Porsche 911 Review & Prices

The Porsche 911 is one of the most iconic sports cars on the planet - one of the most iconic cars, period. Porsche’s tactic over the 911’s seven decades on sale hasn’t been to constantly reinvent the wheel, preferring a series of incremental improvements to a proven recipe - but the 2024 facelift goes a little further than this.

In fact, with the new 911 getting its first ever hybrid engine, it’s a bit like fitting an air-source heat pump to an ancient cathedral. It might work better overall, but is it the right thing to do?

As a £100,000+ sports car, the 911 is likely to be bought with the heart. If, however, your head demands you consider all the competition, alternatives include the ageing but brilliant Audi R8, the high-tech Mercedes-AMG GT and the gorgeous-looking Aston Martin Vantage.

You might not notice at first glance that the 911’s changed at all for 2024. However, there are subtle differences on the outside - the indicators are now integrated into the headlights, which allows for a redesigned front bumper. On the GTS model, there are clever active cooling vents which can open or close as required.

There are new wheel designs, while the rear gets a resculpted bumper and diffuser plus cool centrally-mounted exhaust pipes and a redesigned light bar.

Inside, the biggest change is to be found behind the wheel. Porsche purists won’t all be happy, but the 911 has finally moved to a fully digital dashboard, where the old car had a central physical rev counter flanked by two screens. This does have some benefits - it’s more customisable, for example, and you can see all the dials through the wheel where previously you’d have outer information blocked by the rim.

The other change is that you no longer get Porsche’s signature twist-to-start switch - instead, you get a regular boring starter button.

Watch: Porsche 911 S/T review

Practicality is unchanged, which means that despite its rear-engined body and sporty pretensions the Porsche 911 is actually very practical to use day-to-day. There are rear seats big enough for children or additional luggage, and a front boot that while it’s very small is very usable for a weekend’s trip away.

Of course, very few people buy the Porsche 911 because it’s the ideal family car. You buy a 911 because you want a car that’s brilliant to drive, and in this respect Porsche has nailed it once more with this 2024 facelift.

Don’t panic that the hybrid engine means the 911 is a whirring, hyper-efficient appliance like a Toyota Prius. While the hybrid system does improve fuel economy and reduce emissions, it also boosts performance. It uses an electric motor built into the gearbox and an electrically-operated turbocharger, with energy regained when you lift off the throttle.

The result is that the GTS model has a massive 61hp and 40Nm of torque more than it did before - a total of 541hp and 670Nm - so it feels significantly more muscular despite not taking a hit on running costs.

You can still get a non-hybrid version, with the regular 911 Carrera receiving a small boost in power as well as the visual and interior changes mentioned before.

Whichever one you go for, it's a stunningly good car to drive. The normal Carrera is almost as usable every day as a hot hatchback - even the GTS copes well enough with speed bumps and potholes to make it a viable daily drive.

But hit the open road and the Porsche 911 comes alive, capable of bringing a grin to your face in almost any conditions with steering that feels like it's alive, loads of feedback for the driver and amazing levels of grip in the corners.

All these upgrades make the Porsche 911 even better than it was before - and that’s one of the highest bars there is to clear.

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The Porsche 911 isn’t cheap but when you compare it to the Audi R8 and Ferrari F8 Tributo, it starts to look like the bargain of the century. Okay, so it’s not got the power of these full-blown supercars but it’s no less rewarding to drive.

That said, there are cheaper alternatives than the Porsche – the BMW M4 would leave an entry-level Porsche for dust in a straight line, but isn’t as poised in corners, while the Lotus Emira is not as ruthlessly efficient. By slotting the 911 between these two groups, you could say Porsche has got the price just right.

That being said, what you pay varies wildly depending on the performance you're after. Those entry-level Carrera models start just under £100,000 and ramp up pretty quickly until you find yourself at the £140,000 Carrera 4 GTS. Mixed in are a dizzying array of other power outputs, two- and four-wheel drive, and various convertibles for good measure. It's the lower-powered Carrera models that represent the best value – but if you've got the cash, the pricier versions have the performance and abilities to justify their price tags.

A talented all-rounder that merges everyday usability with startling performance - we can’t wait to see what the Turbo S is like

In town

The Porsche 911’s USP is that it’s great to drive but also easy to live with every day – not something you can say about most serious sports cars.

