Motorweek Online is sponsored by

2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S

Date: 4 July 2003	Miles: 1500
In the world of four-wheel drive, there is nothing else to compare to our 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. No car combines power, prowess, and positive traction like the C4S. But, once one gets past drooling over its sensuous shape and uncanny performance, its $82,665 price tag prompts any sane person to ask: Is it worth it? Cars like the Carrera 4S are obviously about impressions. The 4S tells everyone you've won! But the rewards go well beyond the obvious. This car also makes you feel great even before you start it. Plus, it rewards you with a rigidly connected way to go from here to there. And, unlike many more expensive exotic cars, it never complains, even if speeds are much closer to zero than 60, which it can reach in about 5 seconds when it has to. Our first month and 1500 miles has shown no problems and none are suspected. A decade ago such a car would come with as many warts as wows. Quality appears first rate, and the feel is as secure as a bank vault. If you have to give yourself one prize when you take the prize, the Porsche Carrera 4S is too intelligent to just be a flaunt.
Date: 29 August 2003	Miles: 4,300
Time now for a quick update on how things are going with this 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. How about fast? Yes, it's hard to drive the 315-horsepower C4S at legal speeds, but we keep trying. We've been trying now for 3 months and a quick 4,300 miles. Fuel economy is actually not trying at all, with 18.7 miles per gallon a most respectable result from such a high performance machine. I guess we're all getting soft with so many super luxurious cars to test since we found this all-wheel drive sport car's heavy clutch took some getting use to. But then even if we were commuting in a C4S, we'd prefer our 6-speed manual to the available 5-speed Tiptronic automatic.
Date: 14 November 2003	Miles: 8,000
Porsches are high strung cars, and so the theory goes, they should require a lot more care when being used as daily drivers. Well you'd be hard pressed to tell that our 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is high strung, except when driving it of course. After 5 months, and nearly 8,000 miles of the staff fighting over it, the only fault has been in the security system, actually in the remote key fob. It doesn't always deactivate the system as it should. So, we know the alarm works just fine. Otherwise the driving experience of this 315-horsepower all-wheel drive C4S is astounding. Even on roads that leave much to be desired for smoothness, from ride, to handling, to braking, this car is at the pinnacle of its profession. Fuel economy has not peaked, however. Its still going up, now at 19.3 miles per gallon. This Porsche does everything a car should do so well that when you look up ''car'' in the dictionary, the definition should simply be ''Carrera 4S''.
Date: 31 January 2004	Miles: 10,000
Our 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is performing sweet and light. We've been drinking in its delightful driving experience for 7 months and 10,000 miles, and we can't get enough. Mileage is up nicely to 19.5 miles per gallon. We finally got to the bottom of our problem of a faulty anti-theft alarm. Someone had gotten the remote locking key very, very wet and it had corroded inside. It now works perfectly. We're also more pleased than we expected with how the combination of this 911's sophisticated all-wheel drive system and fat 18-inch ultra-high performance tires have managed to handle the cold and wet so far. We thought we might need to change to winter tires, but it's not been necessary.
Date: 21 March 2004	Miles: 11,500
The traditional technology of our 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is performing almost perfectly. It should since Porsche has had over a half century to perfect the quintessential rear-engine sports car. We've been enjoying that rear-engine, all-wheel drive, driving experience for 8 months and 11,500 miles, and we can't get enough. Even mileage continues to improve, now at 19.7 miles per gallon. We're glad we know that since the one current fault in our 911 is a bum gas gauge. So, we have to estimate how much fuel is remaining in our heads. Still, we have it in our heads that when it comes to high performance driving that you can live with every day, in every kind of weather, the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is as good as it gets.
Date: 2 July 2004	Miles: 14,066
We have appreciated every single one of the 365 days and 14,066 miles that we've driven our 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. This all-wheel drive version of the world's quintessential rear-engined sports car has been a joy from first turn of the wheel to last. During that time we had only two mechanical faults. The door lock key fob got wet and corroded, causing the anti-theft system to malfunction, and the gas gauge went on the fritz. Good thing mileage ended on a high note, at 19.7 miles per gallon. That's pretty impressive for any 315 horsepower vehicle that has a top speed of over 170 miles per hour. And, while the fat 18-inch high performance tires acted more like skis in snow, Porsche's all-wheel drive system did a great job of getting us through winter's worst with confidence. Although $84,000 and change is a lot to pay for any car, if you have the means and the motive, the 911 Carrera 4S is an opportunity that no car junkie should miss.