Porsche 911 Carrera GTS (992.1) Fast Fleet test – living with the 194mph coupe

The first thing any passenger in the evo Fast Fleet 911 comments on is how nice the interior is: it’s a clean, modern design, with that sense of hewn-from-solid quality journos like us often bang on about. It is – one might say, frequently – a nice place to be.

Not a perfect place, though. The steering wheel is big, and although its artificial suede ‘RaceTex’ trim feels great, its bulky spokes get in the way of my hands slightly at quarter-to-three, and it has big lumps at ten-to-two that block the outermost displays on the instrument cluster. That cluster has a nice, albeit slightly plasticky, analogue tacho in its centre, classic 911 style, flanked by what looks a little like two miniature tablets, wedged at diagonals to the rev counter. Their configurability means you can see the bits the steering wheel blocks – namely the fuel level, coolant temp and the time – in other display areas, but it’s odd to have a section of the instrument panel you can’t actually see while driving, unless you crane your neck to look around the wheel.

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There’s a rather inelegant cup-holder right next to the gearlever (in a neat push-click moulding you can easily switch out for a little loose-change-style tray, if you prefer), which puts your cup/bottle/flask right in the way of your gearchange arm. Fine in a PDK car, as many 911s are, but less ideal in a manual (especially when the gearbox is this much fun to use). You can fit slim drinks bottles in the doors, and there’s a passenger cup holder which pops out of the dash, but if you’re taking a big water bottle or a coffee it’s not ideal. I know drinking coffee while driving is a filthy habit anyway, and this car might finally help me kick it. Literally filthy in this case, since the GTS’s firm suspension tends to shake coffee out of the gap in the lid and sloshes it over the surrounding bits of the console, including the electric handbrake switch.

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I’ve tried to mentally design-sketch a better cup-holder solution in my head while at the wheel – maybe a more robust version of the spindly pop-out armatures in the previous-gen 911 – but I haven’t come up with one yet. Maybe I should stick to the day job, because passengers’ initial reaction is absolutely right: the GTS’s cabin is a pretty stunning interior overall.

I’ve grown to love the optional bucket seats, too, which are surprisingly comfy on a long journey. Fitting bulky items behind them is a bit of a challenge since they can’t fold, though. If you plan to carry stuff in your 911, they’re not the way to go. But – like the rest of the cabin – they look and feel great.

This story was first featured in evo issue 321.