Bartek Sikorski

A 911... with an autobox? That's right!

The Porsche 911 Targa 4S with Tiptronic automatic transmission did not excite me. It's a fact, though, that Porsche and other manufacturers are selling more and more performance cars equipped with an autobox. Enthusiasts seem to be getting lazy and unwilling to learn the intricacies of a manual transmission. Yet, if they could just invest a few hours of their time, they would undoubtedly enjoy greater control and find the overall experience much more exhilarating.


The manual transmission is becoming less popular among performance car buyers.

In dense traffic
True, you could always use a good automatic transmission from Chevrolet or Toyota during rush hour, but working with a manual stick is nothing too complicated or maddening either. I often use the second gear during rush hour because the torque delivered by today's engines allows such practice. I hold this gear almost the entire time, even in stop-and-go traffic. Actually, I make sure to keep my distance so that I can "cruise" at a very low speed.

What about this autobox from Porsche?
The Targa 4S Tiptronic has all the qualities of the 911, such as a well-designed cockpit with highly bolstered bucket seats. While useful storage compartments are virtually inexistent, fit and finish is outstanding. Same goes for the comfortable leather upholstery. I particularly liked the digital speedometer integrated to the tachometer. Considering the sleek, aerodynamic design of the car, you have to pay attention to the long A-pillar on the driver's side, because it reduces the field of vision.

Targa roof
I also liked the glass roof panel that lifts or slides fore and aft. Turbulence and noise are kept at a minimum. However, when the roof is fully retracted, it impedes visibility through the rear window.

Perfectible Tiptronic
With its all-wheel drive system and active suspension management, this 911 Targa 4S literally sticks to the road. Unfortunately, operating the transmission spoils the fun. In automatic mode, shifts are performed with difficulty and hesitation. You have to keep pushing the throttle to get a reaction. Power can't seem to reach the wheels without a short delay. In order to make shifts more responsive and instantaneous, you must engage the Sport mode.


Handling meets every expectation.

That said, manipulating the Tiptronic shifter is not particularly pleasant. What's more, the paddles on the steering wheel do not deliver a lightning-quick response. Still, acceleration times are convincing for such a world-class sports car: 0 to 100 km/h in 7.1 seconds in automatic mode and 6.1 seconds in Sport mode. Passing maneuvers (from 80 to 120 km/h) are completed in 4.96 seconds in auto mode and 4.5 seconds in Sport mode. That's pretty quick, but still almost a full second slower than with the manual transmission. My dissatisfaction behind the wheel was a matter of manipulation and response feel. Otherwise, in terms of overall performance, this Tiptronic-equipped Porsche is almost as good as the manual model. For instance, braking power is phenomenal: stopping distances from 100 to 0 km/h were measured at 28.7 meters.

You can manually shift gears by using the paddles on the steering wheel.
A matter of tastes?
I don't think so. Sure, I prefer manual gearboxes, but I've had the opportunity to drive several high-performance cars with an automatic or semi-automatic transmission that proved to be more responsive and more effective at transferring power from the engine to the wheels, even at low RPMs. Maybe the problem lies in the design of the boxer engine, which makes the engineers' work so complicated.

In the end, though, it's still a Porsche -- a beautiful and powerful thoroughbred.
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DeDe

6,1 s ... come on! Factory's time is 5,4 s, much believeable 100-0 km/h in 29 metres??? Maybe 33-35...

Mr. Chigga_Chan

Wow, that review seems a bit unbecoming of a Porsche. 6.1s 0-100km/hr. Worst time ever. 7.1 seconds in normal mode? What was this guy doing?

ree

He was so amazed by the acceleration that he forgot to freeze the stop watch... It's really a bad time!!! A SLK 320 of the year 2000 also needs 7.1 seconds to hundred and is even less powerful.