[stanjohn123]

Never ever imagined I would drive a Porsche in my life. But it just happened and I savored every moment of it. The model is none other than the Carrera 4S , it just laid to rest whatever qualms I had about this brand. It's superlative beyond words, simply amazing. I don't even know why I haven't changed my Avatar yet.

Here is a pic to start with before I put up a complete review hopefully by this week.

[stanjohn123]

A completely stunning car.

What you'll like:

• Mind blowing performance from a 3.8 Litre Flat 6 engine(385Bhp).
• Very good touch screen Infotainment system.
• Brilliant shifting 7 speed PDK transmission.
• Exotic & Addictive Engine note.
• Superb Chassis.
• Impressive GPS system.
• Very powerful Xenon's.
• Beautiful rear LED tail lights and front DRL's.
• Probably equipped with the best brakes in the world.
• Very good Built Quality.
• Best snob value.
• Best of both worlds( sports & Everyday Drivability )
• Drifting hooliganism.
• Very good air conditioning.
• Very good fuel mileage(11.5 km/l).

What you won't:

• Huge mirrors(Driver side only) compromise outward visibility.
• Horn unusually very hard to press.
• Steering wheel is hydraulic hence a little heavier to turn at low speeds.
• Highly uncomfortable over slightly rough roads.
• Seats not comfortable on very long drives.
• No push button start/remote start.
• Ignition on the wrong side of steering wheel.

[stanjohn123]

The 2010 Porsche Carrera( 911 ) is an icon and you would never know it unless you drive one because it's understated looks would fool you quite easily to think otherwise.

It's priced here in Kuwait at 35,000 KWD(Kuwaiti Dinar) which is approximately 56,95,000 INR. Since we have no taxes on cars here.

Porsche have 2 variants of the Carrera. One is the Carrera 4 which has the 3.6 Litre engine and the other one is the Carrera 4S model which has the 3.8 Litre engine as tested in this review.Both the variants are 4 wheel drives and not the usual traditional rear wheel drive setup of Porsche's.These units represent a significant step forward for Porsche, in terms of technology and weight reduction,nearly 6kg trimmed off their bulk. All engines now feature a smaller stroke with a larger bore, direct fuel injection, and higher compression ratios (up to 12.5:1 on the 4S).

The 4S generates 385 Bhp at 420 Nm of Torque. The manual equipped 6 speed transmission can do 0-100 sprints in approx. 4.5 sec's while the 7 speed PDK as in this review can do 4.1 seconds (Source : Autoblog ). I could have tested the sprint timings myself but the car was just so enjoyable I just really didn't care about it. This car is more than just the numbers. Its a pure delight to drive.

Apart from its surprising performance another thing that really impressed me was its fuel economy. In one run I got around 10.5 Km/l in normal driving condition without revving much.Correct me if I am wrong but that figure actually beats some economy cars in India. I could have got a much better mileage with a much lighter foot, but I believe that is quite impossible for anyone to do so with such a car in his possession.

There is no doubting this Germans Build Quality, like all other German counterparts the Porsche's build and paint quality is exceptional, befitting it's premium sport segment.




Agreed, the front does not look any different from all the other cars in their lineup for the past few years(ok forever) I suppose. But those DRL's are really beautiful during the day time.



The xenon's are adaptive i.e they turn with the movement of the steering wheel and are quite powerful.Both low and high beams are pretty good.



Just for eg. I am approximately 200 Meter's away from a building at pitch black darkness. This is how it is at low beam.



and this is how it is at high beam. Literally turns night into day.



LED tail lights are very pretty too, they flicker continuously while braking as in Christmas lights and not the usual constant light. You can see it later on my videos.



The Tires are Michelins and try to do a good job providing decent amount of grip when driven sensibly.Tire noise is minimal too or maybe I wasn't bothered to pick it up but I did not hear any.



The side rear view mirrors are huge and very clear to see. But there is a big disadvantage for the drivers side mirror. Since the driver sits very low to the ground, his side rear view mirror actually blocks his view. While coming to an intersection it becomes really difficult to see if a vehicle is approaching from the opposite side.



