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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  Bad SUV - 2005 Porsche Cayenne
  By Bob - October 19 - 12:00 pm

  04 Cayenne S $71,000 Thought Cayenne would be step up had 02 BMW 4.4. X5 Cayenne does not match BMW quality, luxury, dependability. Wheel off center left 2in. Pulls left, changes lane within 100 yds. Wheel shakes 55-85 at 70-85 shake is so bad, hard to hold the wheel. W ent back to dealer 5 times, 1st month for wheel shaking, remote keys dont work, use key to open but canÂ’t get the alarm off to start towed to dealer. Radio starts cutting in and out. Wheel still shakes, front doors rattle when stereo turned up, 3 wheel alignments, tires worn out at 7.000 miles. Sold at 7,500 miles - 4 months old for $25,000 loss. To date over 145 technical service bulletins issued on 2 year old model.

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  fell apart - 1997 Porsche Boxster
  By Asadvertzd - September 27 - 10:00 am

  I swore this would not be my last Porsche until the trans fell out at 45M. Now I consider it a POS. It IS "rolling Prozac", and the tagline "an extension of the drivers will" is indeed true. Have you found out that you have to replace ALL 4 tires every 10M-12M miles? Cant just replace ONE-- different wear patterns dont allow it to respond as well! Maybe I have become more practical and just had a bad experience. Maybe it WONT BE my last Porsche. In the future, maybe Ill own a Porsche instead of a boat or Harley. Just pick your money sucker.

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  Great driver but poor technology - 2017 Porsche Macan
  By BenE - August 23 - 11:44 am

  Moved up from Audi S6 to Macan S. Great driver very good acceleration, handling and braking. However its at least 5 years behind Audi for technology. Actually discovered after picking up the vehicle - has no voice control. Apple car play requires phone to be ard wired to special plug. Very little control over car features. If you want a great driving SUV this is top of the list - but be warned a Chevy Cruze actually is more technical advanced for connectivity.

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  This car is good but not a legend ! - 2002 Porsche 911
  By Another New Yorker - June 27 - 2:00 am

  I live in Manhattan and drive maybe once a week, probably much less in winter. The Porsche has a problematic battery that drains quite fast unless the engine is idled or the car is driven at least several times a week. I did not have the time to go and rev the engine every day and so went into battery problems. You can not stop the battery drain by disconnecting the battery. For safety reasons,the doors do not open if you disconnect the battery so there is no option but watch the battery drain ! So...? I had to sell my car. Be aware and alert of this problem. Porsche and numerous magazines that claim to "review" cars will not mention such facts to you.

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  Update on my previous rating above... - 2018 Porsche Panamera
  By M.S. - June 6 - 1:30 am

  Now reliability is becoming an issue. Rear passenger carpet buckling for no reason. Computer system completely crashed while driving to work causing total blackout of PCM and shift lights. Second key fob has been replaced once already with this one failing as well. Drink holder rubber falling off after one use of a small VOSS water bottle. There is also a known issue with window tint on the Panamera for a few years now. (Since Ive never liked the prior I never paid too much attention.) Apparently the inner window guides scratch the tint. Front doors only really on my car. Mine isnt bad but I have a perfectly etched line on both of my front windows tint now. There are no proven fixes, either live with it or dont tint. Some people have horrible multi-scratches on their tint making it look awful. So Porsche hooked my car up to their computer and found a fault but have to report to headquarters in Germany for what to do. Hmmmmm $185k for a car I drive to work and all this?? Not too happy. It is a 2018 model as well.

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  Poor Reliability of the Boxster "S" - 2002 Porsche Boxster
  By Peter Pattison - March 14 - 10:10 pm

  My Boxster "S" purchased new by me in October 2001 has been the single most unreliable car that I have ever owned.The attitude of Porsche Cars GB Ltd and the Porsche Centre Reading has been and is one of unhurried indifference towards their customers.This is my fourth and LAST Porsche. It is little wonder that they rate much lower than Skoda on the J.D.Power survey. The car has had continual warranty problems from day one culminating in the failure or the intermediate gear and bearing, cost to me £3344.79 the parts of £873.71 supplied grudgingly by Porsche Cars GB F.O.C as this is a well documented design fault with this model. Porsche need to take some lessons from Lexus.

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  Here is the Truth About this Car! - 2005 Porsche CARRERA GT
  By dweeb - January 15 - 11:50 am

  I am a Porsche fanatic, and have owned 11 over the last 15 years. I purchased my 2005 Porsche Carrera GT new, drove it 2,600 miles, and sold it for a $100,000 loss. It is a horrible car in many ways. The clutch is too sensitive, I had electrical problems, and any pot holes in the road were a nightmare. No wonder Porsche has stopped making them. Do not buy this car!

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  Be careful, the engines are not reliable - 1999 Porsche 911
  By bnewport - June 7 - 2:43 am

  I bought my car in 2003 just as the original warranty ran out. It had 17000 miles, cost 45k and I bought a 2.5k extended warranty. It was lucky I did. I used the car daily, summer and winter. I also did maybe 12 PCA drivers education events in the car. The cars engine was the main issue. It would check engine at high steady RPMs with a misfire code. The dealer changed the lifters (4k) but the car had the same issue afterwards and the dealer then changed the computer (2k). The CEL remained. The car later had an engine failure where the cylinder wall failed. It was new engine time. 13.5k from the dealer with a 2 year warranty. The tiptronic transmission also failed and cost 10k to replace.

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  Trouble - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By parker511 - May 23 - 7:06 am

  First let me say that from the day that I bought the car, there was something very wrong with the allignment. After taking it in 3 or 4 times with the same problems, I was getting frustrated to say the least. Up until this point, everything was "under warranty." Suddenly, when I took the Cayenne infor an oil change & to fix te ongoing problem--when I picked up my car, the bill was $700 for an oil change & balance. Right then I decided to trade it in before something incrediblewent wrong!!

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  needs more power.. - 2004 Porsche 911
  By Basel Tarabein - March 11 - 10:00 am

  the car is behind on power. Mercedes SL55 is 496 Horses, and all other models are up there, but porsche still holding on the little 3.6 L, Considering the fact that Nissan Maxima is 3.5L. Porsche is not all what you think,