dollars and there
are also endless customization options as long as your budget can survive for example this lovely racy yellow stitching is an option a thirty five hundred dollar option ouch these adaptive sport seats are another 3 000 option and they have really good bolstering here to keep you nice and secure while you’re actually taking to the corners now they may not be for everyone because they’re a little confining for larger passengers but there is an option they have more comfortable seats with more adjustments and a little bit softer cushioning now since this is a convertible i think
it’s worth spending another 840 bucks for the ventilated seats to keep you nice and cool on a hot day like today personally i like alcantara and faux suede steering wheels because they’re just a little bit grippier than their typical leather continuing the theme of being driver focused there aren’t a whole lot of buttons on here but there are just enough one thing i’m not a fan of in a lot of these german cars are the separate stocks for cruise control but that is just one of the things that you just get used to in typical
911 fashion the gauges feature a tachometer that is big and in the center we also have these secondary screens here but they’re a little tough to read because the steering wheel actually blocks those screens they are great for secondary information so i wouldn’t use it for navigation as much the lack of storage for your personal items is one of the 911’s biggest drawbacks but then again this is a sports car not a minivan you do have this small pocket here that kind of doubles as a cup holder a really shallow center armrest bin this netted
pocket here in the passenger foot well in some tiny door pockets but that’s about it there’s also this flimsy passenger cup holder too as someone who loves performance these sacrifices are pretty minor but let us know what you think are they a deal breaker for you comment below you’ll notice that there is something behind me porsche calls them seats but i am not convinced so let’s check them out if for nothing else but for comic relief now obviously these seats are intended for kids and probably for occasional use at that they’re much better at handling
cargo overflow and believe me you’re going to need it because with the engine in the back there’s no trunk instead you have a frunk up front that only holds 4.7 cubic feet these rear seats hold 5.7 cubic feet or 9.3 cubic feet if you go with a coupe all together though you’ll have enough room for you your significant other luggage and that’s about it it’s no surprise the 911 puts performance over practicality it’s its whole reason for being and i am here for it there is also price which is a big limiting factor the 911
gts coupe has a starting price just under 140 000. the cabriolet starts just above 150 000 this test car has plenty of options that include additional interior leather rear wheel steering adaptive suspension and the premium package that adds items like bose audio surround view cameras and a blind spot monitor now this also has the nose lift function that is great for anyone with steep driveways these and the rest of the options kick the price to a rather uncomfortable 175 820 dollars now even if i were able to afford that without blinking i’m not convinced i
would i might consider a carrera s or 4s that runs about 20 grand less they’re only marginally less powerful to the tune of only 30 horsepower and in my experience the performance and drive experience are very similar but that also begs the question what would you get instead of a 911 well there’s the chevrolet corvette that went mid-engine just a few years ago now it’s more affordable but it lacks the fit and finish of a porsche the bmw m8 is another intriguing alternative and it’s more practical but it’s also larger and heavier there’s also porsche’s
own 718 boxster and cayman they’re smaller and less expensive but on the high end you also have things like mclarens and the new maserati mc20 overall against the rest of the competition it’s more well-rounded it has the performance and refinement to mostly justify its price and with over 50 years of development they have had plenty of time to perfect this formula among all these great sports cars which would you choose if you’re like me and are leaning towards a 911 which model would you go for we’re genuinely curious so let us know in the comments
below thanks for watching and don’t forget to hit like and subscribe below and if you need to make room in your garage for a 911 head over to cargurus.com and check out their sell my car feature you’ll get a great price and they’ll even send someone to pick up your car for you as for me well i think it’s time for a little more vitamin d so happy motoring everybody you
