Porsche 911 996 in-depth review - see why it's the ultimate sports car bargain!
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00:00This is a Porsche 911 996. It's actually my very own 996, and I'm going to review it.
00:06Yeah, so I'm going to talk you around the design, show you inside, check out its practicality,
00:11there's not much of it, and take it for a drive.
00:14The Porsche 911 996 was first released in 1998, and it was very controversial.
00:19It was the first 911 not to be air-cooled. It was water-cooled.
00:23Also, it didn't have the classic round headlamp design.
00:26It's got this weird kind of swoopy shape, which was inspired by a Porsche race car.
00:30Now, originally, the car had amber headlights, just like on the Boxster,
00:34but they wanted to differentiate the car from the Boxster, so they made it clear.
00:38In the year 2000, Porsche released the Carrera 4, so the four-wheel-drive version.
00:42The 4 also came with Porsche Stability Management, so that's anti-skid control.
00:46This early 3.4 has no driver's aids at all, apart from ABS.
00:49It's just you, your skill, that thereof, and the grip you get from your tyres.
00:53Also, in 2000, the Turbo was released.
00:55Now, that used a different engine. Rather than this new M96, built specifically for the new 996,
01:01it used the old Metzger Racing Bread engine, which had been in previous 911s,
01:06so that had 420 horsepower and all-wheel drive, uprated brakes and suspension.
01:11As well as the Turbo, you could also get a GT3 version of the 996,
01:15so that used the same 3.6-litre engine, but it was naturally aspirated
01:19and pumped out 360 horsepower, which is good for 0-60 in under 5 seconds.
01:24Now, in 2002, the facelift version of this car came out,
01:27and also with that, a GT3 version, which had 380 horsepower this time.
01:32In 2002, Porsche also released a Carrera 4S model,
01:36so that used the body of the Turbo, but without the rear air intakes.
01:40It had the Turbo's brakes, the Turbo's suspension,
01:42but it used a 3.6 naturally aspirated M96 engine.
01:46Now, the 996 didn't just share its headlamp design with the Boxster,
01:49it also shared its bonnet, its wings, its windscreen, its doors.
01:54In fact, the whole front part of the car, including the inside, was shared with the Boxster.
01:58That's one of the ways that Porsche was able to save itself.
02:01It wasn't profitable, so it needed to cut costs,
02:03and it did that by spreading the cost of development of the 911 and the Boxster
02:07across all those sales.
02:09Obviously, the big difference between the Boxster and the 911,
02:11apart from the fact that the 911 has a roof,
02:13is that with the 911, the engine is slung out beyond the rear axle.
02:17Its rear engine always has been, and always will be.
02:20God damn it.
02:21Now, the engine is actually the same as in the Boxster, pretty much.
02:24In the Boxster, it's 2.5 liters when it was first released.
02:26In this, it was bored out to 3.4 liters.
02:30Now, this engine puts out 296 horsepower.
02:34In 2000, there was a bit of an upgrade, and it put out 300 horsepower.
02:38Then in 2002, they changed the engine of the standard Carrera from a 3.4,
02:42boring it out again, to become a 3.6.
02:45They also added VarioCam Plus, so you've got variable valve lift as well as timing,
02:49so a bit more torque in the mid-range, and the power increased to 315 horsepower.
02:54All right, let's talk about the design of the 996.
02:56Very, very controversial because of those lights, but actually, I like them.
02:59And I prefer the first-gen lights than the Gen 2s.
03:02They're just working better with the lines in the bonnet.
03:05I also like the narrow body of the Carrera 2.
03:07The later 4S, it is kind of cool,
03:10but there's something svelte and sleek about this.
03:13It's designed by a chap called Pinky Lay and criticized at the time,
03:17but I think it's quite timeless, actually.
03:20Best angle of it is the rear three-quarters.
03:22The lines just work, and the back end's just about wide enough without being a fat arse.
03:28Here on the inside, the 996 is a complete departure to all 911s before it.
