Overview & Reviews

Porsche cars have a virtually untarnished reputation and are considered among the finest performance vehicles in the world. It's a reputation that's well-deserved. With razor-sharp handling and power aplenty, Porsche vehicles offer a driving experience like no other. It's little wonder that, for many, the marque has come to define the sports car category. For years, the only Porsches available were sleek sports cars, but the manufacturer recently expanded its lineup to include other types of vehicles.

The brand has its roots in the Porsche Engineering Office, founded in Stuttgart, Germany, by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931. Porsche brought with him years of experience as an automotive engineer; in the '20s, while employed with Daimler, his skill was tapped to create Mercedes' iconic SS and SSK sports cars. Porsche has long had close ties with Volkswagen, and the first Porsche vehicles were small two-seat sports cars that were largely based on VW chassis. From 1948-'50, most of these early Porsche cars (the brainchild of Porsche and his son Ferry) were actually built in Austria before production was switched to Zuffenhausen, Germany. Ferdinand's first real production car was the VW Beetle, so it was no surprise that his sports cars used those components and had their air-cooled engine mounted in the rear.

The 1950s saw the birth of two icons, the 356 Speedster with its low-cut windshield and the lightweight, midengined 550 Spyder. Both cars helped Porsche rack up a multitude of wins on the racetrack. In the mid-'60s, the 356 made way for the revered 911. Powered by an all-new six-cylinder engine, the coupe scored two consecutive wins at Monte Carlo. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, the 911's air-cooled flat-six engine was located in the rear of the vehicle.

By the time the '70s rolled around, Porsche had introduced the 914 (the "affordable" Porsche with a midengine design and a targa top), the mighty 911 turbo, the disrespected 924 (powered by a weak front-mounted, water-cooled inline four) and the flagship 928 (front-mounted V8, four-seat coupe). The '80s saw the birth of the 956, a car that went on to become the most successful racecar of all time. The twin-turbo, all-wheel-drive 959 was also launched; it became the first sports car to win the Paris-Dakar Rally and the street version could hit nearly 200 mph. The athletic 944 debuted in 1983, as did a convertible version of the 911, something that had been missing for some years. The '80s also saw the rebirth of the 924, now with some muscle courtesy of the 944's strong-for-the-time (147-horsepower) inline four.

By the early 1990s the 928 had been discontinued and the 944 was replaced by the similar 968. Because of a lack of dynamic product and a tough market climate, Porsche was suffering financially. The company's savior, the Boxster roadster, debuted in 1997 and brought back the spirit of the old 550 Spyder. In 2003, Porsche committed what purists considered a sin as the company brought the Cayenne SUV to the market. However, once those enthusiasts discovered the Cayenne's sporting performance (especially in 450-hp turbo form) all was forgiven. The following year, Porsche brought out the ferocious (605-hp) Carrera GT supercar.

Today, Porsche's lineup is quite broad for a specialty automaker and now even includes a luxury super sport sedan, the Panamera. Throughout its history, Porsche has exhibited amazing resilience, weathering changes in consumer tastes and the economic climate. As such, it's safe to assume that this ever-robust company will continue to be known for making vehicles that excel at performance, luxury and usability.

User Reviews:

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  Worst exotic imitation ever! - 2008 Porsche 911
  By Bill Scallia - August 19 - 8:30 pm

  This car is not an exotic at all! It is not worth the price. I own several other exotic cars, and this is the worst! I enjoy my BMW M Roadster better. Heres why. I am not a huge fan of the design. I was hoping to do a longer road test, since I "heard" that the performance was "good". But, the dealer would only let me try it on traffic laden streets for around 2.5 miles. I THOUGHT it might do better, and so I enthusiastically bought it. Now, I regret it. I sold the car around 5 months after I purchased it for around 65% of the original value. I bought a Mercedes Benz AMG, and it is 500% better. Do not get this exotic want-to-be!

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  991 buyer beware - 2014 Porsche 911
  By Robert - February 15 - 12:29 am

  If you lease this car,you can get ride of it due to Porsche 12 month pull ahead program..in 15 months of ownership,my front seat came u stitched twice..PCM replaced twice,low oil light came on engine over heating,on way home from dealer,poor Bluetooth..really only works with I phone..which I got for car!! Finally when I turned on heat..NONE..zero...about as bad as my 1982 911sc with heater boxes..I raced to dealer ASAP pulled ahead and went back to boxster S....so much better...more fun..the stiff ride due to 46PSI rear tires made every crack feel like a pothole..BANG!! Boxster quiet ...for price difference..the Boxster is 40K Less..and has 50% more trunk...BTW..there are great deals on boxsters here in conn./Ny..Mine listed at 83k..leased at 69k..only $114.00 down.not a misprint ..7500 miles a year Including maintain program thru Porsche...including all taxes..$844.95 pm..residue $50400.00..I had two dealers at this price... (1200.00 cost)

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  Not Happy - 2003 Porsche Cayenne
  By sailing707 - April 24 - 2:00 am

  I have not enjoyed this car at all. They are still working out the problems with the car and the service departments are horrible. The car has been in the shop more than it has been on the road. Im going back to the X5.

