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I received my paper copy of the July R&T last night. On the cover, there is a silhouette of a GT4 and the caption, "This is the one you want. Porsche built its own 911 Killer." Unfortunately it's a pretty stupid article. R&T is my favorite car magazine and the only one I still get in print, so I was expecting a lot more. I don't see the article on line. These are some of the parts that just made me shake my head:
"Scraaaaaaape. My driveway looks flat enough to make plate glass jealous, but there we were, dragging chin across the asphalt."
What a stupid statement!
"You'd lambaste any other $100k car for this interior. Audi's cheapest interiors would make the GT4 tug as its collar. Rough black plastic laid slablike across dashboard and doorsills; a monotone cabin accented only by tinny aluminum trim; a console head unit that still has a CD player but not a single USB port."
The car evidently had the base interior, yet the price as tested was $118.6k Evidently the reviewer didn't know about other interior options. And the "Standard Equipment" listed on the Porsche page says that the head unit has an 11 GB internal Jukebox, 2 USB slots, and 2 SD Card Slots. Is that not true? Aren't there slots under this? Anyone know how the jukebox is accessed?
The author hardly talked about what the car is like to drive. This is about it:
"A tight on-track hairpin revealed a smidge of push from that sharp front end when the tires were cold, the chassis's ability to smoothly trim line off-throttle, or how the engine could swing the rear into shape with a stomp at the gas pedal. [Is that even a sentence!?] The rest of the short circuit showcased the car's balance while hopping along rough apex curbing." [Showcased the balance while hopping????!!!!]
WTF? Was he trying to be cute? Sounds like it was poorly translated by Google. What an idiot.
Positives:
"When I first drove the car last year in Europe, I complained about the lack of noise. forget all that. Though very similar, this US-Market GT4 isn't burdened by the EU's exact particulate filter. The small difference between the two units make all the difference."
"The extra horses allow you to lug uphill in a higher gear than before, combating the tall gearing inherited from the previous GT4."
That's about it! The 911 isn't even mentioned in the article despite the headline on the cover. Also, he doesn't even mention the Spyder. I wonder if the knows that the Spyder exists.
The only car magazine I read these days is Top Gear. When I came to the US I'd heard about R&T and C&D, but was very disappointed when I read them. Automobile was my personal pick of the US mags.
This guy was obviously an idiot, but I'd have to wonder about the person who specced that car too. $118k and still with the base interior! That sounds like how some of the local dealers spec their cars.
I believe that panel you highlighted hides the SD card slots. I'm not sure about the 718, but the 981 has a USB in the glove box. I think the 718 adds one in the center arm rest too.
I used to read Road & Track, but don't anymore. I've found a huge disparity between the quality of automotive journalism in the U.K. vs. the U.S. This even applied to the difference between the quality of U.K. Top Gear vs. the pathetic U.S. "me too" attempt. Seems the U.S. "journalists" just don't focus on specifics as much, and don't convey the same knowledge base as the U.K. journalists. Sad, because there is a huge car culture in the U.S.
I used to read Road & Track, but don't anymore. I've found a huge disparity between the quality of automotive journalism in the U.K. vs. the U.S. This even applied to the difference between the quality of U.K. Top Gear vs. the pathetic U.S. "me too" attempt. Seems the U.S. "journalists" just don't focus on specifics as much, and don't convey the same knowledge base as the U.K. journalists. Sad, because there is a huge car culture in the U.S.
Agree completely - I was once a faithful C&D, R&T and AutoWeek subscriber, but they lost their sports car focus years ago; if I wanted to read about trucks, perhaps they would have held my interest. Of the Brit mags, Evo is by far the best; Car is OK, but also features too many pedestrian vehicles.
The only car magazine I read these days is Top Gear. When I came to the US I'd heard about R&T and C&D, but was very disappointed when I read them. Automobile was my personal pick of the US mags.
This guy was obviously an idiot, but I'd have to wonder about the person who specced that car too. $118k and still with the base interior! That sounds like how some of the local dealers spec their cars.
I believe that panel you highlighted hides the SD card slots. I'm not sure about the 718, but the 981 has a USB in the glove box. I think the 718 adds one in the center arm rest too.
I like Evo a LOT! R&T and C/D are only worthy of a Dr, Dentist or Vets waiting room ...
