The Boxster is the cheapest, the Cayenne the most usable, the 356 the prettiest and the 918 the most technically impressive. But the most ‘Porsche’ of all the Porsches? There could only be one. “It’s not just the best Porsche, it’s the Porsche that makes Porsche Porsche,” said James Attwood of the Porsche 911 (forgetting that his surname dictates he should choose the 917K). “And it’s so famous you don’t even need to say ‘Porsche’ for people to know what a 911 is.”
These days, there are a dizzying number of variants from which to choose, ranging from entry-level Carrera up through 4S, T, GTS, Turbo, Turbo S, S/T, GT3 and GT3 RS-and that’s to name but a few. And then certain versions can be chosen as a coupé, a cabriolet or a targa… It can all get a bit confusing if you’re not fully invested. But the short of it is that all of them are excellent and supremely well rounded in their own ways.
Renault
Clio
Everyone has had one or at least been in one – but the Renault Clio’s popular appeal and historic utilitarianism never came at the expense of its desirability. While some alternatives evolved into little more than drab, A-to-B appliances, Dieppe’s take on the supermini always maintained a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ over the decades, and even at its most humdrum it remains a thoroughly likeable little car. Just ask Nicole.
Or ask Matt Saunders, who said it was perhaps “the first of the modern ‘designer’ superminis, proving that a dash of style and verve could go a very long way on a little car”. It’s a notion into which the designers of the extroverted latest-generation car have really leaned, for better or worse.