Porsche Carrera 4
term
Review
Not much of a commuter but it'll knock you out on weekends
Blair S. Walker
If you think money doesn't buy hap
piness, purchase a 2001 Porsche
Carrera 4, which I recently piloted from
Boston to Baltimore.
A precision instrument that sliced
through traffic like a shark scything
through minnows, the Zanzibar red
Porsche blasted past fall foliage like
some huge, reddish-orange leaf gone
hideously amok. Its 300-horsepower,
3.4-liter, flat-six engine turned a
smidgen under 3.000 rpm in sixth gear,
and growled unhappily about having to
lope along at a mere 77 mph.
Four large Continental tires, the
Carrera 4's all-wheel-drive and Porsche
Stability Management made the pave
ment seem bone dry, despite a cold rain.
Drivers smartly moved over as the beast
approached, preceded by the UFO-like
beams of its bluish Xenon headlamps.
To the rear, the car's spoiler had
raised automatically, leaving in its wake
a gray rooster tail of water that made the
Porsche resemble something leaving
Cape Canaveral. If that kind of stuff
wasn't happiness personified, then
please tell me what is.
Too bad status and prestige are inex
tricably linked with the Porsche name,
because the Carrera 4's essence has
nothing to do with that stuff.
Think of this car as a tool whose
finely machined parts work in sym
phonic unison, allowing you to display
the panache of racecar driver Willy T.
Ribbs, while actually having one-third
of his talent.
I spent a month with the Porsche
Carrera 4, whose doors still close with
the tinny clunk' of an old VW Beetle,
its
mind-boggling
performance
notwithstanding.
When driven over uneven surfaces at
high velocity, the suspension of the
2001 Carrera 4 mercifully remains
composed and serene. Previous all-
wheel-drive Porsches tended to feel
VVTiy Can't We all Just Buckle Up?
unsettled and bouncy under similar cir
cumstances. Now, you feel secure about
keeping your foot on the throttle.
The Carrera 4's steering is balanced
just right between light and heavy with
a slight bias toward the latter. From the
side, the car looks like Can-eras and
911s of yore. However, when viewed
head-on, the Carrera 4 is identical to
the Porsche Boxster. a model costing
about $25,000 less.
It seems a pity to pay Carrera money
for a Boxster visage. However, you know
you're not in a Boxster once you rev the
engine and release the clutch.
The Carrera 4 leaps forward angrily
with nary a hint of wheel spin. The car
just GOES, providing the surreal sensa
tion of four tires greedily gripping
asphalt.
A high roof line generates a fair
amount of wind noise that, when com
bined with the
mechanical sounds
emanating behind
your fanny, can
overwhelm interior
sounds like the
soothing click of
the turn signal.
Over time, it
became clear that this Porsche is to be
enjoyed during leisurely weekends. It
has no business taking part in the daily
commute. For one thing, it loathes
bumps and potholes and you will, too,
after
encountering
a
couple.
Furthermore, the Carrera 4 can't hold
much, including golf clubs. And it
almost seems a sacrilege to place cup
holders, small as they are, in a Porsche.
The six-speed manual lacks the
crispness one might expect from a car
costing more than $75,000, making
occasional errant shifts from second
gear to fifth gear possible.
But when things are falling just right
and the highway is smooth and clear,
it's really, really hard to wipe that silly
grin off your face. And that, ultimately,
is what the 2001 Porsche Carrera 4 is all
about — Happiness.
February/March 2001