54 JANUARY 2020 ~ CARAND DRIVER
exacerbated by the fact that you’re sitting on the
rear axle and you can’t really see out of the GT.
Throughout our trip, we met only one person
who preferred the GT. That would be the guy behind
the barbecue restaurant. He ignored the Guards Red
Porsche and pledged allegiance to the classically
proportioned Selenite Grey Metallic Mercedes. It
just spoke to him.
1st Place: The Porsche
Seems odd to think of any 911, even this newest
generation, as the more modern vehicle in a pairing.
Porsche has been slowly developing and tweaking
the same basic concept for longer than most of our
aNßUNORR[NYVcR.[QfRaVaVaURcRUVPYRaUNa ZNXRSRdR_\SaURNP_V¼PR]RS_ZN[PRPNUNcR traditionally made. Casting roughly the same-size shadow as the Mercedes, the Porsche manages to carve out a surprisingly spacious interior. Though small and b]_VTUaaUR_RN_RNab¦PRa\aNXRf\b[TXVQ\[ an ice-cream run or they can hold eas- ily accessible cargo. Outward visibility V 5[QN .PP_Q°YVXR P\Z]N_RQ dVaU
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console and a dash that does not wrap
around into the door panels give the 911
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He was, however, less enthused
about the 911’s interior than was your
narrator. He noted that there’s no good
place for a driver to set a mobile phone.
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noted that the lightly optioned Carrera
S’s all-black, near-minimalist interior
seemed a bit cheap for a $100,000 -plus
vehicle. He preferred the GT’s more
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this, he is misguided.
The 9 11 ’s interior feels
roomier than the GT’s
and features four digital
gauges that flank an analog
tachometer. The cupholder
in the center console is
about the only place to
stash a mobile phone.AUR=\_`PURμ`¼aaV[T`N_RV[SNPaORNb-
tiful in their own way. Layers of black with
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make you feel as though you were sitting in
a modern wristwatch—one from Porsche
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tip-pleasing knurling on the ends of the
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cise and hefty their movements are. I might
opt to replace the muddy-sounding stand-
ard audio system with either the $1600 Bose
or $5560 Burmester upgrade. Otherwise,
this guy’s happy.
Not only does the Porsche have a more
livable interior, it has a smoother ride than
the Mercedes (assuming you use the recom-
mended “comfort” tire pressures for light-
load sub-165-mph driving). It also makes a
clean sweep of the performance tests, delivers
better fuel economy, and costs less. Is there
anything wrong with this car? Not really.