Porsche 944 drive and review. If you're looking for an investment Porsche on a budget, perhaps a mid-80s 944 floats your boat. Mark and Stu spend a day with this classic sports car.
best regards from Korea. I bought my 78' 924 from N.S.W Sydney about 24 years ago and still I have her. I think that Porsche 924 / 944 / 968 is one of best Porsche ever made for fun to drive especially to unhitch a targa roof is best for open-air drive and popup headlight is so cool.
There are many viewers and the 944 has gorgeous styling. I would rather watch your review than a new 911GT3 that I could never have nor drive. I would push the eject button a few more times when the passenger criticizes the power (it’s not about the speed but the feel/experience). Love the accents but strange to see the small bumper and steering wheel on the right side. Thank you Chaps for the entertaining video.
Thanks Nelson. As it happens, just back from a short cruise in the 944 and it was a very relaxing, rather than spirited, drive. And I hope this isn't a disappointment, but seeing as you mention it, a 911GT3 review coming up in September. Yes, I'm in favour of doing more "affordable" cars. One of my faves, a 928 S2 also coming up soon.
@@NR-vw2rd I've owned both a '84 928S2 and '89 928S4 and I wish I still owned them. Great cars and I look forward to sharing some important info. about them.
I still want one despite your 14.5 score as personally I have always liked the styling. I want to relive that feeling of being able to push on and use the engine without reaching crazy speeds and the 944 comes across as a nice well balanced car that will fit the brief.
I always though this was a nice looking car (when it was new). Really interested to hear how it drives. Not as tempting as the 928 - or of course one of the many 911. I would like to see more around - even if it is not one for me!
I am really enjoying your channel, straight up, no hype just proper evaluation of cars that I am interested in plus you are in Australia, fantastic. Keep up the great work and the comedy (dont give up your day job haha). from Adelaide
Thank you. Sometimes there's debate about the relevance of the comedy and special effects, but I do them anyway. Hey, a man who likes Porsches and Ibanez guitars. Now there's good taste. Can you find me a nice early 80's Ibanez Roadstar bass that's not black please?
@@inCARnationAustralia My previous occupation was owning and running the Ibanez Guitar Centre here in Adelaide, we were well known around Australia. I closed that business down coming up to 5 years ago (went out and bought a Cayman). I am a drumming however collected basses as thats my second instrument. All I have in an Ibanez is a new, unplayed eagle bass re-issue if thats any good to you. I've sold a lot of the basses I had, I still have several Hofners, a Gibson and a Fodera.
See my comments below to Kewl. Maybe it was just this car, but it wasn't enthusiastic in the upper reaches like every other Porsche I've owned. Nonetheless you are right. We should have at least demonstrated that in the review, like we do with other cars.
The 944 is a nice Car, but don' t think it's cheaper than a 911 in Case of Maitenance Costs. Hopefully the Prices will rise in the next Years. Don't forget to Change your Balance Shaft Belts and Timing Belts ,it could get expensive.. Costs 1300€ Look at the Brakes if you buy one. All new Brakes are at about 2500€. So, as i told you its not Cheap.. Greetings from Austria to Australia
You need to drive my 1987 944 N/A with dual air bags, 4 wheel antilock brakes, mechanical cruise control and tuned header, free flow exhaust low restriction air filter and 944 Max Rasant chip making 181 ft lbs of torque. Also added the German round throttle cam for true linear Throttle response Mine is Guards Red as well with the black stone Guards
I’m in the USA but I found a 1984 944 for $5,000. It only has 60,000 miles. Do you think it’s worth? It’s really clean. It would be my first car so do you think it’s a good choice? Loved the video! You guys are really positive.
There are a few critical maintenance items you need to ask about to determine if this is a good buy. The timing and balance shaft belts and rollers and tensioners need to have been replaced or you will have to do it yourself. The 2.5 liter engine is an interference type so if the timing belt breaks you will have serious and very expensive valve damage, also the water pump may need replacing
Good comments by Christopher. Andrew I think a 944 is a terrific first car, as long as you have a bit of cash aside to attend to the essential maintenance items. Timing belt, water pump, shock mounts, fuel pumps, so long as you are prepared to spend another couple of grand on essentials, it's a car that will give you pleasure for a long time. Remember it's an old car, so anything made of rubber, paper or fluid will need to be looked at asap. Hopefully it's a manual ("stick" as you 'Merkins call it).