03:34The dash is all swoopy, and actually, it was originally designed for the 993,
03:40but Porsche didn't have enough money back then to put it into production,
03:43so the interior was actually designed in the early 90s,
03:46and eventually, they went and put it into the 996.
03:49In terms of the design of the center console here, this is two-tone,
03:52but you could get it as just all one color.
03:55Glad it's not because of the color of this car, so it's unusual.
03:59It's called Savannah Beige.
04:00Some people absolutely hate it.
04:03I like light interiors, but there is something kind of old man-y and cigarette-smoky about it,
04:09although this car hasn't been smoked.
04:10It doesn't smell of cigarette smoke at all.
04:12Some of the other colors are quite weird.
04:14You can get a terracotta, which I also like, and then you can get a weird green color.
04:19There's a blue, which is all right, a gray.
04:22I'm not so sure about the gray.
04:24Black, everyone goes for black, but it's too predictable.
04:26I want a nice light color, which will make the car feel airy, but yeah, it is an acquired taste,
04:32though I do think it goes well with the blue paint.
04:35There are characteristic Porsche styles.
04:37They're really, really clear.
04:38I love the fact you've got the big central rev counter.
04:41You've got the speedo in there just below with a digital counter on it,
04:45and then you've got your miles per hour to the left with weird increments.
04:49Very Porsche.
04:50Then on the right, you've got your temperature gauge, your fuel gauge, your oil pressure gauge.
04:53That's important.
04:55And then your battery charge level as well, and then some warning lights below it.
04:59All very clean and easy to see.
05:01This particular car has got the aluminum dials.
05:03You'd normally get them in black.
05:05The Gen 2 cars, which came out in 2002, have a slightly different dial design,
05:09larger digital displays with more information being shown.
05:13But generally, it's the same.
05:15I love the fact that you can actually see all the dials to the steering wheel, no messing about.
05:19Speaking of the steering wheel, this is a three-spoke version,
05:22but you could get a four-spoke version, which I didn't like.
05:24That was on early cars.
05:25Not a fan of that.
05:27The layout is actually really clean.
05:29Previous 911s before this car were kind of a bit of a mess with buttons all over the place.
05:33But Toyota were involved in the manufacture of this car,
05:36so they actually worked as consultants to Porsche to improve their production process
05:40so they could be profitable, but also clearly help with the layout of the interior of the car
05:44because it's dead simple.
05:45You've got your locking there.
05:47You've got your rear screen heating.
05:49You've got your rear screen wiper there.
05:51There's your climate control all in one pod there.
05:53As for the radio, it sits below it.
05:55Now, I've got an aftermarket system because I wanted Bluetooth,
05:57and I wanted digital radio as well.
06:00I've still got the original Blaupunkt, but, yeah, it's not that great.
06:04You could get an upgraded system, a Bose system,
06:06which meant that you actually had a slightly larger unit, and it was moved below.
06:10Now, this car is so old.
06:11Look, it's got the tapes.
06:13Look at that.
06:14Places for your tapes.
06:15Slightly later cars from about 2000 had CD sliders in there,
06:19and then there's a little space down there as well.
06:22In fact, on quite a few cars, they flip where the air conditioning is
06:25and the sound system depending on if you've got that upgraded sound system.
06:28There's a little switch just down by your right foot which you can press,
06:31and it will raise the rear spoiler so you can clean it while it's stationary.
06:34In terms of the rest of the layout of the switches, you've got your lights here.
06:37There's where your key goes to start the car.
06:40Then you've got your indicator stalks, and then your windscreen wipers.
06:44There's your vanity mirror.
06:46There's one for the passenger as well.
06:49Then you've got your lights up here.
06:50There's a huge rear view mirror, and the view out the back actually is really good
06:54because you've got a big rear screen.
06:56You get a great view out the back.
06:57Look, even if I sit up straight, there is a lot of headroom in here,
07:00so if you're tall, you'll be fine.
07:02Now, you can jack the seat up, and it's on some kind of hydraulic ramp.
07:05Dead high.
07:07Lower.
07:09You can slide it quite a way back, so it doesn't matter if you're big or small.
07:12You're going to be fine in this car.