A cool feature however is that while engaging reverse gear , apart from the audible warning signal that we get while reversing, the passenger side rear view mirror actually tilts downwards. And it comes back to normal position as soon as we drive off in the forward gears.



The Exhaust comprises of Quad pipes which sound so sweet at high rpm's or whenever you rev the engine. It's not like the bassy burble of a V8 but you get that sharp raspy noise of 6 cylinder which is still very addictive.



Porsche Composite Ceramic Brakes are fade free and dissipate heat quite effectively. It has to be one of the best brakes in the world. I could brake very late and more confidently at many sharp corners at speeds.And every time it just keeps stopping the same way. Its just amazing. Words alone can't describe it. It's that good.



The fuel filler is actually in the front passenger side unlike in other cars.



Really very beautiful. I can fall in love every time I see her. Never expected to fall in love like this for a Porsche.

[stanjohn123]

Well a little disappointed in the tech front. No keyless entry nor remote start/ Push button start. Just a key fob(rather good one at that) and a button to unlock/lock doors and boot of the car. The doors close with a deep heavy thud. It feels like bank vault doors. The interior quality as usual is top notch in line with Porsche standards. It's filled with acres of leather and premium stitching all over. Wonder how many cows laid their lives to cover the interiors of this car. Nevertheless the smell of leather is intoxicating and nice inside. The switch's,knobs are all great to feel/Touch and are just like other German premium brands. They are really very soft and smooth to operate.

The steering wheel is chunky,nicely weighted and great to hold and look at but there is a disadvantage with the part leather and part carbon fiber on it. After we take a U-turn we would usually release the steering wheel slightly so that it rotates while sliding through our palms but in this case since there are dual layers when the carbon part slides, the leather part gets stuck to our palms or vice versa. So it's pretty dangerous if we try to accelerate in a hurry from a U-turn. It would have been a lot better if it was either full leather or carbon fiber like in the M3's or other Bimmers. The bottom half of the steering wheel is also flat and it feels very sporty.The horn for some reason is very hard to press and you won't be able to honk with just your thumb. Maybe Porsche consider every driver in front of you to give way for you or maybe they are just content with the noise coming from the exhaust to grab the attention of other drivers. Most of the time those 2 points really did work but in times of emergency I think a normal soft touch working horn would have been better.

Another problem I felt was the unnecessary amount of control stalks around the steering wheel, every time I needed to use the turn signal I used to accidentally activate the stalk just below it which toggles the info on the MID. You would always touch it since it's placed very close to the indicators. It really started annoying me after a while.



The Center console is greatly laid out and everything on it is very intuitive and user friendly. You can see the seams on the rich leather around it. The interior is as beautiful as the cars exterior.The Gear Lever looks great and is nice to hold.



The front seats are comfortable (Not too soft nor too hard)though not overtly and provides very good support in normal and spirited driving conditions. The seat adjustments are all electrical and work great.You can easily get the best driving position within minutes.Though I feel it was designed to fit people on the heavier side. The seats did not bear hug me as I would want it to but maybe that's because of my small frame. I am just 5' 8" and weigh 70 Kilos.The drivers seat has a 3 way programmable memory seating position.Lower back support is pretty poor and you feel it when you drive for more than 3 hours at a stretch. It would have been better if there was something to adjust the seats foam(Like make it protrude out a little more as in business class seats on a plane) on the lower back to provide more support. I tried searching, but could not find any.