Yes, the suspension is jiggly over bumps, but then it is a sports car and you can always set the adjustable dampers in their Comfort setting, which does a decent job of smoothing out the road in town. Another sports car thing is the 911’s heavy steering that gives great feedback, but can be tiring at slow speeds.

Parking is helped by the excellent visibility you get front and back, as well as the 911's impressively tight turning circle and an automatic gearbox that isn’t jerky at crawling speeds. All models now get rear-axle steering, which tightens the turning circle to just 10.9m. It’s also worth specifying the nose lift function, which can keep the 911’s front splitter safe over speed bumps or in tight situations.

Having said all that, it’s still worth considering the optional ParkAssist which adds front and rear sensors, plus a rear view camera. Another dip into the options list can add a 360-degree camera that you’ll be thankful for if you often have to squeeze your prized Porsche through uncompromising width restrictors.

On the motorway

At higher speeds, the Porsche 911’s suspension does an impressive job of smoothing out the road, its engine is quiet at a cruise and there’s not much wind noise to annoy you. That said, there is plenty of road noise that seems to be transmitted through the stiff chassis, directly into your ears. It’s even worse if you upgrade the standard wheels for a larger set.

The hybrid engine does emit a curious sort of high-pitched whine, audible under low throttle openings. It’s so high that you probably won’t notice it if your ears are over a certain age, but younger buyers beware…

You get cruise control as standard, with the option to upgrade to adaptive cruise control that can do the accelerating and braking for you while keeping a safe distance from the car in front. Want more autonomy? You can also specify lane-keep assist and lane-change assist.

On a twisty road

The 911 is one of the cars we’d most like in our arsenal if we were presented with a brilliant road. As with all versions, having the engine over the rear wheels means that the front tyres feel amazingly alive, with unbelievable levels of grip in hard cornering and a level of communication that you just don’t get with other sports cars.

Performance is seriously impressive. The entry-level Carrera keeps its 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, with a beefy 394hp leaving it capable of 0-62mph in just 4.1 seconds.

The big news is the new hybrid engine, which is fiendishly clever. It features an electric motor built into the gearbox, capable of recuperating energy when you lift off the throttle as well as boosting the engine’s output. There’s also an electrically-driven turbocharger which totally eliminates the lag you might find on some alternative, turbocharged cars. All the power is dealt with by a 400V electrical system and a small battery in the front.

The result is a massive 541hp and 0-60mph in just 3.0s. When we tested the GTS hybrid on track against an older GTS, it felt notably more muscular pulling out of the corners and, despite being on a wet track with dry-biased tyres, was over a second quicker than the old car.

On the road, it can feel as though the GTS is wasted - there’s so much performance that staying within the legal speed limit is barely using a fraction of its ability - but even here it’s great fun with incredibly accurate steering, loads of feedback through the steering whele and suspension that effectively irons out the worst bumps while still feeling like you’re connected to the road underneath you.

Electronically-controlled anti-roll bars keep the 911 Hybrid totally flat even when you’re cornering hard, while the optional carbon-ceramic brakes provide a colossal amount of stopping power. Very few cars are as satisfying to drive as this, even if some are much more powerful. That could yet be fixed when Porsche releases the new 911 Turbo S, however, which could have well in excess of 600hp.

The Porsche 911 has an excellent driving position and while the back seats aren’t really able to carry humans, they do serve as a useful overspill for the Porsche’s boot. Which you find under the bonnet

The Porsche 911’s driving position is brilliant, whether you’re tall or small you’ll be able to get comfortable, there’s loads of headroom and the seats are electrically adjustable for height and backrest angle. The steering wheel sits perfectly dead centre and has loads of adjustment, the pedals are exactly where you want them to be and the 911’s low bonnet and curved headlight housings make it easy to place on the road.

Want more comfort? Then you can upgrade to 14-way or 18-way electrically adjustable seats with a memory function that makes it easy to return them to your driving position. Heated and ventilated seats are on the options list, too.

You also get a decent amount of interior storage for quite a small car. You get two door bins which will swallow a small and a large bottle of water between them, with space left over for a couple of packets of crisps. There are also two cup holders – one in the centre console and another that folds out from the dashboard – a big glovebox and a tray under the centre armrest that’ll swallow a big phone and has two USB plugs for charging.