I would add that the major upgrades to the 944 were made in 1985.5 so a late 85 to 89 car will have the new dash, bigger alternator, hotter cam, later Bosch digital motronics, cruise control, 4 wheel antilock brakes, power steering and air bags and the 911 type leather Recaro seats
I liked my '78 924 but I like my '86 944 better- now 968 powered with 6 spd LSD. A little bit oversimplified about the history at the start. There were 1982 944's produced. Check wikipedia for production numbers. I've seen a few here in NZ. They raced a trick 16v turbo version of the 944 engine at Le Mans in 1981 as well. ABS was available on 1987 cars so just missed out by a year there. Best way to realise the power on a healthy engine is a reputable aftermarket chip, a MAF conversion or (a bit overkill) a standalone ECU.
Yes for brevity's sake I did oversimplify the 924 story, ignoring iconic rare and successful variants like the 924 Carrera GT/GTS. Which of course were the inspiration for Porsche to pursue the 944. Thanks for sharing.
Ehhh 944s owner but I love a good 924 especially the 924s. 924s is the 2.5 in a 924. Like the styling of a good 924. Maybe they didn’t have 924s in AUS
inCARnation Australia a beautiful 1987 924S went through my buddy’s shop a few months ago. That’s of course the 2.5 liter 944 motor in the late 924. I love the way they look, a pure Porsche exercise. You’ll see a nice one here once in a blue moon. But I also love the sixteen valve 944s, a nice 190 hp version of the NA 2.5. I don’t think that engine made it to the 924. The turbos blow up in AZ summers.
I have never seen anyone do a 0-100 test but shift at 3k. Why? It's still a Porsche and needs to be revved out to redline. I was waiting for the second test where you redlined it in every gear, so felt let down as you didn't seem to get revs up once during test. No wonder you thought power was down 🤷♂️. Yes it's a momentum car but you could have at least tried it at higher revs. As a turbo owner for last 10 years(daily driven) and having driven similar roads south of the boarder with other Porsches, the 911s just can't keep up, so you really need to drive the pinnacle of these cars(hint it's not the 968) but if you keep the turbo under 3k you'll hate it too as that's wear the fun starts. Do you test all cars this way? Why don't you both drive? Seemed odd to have such strong opinions from passenger seat but I am new to your channel, so maybe that's how you judge all cars? Despite my reservations about how you tested some things, still a good video and fair review overall, I guess, and great to see you taking it on some beautiful Aussie roads 👍
Hi Kewl. In retrospect in this review I should have put in footage of us using the full rev range (as we do if almost all the other reviews). Check em out and you'll see. This 944 was nothing like, for example, my Cayman, which just sings to redline and I find myself using the 5500-7000 range quite a lot and often pinging the limiter cut-out. Unlike the 944, and to be fair, it might just be this particular 944, which sounds not strained but just not very enthusiastic in the upper reaches. Yes, it pulls OK up there, not brilliantly, but it seems to go just as well when you short shift a bit and use what torque there is. I suspect the car might need a bit of a birthday with regard to a proper engine tune, injectors, plugs, etc. A colleague has a 500hp 944 Turbo (upgarded to 3 litres, running on pump gas) that is a absolute weapon both on road and track (previously the state Porsche Club championship motorkhana winner against all comers, including GT3, etc.), so we do have a lot of respect for the 944. Yes I agree with you - I've personally owned 7 Porsche sports cars and no SUVs (ranging from 150hp to 660hp) and always found their character changed from mild to wild once the tacho needle wound past about 4000rpm. This car was the exception. It just didn't seem to encourage exploiting the revs like the other did. Regarding our judging criteria, we are trying to replicate real world situations, so we intentionally don't do the photogenic stuff like launch control, drifting, flat-changing, etc. We try to test and review the car in 'real world' scenarios - normally being both a bit of spirited open road and suburban driving, bearing in mind also our heavily enforced speed limits in this country. But thanks for taking the time to write in detail. Stu.
@@inCARnationAustralia thanks Stu for taking the time for such a detailed reply. I know you are talking about Sean's car right ? Obviously I know of a lot of people with great NA's so was a little disappointed as I think a good one you'd love revving out but you have to go with what you can get too. I know I was critical but just want to make sure anyone thinking about buying one isn't put off as they are such great cars even in NA form
Thanks. Can't do that with the 928 I just bought though. It has the most ridiculous tiny sunroof. Always better off finding a 928 WITHOUT a sunroof. Most useless, problematic, over-engineered feature of the car.
