Porsche Carrera Review: 2010 Model | Carrera | Car Buyers Guide

Porsche's new 911 Carrera 4 needs to be put into context. Driving the Cabriolet S version through the sweeping countryside of Germany in 35-degree heat is perhaps not the most appropriate way to demonstrate the sophisticated new four-wheel drive system. However, it did serve as a reminder that, for the most part, the Carrera 4 behaves in a very similar manner to that of the recently updated Carrera 2.

That means buyers get the same choice of two new direct-injection flat-six engines (which are both more powerful, yet more frugal, than their predecessors), the option of Porsche's dual-clutch PDK transmission and a host of other detail improvements such as a vastly better infotainment system. To mark out the new Carrera 4 from its two-wheel drive brothers, Porsche fits a wider body shell and a red reflective strip between the shapely rear lights.

Buyers aren't going to shell out the extra cash on a Carrera 4 for those reasons alone, as the spec is otherwise the same with the exception of a standard mechanical limited slip differential on the new four-wheel drive model. Ah yes, the four-wheel drive: Porsche has decided it's time that the viscous multiple-disc clutch be given a carriage clock for its years of service and has endowed the new Carrera 4 with the all-wheel drive system from the 911 Turbo. In doing so, it prefers not to call it four-wheel drive, but Porsche Traction Management (PTM), as, along with the fancy electronically controlled torque split, the system uses an automatic brake ‘differential’ and traction control to divvy up the power between the four wheels. If that's still not enough to keep you on the road, when you underestimate the laws of physics, then PSM (Porsche Stability Management) will do its best to scoop you up into its nice warm and fluffy arms and place you back on your desired trajectory.

Not that you'll need any of this on a sunny day cruising down to Kinsale for lunch, but many buyers will appreciate the extra security and grip on offer when the weather turns nasty and you round a bend to discover that the local farmer hasn't bothered to clean his muck spreader before taking to the road. There's nothing like putting things into context to appreciate their usefulness.