written by bailey25t on 28/09/2005
The Porsche 944 Coupe is a complete dog for a 3-litre turbo. Less rear visibility than a World War 2 pillar-box. A cam belt that stretches round the world twice. Which costs about the same, as the amount owed in world debt. A throttle cast in iron. Power steering, ha! It has bigger flat spots the whole of Lincolnshire. Oh yea. Once the blowers get working your that busy straining with the throttle and clutch you hardly notice it. The clutch! Warning, releasing the clutch to quickly may result in your left knee going through the dash and windscreen. I have track driven this car and was massively unimpressed. I had more fun in my fiat Punto on the m62! I also had the misfortune to experience a high-speed lap. I was more scared in my mates Honda CRX. Which was scary. And faster! No wonder you can pick up a 944 for £1500. Thanks, but no.
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226389_Nexus6's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 21/01/2006
The original reviewer of this article cannot possibly have driven a well maintained Porsche 944 and still written the bile filled article presented here.
It appears that this review may even have been written without ever driving a Porsche. There are glaring errors in the review - 1. Porsche never produced a 3 litre 944 turbo this engine was 2.5 litre. - 2.The term 'blower' is used by any experienced car enthusiast to mean supercharger not turbo. - 3. A rating of 1 for reliability shows that the reviewer has no in depth knowledge of this Porsche model. - 4. To say that the doors are 'escape hatch only' and rear view is negligable leads me to believe that the reviewer may be extremely short and extremely broad. - 5. The clutch is perfectly usable by anyone with enough muscle and experience to handle a real car. - 6. As you may detect from these comment I am incensed by this review and this reviewer should be restricted to a very rusty bicycle for transport as appreciation of anything better is obviously impossible.
Min1300's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 01/05/2008
Ummm, this is an 80s car, designed (although not the engine) in the 70s. Of course a late 90s Volvo is going to give it a hard time - shove a Volvo round a corner at the speed of the '44 and it's bye-bye.
<br/>- Previous owner of Volvo 850 T5.
<br/>- Current and proud owner of Porsche 944 2.5 Lux (yep, the slow one).
Bailey25T's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 02/04/2007
To davemoc
<br/>
<br/>As you asked: I drive a 2002 Volvo s60 2.4 turbo. I was originally looking at a 1997 250bhp s70 T5 ex-police. 120k granted. Also had sat nav built into the dash. It was £1500, and with the insurance premium for that model it contained, I feel "the whole package". Plus an endless list of extras. Just not the Porsche badge. I found sports car performance that comes through well built moderately popular saloons is an underdog. ie the Volvo. I can honestly say the Porsche 944 was an option until I drove it and looked into reliability. It didn't feel to me like a sports car. Albeit an 80's sports car.
Bailey25T's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 02/04/2007
To mattp
<br/>
<br/>Thanks for your reply and your acknowledgement of my findings. A well written reply. For the record I was rooting some old boxes and found the certificate for the day. The 944 was a 3ltr turbo (not 2.5 as previously ridiculed) 221 bhp. It was at Croft race circuit in Darlington and cost £180 for the day. I enjoyed the day, and I enjoyed the track experience on the whole. I was expecting a lot more from the 944 for the price of the day. In the defence the instructor, weighed in excess of 20 stone. I could use my own car, which is just as quick a car for half the price. I would like a second opinion, but for £180 I'm just not that curious. Happy motoring.
280518_Davemoc's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 03/03/2007
I have a 944 turbo (2.5). The model I own is the 250 BHP and having owned over 100 cars personal in my lifetime, this car is the best overall car to drive. Yes for sure some cars have been better in some areas, but as a package 944 turbo is the a supercar and very underrated.
<br/>I would love to know what car the person who made negative comments drives around in himself and can also think that 944 he drove must have been very tired indeed.