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  2009 911 S COnvertible - 2009 Porsche 911
  By drew0626 - April 2 - 7:45 pm

  This car was fun for a while, but it is a maintenance headache and the build quality is poor. Everything is ridiculously expensive to fix, and things go wrong all the time. The car had electrical problems because apparently the car (convertible) is not designed to deal with leaves (which clogged the drains ). Really, leaves?? Never had these issues with numerous other convertibles. The trim is cheap and the the lether just wears off from low use (I have less than 20K miles on it). Now the latest: my tail light went out. They tell me it is not just a bulb but is soldered and as such requires replacement of the tail light assembly at a cost of over $1000 (not a typo) ...crazy!

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  911 Carrera Base Model/Not worth it/Go elsewhere! - 2014 Porsche 911
  By DAVE - January 8 - 7:02 pm

  They talk about heritage, everyday daily driver, prestige, bla bla bla. But unbeknownst to all your daily consumers, The 911s that are worth looking into are ones that are unaffordable to your typical middle class business man such as myself. My particular car was packaged with 20 inch S wheels, 14 way seats, bose, and sunroof. Being a BMW person, I wanted to try something different. After test driving the base 911, it seemed more than adequate. But what I learned later on was this car absolutely sucked! This car was absolutely the worst purchase ever. The lack of TECH, Comfort, Service, and Performance made me dread the payment and the drive every single day. Heres the breakdown: TECH: The car has none. The user interface is so outdated that it made my sisters entry level Lexus look like a futuristic car. Navigation is useless, all buttons are very small and hard to identify, front gauges are blocked by the steering wheel, making it difficult to see how much gas you have and such. Automatic Start stop actually eats more gas then it saves, and for such an expensive car, you would think that at least parking sensors would come standard. Comfort: NONE. It would be idiotic to take this on a long distance trip. You will find your lower back and legs feeling very sore. Getting out of the vehicle is straining and frustrating. Service: NONE. There is no complimentary service whatsoever, and warranty only lasts for two years. Also car requires service every 10k miles so you will find yourself visiting the stealership or mechanic quite often, spending a lot of money. Performance: The base 911 is not what it claims. at 350 HP and a light body weight, it is underachieving. I went head on with a BMW 335i Coupe and got burned. Literally. Gas consumption is worse then my SUV. No need to elaborate there. Dont get me wrong, if youre in the market for a Porsche 911, its a fantastic car. But just be sure not to get brand new base model. It is way smarter to purchase a pre-owned S or Turbo. Nowadays, the competition eats base 911s for breakfast. Other factory tuned cars come Cheaper,smarter, faster, comfortable, and nicer looking. Final thoughts, buy used. Do not lease or purchase new. And be sure to test drive the competition.

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  Worst ride I ever had - 2005 Porsche Cayenne
  By dorothy duffner - November 2 - 3:00 pm

  Bought my Porsche Cayenne new, was back three times for repairs, the last one was in the shop six weeks, the ride is like a mack truck, couldnt wait to unload it. Make sure you get a really good ride before purchasing this car. It does not ride like a sports car, I have had a couple Corvettes that had a better ride.

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  Worst car I ever owned! - 2002 Porsche Boxster
  By Ken - October 29 - 3:36 pm

  OK, so the Porsche Boxster S is a great car if you set aside the weekly trips to the dealer, rattles, an interior that looks like a Ford Taurus, nasty sound system, and deadly blindspots. This is the first Porsche I ever owned and the last! I should have bought a BMW Z4, Audi TT or even a Chevrolet Corvette!

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  Bad lease disappointing experience with Macan. - 2017 Porsche Macan
  By Gabriel - September 14 - 9:59 am

  3 years of lease with this Macan. Hopefully this is ending in february od 2018 and we can rid of it ! Lot of problems , too often in the car dealer . We had problems with steering wheel and transmition once, have several issues with brakes noises, problems with stero/radio not working properly.... That it was not expecting when choosing a Porsche. Even though when big issues happened we didnt have any support from Atlanta headquarters and Miami dealer. A deep disapointment overall. Two friends of mine (company peers) have had Macan and they are cancelling lease too, so I guess it is not a good bet . You are warned by three diferent clients!.

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  Parking position jump to reverse - 2010 Porsche Panamera
  By adi - March 27 - 6:26 pm

  Parking position jumped to reverse, couldnt believe it. I managed to stop the car in the last second. Very big safety problem.

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  Lemon - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By Robin S McBride - March 19 - 11:16 pm

  After 15 months have settled with Porsche. The vehicle was in the shop 52 days for one problem. Additionally, the drivers seat broke, the remote doesnt work, and tires had to be replaced. This SUV has always driven herky jerky and the brakes squeak. Three months ago I asked the dealership to work with me on a trade in. They offered $30K less than I paid for it, which I thought was ridiculous. When I finally "lemon lawed" it, Porsche called and wanted to settle, fifteen months after I purchased it. I am so disappointed in this car and would recommend to everyone to not buy it.