07:13The backrest, as standard, is electrically operated.
07:17You can get hardback sport seats.
07:20These are the standard seats.
07:21They're called tombstone seats because of the shape of them.
07:23The hardback sport seats are nice.
07:25They're a bit wider at the top, and they just hold your body a bit better.
07:29As the name suggests, they have a hardback, so they look a bit more sporty.
07:32All in all, a nice car.
07:34Easy to find an ideal driving position.
07:37Lots of adjustment in the steering wheel.
07:38If it'll move for me, come on.
07:40It doesn't go up or down, though, just in or out.
07:43In terms of the quality, well, in the U.K., the cars had full leather,
07:46so there's leather everywhere, all over the place.
07:49And it's all right, leather.
07:51It's not the finest in the world, but it's okay.
07:55And there's a modicum of practicality, so door bins, look at that.
07:59They're a decent size, and they shut.
08:03You've also got a little storage area just under there as well.
08:07There's some storage here.
08:09If you have the Bose upgrade for the sound system, that's where the speakers go.
08:13So by not having it, you've got a bit more storage, which obviously I like.
08:18This is a weird thing on the early generation cars.
08:21Look, the cup holder.
08:23Yeah, this is just so odd.
08:26So the cup holder actually fits in a slot where the air vent is.
08:31So you just slot that in there like that, and then you put your drink in there,
08:35and it's then cooled by the vents in the air conditioning.
08:38Later cars, the facelift, you press a button there, and they pop out.
08:41Much better, but hey, there we go.
08:44If you open the door, you can then operate the release for the front boot
08:49or for the engine bay cover like that.
08:52On later cars, they had electrical switches.
08:55The problem was, though, is if your battery went flat, you couldn't then open the boot.
09:00So you'd have to connect them via a fuse down there.
09:03Another thing that's on this car is a little space here, which I think is for the manual.
09:07But, yeah, I don't put the manual in there because it doesn't fit.
09:11Nice one, Porsche.
09:12Also, just down here by the passenger seat, there's room for a little Porsche umbrella,
09:17which has gone from this car, which is a shame.
09:19There is no glove box on this, though.
09:21No glove box at all.
09:23You get them on the Gen 2 cars, but for some reason they didn't put them on the 3.4.
09:27Probably the same thing with the cup holders, really.
09:29Oh, well.
09:30Yeah.
09:31Other than that, it's all quite spacious.
09:34Good visibility.
09:36Nice.
09:37So then, here in the rear of the 911, it's not a great place to be.
09:40Never has been and never will be.
09:41Even the very latest ones, which are quite a lot bigger than this car.
09:45So, first thing is headroom.
09:47Look.
09:48That's no good.
09:49Don't like that.
09:50Not good at all.
09:51And if I pull the seat back, I have to go legs akimbo to be able to do anything.
09:57I do have a seat belt, though, so you could go somewhere legally in it,
10:03but you wouldn't want to go far, especially because the seat base is super hard
10:07and the back is upright and it's cramped.
10:09But, unlike a Boxster, you can give two people a lift in the back, which is quite handy.
10:15Also what's handy is this.
10:17You can fold down the rear seat back,
10:21so you can use this area for carrying stuff like golf clubs or whatever you need to.
10:28You can also lift up this carpet, actually.
10:30There we go.
10:31To get to the rear shock absorbers.
10:36Handy if you've got adjustable ones like I have.
10:39Anyway, let's put this back and I'll show you the rest of the practicality in the front boot.
10:45Exciting.
10:47So, here we have the frunk for the 996.
10:49You'll understand that if you're American.
10:50If not, it's a front boot.
10:52Shortened to Froot if you're British.
10:54So, it's quite deep, but to make the most of the space,
10:57you're going to have to use soft bags to squeeze everything in there.
11:00And if you do, you've probably got enough room for a week away for two of you.
11:03There's also the space saver spare wheel in there.
11:05And integrated into that is the tool kit and the jack.
11:09You've got your brake fluid there.
11:10Your battery's under there.
11:12There's your filler over there for the windscreen wash.
