So far, my morning is going swell because I’m getting lots of seat time and the 2024 Porsche 911 Targa 4S. Lots of seat time—but no drive time—because I’m waiting for the Porsche chaperon to start our tour of Monterey.
I don’t mind much because my time behind the static wheel of the 911 Targa 4S gives me time to look around the cabin. It is a familiar interior due to my 2020 911 Carrera S review. In front of me is an analog rev counter flanked by twin LCD screens, a wide infotainment screen is integrated into the dash, and a ridiculously small shifter pops out of the center console. The cabin is elegant, well-dressed, and logically laid out but lacks the exciting shapes and colors of BMWs and Mercedes.
I flick through the infotainment system’s screens, finding menu after menu of simple buttons. It seems Porsche lacks the flashy software technology offered by its German rivals.
But the 911 has good analog controls. There are easily accessible switches for the suspension modes, traction control, and climate control. I relish how all the physical buttons have identical, precise clicks.
Porsche also lavished attention on the 18-way sports seats, which are oh-so-comfortable and highly adjustable. The cushy leather thrones disprove my notion that cooled seats must be firmly padded.
There are two minuscule seats in the rear, but the sliver of available leg space is so narrow that I’m not sure it would fit my 3-year-old’s shoes. (Regardless, I’d be hard-pressed to find a child’s seat that could squeeze onto the rear bucket!)
My fingers eventually settle on the roof retraction button. At my command, the Targa’s top begins an intricate dance. The entire rear glass lifts off the body and the aluminum hairband splits open. This opens enough space for the ceiling panel—the one that spans from the A-pillar to the B-pillar—to slide into the trunk on scissor arms. The choreography is completed when the rear glass and hairband reseat in their original positions. Now I have the heavens overhead!
It occurs to me that the Corvette coupe offers the same alfresco experience with its removable roof panel, but in the Chevy, the only arms moving the roof into the trunk are my own! I wonder if Porsche’s animatronic wonder is worth the weight penalty for its labor savings. The 3,687 lb Targa 4S is heavier than the 3,487 lb Carrera 4S coupe and 3,641 lb Carrera 4S Cabriolet. The Targa 4S is also costlier than the coupe, with open-air 4S motoring starting at $151k ($199k as tested), while the Carrera 4S coupe has a $140k base price.
The Porsche chaperone taps on my window. It’s time to get our parade on the road! He’ll be leading us in a Taycan while I’ll follow in the 911 Targa and another guest chases us in a Cayenne.
As we extricate ourselves from downtown Monterey, the instructor chats over the radio about the cars. The 911 Targa 4S, I’m told, makes 443 hp from its 3.0L turbocharged flat-six and employs AWD for all-weather traction. I find a torque-split display in the LCD instrument cluster and see that the 911’s AWD is heavily rear-biased.
I’m sensing small chassis quivers while driving with the roof down and the suspension in comfort mode. This is my first drop-top 911 experience, and I expected a hewn-from-granite chassis. (This morning’s Mercedes-AMG SL63 was shake-free.) The tremors in the 911 Targa are minor but ever-present.
The car’s shakes focus my attention on the overall ride comfort. The 911 is a luxury product, but it comes from a sporting heritage. Through the lens of sports cars, the 911 Targa 4S’s tight ride on blemished streets is acceptable. The bumps are felt clearly, but the cushy seats keep the hits from being annoying. The 911 splits the difference between the polished glide of the SL63 and the jitterbug dance of my 2016 AMG GT S.
The instructor turns onto a broad boulevard and heads towards the hills. As I chase the sprinting Taycan, the 911’s engine growls melodiously in my ears. The throttle response in comfort mode is dull, so I spin the drive selector to Sport+ for shaper reactions. Sport+ is a metaphorical shot of espresso, jolting the drivetrain awake and tightening the suspension. Now, my gas pedal prods produce right-now torque, and the engine’s growl turns into a howl under heavy loads. When I lift off the gas, I’m greeted by strong engine braking and loudly barked downshifts as the PDK aggressively swaps cogs while the 911 slows.
The road into the hills moves in broad sweepers and short straights. I exploit the opportunities to unleash the flat-six’s 443 hp and am thrilled by the engine’s rising song—the engine has an impressive vocal range for a turbo mill. But the rapid acceleration doesn’t disorient me like it did in the 2020 911 Carrera S coupe. Either the Targa 4S is slower, or (more likely) my years with my 503 hp Mercedes-AMG GT S have recalibrated my internal dynamometer.
Although it isn’t necessary, I flick up and down the gears with the paddle shifters, enjoying the barked-out downshifts. The PDK transmission is flawlessly responsive, serving up ratios as quickly as I can request them. There’s no shame in an automatic transmission 911!
The 911’s brakes are equally exquisite. In fact, this Targa 4S may have the best pedal feel I have experienced. The pedal is tight and firm, yet not at all grabby. Braking is done by foot pressure rather than by pedal travel, and I can mete out exactly as much stopping force as I need.
And the steering? As we saunter into the hills, the thin-rimmed wheel dances in my hands and tells me about pavement cracks and road undulations. Porsche makes the best communicating EPAS steering, and the 911 Targa 4S gets high marks from me. I like its pacing, weighting, and impact communication, but I would appreciate louder road textures in the wheel.
A tight left-hand hairpin appears in the distance. Excitedly, I realize I’m driving the same hill roads from my Cayman GTS test. Approaching the hairpin eagerly, I hustle the 911 into the corner and stomp on the throttle as I clear the apex. The 911 heroically resists body roll, and as the torque hits the tires, the rear wheels scrabble for grip while the front axle pulls me out of the turn. Like a proper sports car, the 911 Targa 4S has hunkered-down poise and rear-driven dynamics.
We pop out of the hills at the highway and make for the on-ramp. This should be my chance to press the overboost button and really see what the flat-six can do, but traffic foils my speed-racer plans. (Sorry, but I can share that in-cabin wind turbulence is well-controlled at 60 mph.)
We take the first highway exit and return to central Monterey. Waiting at a stoplight, I put up the Targa’s roof. (That is something I couldn’t do in a Corvette.) When the light turns green, I notice that the sealed ceiling mostly remedies the chassis quivers.
My test drive is over, and the one thing I know for sure is that I’m not a 911 Targa 4S guy. I’d rather have the cheaper and lighter Carrera S than deal with the fancy stowable roof and chassis quivers. Even though the 911 Targa 4S has fabulous sound, exceptional gearbox and brakes, excellent handling, and reasonable ride comfort, for my $151k to $200k, I’d be shopping for fizzier cars!
Mike's Steering Column 