2005 Porsche 911 Preview

The 997 Returns Porsche to Classic Styling Roots

Porsche has loaned me quite a few cars over the years, from Boxsters in both entry and S trim, to Cayenne S and Turbo models,

Flush with cash from Cayenne sales, Porsche is releasing a completely updated 911 for 2005. (Photo: Porsche Cars North America)

and finally 911s, in all guises. They're all great vehicles in their respective classes, truly among the top of their field.

It was only a few weeks ago that a silver Carrera was parked in my driveway, an amazingly good car despite its 5-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. The 6-speed manual shifting C4S Cabriolet I had a few weeks before that was much more to my liking.

Still, as good as each car is there's plenty of room for improvement. Not in power delivery or driving dynamics per say, but more so in styling and interior quality. The bar for the latter has really been set by the brand's Cayenne sport utility. Being that it literally rolls off of Volkswagen's Touareg line sub

Thankfully a major focus of the 911's update centers around the car's interior. (Photo: Porsche Cars North America)

engine, at least in V8 guise, the Porsche SUV's perceived quality, otherwise known as tactile quality, the touchy feely, thunk the door shut, everything fits together like at the presidential suite of the Martinez Hotel in Cannes, France kind of quality (USD$18,000 per night by the way), is among the best in the business.

The current 911, just doesn't look, feel or even smell anywhere near as delectably enticing as the Cayenne, due to second rate interior plastics that would make a VW Golf buyer cringe. When covered in the full leather package, well it's much more bearable, but that's an expensive option that buyers should have to buck up for considering the 2004 911's base $100,400 price. When moving up to the $173,400 Turbo it's even more unacceptable.