Porsche 911 Carrera S 2012 review

Porsche's prime number divides a little, but conquers much more. Fourteen years after Porsche adopted water cooling for its engines, there are still people who value the last air-cooled model, the 993, as the best 911.

It's entirely possible a similar thing will happen this time with the steering. Perhaps the outgoing series, the 997, will be revered as the last without electrical systems interpreting the road for the driver and the driver's steering inputs for the wheels.

TECHNOLOGY

The 911 in even basic form is a good drive, even though the cars on the test drive in California were all S models with every conceivable dynamic gizmo fitted.

The next generation of buyers won't know what they're missing and I doubt they'll stop buying. I will know the difference, but everybody's benchmark is different. I've never driven a 993 so I don't mourn the loss of air-cooling, and everything that went with that.

DRIVING

Certainly, it would be crazy to deny there's a difference. I can remember the first time I drove a 911 (a 996) and suddenly realising why its steering feel was so lauded.

Jolts and other static thrown up by tarmac are absent now, filtered out. But is the steering rubbish? No, it's brilliant. Incredibly precise and direct, and still engaging. Just different.

If it wasn't, it would be out of sync with the rest of the car. The 911 is quieter now and more refined, with a better ride. There's less of the stuff you don't want, such as tyre roar, and more of the stuff you do, such as the sound of six-cylinders whipping up kilowatts.

What you hear from behind isn't the result of chance. Special plumbing has been developed with the sole purpose of channelling engine sound into the cabin. With the bad stuff filtered out, of course.

The 911 still has its trademark handling, brought on by a layout that slings the engine behind the rear axle. Here there's screening too, with software riding shotgun on every aspect of dynamics, from brakes to the amount of grip.

This isn't new, although the possibilities, if you tick the options list, are growing all the time.

Truth is, purity is a lost cause to the modern carmaker and steering is simply the last thing to succumb. Computers have been gradually tightening their grip on the driving experience and there's no way back.

The exceptions -- you can still buy a Lotus Elise without power steering -- are rare. They have diminishingly small appeal and in this era seem too raw and focused for general acceptance.

Porsche bit the bullet on steering because fuel economy is today's over-riding imperative. But, in any case, it was probably only a matter of time. It sits sweetly with the precision and sensitivity of the throttle and brakes, and the way car adjusts to inputs. The 911 is still a great drive.

VERDICT

Maybe I'd love a 993 if I drove one. In which case I'd start scanning the web because 80 per cent of Porsches built are still on the road. It might go in my ideal garage alongside a 997. And this one, too.