Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet (2009) CAR review

Amongst the seemingly endless combination of body shapes and technology that is the new 911 range, we've just driven an entry-level Carrera 4 soft-top to see if Porsche’s four-wheel drive system, new 3.6-litre motor, manual gearbox and an open body is a good mix. Read on for our full review of the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet.

What do we have here: a new Porsche 911 with the wide body and the roof chopped off I suppose? 

Yes, hot in the smouldering tyre tracks of a phalanx of new 911s is this, the new four-wheel drive cabriolet, tested here with an entry-level 3.6-litre engine and a manual gearbox. No journalistic whining about wrong-way-‘round gearshift paddles in this review, then. Yes, there’s the (very) subtle re-tailoring of the familiar 997 body with its new lights, bumpers and intakes  - here applied to the 44mm wider structure also used for the Turbo variant – and in come the all-new direct injection and lighter flat-sixes with 40 percent less moving parts, increased power outputs and excellent economy figures. They are also, as you may have read by now, more environmentally friendly too.

The other big change is the adoption of Porsche’s PTM electromagnetic control for the centre differential, replacing the viscous coupling of before. A limited slip differential is also now standard. Porsche has had a go at face-lifting the interior, although apart from the much-improved infotainment system the changes are relatively minor.

Any changes on the drop-top side of things?

Yes, but confined to a harder wearing soft-top material. The roof still lowers and rises in 20 seconds, and you can activate it at up to 31mph, which is handy in a sudden downpour. Otherwise Porsche continues to shun the folding metal roof craze; a glass-roof Targa model is joining the line up in due course.

Click 'Next' below to read more of our Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet first drive