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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  Shame of German Engineering! - 2006 Porsche Cayenne
  By A Porsche Lover - September 8 - 5:46 am

  This is by far the WORST SUV, or for that matter car, any company has ever made. I had a Toyota 4Runner that had better performance, acceleration, power, and gas millage than this piece of crap! Let me tell you. before this, I had the Cayenne S, and thats a completely different car than the 6-cylinder! This car has absolutely no juice! It is supposed to have 240 HP, but the acceleration and the power as worse than a 4-cylinder Ford Ranger truck! And the gas millage is about 12.8 mpg on average! Do not buy or lease this vehicle! Pay a little more, and get the Cayenne S. I am returning mine back to the dealer at whatever cost! I can;t stand it, for shame Porsche!

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  overpriced under performer - 2016 Porsche Cayenne
  By Bill l - September 19 - 11:14 am

  we orderd this car, Iam a huge porche fan. the infotanment system on this car ( not suv) is awfull. the weather only shows large cities, not curent location. no headlight washers, the VW and Audi varients have them. the traction system is awfull. the car drives in rear wheeel drive until it slips. no center or rear locker on the diesel or hybrid, weight savings. So this car was 88K and the dealer will not make a deal on a differnt car beacause of the restriction on diesel sales. at this point i am so diapointed i am canceling my plans to upgrade my 2012 911 gts.

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  Porsche misses big - 2017 Porsche Macan
  By Roman - May 12 - 9:31 am

  This car is full of mechanical problems. To include leaking fuel line, and exhaust brackets that easily brake causing horrendous noise. Well below even average quality. The roadside (yes you will need it!!) service is poor. The "concierge" service is a joke. They will tell you where you can go rent a car and they might pay for it after your $90,000 crappy car breaks down for the second time in 20k miles. Porsche has become a watered down brand with poor quality and even worse service! AVOID!!

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  Great looks, poor reliability - 2012 Porsche Panamera
  By Donna Daisey - February 13 - 4:38 am

  My initial attraction to the Porsche Panamera was its unique styling and rareness on the road. After less than a year of ownership, I had buyers remorse. The transmission switching gears is prominent both in acceleration and braking. In comparison, the Mercedes-Benz and BMWs Ive owned in the past have been silky smooth. Like both Volkswagens I owned during my youth, this car has electronic gremlins. Upon starting the vehicle, the climate control changes its settings at will about once a month. Every three months or so, the radio will not work until you turn the car off and start it again. As of 2017, my car only has 25,000 miles, yet things are breaking left and right. The horn stopped working after four years. The trim on the drivers window switch broke off. The passenger window switch is cracked. On a positive note, the car is roomy inside.

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  Bad SUV - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By rob - September 16 - 5:06 pm

  The 2004 Porsche Cayenne S has poor ride comfort, no dampening of bumps, a harsh road feel, the interior room is small for an SUV, and a poor acceleration curve with flat spots. Mine has been in the shop for many minor and major part failures.

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  Pissed by this car - 2016 Porsche Cayenne
  By Rock - December 8 - 6:57 am

  i used to own X5 4.4, this cayenne is not the same level in terms of handling and comfort. Its just not worth the money at all.

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  OMG What were they thinking? - 2016 Porsche Cayenne
  By Susan - May 9 - 10:12 am

  We repaired a 2016 Porsche that was purchased in the fall of 2015. This car has so many design flaws that a light hit to the rear end and the car should be totaled. Its engineering is so poor that they put the battery under the seat and access to exhaust required too much labor to include removal of a body panel. The seat just from a mediocre accident caused the rear passenger seats bolt that secures them to the floor break. Mind you the airbags did not even go off in this accident. That same tap to the rear caused a total of 4700.00 worth of mechanical damage due to the horror story of engineering. Take a pass on buying this it is going to be a Fix or Repair Daily vehicle. Being in the VW family should we have expected anything less?

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  DONT BUY - 2005 Porsche Cayenne
  By gavalos - April 30 - 6:37 am

  This is one of the WORST vehicles out there do not buy, high price maintenence, broke down in 3 years, oil changes are expensive $1200 + Drive line broke down another $1500 and finally if I want to keep it I have to replace the whole engine after Only Six(6) years or 125000miles for $9346 for a high quality suv please give me a brake Porsche.

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  A Dog with Fleas - 2002 Porsche 911
  By JimV12 - May 7 - 10:00 am

  The car was delivered to me with a defective suspension. The shipping blocks were not removed at delivery and the suspension is bent. In 4 months the dealer is still unable to get the parts needed to fix it. They believe that the car is so strangely damaged that new suspension parts may not repair it. While this car replaces a previous 996 Im sorry that I bought this car since its manufacture is horrendous.

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  Wish it was better - 2016 Porsche Cayenne
  By Appleco1 - March 23 - 1:40 pm

  Car makes noise by a speaker Car drips a lot of water on floor when plugged in overnight due to AC cooling battery