UK Drive: Is the Porsche GT3 Touring still the go-to performance road car?
Porsche’s focused GT3 Touring has grown a cult following, but can it still deliver? Jack Evans has been finding out.
What is it?
For this latest 992.2-generation car, Porsche has included a wide range of changes to help make the Touring even better to drive than before, but a little bit more usable, too. We’ve been driving it to see what it’s like.
What’s new?
One of the most noticeable – and most useful – changes comes inside. For the first time, you can get a GT3 with rear seats. Only available in Touring specification, they do add an extra level of practicality to this car, though only small children or shorter adults will be able to fit back there.
What’s under the bonnet?
As you might expect, efficiency isn’t the best with Porsche claiming up to 20.7mpg – though we did actually see more than that during a long stretch on the motorway.
What’s it like to drive?
Can it tour as its name suggests? Well, around town, the Touring remains quite firm and will thud through potholes. At speed, this issue lessens, and it’s happy to sit at motorway speeds and cruise along. It is quite boomy, mind you, despite the fitment of those rear seats which would traditionally bring some sound deadening.
How does it look?
You can get the Touring in a broad range of colours, though – to our eyes at least – the Oak Green Metallic Neo shade of our test car is one of the highlights. At £3,235, it’s not a very cheap optional extra, mind you.
What’s it like inside?
Those rear seats? Well, as mentioned, they’re not going to be much use for many adults, but smaller children will be comfortable back there. Failing that, the rear seats will provide some extra storage space to go alongside the Touring’s 135-litre ‘frunk’ luggage space.
What’s the spec like?
Of course, being a Porsche also means that the GT3 Touring’s price can be quickly cranked up with the options list. Our test car, for instance, had options such as a £1,017 full leather interior, £1,269 Bose surround system and £2,033 LED main headlights. The end result? An eye-watering £203,714.
Verdict
The Porsche GT3 Touring is a car which could’ve stumbled as it tried to balance between being a genuine road car and something more focused. The good news is that it has managed to pull it off; this is a car which feels exciting, special and exciting to drive, but still has the good road manners that make it into something you could still use every day.
Sure, optional extras can make this car into something very expensive but even without them, the GT3 Touring will likely go down as one of motoring’s greats.
