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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  Should of saved my money and gotten an M3 - 2002 Porsche 911
  By Lauren - June 25 - 1:43 pm

  The 911 is a nice car, but I believe it is one of those items that is better admired from a distance. The reliability of my Targa has been horrible, and the interior rattles as if it is going to fall apart. The interior design is a joke, and the ergonomics are even worse. There are a lot of little things wrong with the interior that show a lack of car, spaces that shouldnt be there, misspellings in the display, tape holders without tape, and nothing is easy to find. A BMW M3 offers the same performance for half the price, half the insurance, and half the maintenance. What was I thinking?

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  Miss High Maintenance - 2003 Porsche 911
  By Miss High Maintenanc - May 4 - 2:00 am

  With respect to reliability, the car has been disappointing: close to $500 to fix a burned out xenon bulb; a failed rear main seal (a universal problem in 996s, 911s built from 1998- 2008, I have since found out, a lemon by any other name); failed sport exhaust cutout; failed radiators and there are 2 of them; increasingly stiff and notchy shifter; fractured dash trim (due to age) etc. Honoring the warranty has been reasonable. Noise and ride can be intolerable at times. Totally lacking in balanced handling, compared say to a Boxster or Miata, especially dangerous in very high speed curves, when camber and rear weight bias can combine to give it Corvair (or original VW Beetle) characteristics

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  Poor Engineering or a lemon? - 2010 Porsche Panamera
  By CB III - March 4 - 6:43 pm

  So took possession of my Panamera in March of 10. Strange noise from the car engine right after delivery. The master tech @ Porsche stated nothing was wrong. After I kept insisting something was wrong, the North Amer Porsche tech looked at it. Needs a new transmission! This passed Friday, the engine failed. Brought it in and the Porsche dealer stated they could look at it in a couple of weeks. I have owned 7 Series BMWs since 96. Never had service with an attitude like this in all my years with BMW. So the car looks great, drives extremely well, but I am seriously concerned about the engineering. Did they push this model out to quickly? Did they train the techs to service it?

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  Maintenance money pit! - 2003 Porsche Cayenne
  By Sacha - February 12 - 6:36 am

  This is a great fast SUV, but thats about it. The fuel mileage is terrible at average of 10 mpg for street driving. The worst part is the cost of maintenance. This has become a money with average $5000 in yearly repairs after 60K miles. Brakes cost $1400 every year. The 60K mile service costs $2500. Things start to break that are not covered by 100k Porsche maintenance warranty at average of $1800. I would stay away from this car unless you like paying Porsche for service.

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  Poor throttle response - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By displeasedetc. - December 13 - 10:00 am

  Herky jerky transmission. Push the pedal and wait 4 seconds for the car to move while Dodge Neons zip on by. The car is fast , once the transmission engages. I also own a new c4s and have had several carerras over the years. I expected better. No help from the dealer either. They just say thats normal.

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  Nothing spectacular - 2017 Porsche Macan
  By Roger Peng - October 19 - 2:59 am

  I should start off by saying I am a Cayenne owner who got the chance to drive the Macan S as a loaner car for 4 days. I was generally quite disappointed. Ive driven many kinds of cars, and the Macan simply does not stand out. Im surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reviews, as the car does not live up to it. It is a rather average ride dressed up with a somewhat fancy interior that isnt particularly spacious or functional. Porsche has a way of making cars that are large on the outside and small on the inside (this complaint applies to the Cayenne as well). The rows of buttons in the center console is getting old, and the entertainment console is a joke compared to what youd find in a Tesla. The exhaust note is a gimmick aimed at impressing new-to-Porsche owners, as the car is not particularly fast. A small capacity engine aided by turbo charger just doesnt cut it. After you spend some time with the car, you really start to feel like "Hey, this drives like any other car!". After my short stint with the Macan, I couldnt be happier to return the loaner.

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  No Spare Tire or Rim - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By s chala - August 12 - 2:00 am

  Electrical system and alarm system repeatly failed and went back to dealer three times in the first two months. Also no spare tire or rim and of course I had a flat that could not be repaired . Not able to change tire so towed back to dealer for three hundred and fifty dollar new tire on a car with 400 miles, and dealer cannot put spare in because the subwoofer displaces the space for the spare. no help from Porsche. no

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  Not a good Porsche model - 2006 Porsche Cayenne
  By John - July 31 - 7:23 am

  The car runs hit and miss (stalls). Its steering and overall performance are not up to Porsche standards. The radio is cheap (speakers are fine) and finding a well trained service dept. is a challenge. After communicating my concerns with the Porsche people in the corporate NA Headquarters in GA as well as the dealer and service personel I would not recomend this car. I have owned two Porsches before but it seems the company has changed in both quality and service.

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  Problem - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By Cassale - February 23 - 2:00 am

  My husband has had 2 Cayennes in 6 months. The 1st he got his money back cause the window had ripples and so did the 4 replacement ones. The turbo he has now has been in the shop for 2 weeks with a key latch problem and my husband said others have been returned with transmission problems. Never buy first year out is my motto, but my husband didnt listen.

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  Unhappy Camper - 2004 Porsche Cayenne
  By arturo tezanos - August 19 - 10:00 am

  From the very first day the alarm system failed. The car was serviced twice an still exhibiting the same malfuction. The latest,while drving to my office the engine compartment started to smoke,it has been three weeks for replacement parts to arrive.Im still without my car.