First Drive Review
Porsche has probably never caught the attention of the German public more than in the past two years—but not due to its cars. What has everyone talking is the ongoing takeover of VW, with its far-ranging implications for Germany's automotive landscape.
Speak with Porsche's PR people, and they want nothing more than to get the focus back on the cars. In fact, there is a flurry of product launches happening, starting with the 911 Carrera, on which we have extensively reported, followed by the Carrera 4 and 4S. The Targa was recently shown, and updated Turbo and GT2/GT3 versions are around the corner.
We got behind the wheel of the new four-wheel-drive versions, the Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S, chassis code 997, phase two. Both coupe and cabriolet get the subtle changes of the Carrera and Carrera S—specifically, a new front fascia with LED running lights and LED taillights. But the four-wheel-drive versions are further differentiated with a red reflector stripe that connects the taillights: a classic 911 styling element that first appeared in 1973 and was sorely missed by enthusiasts when it disappeared from all but a few models after the switch to the water-cooled engines in 1997. Extra cool: The C4 and the C4S are 1.7 inches wider than the rear-drive versions.
Like those standard models, the C4 and the C4S benefit from two new flat-six engines, a 3.6-liter unit making 345 horsepower and a 3.8-liter unit endowed with 385 horsepower. A shorter stroke makes them more responsive than the engines they replace, and direct-injection technology makes them more fuel-efficient. In fact, fuel consumption drops by 12.9 percent in the European cycle. On the road, you can sense a noticeable improvement over the already extraordinarily responsive engines they replace.
A significant role in improving fuel economy is played by the new dual-clutch transmission. In automatic mode and with a light right foot, it can shift up to its tall seventh gear at about 40 mph, but it’s ready to downshift in an instant as required. There is a sport mode for more spirited and less economical driving, and sport plus for a decidedly sporty, fixed shift pattern that (thankfully) doesn't attempt to learn your driving style.
The dual-clutch transmission, a.k.a. Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK), shifts so rapidly and seamlessly that acceleration times sharply improve, according to Porsche. In the Carrera 4S coupe, 0 to 62 mph comes in 4.7 seconds with the manual shifter and in just 4.3 seconds with the PDK in sport plus mode. Ultimately, however, power is lost in PDK’s hydraulics, and therefore, top speed for the aforementioned C4S drops from 185 mph to 183 if you decide against the manual transmission.
Whatever transmission you choose, the C4 and the C4S now come with a new, electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system that was first launched in the 997 Turbo. It is slightly heavier than the previous viscous-clutch system, and it uses slightly more space. Despite Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking's cost-cutting philosophy, it is also more expensive to build than the previous system, which was carried over from the air-cooled 993.
