Porsche 911 Carrera 2024 Review – International – carsales.com.au

There’s been price rises across the board for the upgraded 992.2-series 2024 Porsche 911 that’s now available for order in Australia ahead of first deliveries due early next year.

The range now kicks off at $280,500 plus on-road costs for the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe and $303,800 plus ORCs for the 911 Carrera Cabriolet.

That keeps them well clear of the new hybrid-powered 911 Carrera GTS that starts at $381,200 plus ORCs for the rear-drive coupe, or $417,400 plus ORCs for the cabrio.

The other GTS T-Hybrid variants at launch comprise the all-wheel drive Carrera 4 coupe (from $401,300), C4 cabrio ($437,900) and Targa 4 (also $437,900).

The positioning keeps the entry 911 models in a rather unique position, allowing them to be cross-shopped against, well, anything you like – from sports cars much lower in price to others much higher.

Tellingly, the Maserati GranTurismo starts almost $100K further up the line (from $375,000 plus ORCs), while the quicker new Aston Martin Vantage starts from $410,000 plus ORCs.

Perhaps the most salient ‘rival’, and certainly one that deserves close scrutiny, is that sparkling new 911 GTS T-Hybrid….

All new 2024 Porsche 911 models receive additional equipment with the 992.2 upgrade.

These include a tyre fit set, windscreen with grey top tint, ‘Up to the Dreams’ exterior colour range, power steering plus (no-cost option), 360-degree camera view with active parking support, lane change assist, keyless ‘comfort access’, a Bose surround-sound system and digital radio.

The entry Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe and Cabriolet also pick up adaptive cruise control and the option of 14-way Comfort seats with memory package, while the hard-top now has a rear wiper as a no-cost option.

As standard, the new 911 Carrera rides on 19-inch alloy wheels on the front axle and larger 20-inch rims at the rear. Both can be upgraded to 20/21-inch rims from $3400 to a whopping $14,700 for a set of wheels with carbon-fibre elements.

Electric-folding mirrors are now included (previously an option), along with dual-zone climate control, a new 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster with up to seven different displays, a 10.9-inch infotainment screen and 15W wireless phone charger.

As standard, there’s a black fabric interior that almost nobody orders. Instead, most buyers will plump for either half-leather seats ($1250) or spend more on premium leather upholstery that’s priced from $8350 to $13,660.

You also pay more for things like 18-way adaptive seats ($2850) and seat ventilation ($2200), a heated Race-Tex-wrapped steering wheel ($2200), cabin air ioniser ($600) and aluminium pedals ($720), so the transaction price can quickly spiral upwards…

Ditto with exterior paint colours – if you need to go beyond the no-cost options (including classic Guards Red and searing Cartagena Yellow metallic) – where hues given ‘Legend’ status cost $7870 and paint-to-sample shades are, ahem, $21,970.

Other extras include a SportDesign body kit ($8350) and carbon-fibre mirrors ($3120), among various styling packs available across the range.

One crucial upgrade is the $4900 front lift axle that saves embarrassing scrapes over speed bumps. There’s also the Sport Chrono pack that adds launch control ($4370) and two sportier exhaust options, standard ($5470) and titanium ($7700).

Another worthwhile addition is the brighter HD Matrix LED headlights, although they cost a punchy $4950.

All Porsche models in Australia are covered by a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty factory warranty.

Servicing intervals for the 911 are spaced every 12 months/15,000km. Porsche doesn’t offer capped-price servicing.

The 992.2 update for the 2024 Porsche 911 improves the safety specification of the sports car with lane change assist and other upgrades that improve low-speed manoeuvring.

It does, however, cost an extra $1190 to get a more sophisticated version of the adaptive cruise control system that includes lane keeping assist.

Standard equipment includes front, side and head-protecting airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection and driver attention monitoring.

There’s no Euro NCAP or ANCAP safety rating for the Porsche 911, which is common practice given the expense involved in ramming several cars into a barrier, but you can rest assured that a high level of crash protection has been engineered into the sports car – not to mention enormous attention to detail on the active safety front, helping prevent a collision occurring in the first place.

Even the entry 2024 Porsche 911 Carrera gets the German sports car marque’s latest 12.6-inch fully digital instrument panel that replaces the old display that featured an analogue rev counter.

It can be configured with seven different display options, including a classic five-dial view with a central tacho to appease the traditionalists.

In the centre of the dash is a revised 10.9-inch high-resolution display with broader options for customisation of driving modes and improved operation of driver assistance systems.

As part of the 922.2-series updates, there’s greater integration of Apple CarPlay that now allows drivers to use Siri to adjust things such as the ambient interior lighting and cabin temperature.

Lurking beneath the centre arm rest is a new 15W wireless charger.

The standard 12-speaker 570W Bose surround-sound system can also be upgraded to a 13-speaker 915W Burmester 3D system for $6700.