The front,lateral and rear views are all great in this car. There are no blind spots anywhere except for the huge driver side rear view mirror causing an obstruction while on a t-junction.The center console is great and have just all the necessary amount of buttons.Same goes to the steering wheel.There are no unnecessary buttons !!! Unlike few sports cars with infinite buttons wherever you lay your eyes on. The steering wheel has paddle shift controls which are really very unintuitive,push down on the top two paddles to increase gears and push up the bottom two(behind the steering wheel) to reduce gears. Yeah I know, it was very confusing for me too and I hated it. The normal gear in D or either shifting the gear Lever + and - in manual was good enough. I am really sorry to say this, I love manuals a lot and as a petrol head never wanted to support dual clutch transmissions or never liked the idea of leaving the gear controls to a computer. But I was totally bowled over by this intelligent PDK.It normal mode it shifts seamlessly and so smoothly,you would never even know when the gears hit 6th or 7th and in sport/sport plus mode it becomes a totally different beast altogether. As in many other reviews PDK's are much faster than rowing the gears ourselves(My manly ego gotta hurt real bad), it's been proved and we sadly but really have to agree to that. Is it more fun that driving a manual ? well it's just a 50-50 chance here.With a manual, obviously you have the satisfaction of rowing your own gears , the car feels more connected to you. But there are more advantages than just for speed. Due to the chassis and the car's nimbleness, the carrera becomes a handful to drive,so keeping both your hands on the steering wheel becomes a priority , hence the PDK is better than the manual even in that aspect for novice drivers like me. But as I said before, this car is not about the numbers, just forget it totally. So which would I prefer between the PDK and manual. It's a tie, 50-50. Simply put, for novice drivers PDK will be great. For experts, manual would be the best choice.

Coming to the back seat space. There really are 2 seats behind and fits 2 small kids quite ok. My cousins who are aged 7 and 10 fit quite easily behind and had enough legroom. So I thought maybe even I could give it a try myself but the experience well lets say was not very fruitful as I would show in detail with some pictures later. The rear didn't feel claustrophobic for the kids as they seemed to like it sitting behind too. This car really can be a daily driver and even better if you just have a wife and 2 kids. It even has a small useful boot up front to carry small grocery shopping.

There was one reason I hated German auto manufactures and that was due to their pure arrogance/negligence. They don't tune their cars to our climatic conditions. They just carry their European spec'd cars and plonk it on our shores as is.Eg. are Audi(A4, A6) and BMW's(3 series), even till date they haven't changed the compressors nor have ventilated seats even as options. As a result the air conditioner usually never chills as expected due to weaker compressors and engine might have heating issues. Not so with the Porsche, the Air con was quite literally a chiller even in our very hot desert climate and may I dare say better than some Japanese cars as well. The ventialted seats were also very nice and probably the first I've seen in a premium German car. You can really feel the blower under the seats , it's mild but it makes a huge difference. If you ever buy this car , make sure you check this on the options list. Both driver and passenger get ventilated and heated seats. And you all would know this button "Auto", press it and the blower blows at max fan speed and the lowest temp. It chills the car in no time. Tap it again and it goes back to the last setting saved.In terms of refinement, on smooth roads it feels well insulated and quite, no road noise or tire noise. You can mildly hear the engine noise at lower rpm's but even that is very less. It actually feels like a premium executive car in normal driving mode.Put it in sport/sport plus mode it turns quite literally into a beast. You really need to drive it to experience it. Unlike many other car's where the sport modes only make some slight alterations to the noise from the exhaust. This one actually firms up the suspensions,holds gears till it hit's the red line and engine sings like hells broken loose. Quite literally this mode brings in neck snapping speeds which would scare the beejezus out of you. For 2 days I was afraid to use the sport plus mode, and only after I was really confident I could control the car did I try using the mode in normal road at small intervals. It's so simple, you don't have to completely stop the car to activate it. It's just activated/deactivated with the flick of a button while driving itself.There are lot of useful bins and cubby holders. The front sides door armrests can be opened to keep some important cards/papers etc.There are 2 cupholders that pop out from the dash which are laid just above the glove box. The glove box has a compartment to stack away your favourite CD/DVD's.

The Carrera does not have a spare tyre. I guess all sports cars don't get one.

The steering wheel is great to look at and even Hold.The combination of black leather and grey carbon Fiber looks really very sporty. Its a tad heavier than in normal cars but the feel is astounding. Its also in the right shape. There is no obstruction of view to the instrument cluster or the front outside view. It's a perfectly sized steering wheel.




Dials are all easy and clear to read. MID displays data on trip to next refuel, instantaneous FE, which safety systems are on / off, current speed, average speed, which music track is playing currently, time , outside temperature in Celsius,traction on/off and various other warnings (windshield washer fluid low, which seat belt needs to be worn), you also get a seat belt warning system if only the driver fails to buckle up, it should have been also for the passenger.



