The Porsche 911 Targa Is Simultaneously Worse And Better Than The Coupe

In this latest video from EVO noted hoon and automotive legend Tiff Needell reviews the fantastically complex new 911 Targa 4s in the Italian countryside. We know the car looks fantastic, but how does it stack up in comparison to its coupe and cabriolet stablemates?

Needell notes that the Targa 4s with PDK adds both a huge price premium of £25,000 ($36,975 for U.S. models) and a weight premium of 195kg (430 lbs.) over the basic Carrera coupe with a manual gearbox. While you may think that would be an unfair comparison to make the 0-60 times for both the Carrera and Targa 4s are the same irrespective of your choice of gearbox. So essentially, you're paying a huge premium for the (admittedly gorgeous) roof, not including when the roof breaks out of warranty.

But open top motoring has never been about all out speed, so how does the new Targa do as an open-topped cruiser? Erm, not particularly well according to Tiff. The wind noise even with the windows up is pretty harsh and you can easily hear it in this clip. So no functional advantage over the 911 Cabriolet.

Still though, it's not all bad. Tiff likes the controversial electric power steering, claiming that he can easily feel what the front end is doing, and of course you get to enjoy the beautiful complexity of that roof. Hopefully, you will enjoy that roof because it would seem like that's the only benefit you'll get for all the extra cost.