Mattp's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 08/01/2007
I own two Porsche 944 T's, both from 1986, and I appreciate your comments slightly, but give yourself two weeks of ownership to adapt to the heavy controls and you'll be amazed how good the car feels. I just did 160 miles to Brum and back, and I felt completely excited and refreshed on my return. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The control is fantastic! As you come off tight slip roads onto the motorway you can keep the car on the edge of grip very easily. Very impressive for a 20 year old car!
<br/>
<br/>There is a throttle cam you can buy for about £20 that makes the pedal lighter and more responsive, and if it's not fast enough, you can fit a bleed valve for another £20 to increase boost pressure from 0.8bar to 1.2bar (the engine and turbo can easily withstand the increase, as it is a Porsche and built for the tough stuff), which will definitely get the back end sideways if you hit maximum boost coming out of a tight corner!!
<br/>
<br/>Not much you can do about the clutch, but make sure your seat is in the correct position so you get good leverage, as it makes a lot of difference!
Bailey25T's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 18/03/2006
Well it would seem my review has caused a few raised eye brows. Maybe I was ever so slighty hard on it however I still stand by the fact the car is a dog. My account of the vehicle is a true account from my opinion of the 944 I drove and spent the day with. You can argue the toss as much as you want as to the authenticty of of my review as it obviously winds people up. So heres some more. The accelerator was more like an on and off switch. Hard to balance on corners. In order to reverse the car out of the garage and on to the pit lane without death or serious injury was a 2 man task. As an average motorist and racing enthusiast alike i will confess, I am no mechinical engineer or vehicle expert. Never the less I am educated enough in the automotive world to be familier with the term turbo lag. Don't get me started on it for this particular car. For all of you who have any comments on my review please get in touch I will give you the details of where you can take part in a track day in this vehicle for a £180. Then you can find out how disappointed I was for yourself. Most of the people writing against my review own these cars. Which makes the opinion biased. Driving a sport or super car should feel sporty or super. Driving the 944 didn't. If the 944 is either sports or super car then a turbo charged c reg escort is a hyper car. And i'll leave it at that.
Jimmy 951's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 08/03/2006
To say that the 944 Turbo is cramped and has poor rear visability is just not true on any level (err the whole tailgate is made out of glass. Hello!). With regards to the so called lack of performance and dodgy clutch this could only be due to a poorly maintained car (race tuned or not). The clutch on the Turbo is actually pretty light and only someone who has spent their whole life driving a Ferrari 360 could be dissapointed by the 944 T'S awsome Boooost and mid range power. Finally anyone with any true knowledge of the car and it performance simply just could not make a basic mistake about its true engine capacity of 2.5 litres. The 944 Turbo was a great car in the 80's and still is today. But dont just take my word for it, look around you wont find a bad review, at least not one written buy anyone that knows anything about cars!
Bailey25T's Response to bailey25t's Review
Written on: 25/02/2006
Point of fact it was not a well maintained 944 it was a race tuned model. Spend a £180 to drive a 944 around a circuit and you will be as bitter and unimpressed as I. I have a video of my driving of the car with the certificate of my undersatisfying day. Never the less If it helps you sleep i'll send you a copy. No doubt you drive a diesel 330 bmw estate round the M25. The 944 is seriously out classed as an 80's performance car rivalled by many 90's saloon cars. for example: If you put a 944 and a 1997 volvo s70 stats together, I am confident which would triumph. Go Sweden. As for the ethics regarding the term "blowers" In your apparent suprior knowledge of all things Porshe and stomache acids alike, i'm sure you know... A supercharger gains it's power from the cam belt, a turbo from the outlet on the exhaust. Both coincidently producing the same result. BLOWING air into the engine. I have heard the term blower used for turbos yet not superchargers both proffessionaly and in common terminology. As for the 2.5/3 litre thing, yes that is my error. Thanks for pointing that out. If I was to buy an old porshe it would be the 928. Might come with a bit of DECENT power. Then again, being British i'm not a lover of things german. Enjoyed the banter.