Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Ferrari

A Ferrari 488 Spider Road Trip: First Impressions and Comparisons with Porsche and McLaren

The Ferrari 488 Spider I once wrote on the blog that my brother-in-law had apparently bought a Ferrari. Recently, my husband took the freshly delivered Ferrari 488 Spider out for a brothers’ road trip. His brother had a work-related site visit, so my husband tagged along. They headed north on Route 29, crossed the snow-dusted Tokuwa Pass, and continued toward Tottori. When my husband got home that day, he said, “It was pretty good.” So...

Reviews & Test Drives, Ferrari
ティプトロニック | 自動車のインテリア, シフトレバー, ドライビンググローブ, 車内, PORSCHE, 911, 964
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911

How Good Is the Tiptronic in an Air-Cooled Porsche 911 (964 C2), Really?

Manual or Tiptronic? When my husband was buying a Porsche 911 (964 C2), he couldn’t decide between a manual transmission and Tiptronic. In the end, he chose Tiptronic. He initially considered a manual, but good-condition examples were hard to find. The ones he did find were either extremely expensive or had been modified in some way. My husband wanted a car in completely original condition, and with Tiptronic, there were several well-preserved examples with nearly...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911
車, 木, 山, 空, 屋外, 駐車場, PORSCHE, 911, 964
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911

Driving a Porsche 911 at Night on the Chugoku Expressway!

A Family of Four in an Air-Cooled 911 The other day, we took our air-cooled 911 (964 C2) to visit my husband’s parents, with all four of us on board. The round trip from our home takes about three hours by expressway. That morning, I was excitedly packing souvenirs and other things for the visit into the 911’s trunk, thinking, “This is our first family outing in an air-cooled 911!” But there was no room...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911
車, 海, 空, 駐車場, 駐車場, 海辺, MERCEDES-BENZ, SL500, R129
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Mercedes-Benz

What Did My Husband Think After Owning a Mercedes-Benz SL500 (R129) for Six Months?

A 964 Carrera 2 Joins the Family Last Friday, our air-cooled Porsche—a 964 Carrera 2—finally arrived. I’ll share more about its specifications and how it drives in a future post. With the Porsche’s arrival, though, it was time to say goodbye to the Mercedes-Benz SL500 (R129) that had been part of our family. So, this time, I’m sharing my husband’s thoughts after owning a car widely regarded as a classic—the SL500 (referred to below as...

Reviews & Test Drives, Mercedes-Benz
車, ソファ, 段ボール, 屋内, ガレージ, 倉庫, PORSCHE, Panamera
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Panamera

Porsche Panamera on the Way There, a Loaner Daihatsu Move on the Way Back: What I Learned...

A Visit to Nakabayashi Kogyo I arranged to have a car cover made for our Panamera by Nakabayashi Kogyo, a long-established car-cover manufacturer I’d interviewed previously. If the company hasn’t yet made a pattern for your car, you can bring in the vehicle for measuring and pattern development—and, once the cover is finished, receive it free of charge. (Some models are not eligible.) As luck would have it, Nakabayashi Kogyo didn’t yet have a pattern...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Panamera
車, 駐車場, 駐車場, PORSCHE, 911, 991
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911

Porsche 911 GT3 (991.1) Test Drive Review

At Last, a Chance to Drive the GT3 At the recent “Sunday Morning Gathering at Royu,” my husband got the chance to drive a Porsche 911 GT3 (991.1)—and came away absolutely thrilled. A little later, once the excitement had settled, I asked him what he thought of the GT3. Here’s how he described the experience. Porsche GT3 Test Drive Review ① Pulling Away Before riding in the GT3, I’d assumed that a car designed for...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche 911
車, ケーキ, 駐車場, 駐車場, PORSCHE, Panamera
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Panamera

One Year of Porsche Panamera Ownership: What We Love, What We Don’t, and Our Honest Review

What’s the Significance of October 12? Last October 12, a Panamera Turbo joined our family. Has it really been a year already? It feels more like three. Here’s a look at the numbers: 〘One-Year Ownership Recap〙 ・Distance driven: 13,749 km ・Oil top-ups: 1 ・Oil changes: 3 (at the first inspection, at 6,500 km, and at the one-year inspection) ・Flat tires: 1 (It was a minor puncture, repaired during the one-year inspection, so the tire didn’t...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Panamera
車, スーツケース, 駐車場, PORSCHE, Cayman, Boxster, 981
Reviews & Test Drives

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Boxster

The Porsche Boxster’s Trunk Holds More Than You’d Think—Even a Suitcase Fits with Room to...

Trunk Space in a Mid-Engine Roadster I’ve heard a lot of people say, “You can’t fit much in a Boxster’s trunk.” (I used to think so, too.) So I decided to put that claim to the test. The Boxster’s mid-engine layout, with the engine mounted in the middle of the car, leaves room for two trunks—one at the front and one at the rear. To open a trunk, you can give this lever under the...

Reviews & Test Drives, Porsche Boxster