Very comfortable ventilated front seats. I loved them a lot.



High front seat neck restraints with the beautiful Porsche emblem on it.



Memory seats



Fully adjustable electric seats. Beautifully crafted "Carrera 4S" on the side sill plate.



Choose sport mode for some fun. But if you are completely insane like me just hit the sport plus mode and feel the beast completely. It's unlike other cars where the difference is minimal between these modes. Trust me, the difference is huge in a Carrera. If you are a little careless you might as well loose this toy soon. So please be very cautious.



PSM is Porsche Stability Management system what would be called ESP in normal cars or stability control which is in default on mode. Press this little button to turn it off and all hell will break loose in sport mode.



The other button next to it on the left actually raises the rear boot ventilation lid a bit as shown below. I believe it's to aid in ventilation and help create down force.





The car starts with the traditional insertion of key in ignition and turning it. But it won't start unless you press the brake pedal and leave the gear lever on 'P'. Missed the push button start and keyless entry a little but it's a small complaint. A big complaint though is that the ignition is on the wrong side(Left of the steering wheel), 99 % of the time I was searching for it on the right hand side as it's a habit to find it there in all other cars.



I was totally impressed by the center display touch screen. Not only was it clear during day and night use. It was also legibly clear under bright sun light and check this out. It was clearly visible even while looking at it with my polarized sun glass's.Now that's cool. It can be controlled by both knobs around it.The touch sensitivity is quite good and smooth. But please be advised that this is very distracting while driving and I highly recommend not to fiddle with the touch screen while driving this car instead use the knobs on the steering wheel to steer through your files or folders.



Another thing that really impressed me was the GPS system which was amazing with its voice guided navigation system. Worked like a charm. I got lost in a couple of places but it was easy to get out off with the GPS. Simply amazing. Similarly even using this while driving is very distracting and Porsche actually make you confirm a disclaimer before using this service stating that we are solely responsible if we crash the car while using this system.



The Music system are from BOSE.It consists of totally 13 speakers. They were kinda ok but not as good as the Mark Levinson systems in the Lexus or Harmon Kardon from Mercs which are the best to my knowledge. The speakers were powerful, you could here it bang around your legs while playing loud music without any rattles or loss in sound quality but for a car costing this much it should have been fitted with something better.The treble was good, Bass was not bad but just ok. I'd give it 6 out of 10 since my standards are pretty high when it comes to in-car entertainment systems. Though most users would be highly satisfied with this one,not me though.




The door pads and dashboard can get easily soiled while getting in and out of the car.




The gear Lever looks good and is great to hold. To shift between gears you will have to press hold the silver button down which has your thumb impression.



Here is the thumb impression I was talking about.



The pedals are all located exactly where they need to be. They feel great to use. There is also a dead pedal to the left. While stretching out your legs to the pedals it feels like you are sitting in a luxury go-kart. I would have liked if the pedals had bullet holes, would have made it look sinister.



The glovebox can store your manual, shades and mobile phones,and that's pretty much its storage capacity.Note also there is a CD/DVD holder inside the compartment too.



A small storage compartment under the center armrest also houses the AUX, USB and iPOD ports.



Fire Extinguisher right under drivers seat. This wasn't very comforting to see what with the fact about poor European reliability and lots of Ferraris burning to the ground lately. Porsche's post 2009 are pretty reliable is what I heard but you can never know.



Rear Seats are strictly just for kids. No adults can fit there.



I tried sitting back and this was the result. The seats don't lock into position and leans forward due to my legs.



And I had to bend my back as well as my neck and even then my head was touching the ceiling. This is mainly due to the Porsche's design with swooping rear top.



There is no space at all in the rear when a tall passenger sits in front and the seats are pushed way behind.



But there was plenty of space(For the kids) when the seats were adjusted to my driving position.Also note that there is a large central hump between the 2 rear seats.



One thing's for sure. You're not going to buy this car for it's boot space. For those of you who don't know, yes the boot is on the wrong side of the car.