Space in the back seats

The 911 does have back seats, though they're technically optional. As standard you just get a luggage shelf, but adding the seats in is a zero-cost option - just remember to tick the box!

When installed, they’re no use for adults – there’s no knee room and so little headroom you’ll have to stoop for the length of your journey. They’re not even that great for kids past primary school age.

Unsurprisingly, fitting a child seat is tricky – if not impossible, because big chairs simply won’t fit – but at least you get ISOFIX points on the front passenger seat and using them is relatively easy.

Boot space

The Porsche 911 rear-engine setup means the boot is found under the bonnet. It’s a deep space that’s best suited to swallowing soft bags, although you will get a suitcase in there if you want to. It has a 132-litre capacity, which drops slightly in four-wheel drive models.

A Lotus Emira has a bit more room at 151 litres, though there is another 208 litres where the rear seats would be in the 911. The Audi R8 has its luggage space under the bonnet like the Porsche, but has a smaller capacity at 112 litres. The Aston Martin is the most practical of the bunch by miles, with a boot capacity of 350 litres.

Need more room? Then at least the near-useless back seats take on a new lease of life as luggage space.

The Porsche 911’s interior has a retro design mixed with the latest tech. It’s very well built, but it is a shame the infotainment isn’t easier to use

The Porsche 911’s cabin looks lovely. The dashboard’s design angles outwards to mirror the interior of 911s of old, and you get a new digital dial setup with plenty of customisation - though some will bemoan the demise of Porsche's signature analogue rev counter. The dials’ graphics are clear and easy to read at a glance.

Construction quality is excellent, too. Most of the interior is covered in soft leather and parts like the weighty glovebox and metal door handles feel expensive. Any cheap bits at all? Well, the plastics on the lower half of the centre console feel a bit thin, but that’s about it.

Want to stamp your character on the car? Then Porsche can oblige with a near-limitless choice of options covering everything from seats to trim styles to the headliner and door kick plates. You could design a car that’s one-of-a-kind.

Sadly, the infotainment is more of a mixed bag. The good bits? Well, its graphics are crisp, clear and colourful, the system is incredibly responsive, it’s easy to input a postcode and it can route around congestion on the fly.

What’s not so good? You’ll find its small buttons are tricky to press when you’re driving and some often-used functions – like the button for the sports exhaust – are hidden in the screen and not quick to access. It’s also a shame that the car on your screen doesn’t match the exact specification of your 911. Oh well, at least you get physical buttons for often-used systems like the stereo and ventilation.

The Porsche 911 is usually available in numerous states of tune and you can choose from manual or automatic, rear- or four-wheel drive. However, for now you only get two choices - the regular 911 Carrera and the Carrera S fitted with the T-Hybrid system.

You’ll not be disappointed with the basic 911 Carrera. Its 3.0-litre flat-six engine produces 394hp, gets from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and hits a top speed of 182mph flat out. It’s plenty quick enough for the road but returns an official fuel economy figure of up to 28mpg – not at all bad for a car with this performance – although road tax is pretty expensive because of the high emissions.

The Carrera GTS features Porsche's aforementioned hybrid system, though official economy and CO2 emissions still make it a pricey prospect. However, on a longer run over mixed roads we saw over 30mpg from this car, which is impressive given the massive performance on offer.

More interested in visceral thrills? Then you’ll want to have a look at the 510hp GT3 or 525hp GT3 RS - not yet available in this facelifted model range, but still worth a mention. Unlike the rest of the range, the GT3 models do without turbochargers so you have to work their screaming engines hard to get the best from them, although with 0-62mph taking 3.4 seconds (GT3) or 3.2 seconds (GT3 RS), you wouldn’t call them slow.

The Porsche 911 is too niche to be tested by Euro NCAP but you can expect it to be very safe. Having said that, the kind of safety features you get as standard on rivals are an option on the Porsche 911, with kit including Adaptive Cruise control, lane assist, lane-change assist and night vision all costing extra. All models do come as standard with multiple airbags, automatic emergency brakes and stability control with a Wet mode that takes away any worry when you’re driving in the rain.

The 911 consistently scores well in customer satisfaction surveys and you can expect it to be more robust than exotic alternatives from the likes of McLaren and Ferrari. All Porsches come with a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty that’s decent for a car like this.