Review: Porsche 911 (997) Targa 4S

Car Mag published a review on the Porsche 997 Targa 4S:

“Porsche’s 'Targa' moniker has been applied to open-air 911s since the late 1960s, and now with the latest version complementing the recently launched coupe and convertible models, it completes Porsche’s visually subtle but mechanically thorough overhaul of the 911 armada. We now awaited the Turbo and GT variants...

So, this Targa's basically a new Porsche 911 with a big sunroof then?

Well, technically yes. Since the days of the 993-generation 911 in the late 1990s, the Targa option has meant an electrically powered sliding-glass roof; in earlier decades it stood for a separate panel that you removed from the car. Still, it’s nevertheless an effective way of gaining more light in the cabin; achieving much of the pleasure of open-top motoring, and all without the usual security and (most of the) torsional stiffness bugbears associated with a traditional canvas roof.
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Unfortunately, rear visibility is mildly diminished when you have the roof glass section slid back, but with the roof section in place you can open the rear 'screen', allowing decent access to the storage area behind the rear seats – up to 230 litres with them folded, according to Porsche.
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Including the new electronically controlled four-wheel drive system inherited from the Turbo, the new 3.6 and 3.8-litre engines with direct-fuel injection and the option of a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox christened PDK. We drove a 4S with a manual gearbox, and it confirmed many of the thoughts we’d already had about the revised 997. It is fearsomely quick in 'S' guise thanks to 380bhp, but however impressive the PDK ‘box is, there is a greater sense of involvement in the task of driving with the traditional stick shifter – and you also benefit from not having the ergonomically awkward steering wheel from the PDK-equipped car that seems to dampen the lines of communication from wheels to palm.”

(Source: Car Magazine)