Nevertheless the boot space is enough for Grocery shopping and a few small briefcases for your weekend trip. Plus if you don't have kids you do have usable rear seats for your things.

[stanjohn123]

Keep the brake pedal pressed and then turn the ignition key to bring the silent beast to life.

The 3.8 litre flat 6 cylinder engine is rated at 385 Bhp with 420 Nm of Torque and red lines at about 7,250 rpm. The Carrera is a great daily driver as it is a sports car on a race track. It's like it has a dual personality and I guess that's why the 911 is such an icon. The throttle is very smooth and responsive and in normal mode it works in sync with the brilliant PDK very well. You hardly ever notice gear changes.The steering wheel is a tad heavier at lower speeds and you need to use both your hands to turn,but is very responsive. You feel and know exactly whats going on every time. The ride is a bit stiff but not uncomfortable except on a rough/poor road you can almost feel the entire suspension vibrating with the pavement. It's as if you are rubbing your back on the tarmac. The only other thing I did not bother to play with in this car was the push button paddle shifters on the steering wheel. These were not good honestly. Very unintuitive. Anyways you'd be busy trying to hold her steady in sports mode so you don't need it.

Honestly I loved driving this car mostly in normal " D" mode. Its the best mode to cruise along in streets and cities. It rides so silently and just when you need to hear that angry growl just jap the accelerator for a second and let go. It's wonderful. You keep the accelerator pressed longer and the Carrera starts moving in a hurry. It's so beautiful to drive this engine mated with that PDK. It's feels just like any luxury executive car and that's the beauty of the 911 I guess. Use the Sport plus modes only on track, because its like a runaway bull, just prodding you and ready to pounce, it keeps tempting you to push the car harder and harder and that is very dangerous for city driving or on small streets. So it's highly advisable to refrain from using it on normal cities or towns. Try it on highways but beware of speed cameras because it really picks up speed without you even noticing it. In simple this car makes you feel like an F1 driver although you are not. It does everything brilliantly for you and gives you the credit for it. The feeling is amazing.

Porsche claim a speed of 4.3 sec to 100 Kmph but everyone knows that they usually underestimate these timings.Few websites claim that the Carrera can actually do 4.1 secs!!! Anyways you know this car is fast and hence don't even bother seeing the speedometer. Just hit the pedal to the metal and sit back and feel the surge of power flowing through linearly. It just keeps ticking and ticking with the same velocity till you hit the brakes. And an important thing with this car is you are in total control,meaning in a normal car if you accelerate say to 50 or 60 Kmph and release the accelerator the car keeps moving forward with the momentum. But not so with the Porsche, the moment you release the accelerator the car decelerates, it feels like engine braking. This is the reason why the car feels so much under your control. Its just like in video games(NFS). And on top of that the ceramic brakes are even better.All you have to do is think to stop and she stops. It's telepathic.You can actually feel the brakes biting into the disks , when you jam the brakes really hard, you can feel the hard judder on your feet from the brakes towards the rag end when your pedal hits the floor.It's so cool.Just make sure no other vehicle is behind you when you do such a stunt.

I was really paranoid about the reliability of this car. I don't really know why but when you talk about Germany, automatically the first thing other than performance is un-reliability that pop's into your mind. And to make matters worse, the fact that there is no spare wheel, seeing the fire extinguisher under the seat and the fans above the engine automatically turning on to cool it gave me the jitters. So much so that while I was roaming on a very hot sunny day and wanted to park on the emergency lane for a while to check out the GPS system send me some shivers about the heating problem in the engine since I was on a standstill. My insincts told me to turn of the car. So i just parked under a shaded bridge and turned her off. I also realized while turning the car off somehow the GPS's capabilities are limited and that was the warning I got while turning her off. But luckily the Carrera did not catch fire nor have I heard of any such incidents.



I was driving at around 70 Kmph the gear was in 6th in normal mode and as soon as I pressed the sport plus mode the car jerked and the gear fell to 1st and it kept revving and prodding to push the accelerator more. The gear only shifts on redline in this mode and tail slips out pretty easily here. Tire rotations are a plenty in this mode.

