Porsche 968 - General Opinions?

Saw a Porsche 968 today and thought it looked....ok. Looks very different to anything else on the road (much like the Gtv), and as its a bit unloved by the Porsche community, could it possibly be a likeable Porsche? Anyone been in/owned one or generally got an opinion on it? What staggers me is that its got the same sized engine as my Gtv, yet is more powerful and achieves nearly 32mpg on the combined cycle, how can that be?!

My mate has one and loves it. I've had a drive too and thought it was pretty impressive. So much torque from the engine and the brakes and handling felt good but not too brutal for the road.

IMO it's a bit uglier than the 944, although by all accounts it's a better car to drive.

I'd rather have a proper Porsche

They are incredibly competent cars. The Clubsport is the one to have but most will have been ragged and they wear it well so care is needed when buying.

Interior is very dated nowadays.

A fairly rare, high quality piece of kit.

Originally Posted by Iain014

What staggers me is that its got the same sized engine as my Gtv, yet is more powerful and achieves nearly 32mpg on the combined cycle, how can that be?!

Must be the lower friction losses - the Porsche 968's three-litre engine is actually an inline four! Apparently it's the second-largest four cylinder engine ever in a production car.
Porsche 968 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Only experienced the Clubsport - really good cars. I'd be happy to replace my GTV with one, if it was any more practical.

Probably a bigger boot and its a hatchback which makes it a bit more practical. Any sort of rear seats are a bonus.

Is it really a step up from a Gtv v6 though as an overall package?

Originally Posted by Iain014

Probably a bigger boot and its a hatchback which makes it a bit more practical. Any sort of rear seats are a bonus.

Is it really a step up from a Gtv v6 though as an overall package?

The rear seats aren't much better than the GTV, though. Maybe slightly. The hatch is fine, but it's quite a high lip which I think makes it a bit awkward. For perspective, when I say 'practical' I'm looking for something now that's better than the GTV for transporting the dog...

Back when I tried the 968 I didn't have the GTV V6 so I can't say 100% - from memory they feel pretty much as quick as each other, but the 968 was better balanced, a more enjoyable drive when you were pressing on. Downside is that it wasn't as comfy a place to be as the GTV when you weren't pressing on, although the normal (non-CS) versions are likely better.

Originally Posted by jamieboy

Back when I tried the 968 I didn't have the GTV V6 so I can't say 100% - from memory they feel pretty much as quick as each other, but the 968 was better balanced, a more enjoyable drive when you were pressing on.

They shouldn't feel as quick as each other, the CS is capable of lapping the Ring about a minute faster than the GTV.

Originally Posted by vamos

They shouldn't feel as quick as each other, the CS is capable of lapping the Ring about a minute faster than the GTV.

Not if I was driving the CS.

Seriously, I don't doubt you're right - I was just going from my memory of how fast I thought it felt on normal roads, compared to other cars I've driven.

What I (even given my ham-fisted driving skills) thought was 'better balance' will likely go a long way to a better time round the 'ring. I guess.

Totally agree that it's not easy to tell how much faster car X is over car Y without a stopwatch, and particularly not on a public road.

The 968 CS has beautiful handling, arguably better than any 911 of that time of provenance.

Speak to Tobes, he used to own a Clubsport, he says it's the least reliable car he's ever had but when it worked it was truly awesome.