2010 Porsche 911

Only small children will fit in the Porsche 911's rear buckets, according to most reviews, although Michael Harley at Autoblog.com says a 4-year-old and a 10-year-old fit "with elbow room to spare," during his test. The rear buckets fold down to hold enough luggage for a weekend getaway for two, and the 911's small front trunk will hold a carry-on suitcase or a couple of duffel bags. All 911s feel upscale, reviews say, with power leather seats, automatic climate control and cruise control. As usual, Porsche offers a plethora of pricey options, from cooled seats to carbon-fiber cabin trim.

The 911 comes in several flavors, each quicker than the last. The Porsche 911 Carrera (*Est. $76,300 to $90,400) uses a 345-horsepower, 3.6-liter flat-6 engine to reach 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, with a top speed of 180 mph. The 911 Carrera S (*Est. $87,000 to $101,100) steps up to a 385-horsepower, 3.8-liter flat-6, shaving 0.2 seconds off the base model's zero-to-60 time and adding 8 mph to its top speed. Both come with either rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, in coupe, soft-top cabriolet or a targa version with a power sliding glass roof panel.

The updated 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo (*Est. $132,800) jumps up to 500 horsepower with its new, turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-6, achieving a zero-to-60 time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 194 mph. It comes in either coupe or cabriolet styles. An even costlier 911, the turbocharged GT2 coupe (*Est. $194,000), can reach 204 mph (although it's a tenth of a second slower than the Turbo to 60, according to Porsche), but it exceeds the price range of this report. Porsche has also just announced the 2010 911 GT3 RS (*Est $132,800), a hardcore, track-ready, yet street-legal version of the coupe.

All Porsche 911s come with a six-speed manual transmission -- the purists' choice. But experts are impressed with the new optional seven-speed, PDK, dual-clutch automated manual. It shifts gears faster than humanly possible, knocking 0.2 seconds off the zero-to-60 time of every 911. It's also usually more fuel-efficient. With the base 911, expect 19 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined with the automatic, versus 18 city, 25 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined with the manual transmission. The 911 Carrera S loses only 1 highway mpg. The just-announced 2010 Turbo's fuel-economy numbers have not yet been released by the Environmental Protection Agency, but they are expected to improve on the 2009 model's 16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined.

Reliability has been average for the Porsche 911, according to major owner surveys. Porsche covers the car with a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty.

While many reviews focus on one particular Porsche 911 model, such as the range-topping GT2 or the Turbo, we also looked for coverage of the base 911. The best general review comes from Edmunds.com, which mentions several of the Porsche's competitors. ConsumerReports.org and Road & Track also conduct head-to-head tests. Autoblog.com tests two different versions of the 911, and Automobile Magazine names the 911 one of its 2009 Automobile All-Stars. We found fuel-economy estimates at FuelEconomy.gov, and reliability ratings at J.D. Power and Associates.