Porsche 911 review

For a borderline supercar, practicality is the 911's key trick. You can see out of it, and the front boot always seems to be much bigger than you expect. Plus it’s supplemented by a big space below the rear window. And more on the folded rear seats if the two primary-school kids they can accommodate have vacated them.

It's a high-quality item, well on par for a circa-£100k German machine. The leather is neat, the materials mostly feel genuine, the screens high in responsiveness and resolution. Where switches haven't been replaced by the screens, they're nice knurled jewelled jobs.

The rev-counter is real, but it's flanked by two sets of apparent dials that are actually screens, available to show a panoply of data. Engine readings, navigation, trip, g-meters. Pity that the outermost two, including the one that carries the fuel gauge, are usually hidden by the wheel rim.

A big central touchscreen carries pretty comprehensive infotainment and car settings. It's mostly super-slick. But it carries so many possibilities, some are too deeply hidden.

Again, Porsche argues you can configure frequent actions onto soft keys, but soft keys aren't as good as hard keys when you need to do some sports-car stuff in a hurry, like switch off some of the many driver assists, or liven up the sports exhaust. Most sports cars do what Porsche used to, and group those switches near the transmission lever.

That's another reason to go for the Sports Chrono pack – not only does it bring the active engine mounts, but also a shortcut rotary mode controller on the steering wheel. That way you don't need to go jabbing at the screen when a sudden reason appears to sharpen your 911's reflexes.

Cabin trim choice is pretty broad, including a lovely woven leather or the fabric trim of the Heritage Design Pack. Pair it with some little accents of matt wood for a dose of 1963.