Hoffman Porsche

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Summary

2009 Porsche 911

You can find sports cars with more sex appeal and you can certainly find sports cars that are more brutish. You will not find a sports car with better overall balance than the Porsche 911, however, and you will not find a true high-performance machine that is easier to live with as daily transportation. The 2009 upgrades to the engine give it more punch and the new PDK transmission makes it perform better than ever. So, which one? The basic Carrera is a terrific sports car and we'd be delighted to drive one every day. The S adds a little oomph enthusiasts will appreciate. A Carrera 4 with the PDK is safe and comfortable no matter the weather or the ugliness of the traffic; it's a great sports car for the daily commuter. The Targa is interesting, but the mesh doesn't keep the sun out enough. The Cabriolets aren't as pretty to our eyes as the coupes, until we drive them, that is, then they're pretty sweet. The Turbo offers the ultimate in performance yet easy to drive and docile in traffic; it's our choice when money is no object.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent J.P. Vettraino filed this report from Detroit, with Mitch McCullough reporting from Los Angeles, Park City, Utah, and Birmingham, Alabama, and Kirk Bell reporting from Chicago and Salt Lake City.

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