Porsche 911 Cabriolet review

Roof up, it’s not quite cocooning enough to roll out the old ‘you’d think you were in a coupe’ cliché, but the soft-top never flutters or ripples, it all seals beautifully and to be honest, all aluminium-body 911s suffer for road noise. It’s got tyres like lawn rollers, so of course there are quieter sporting GT cars. Not much will match the 911’s all-round talent, though.

Inside, everything’s as per the 992 coupe, so head over to that review for a fuller picture. What’s different here? Well, the roof operation buttons live at the base of the centre console and operate with the usual satisfying click. They sandwich the automatic wind deflector button. The cabin is impeccably made and an endearing mix of retro touches (rev counter, toggle switches, open-pore wood trim, which you should spec) and the arch modern (twin digital instrument panels, a 12.3-inch main media touchscreen from the Panamera and Cayenne, umpteen-way motorised seats that’ll warm and cool your backside, and so on).

The pop-out cupholder count is down from two to one, mind, so another can fit on the centre console, where your arm is more likely to knock it. Porsche design drops the ball – there’s a collector’s item. Maybe it was the same committee which signed off a rather fiddly, if beautifully rendered touchscreen, fussy steering wheel controls and the clicky levers for temperature management next to rotary knobs for the infotainment. It all becomes familiar fairly quickly, but as a first impression you might find yourself patting your head and rubbing your stomach while trying to set the air-con and navigate home.

There are rear seats, but the backrests are bolt-upright to accommodate the roof’s lair, and legroom is at a premium. They’re basically luggage shelves with seatbelts to keep the takeaway buffet upright. Boot space is deep and square. Door and glovebox stowage is generous too. And the driving position is spot on, with great pedal placement, and a lovely steering wheel shape and size.

The new shaver-esque gear selector is less cumbersome than the old PDK lever when you're parking, but we question the logic of putting the Manual shift mode button right next to the Park button. Knocking the old lever laterally across to select Manual mode was way more evocative, and less tricky.