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Bruce Newton7 Feb 2015
REVIEW

Porsche 911 Targa 4S 2015 Review

Porsche rolls out another 911 variant and guess what? We love it… but with provisos
Review Type
Road Test

The Targa version of the Porsche 911 has always had a lower profile in Australia than the Carrera coupe and cabrio. Its USP is a roof that opens a little bit rather than a lot, but in this latest 991 generation that process has become one of the great automotive party tricks. Otherwise the Targa, which is only available with all-wheel drive and the wide body rear-end, is a 911 as we know it, providing a great driving experience that will have you grinning from ear to ear.

Sometimes it’s just hard to retain perspective.

Like when I’m driving up a mountain pass with a Porsche 911’s 3.8-litre boxer six-cylinder engine barking in my left ear, both hands turning that very sensitive steering wheel and right foot swapping between that trigger-happy throttle and those Force 10 brakes.

And just to make it that little harder to keep that smile off the dial, the sun is out and the roof is down on this particular Porsche, the 991-generation Targa.

Yes the Targa, the 911 whose existence most of us struggle to explain. It’s not a coupe. It’s not a cabriolet. It’s a couplet, offering a taste of both motoring worlds.

The dry truth is the Targa came about in the 1960s because there was talk of a convertible ban in the USA. A manually removable roof panel and a permanent roll-over hoop was Porsche’s solution.

And it proved a popular one, especially with the Yanks. Since then the Targa has been a semi-permanent member of the 911 line-up, although the open-top design has varied from generation to generation.

Now we are back somewhere near where it all started – in concept anyway. A removable soft top panel sits over the top of the passenger compartment, with a permanent roll-over hoop separating it from the large rounded sheet of heated glass that sits behind.

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Of course we are nowhere near back where it all started in practical terms. For a start, the whole impressive process of removing the panel takes 20 seconds and is fully automated. The roof glass rises and slides rearwards, the outer section of the hoop angles inwards and the panel ends up sitting neatly on top of the engine.

It’s a fascinating and beguiling process. Which is good, because you pay plenty for the privilege of owning a vehicle that can perform such origami. In Australia, the Targa is actually more expensive than the cabrio.

It comes standard with all-wheel drive, and the wide haunches that encompass it, and by the time you upgrade from the standard manual to the PDK dual-clutch auto seven-speeder – which most people will – the price has hit more than $290,000 for the higher-powered 3.8-litre 4S model we’re testing here. That’s before incidentals like registration and insurance.

And although well-equipped by Porsche standards, there are still some cheeky options charges like adaptive cruise control for $4790 and the combination of front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera for $2580.

Paying so much money makes a couple of Targa issues all the more notable. Firstly, such is the weight of the glass and the way it dips down over the rear of the car, the opening and closing process can’t be performed on the move.

Secondly, and much more annoyingly, when the roof is down and the speed is up to highway cruising speeds around 100km/h the noise of the wind whipping in and around the hoop becomes overly intrusive. It’s fine at lower speeds, but something you should be aware of and try before you buy.

You might end up in the Cabrio – or restrict your open-top cruising to urban climes.

Top-on, the Targa is almost coupe-refined. There is little wind rustle and the engine intrusion is only as loud as you want it. You can amble serenely down the freeway at the speed limit with the tacho lolling on 1800rpm and barely hear a murmur from behind you.

At least from the engine… the massive – and standard – 305 30 ZR20s Pirelli P Zeros set up a din on most surfaces apart from the smoothest and slickest of bitumen. At the same time the Targa 4S has a suspension set-up that starts with a terse ride and just gets fiercer as you cycle in to the sports setting. It detracts from an otherwise quite liveable, if schizo, package.

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For instance, the 294kW/440Nm engine can amble along in bumper-to-bumper traffic like a kitten. But clear the jam and it turns into a demented howling demon as it whips toward 8000rpm, the tacho needle scything back and forth around the dial as the PDK slices up through the gears – the same PDK that moments ago had been doing a fair imitation of a quality torque converter auto in the gridlock.

The gearbox is equally effective chopping back down through the ratios too, working in harmony with the steering, handling and brakes of the Targa to deliver a truly memorable experience. The active all-wheel drive system shuttles drive up to 100 per cent either way and can be felt chiming in when needed.

This really is a precision bit of enjoyable engineering, so good you can forget just how wrong-in-theory the rear-engine layout should be.

The more practical problem is this is a car capable of hitting 100km/h from a standing start in as little as 4.4sec; 400 metres in 12.9sec and then rushing on to a top speed of 294km/h. Even if you don’t mean to break the law, it can happen – literally – astonishingly quickly.

It would always be a little niggle in the back of my mind if I owned the Targa. As would the fear of dinging some extremity of it in a tight parking situation because the driving position is so low and so much bodywork is out of sight. It makes clambering in and out of the thing a pain too.

But it’s the perfect position for driving the car, so you live with it.

But while we’re whinging, can Porsche give up on those horrible manual gear shifters mounted in the steering wheel spokes? We’ve complained about them for years because of the way you can accidentally change gears when turning a corner. It’s a very un-Porsche piece of poor design. Just fit the flappy paddles please.

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The rest of the 2+2 interior is familiar 911, so it stands up pretty well. The single-piece seats are superb, and there’s decent room for two adults – especially if you use the rear seats for luggage rather than people when on a trip. Storage for incidentals is acceptable and there are even cupholders that swing out from the dashboard.

Ahead of the drivers is the traditional five-dial display with the tacho at its centre. There is no sign of a Comand or iDrive controller in the centre console, so the traditional blizzard of buttons and dial awaits to be mastered. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you might think and quite user-friendly.

Which is something that can be said about the car as a whole. Considering its quite exotic performance envelope, the 991-series 911 is an incredibly impressive and enjoyable drive – be it a Targa, cabrio or coupe.

For their faults – and they have them – and their foibles – and they have them – the 911s are tremendously involving and evolved cars. The latest Targa isn’t the best of them, but from the driver’s seat, impartiality surrendered, it’s still nothing less than outstanding.


2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4S pricing and specifications:

Price: $287,200 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.8-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 294kW/440Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 9.2L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: 214g/km (NEDC Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A

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Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Expert rating
72/100
Engine, Drivetrain & Chassis
18/20
Price, Packaging & Practicality
10/20
Safety & Technology
15/20
Behind the Wheel
15/20
X-Factor
14/20
Pros
  • Tractable, demented engine
  • Exceptional steering and handling
  • Roof opening and closing a work of mechanical beauty
Cons
  • Top-down wind noise
  • Manual change buttons a joke
  • Ride is choppy, noise intrusion a pain
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