2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Doesn't Really Need All-Wheel Drive

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

This is our 74,416th review of a Porsche 911. It’s long been our goal to test every version of Porsche’s rear-engine sports car, but there’s more to this quest than pure journalistic curiosity. It’s as much about love, admiration, and respect. Sure, we’re eager to report on the changes made to every variant of this unique machine, a process we started all over again 16 months ago with the introduction of the latest 911 model, code-named 992. But the joy of driving it again and again is its own reward. So, go ahead and call us 911 fanboys and fangirls; it’s a badge we wear with honor.

The 911 under the editorial microscope this time is the Carrera 4, the base model equipped with all-wheel drive. It starts at $106,050, some $7,600 more than the standard rear-drive Carrera. Other than the additional all-wheel-drive componentry and the 156-pound increase in curb weight that accompanies it, the Carrera 4 is identical to its rear-drive stablemate. Same 379-hp, twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six engine. Same eight-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic (the only gearbox available in base models). Same bulging body and well-crafted interior.

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Same Porsche pricing strategy, too. Our Aventurine Green Metallic test car was equipped with what is, by Porsche standards, a mere handful of options. However, they add up fast. The important pieces include the Sport Chrono package ($2,720); 20-inch front and 21-inch rear Carrera Classic wheels ($2,450); sport exhaust system ($2,950); 18-way adaptive sport seats ($3,830); and the full leather interior ($4,530). Those and a few other minor additions brought the sticker to $128,760.

Elements of Greatness

What you get for the extra cost of all-wheel drive is a system so transparent you don’t know it’s there. Color us ecstatic about that. In most situations, the Carrera 4 sends virtually all of its power to the rear wheels, although it can transfer up to 50 percent forward should it detect rear-wheel slip. The driving experience is for all intents like that of a rear-drive 911: steering that cuts like the hard truth—direct, honest, and sharper than a Ginsu knife. Brakes that are reassuring and indefatigable with no slack in the pedal travel. Suspension that’s firm enough to connect you with the road surface but comfortable enough for long trips. A car that rips to triple-digit speeds then lopes along effortlessly once there. And an exhaust system that exhales a snarl so provocative you’ll want to keep the windows down to soak it in.

It also delivers the objective performance numbers you’d expect from a new 911. Engage the easy-to-use launch control—left foot hard on brake, mash gas, release brake when tach stabilizes—and just try to keep your head from bouncing off the headrest. In Normal and Sport modes, the clutch drop happens at 4,000 rpm. Engage Sport Plus, and the launch commences at 5,000 rpm, with 60 mph arriving in 3.4 seconds and the quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 118 mph. The 4 stops from 70 mph in 144 ft and locks on to pavement like it’s mad at it, cornering at 1.07 g on our skid pad.

For reference, this car’s zero-to-60-mph time is 0.1 second slower than the previous-generation PDK-equipped Carrera 4, which is down seven horsepower but 103 pounds lighter. The new model matched the time in the quarter-mile and was 1 mph faster, took one more foot to stop from 70 mph, and delivered an additional 0.03 g of cornering traction. We’ll soon put the rear-drive 992 coupe through our instrumented-test regime to see how it compares, and we’re guessing its performance will be essentially a wash: a tenth of a second or two behind the Carrera 4 to 60 mph given the off-the-line traction advantage that all-wheel drive provides, and a nose ahead at the quarter-mile mark thanks to its lighter weight.

A Question of Value

If the new Carrera 4’s all-wheel-drive system doesn’t deliver a significant straight-line performance advantage and is virtually undetectable in normal driving, isn’t it akin to the proverbial redwood falling in the forest that no one hears? It is, except in one situation: slick pavement. We experienced the system’s full capability last year during a Porsche heritage event when attempting to follow Porsche factory racer Patrick Long around a soaked Sonoma Raceway during a deluge.

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We were both in 443-hp Carrera S models, with Long in the rear-drive version while we trailed in a 4S, which uses the same AWD system as the base car. It was no surprise that the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner carried more speed through the turns, but the all-wheel-drive car put its power down so surefootedly coming off the corners that we were actually able to claw back some of the gap Long had pulled out before the next braking zone. Oh, and Patrick, thanks for waiting up at the end of each lap.

That impressive display of wet-road traction is still not enough to make us recommend spending the extra coin for the all-wheel-drive model. Nor are we so deeply in thrall with the 911—all-wheel drive or not—that we can’t see its imperfections. We’re not crazy about the digital instrumentation, and the glare coming off the piano-black trim on the center console can be annoying, and those electric-powered exterior door handles are a pain. From behind the wheel, it doesn’t feel like much of an improvement over the already brilliant previous-generation base car, either. And yet, here we are, still smitten. Gosh, maybe we are being blinded by science or love or some combination of the two.

Even for those few 911 customers who plan on driving their Carreras in winter, we strongly suggest forgoing the all-wheel-drive model. Instead, invest the savings in a set of winter tires. They’ll get you through just about anything. And you’ll still have enough left over to add an item or two from Porsche’s irresistible options list.

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