What also does it no favours as a continent-crusher is its measly 67-litre fuel tank. Even driven gently, the Turbo will rarely achieve better than 20mpg, and if driven hard it does about 12mpg. Our test average was a creditable 17.2mpg and at that rate you have to stop for fuel every 200 miles before the warning light appears. Which makes long-distance cruising little more than a series of fuel stops.
This and the tyre roar issue aside, the Turbo is a quite extraordinarily civilised device, considering how fast it is. Space in the rear is the same as it ever was: just about okay for kids, otherwise the space acts
merely as a useful extention of the surprisingly roomy boot in the nose.
Admittedly there isn’t the same sense of occasion or luxury inside the Turbo as there is in the DB9 or F430; instead it feels deliberately more functional than that. Truth is, you’ll either love the cabin for its compact dimensions and its simplicity, or you’ll think it pretty disappointing considering it costs 97 grand.
Not that there can be many complaints about the driving position (just about perfect) or the basic goodie count, which includes full leather and DVD sat-nav. The test car also came with an electric sunroof (£864), carbon trim (£492), more supportive ‘adaptive’ front seats (£674) and headrests embossed with a Porsche logo (£126).
Assuming Porsche doesn’t stray from its traditional policy of keeping demand well above the rate of supply, the Turbo will be one of the more secure methods of keeping depreciation at bay over the next few years.
The waiting list is already at 18 months. And only now, after six years, have 996 Turbo values started to fall to below 50 per cent of the original £86k asking price.