Agree completely - I was once a faithful C&D, R&T and AutoWeek subscriber, but they lost their sports car focus years ago; if I wanted to read about trucks, perhaps they would have held my interest. Of the Brit mags, Evo is by far the best; Car is OK, but also features too many pedestrian vehicles.
Also "GTPurelyPorsche" and "911 & Porsche World" are also pretty good too...
And the "Standard Equipment" listed on the Porsche page says that the head unit has an 11 GB internal Jukebox, 2 USB slots, and 2 SD Card Slots. Is that not true? Aren't there slots under this? Anyone know how the jukebox is accessed?
IIRC, under the "Porsche" cover should be two slots one is for a SD memory card the other is for a Cellular Carrier SIM card. Again, from memory if the PCM detects either compatible files in that SD memory card spot or one of the USB ports the Jukebox option comes available via the "Source" button.
IIRC, under the "Porsche" cover should be two slots one is for a SD memory card the other is for a Cellular Carrier SIM card. Again, from memory if the PCM detects either compatible files in that SD memory card spot or one of the USB ports the Jukebox option comes available via the "Source" button.
wrong! There’s a cassette deck under that cover Westcoast... I thought we already established this!
I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer this interior to new, tech focused interiors that have touch pads, glass/piano black buttons that are magnets for fingerprints and minimalist design. I prefer the tactile feedback of buttons that I know where they are and don't have to look down to push, plus over-engineered cup holders in the dash.
I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer this interior to new, tech focused interiors that have touch pads, glass/piano black buttons that are magnets for fingerprints and minimalist design. I prefer the tactile feedback of buttons that I know where they are and don't have to look down to push, plus over-engineered cup holders in the dash.
totally agree - I *really* do not like the new 992 interior - especially *that* (PDK) "shifter"!!! (aka the "electric razor")
I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer this interior to new, tech focused interiors that have touch pads, glass/piano black buttons that are magnets for fingerprints and minimalist design. I prefer the tactile feedback of buttons that I know where they are and don't have to look down to push, plus over-engineered cup holders in the dash.
Cleanliness is next to godliness as they say... to me a clean sleek modern interior adapted into the 718 from the most current 911 would be ideal. The 718 interior is showing its age. The button approach is less important still for a car that is generally going to be a one driver car and as such will come with the inherent dynamic of choosing settings and leaving them untouched most of the time. To me, having a throwback driving experience with the most modern interior is the ultimate combination. That being said, I’d gladly trade Porsche providing the purer drive experience for the most modern interior. For a 100k car though it’s not unreasonable expect both.
Jukebox is a 40gb (at least on the 981) internal HD that you can copy tracks to from the USB and possibly SD. For some reason you can't copy from CD's though.
This interior is enough of an upgrade from the 981 to give some nice new tech without everything being a screen. I'm looking forward to having CarPlay, but retaining enough analogue features.
Cleanliness is next to godliness as they say... to me a clean sleek modern interior adapted into the 718 from the most current 911 would be ideal. The 718 interior is showing its age. The button approach is less important still for a car that is generally going to be a one driver car and as such will come with the inherent dynamic of choosing settings and leaving them untouched most of the time. To me, having a throwback driving experience with the most modern interior is the ultimate combination. That being said, I’d gladly trade Porsche providing the purer drive experience for the most modern interior. For a 100k car though it’s not unreasonable expect both.
I personally disagree... the latest trend of deleting buttons and everything controlled through a display is a joke. Have you driven a Taycan yet? Yeah it’s looks good visually, but functionally it’s a pain in the ***. Biggest joke is controlling climate control vent direction through your PCM... I forgot how many displays you have to get through to do it. Not only that... finger prints everywhere. Personally think there needs to be a happy medium between the two. There are items that should have quick access physical buttons.
The different manufacturers are stretching their legs to get the most "technology" crammed into cars and it's getting to be a marketing gimmick... "We have 4 15" LCD screens in our car compared to 3 in the competitor... thus we have a better car...".
If I want to increase temperature and change radio station I prefer to do it old school with ***** and get it over with in 2-3 seconds max... compared to digging into menus and submenus and getting honked at a redlight because I didn't have time to complete the 2 operations in the 1:10 minutes I had! Eventually I will have to get a car that is based on LCD displays/controls, but for me the later is the better.
06-16-2020, 10:22 AM
July R&T GT4 Review
