I鈥檓 sorry, I am not going to pull any punches here. I get into one I need a fly swatter to get to the door lock. Seriously, why would anyone build this car, let alone buy it? If you are reading this and own one, my condolences, I invite you to contact me so that I can punch you in the face, because that would certainly hurt less than the emotional pain of driving your car. I understand that there are huge numbers of people driving Chevy Cobalts around, but I bet none of them have ever driven a BMW M3; they have never known the privilege of driving across the country in a nice Mercedes. Heck, they were probably glad to trade in the minivan their parents gave them for their first car, too bad they chose a Cobalt. You see, your relationship with a car is similar in some ways to your relationship with people, sometimes when you have a bad relationship you become so used to it that you don鈥檛 notice how bad things really are.
Have you ever asked a garbage man how they feel about the smell? They will always give you the same answer: 鈥淥h you don鈥檛 notice it after a while.鈥?The same can be said for Chevy Cobalt owners, they have no idea how bad their car really is. So where should I start when talking about what make this car so bad? From the moment you get into this car you get the feeling that it is a cheap piece of excrement. The door sounds terrible opening and closing, the plastic in the interior is about as nice as the plastic used to package my overpriced Gillette razor and the engine is as asthmatic as a premature baby born in Los Angeles. The only redeeming feature of this car is that it increases my faith in God. My wife and I drove a Cobalt as a rental for a week a few months ago, and we cringed to even get into it every time we had to drive some place. Buy something that will not be stolen. The Chevy Cobalt meets both of these needs admirably. OK, I feel bad saying all negative things about the Cobalt so let me say something good. I like the seats in the SS version of the Cobalt. They are sporty and comfortable. I had the privilege opportunity to drive every kind of Cobalt there is when I was training as a car salesman, our training was at an AutoNation Chevy dealer.
Top speed is listed at 191 mph. With great power comes great need for solid brakes, and the 911 possesses them. Massive 13.8-inch vented and cross-drilled discs front and rear with 6-piston front / 4-piston rear all-aluminum monobloc calipers provide the needed stopping power. Calipers are painted red with the standard brakes 鈥?optional Ceramic brakes with carbon-fiber reinforced discs get yellow calipers. Cruising on highways in the 2020 Porsche 911 is easy and relaxed. The ride is comfortable, and even with the ever-satisfying exhaust note emanating from the engine bay the 911 is quiet when scooting along at a low rpm. With a comfortable seating position and intuitive controls, the new 911 begs to be employed as a fine road-tripping machine. Where the 911 really comes alive is when the road gets winding, which we experienced a lot in Eastern Spain. The extremely narrow roads 鈥?in some cases the two-way roads were barely one lane wide 鈥?required the extreme precision that the 911 delivers. Steering is excellent and the gearbox provides quick downshifts at precisely the right moments to keep optimal power on tap.
These winding ribbons are what the 911 was built for, and the new car certainly deserves its time-honored reputation. We also had the opportunity to explore the limits of the 2020 Porsche 911 with a few laps around Circuit Ricardo Tormo, located on the outskirts of Valencia. It seems almost impossible to upset this new Porsche 鈥?even after multiple laps drivers experienced no brake fade. The car stays perfectly flat in high-speed corners, and even when going into a bend a bit too quickly, the 911鈥檚 stability management system makes necessary corrections without being intrusive. As jaded auto journos we would never claim that a vehicle was perfect 鈥?but the new Porsche 911 certainly comes close on the track. For this new generation of 911, Porsche adds a wet-driving mode to aid when the conditions become 鈥?well, wet. The system detects moisture on the roadway by recognizing the sounds of sprayed and splashed water, and then warns the driver with a suggestion about selecting Wet Mode.
Once selected, the throttle response is flattened, stability control can no longer be turned off and the rear spoiler is adjusted to provide maximum downforce. The Carrera 4S will also add more power to the front wheels for improved traction. With a wet circuit prepared for attending journalists, we tested the rear-wheel drive 911 with Wet Mode and compared it to the most aggressive Sport Plus mode. It was difficult to get the car to understeer or oversteer in Wet Mode, even when pushing hard into corners. However with Sport Plus mode and PASM on we discovered there wasn鈥檛 much difference in the result 鈥?the car slid a bit more before righting itself. At higher speeds there may be a more noticeable difference, and for drivers with less experience in wet conditions the higher level of control would certainly be welcome. As a proper sports car, the Porsche 911 is clearly not for everyone. 200,000 when fully loaded might also send a few interested parties away. Pros: New yet familiar look; outstanding performance; easy to drive every day. Cons: Rear seat unusable for passengers; drive mode resets every restart; 911 gets expensive. Bottom Line: Porsche takes a great sports car and makes it even better.