11:14A little light there.
11:15And I've got a CD auto changer, which I do not use.
11:18And over here is some silicone spray.
11:21That's really good to spray where the interior trim meets,
11:25because sometimes you get squeaks and that just gets rid of it completely.
11:28I'll do the obvious test for the boot.
11:29I'm going to climb into it.
11:32So, look.
11:33You can see that it's actually quite a reasonable size.
11:37Yay.
11:39The 996 is a super easy car to drive in town.
11:43So, the steering, it's not too heavy.
11:45The gear change as well, that's not bad.
11:48It's quite a long throw and you can feel the mechanicals inside it,
11:51but it's nice and light.
11:53The only thing is the brakes.
11:54So, if you come out of like a normal hatchback,
11:56they do need a bit of a prod to actually work.
12:01Then there's a turning circle.
12:02So, that's good.
12:05Look, it's quite good and manoeuvrable, this car.
12:07The thing that's best about it, though, is the sheer visibility.
12:11So, the dash is quite low and you can see the corners of the wings,
12:17which is great.
12:18Yeah, the back's brilliant as well.
12:20The pillars aren't too fat.
12:22It's a small little car.
12:24It's very, very easy to drive.
12:28What's not to like?
12:42So, this is what the 911's all about, a twisty road,
12:45and here it absolutely excels.
12:48The first thing that stands out is the steering.
12:50There's nothing like it today.
12:51So, this is hydraulically assisted and it's so, so good, so pure.
12:57You can feel the road to the wheel.
13:00It's lovely.
13:02And it's kind of slow compared to modern steering systems,
13:07like the first bit of turn.
13:08Look, nothing happens.
13:10But then as you're turning in, you feel so much
13:12and it all just weights up and it's just so natural.
13:15I absolutely adore it.
13:17I also like the pedal position
13:20because it makes heel and toeing just dead easy.
13:23The gear shift is, like I say, it's long,
13:26but it's very accurate and it's nice.
13:31The gears just slot into place.
13:33You might think a car like this has a heavy clutch,
13:35but it doesn't, so it's easy to just whip between the ratios.
13:39Key thing, though, of course, with the 911
13:41is the location of the engine in the very back.
13:44So, you have to change your driving style slightly.
13:47It's prone to understeer
13:50because it just wants to push on with the engine at the back
13:53and not too much weight on the nose.
13:54So, you have to brake quite hard into a corner
13:56to get the weight over the nose
13:58and then power out of it
14:00because you've got really good traction
14:02as the engine pushes down on the back wheels
14:04and drives you out.
14:06One thing you don't want to do with this car, though,
14:07is change your mind.
14:09So, set it up, decide what you're going to do,
14:11and just do it, and it will grip and go round.
14:13If you bottle like, oh, no, and lift off,
14:15it can get a little bit kind of snappy.
14:19And it's a short car with that weight at the back,
14:22and once it loses traction at the back and it's turning,
14:24it'll rotate on you,
14:26and you have to know what you're doing to catch it.
14:28Finally, though, let's talk about the engine.
14:30So, this 3.4, it's pretty revvy.
14:33It starts putting its power down around 3,000 rpm,
14:36lots of torque,
14:38but then it keeps on revving and revving and revving and revving.
14:43Going, and it's surprising how quick it is.
14:46And the sound is awesome.
14:48Hooning around in a 911.
14:50It gives you so many thrills.
14:52You're probably wondering, does this feel fast to me?
14:55Obviously, I drive high-performance cars.
14:57It's part of my job.
14:58But it does.
14:59In fact, I think it's the perfect balance
15:01of enough performance and grip for the road.
15:05I really, really do.
15:07You don't need to be faster than this.
15:09It really is a good, fun car.
15:11If you're fed up of turbocharged cars
15:15and how easy they are to drive
15:17and how little you feel from them,
15:19get yourself an old 911 like this, a 996.
15:22You will not regret it.
15:31I hope you guys found this review of the Porsche 911 996 interesting.
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15:45Be good. Do it.
15:47That's enough.