I can think of a few car ranges whose base models are best avoided: Porsche’s 911 is not one of them.

It’s certainly possible to spend more than £140,000 on Porsche’s flagship model but hardly necessary, unless you’re looking for licence threatening levels of acceleration or want to use the car mainly for track work.

The base Carrera 2, which Porsche calls the 997, is available at less than half this price, yet feels anything but a poor relation on the road.

It’s still a real looker too, especially with a voguish Carrara White paint job and 19-inch black alloy wheels (a £2,247 option).

The evergreen 911 has aged amazingly well over the years considering it’s not far off its 50th birthday.

The entry-level 911 offers the classic rear-wheel drive sports car set-up, with a slightly tailheavy 38/62 per cent weight distribution.

You get a 3.6 litre engine stuffed into the back, an exceptionally well-built but sombre cabin and a box-shaped ‘boot’ in the front.

Everything about the Carrera is low-slung, even that front boot area, so as to preserve the car’s low centre of gravity.

The driving position is sporty yet comfortable.

The controls have an unusual air of solidity and quality about them. Some might find the clutch and gearbox on the heavy side – I found them just right.

There was no fancy PDK automatic transmission or electronic handbrake on this car, just a snappy manual gearbox and a proper handbrake.

• Find more pictures of the Carrera in our gallery

When you fire up the Carrera it blips the throttle for you.

The sound of the sports exhaust (a £1,435 option) is satisfyingly deep and gurgly – and there’s a button on the dash to ramp up the volume.

With some 365bhp on tap at 6,500rpm, the car is plenty quick enough for UK roads.

The top speed is around 180mph and 0-60mph is dispatched in under five seconds.

It does tend to feel like someone is pushing you from behind as you progress and it’s probably best to drive with a light right foot until you get used to it.

With all that weight at the back, it’s not difficult to get the tail out, so care is needed in the wet.

The ride is firm but not teethrattling so. Refinement is excellent apart from some tyre roar from the Michelins.

While the 911’s excellent performance and characteristic handling was to be expected, the car’s practicality was more of a surprise.

2+2s rarely live up to their billing but there’s (just) enough adjustment in the front seats to squeeze in a family of two adults and two kids.

There are two cupholders, elegantly integrated into the dashboard, and the door armrests house useful storage pockets.

The front ‘boot’ space cannot accommodate a set of golf clubs, but the rear seats can.

Also impressive was the Carrera’s economy rate. Its engine is tremendously flexible and can scream up to 7,000rpm or potter round town at 30mph in fifth while barely ticking over.

I managed over 25mpg during the time I had the car and achieved 30mpg on a longer trip to the South Coast.

These figures might not impress the driver of a frugal diesel but they do indicate that the 911 is around 50 per cent more economical than a V8.

All in all, I struggled to find fault: the sat nav system (an £1,283 extra) would not accept full postcodes; and there was a slight air of flimsiness about the storage compartments next to the boot.

Other than that, everything about the car was superb.

There are those who would rather have a Cayman S for its more neutral handling and lower price. But start speccing up a Cayman and you won’t be that far off a 911.

There are plenty more exotic versions of the 911, but I never felt short-changed by the base car.

Its price of £64,245 is hardly in supercar territory – but the drive is.