Unlike the all-new electrified powertrain in the 2024 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid, the facelifted Porsche 911 Carrera carries over the current car’s 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged flat six-cylinder petrol engine – but as part of the 992.2-series updates, there’s been some changes.

These include borrowing both the charge air cooling system from the 911 Turbo and a pair of turbochargers from the last-generation 911 GTS.

The result is a slightly disappointing 7kW increase in power to 290kW and 450Nm of torque (unchanged) – a long way off the 353kW/570Nm pumped out by the previous 911 GTS.

There’s no manual option available in the base 911 Carrera Coupe, so using the standard eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and launch control (with the Sports Chrono pack), 0-100km/h takes just 3.9 seconds.

The heavier 911 Carrera Cabriolet, meanwhile, hits 100km/h from rest in 4.1sec with launch control, and 4.3sec without.

Top speed is 294km/h for the coupe and 291km/h for the drop-top.

The 2024 Porsche 911 Carrera can average between 10.1-10.7L/100km, while emitting 230-244g/km of CO2 – depending on the body style and the option boxes you tick.

Driving back-to-back with the 2024 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid makes for a slightly underwhelming impression for the updated 992.2 Porsche 911 Carrera.

At least on lap one of the Ascari circuit, that is, where it is impossible to keep up with the GTS that post-facelift now packs supercar levels of thrust.

Luckily, with a bit of familiarity, both with the circuit and car, things improve to the point where instead of hanging on for dear life you can start exploring the entry 911’s more playful nature.

With less grip, body control and outright power, there’s less finesse but still lots of fun.

As well as adding a little more power, Porsche has made some changes with the entry 911 that includes a set of bigger steel brakes and revised adaptive dampers, although the springs remain the same.

The changes all aim to improve body control without ruining ride comfort.

On track, the standard steel brakes remain powerful and don’t wilt under pressure, and by the third lap any lack of pace is made up for by the amount of fun we’re having. While the 911 GTS is clinical, straight-faced and fast, the 911 Carrera is simply fun.

On road, the good news continues. Unlike the 911 GTS, there is just one chassis setting and it feels perfectly judged for a variety of road conditions, which bodes well for Australia.

Shrugging off brutal mid-corner bumps, nasty expansion joints and all manner of horrors dished up by the poorly maintained roads we encountered, the 911 Carrera is a better all-round package than the GTS and, without rear-wheel steer, the base 911 has the best steering we’ve experience in a long time.

Driving both the coupe on track and the cabriolet on road, it’s interesting to report that we could feel flex in the latter but it didn’t detract too much from the driving experience.

Perhaps more impressive is the levels of refinement in the fabric-roofed cabrio remain high with the lid in place, while the low level of buffeting roof-down with the wind deflector in position almost made us convertible converts.

One final thing worth mentioning is the most affordable Porsche 911 is the better-sounding car compared to the 911 GTS, with a deeper, more soulful flat-six bassy note compared to the angrier, snarling 911 GTS.

We’ve already mentioned that the 2024 Porsche 911 Carrera feels noticeably quieter on the move, including at highway speeds, in both the coupe and cabriolet.

Inside, it’s hard not to be impressed by the fit, finish and cohesive design and the intuitiveness of all the tech.

But the usual Porsche 911 drawbacks remain.

The tiny 135-litre front boot isn’t big enough for the grand touring that the 911 is so well-suited to. Sure, you can drop the rear seats and add a further 163 litres of space (373 litres in the coupe), but it’s a pain.

Australian-spec 911s stick with a 2+2 seat configuration as the default, but can be removed at no extra charge. They’re a bonus, for sure, but not as useful as the ones you’ll find in a Maserati GranTurismo, for example.

That rear seat area also has nowhere near enough legroom or headroom for adult passengers.

It might be best not to test-drive the new 2024 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid as you’ll no doubt be seduced by its epic power and scalpel-sharp responses, finding reasons to shrug off its huge six-figure price premium over the base model you see here.

But look at the 2024 Porsche 911 Carrera in isolation and you’ll perhaps find almost everything you’ll ever need from a sports car – including a better ride/handling balance than its faster GTS sibling, with far sweeter steering.

There’s just one thing missing for true enthusiasts – a manual transmission – but that will be remedied soon with the introduction of the 992.2 Carrera T.

Senior Porsche executives told us that the current manual has proven so popular that it had no choice but to continue with it. Benefiting from the extra goodness injected into the base Carrera, we think the T could replace the GTS as the new sweet spot of the 911 line-up.

Right now, however, the ticket of entry into Porsche’s iconic sports car range remains an absolute gem, enhanced by the latest revisions and still a benchmark in its class.

2024 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe and Cabriolet at a glance:
Price: $280,500 Coupe, $303,800 Cabriolet (plus on-road costs)
Available: First quarter 2025
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol
Output: 290kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 10.1-10.7L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 230-244g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested