Have turbos killed the fun in the 2016 Porsche 911?

[MUSIC] Look here's a Porsche 911. A cynic would say that it looks like every other 911 ever made. But it's engine is in the wrong place. That same cynic would also look lovely at their preferred hand and steel themselves for another night in. And no [MUSIC] And then people like me will insist that it is a new 911. While it's the second generation 9 9 1, 911. It's got new era, new entertainment and all of the new bits here and there and just as that [INAUDIBLE] is walking away in a huff. We'll drop the bombshell that actually this has a smaller 3.0 liter engine compared to the old Carrera S and it's got two turbos But it's not a 911 Turbo, even though it is, but it isn't. [MUSIC] [SOUND] It's the first time in an age that a 911 has had an engine this small and the very first time a 911 without turbo or GT something on it's **** has come with a turbo. Porsche's reason for turbo charging was pretty simple. Better emissions, more power, more torque, lower fuel consumption and all the rest. But for all its advantages there are some down sides. [NOISE] Turbo charged engines don't rev as high as their naturally aspirated counterparts and they don't tend to sound as good either a little bit muted by their blowers. And then there are the [UNKNOWN] the ones who every time Porsche releases a new 911 with something changed on it These are a whole new product. We'll decry the company. They'll say well they're losing their way, they're diluting the lineage, they're selling out to consumerism. And I can see why they do it because sometimes change can have a negative effect. It can take something they love and, well, ruin it. However, even the most minute of changes are criticized and can cause them to drop that company or product or even a red based car show at a moment's notice. [MUSIC] To have another look at the positives, with the PDK on board, this Corolla S will do the north 62 run in 3.9 seconds. It's top speed is a shade over 190 It's 3 liter engine produces 414 brake horsepower, 20 more than the old car. It'll also produce 369 pound feet, 45 more than the old [UNKNOWN] could muster. It's supposed to be good on fuel, too. The S will do something north of 36 miles to the gallon. Apparently. [MUSIC] Keen-eyed [UNKNOWN] will see the changes made to this car. The rear deck has been redesigned to cool the car's new hot, there's new [UNKNOWN] about in the motor. And the two centrally mounted exhausts indicate that this car has the sports exhaust package, whereas those with the normal exhaust have one either side of the rear bumper. And with all the The changes. You know what? I think this is a really, really pretty car. Inside you can have two types of gear levers. One attached to a PDK box, the other a seven speed manual. There's a new wheel with the option to have many buttons on it. One to shift between driving mode, normal sport, sport plus and individual. And another to instantly turn the wick up for 20 seconds for a tricky overtake or to show off. But that doesn't matter for the purists. They want something to moan about, like they did when Porsche went water-cooled with the 9-9-6, or they changed the steering on the 9-9-1 so it was all electrically assisted and Is there anything to complain on this car? Well it's pretty predecessor is actually pretty lovely, I had no problem with the steering on it, I think the steering is great. I think it might be Quite as mega pure as they [UNKNOWN] 11s of old, but to be honest you have to be a racing driver to tell the difference, it's direct and loads of feedback. It feels absolutely fantastic, now the gear box seven speed manual, sounds weird but actually it kind of works, and the shift is nice and smooth. The clutch, well, I've never really gotten along with Forza clutches. They seem a bit long to me. Biting point seems a bit too high. But this one feels different. It feels a little bit more user-friendly. That leads me on to the handling of this thing which is, I won't lie, I haven't been able to test it to the limits on dry roads that I really love because as much as I love these roads in this way they are Dicey as sin. This hasn't been the happiest of cars, it's been a bit twitchy and a bit out of its comfort zone. There's been a few moments where the traction control has had to take over. And if you think I've turned the traction up a bit, you'd have to be When I was on the roads coming out here that were nice and dry and didn't try to drown me and make me swim for my supper, there is loads of grip [UNKNOWN] but that's not really a surprise for a nine 11. People have been saying it feels a bit more like a mid engine car, and yeah I can agree with that. It hasn't tried to [UNKNOWN] on me. It hasn't tried to eat me. Which I've been quite grateful for. [MUSIC] The visibility is great. There's a reason people buy these and use them everyday. Because it's almost a sensible daily driver. [MUSIC] The throttle response the bit that people want to hear about. Right it's pretty good actually it does go when you put your foot down. Especially in sport and that gives the gear box and also blip and all that. The new engine does give an amazing turn of pace. You wind it up from low reds and all of a sudden the turbos wake up and you just Off into the distance. It's not quite as ferocious as you get in, say, the proper turbo. But it is quick. It's properly quick, this thing! I mean it's got power comparable to the old GTS models, and those weren't slow. Those, I think, were the highlight The range is not quite as awake, not quite as ferocious, not quite as aligned as a natural gas brake engine used to be. The magic's still there. It still feels good. It goes, man. It goes so fast. It does sound Porsche-ish. [SOUND] [LAUGH] [INAUDIBLE] There's torque everywhere, and it's so exploitable. Yeah, that's fine, two and a half thousand RPM. Look, turbos have woken up. Woah. [LAUGH] Off into the distance we go. And you know what's happened here? Yeah, compromises have to be made but Porsche's had a hell of a choice to make because it could try and keep going with naturally aspirated cars. But we've reached the limit Missing the technology, [UNKNOWN] stuff, you can deal with that kind of thing. Emissions rates need to be met and you know what? With a 3.8-litre 6-cylinder engine with no turbo assistance, you just can't do that anymore and so now, they Have to look to turbo charge and we have to look at hybridization. They have to try anything to make sure they can still create powerful, fast, noisy, enjoyable sports cars. The cars that may use the business. Good god it's fast. [LAUGH] So it's all lovely to drive and very 911ish but what about that new engine? From the outside it sounds like a proper 911 all sorts of angry and 911ish. In here though even with the noise block press it sounds a bit muted. There's a hint of that howl that It's not really there. And then the whole care doesn't really fear as ferocious, as angry as the old car used to. It feels a little bit common, a little bit smoother definitely, even though it's actually significantly quicker than the car it replaces. But while its motor doesn't feel quite as perky as before, it's still fantastic fun, especially with that torque. It's so musical. I like it. It's a fantastic motor because the 911 doesn't experience the feel that's still deep within it. [SOUND] [INAUDIBLE] And the new turbo charged engine. Well, that complements the car's GT like qualities even more now. It's smoother, it's [UNKNOWN]. And you can still have a bit of fun with it. But I do get that, for some people, this change might be a little bit too much to take. They might be a bit put off by it. But think of it like. This. Yes, change can be scary. Yes, it can be horrible. But the majority of the time, changes are made for the better. [MUSIC]