The suspension in D mode was firm but not too firm to unsettle you. So the ride is ok on good roads. The NVH levels are very low. But on rough roads it gets a lot bumpier and noisier inside. It's bad that there are no super soft suspension settings when this happens. However, there is suspension setting which when pressed firms up the suspension even further and the car I believe comes even more closer to the ground. This should be used only on tracks or you'd end up scraping the bottom on speed breakers etc.Even sport/sport plus modes does the same thing. The ride becomes stiffer and harder. Along with total changes in the engine and gear shifts.The ground clearance is not bad in normal mode as I did not have any problems with any speed breakers here. Just be careful to go slow on them. I actually went super slow on them since no one behind me minded waiting for me.

In short this car is so brilliant and dynamic. It's fast, handles better than most on the road and has exceptional snob value. It makes you feel like a superstar. And most people would automatically give way for you on the road. Even if they don't, you could just blow past them.

[stanjohn123]

The Smaller yet significant things:

The key fob, looks nice and has a nice weighty feel to it. The buttons are of high quality and feels nice to press.





Window switch's are all one touch up/down operated. Just hold it fully down for 2 seconds for the one touch option. Seems like even German plastic can't last 40,000 Km.That's poor quality.



Huge driver side mirror's. See how it obstructs views. In actuality you sit even lower to the ground, so it's difficult to see traffic coming from the left on a junction.




This was the only knob i could find to control the side mirrors. There is no option to fold them electronically. Is this another over sight from Porsche ?



These are the switch's to open the sun roof. Too bad it's not one touch open or close operated.



Initially had a very tough time searching for the button to lock the doors. This is were it is placed. Just below the hazard warning switch.



Carbon fiber door handles and side airbags logo.



The not so user friendly paddle shifters. They are all great to touch and feel though.The other buttons are volume control, return button and never tried this one out.All Rake of high quality.



A completely unnecessary stalk on the left hand side of the steering wheel. It always comes in the way of the signal stalks and it gets pretty annoying after a while.



This lever adjusts the steering wheel to any position you want. Just pull it down, set the steering wheel for rake and pinion, push it back into place to lock it, voila.



Bottom of the steering wheel is flat. Lends a great sporty feeling to it.



Its 42 degree celsius outside with 90 % humidity. So what ? I don't feel a thing inside here. The AC is a chiller inside this thing.



Like most european car's the doors open in 3 steps and opens really wide. Just mind those curbs though.





This conceals the cup holders







The fans on top of the engine keep running even if the car is switched off and you're out of it. I thought it was a malfunction at first but it turns itself on to cool down the engine. Nice !!!



This is the car's other natural habitat.

[stanjohn123]

Few runs with the Porsche.

You can see the beautiful DRL's,tail light LED's sequentially glowing and the Carrera growling in this video

YouTube - ‪2010 Porsche Carrera 4 S weekend drive in Kuwait - Stani‬‏

Trying the donut with the stability on

YouTube - ‪2010 Porsche Carrera 4 S donut‬‏

[stanjohn123]

Finally my successful donut in the Carrera,

YouTube - ‪2010 Porsche Carrera 4 S donut‬‏

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Public Forum. Thanks for sharing!

[_raVan_]

Excellent review Stanjohn! Rated 5 stars to the thread.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by _raVan_

Excellent review Stanjohn! Rated 5 stars to the thread.

Thank you Ravan. This is my first review on t-bhp so didn't think it would deserve even 2 stars. Thank you once again for giving me such a high rating.

[CliffHanger]

Mind blowing review Stan. Kudos to the efforts you have put in to create it!

[supercars]

A Very nice review of the Porsche.

The Quality is not there in a Porsche. I have seen a lot of Cost cutting measures in the Cayenne which they disguise under Weight Saving. I will be frank though. The car really needs to be light for you to feel racy.

I would not want to put off the PSM.

Could you send me a pm explaining as to why Ferrari's are burning to the ground ? I had not expected this from Ferrari.

[Torquedo]

Truely amazing review, for an amazing car !!

Rating 5 Stars.

[puneet_b]

Good lord...
Great Review. Thanks for posting this Stanjohn.