2020 Porsche 911 Carrera: Why I’d Buy It – Angus MacKenzie

“What car should I buy?” It’s a question consumers ask themselves every day, but what would international bureau chief Angus MacKenzie drive? Keep reading for the answer, and see other editors’ picks here.

My version of the American dream? A Porsche 911 in the garage. And now that the kids are gone and the house is nearly paid off, I can almost see it there, glinting seductively under the lights. But which 911? I’d love a GT2 RS, the 691-hp alpha-dog of the current lineup, the most explosively epic expression of the 911 you can drive on the road. There’s just one not-so-tiny problem: At $293,200, it’s way out of my price range.

Fortunately, my second favorite 911 is less than a third the price. The first time I drove the entry-level, rear-drive Carrera I came away smitten. It might have only 370 horsepower, but its 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine is every bit as charismatic as a Porsche flat-six should be (the Carrera S and 4S are shown here). And there’s a bewitching delicacy in the crispness of the throttle response, the precision of the steering, the beautifully calibrated pedal weight, the light-footed manner in which the chassis dances down the road. You don’t so much drive this 911 as caress it, and it flows like molten silver.