In the past, performance and reliability weren't always compatible. High-strung, race-bred engines and components didn't take too kindly to running around town, and doing so was asking for problems. Luckily, times have changed, and even exotic supercars are pretty dependable these days. But one Nissan sports car offers the kind of reliability you would expect from a Honda, but also Porsche 911 Carrera 4 performance and everyday usability that doesn't leave you needing a chiropractor after a drive around the block. Is this the holy grail of do-it-all motoring? UPDATE: 2026/03/20 15:29 EST BY JARED SOLOMON This article has been updated with additional context on the vehicle's long-term development and real-world usability. The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS Set The Benchmark Of Supercar Dailys Porsche The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS is the benchmark of usable high-performance machines. This is the 992.2, the eighth-generation of the 911, and pretty much the pinnacle of the Stuttgart brand's daily super sports car philosophy. The company has fine-tuned its iconic rear-engined sports car to the point where it is both easy to drive and devastatingly fast. It offers great visibility, an 88/100 JD Power score, and bullet-proof residuals.This is the first-ever production Porsche with an innovative, lightweight T-Hybrid system. It was developed through racing and is linked to a new 3.6-liter six-cylinder boxer engine, with an electrically driven turbocharger and in-transmission electric motor. It's the kind of spec that delivers a killer blow in any barroom debate. But the same time, the GTS is subdued, with no big wing to attract unwanted attention. If ever there was a daily sleeper supercar, the GTS is it. The GTS Does A Lot Of What The 911 Turbo Does, Just Cheaper Porsche Why not the Turbo? Well, that is almost $100,000 more than the all-wheel-drive GTS Carrera 4. The Turbo costs $270,300, while the GTS comes in at $189,300. While the Turbo has a heady 701 horsepower and can sprint to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds, the GTS's 532 horses and 2.9 seconds time will probably be enough in the real world.If you don't need the showiness of a top-end Turbo model, but also like to have pretty much all the trimmings, it's hard to argue with the GTS. But what if we told you that there is another sports car that thinks like a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS that you can pick up for a fraction of the cost secondhand? This is a car that matches the Porsche's performance, and is as reliable as a Honda — what's not to love? The Nissan R35 GT-R Is A Big Coupe With Porsche Performance NissanBetween 1969 and 1974, and 1989 and 2002, Nissan's Skyline GT‑R circled like a mythical beast, gobbling up lap times here, and featuring in the Fast and the Furious there, but the truth is it was illegal in the USA. Yes, the Fast Franchise used some legal loopholes to include the R34, but until 2008 the GT-R was not an official model in the States. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn decided to change all that with a global turbocharged all-wheel drive flagship supercar. In December 2007, the R35 GT‑R was unveiled. The 3,840-pound R35 came fitted with a hand-built 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 belting out 485 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 6-speed sequential dual clutch. The GT-R Can Keep Up With The Carrera 4 NissanWe say "can" keep up with the Carrera 4, because up until August 2025, the GT-R was amazingly still in production. So it was still being built when the current 992.2 GTS was released. As a side point, the GT-R was launched a couple of years into 997-gen 911 production. That's how old it is.Anyway, the dinosaur GT-R, which by 2025 had 565 horsepower and 467 lb-ft of torque, could go head-to-head with the box-fresh Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS. Despite being an almost 20-year-old design, the twilight years GT-R could still sprint to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. That's exactly the same as the 911 GTS. The Nissan GT-R Premium has a top speed of 196 mph, which actually beats the GTS which tops out at 194 mph. Buying A GT-R Vs A Carrera 4 911 Nissan The starting price for the GT-R in 2024 was $122,985. It wasn't exactly the bargain it used to be, but still a lot cheaper than the $189,300 Porsche. When it comes to reliability, KBB.com Consumer Reviews gave the 2024 GT-R 4.3/5 for reliability, putting it on a par with the stout 2024 Honda HR-V which got the same 4.3/5. The 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS KBB.com Consumer Reviews gave 4.2/5 for reliability.Looking at older GT-Rs, they stack up even better against some Honda models when it comes to reliability. The 2018 GT-R also has a reliability rating of 4.3/5 from KBB, which exceeds the 2018 Honda CR-V. The sensible Honda SUV gets a KBB consumer reliability rating of 4.1/ 5. This shows that even a sports car that accelerates to 60 mph in less than three seconds can be more reliable than an everyday SUV. Cost To Own: 2025 Porsche Carrera 4 GTS Vs 2023 Nissan GT-R Claire-Kaoru Sakai, Ayesh Seneviratne / HotCarsEdmunds puts the total 5-Year ownership costs of a 2024 911 Coupe Carrera 4 GTS at $133,778. That's the true cost to own, which includes $9,748 in maintenance, $61,169 in depreciation, and $27,026 in financing (based on a 5-year estimate with 15,000 miles driven per year). Unfortunately, there is no 2024 Cost To Own for the GT-R, but Edmunds does have a 2023 tally. The Nissan GT-R Premium costs $82,732, which includes $12,512 in maintenance, $15,964 in depreciation, and $12,738 in financing. It's worth noting that the GT-R is a much cheaper car to begin with as well. Why The GT-R Still Feels So Modern Nearly Two Decades Later On paper, the R35 GT-R’s age should be its biggest weakness. In reality, it’s one of the main reasons the car works so well as an everyday performance machine. Nissan engineered the GT-R from day one to be a technological powerhouse, and that foundation has aged remarkably well.At the heart of it all is the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system and the rear-mounted transaxle layout, which give the GT-R exceptional balance and traction in all conditions. Whether you're dealing with wet roads, highway pulls, or tight corners, the GT-R delivers confidence in a way that many rear-wheel-drive sports cars simply can’t match. This is a big part of why it can still go toe-to-toe with something as advanced as the latest 911 Carrera 4 GTS.Then there’s the way Nissan continuously refined the platform. Over nearly two decades, the GT-R received constant updates to its suspension tuning, transmission calibration, interior quality, and electronics. By the time the final models rolled out, the GT-R wasn’t just fast—it was polished, predictable, and far easier to live with than its early versions.Crucially, the GT-R doesn’t feel fragile. Unlike many high-performance machines that demand careful ownership, the hand-built VR38DETT engine has proven it can handle serious mileage when properly maintained. That durability, combined with its everyday usability, is what gives the GT-R its unique appeal: it’s a supercar you can actually use without constantly worrying about it.In many ways, the GT-R followed the same philosophy that made the Porsche 911 so successful—relentless evolution instead of constant reinvention. The difference is that Nissan did it while keeping costs far more accessible, which is exactly why the GT-R remains one of the most compelling performance bargains on the used market today. Buying A Secondhand GT-R Nissan USA.The good thing is that you can pick up a secondhand GT-R for a great price. A base 2009 GT-R costs just $45,600, says Hagerty, a 2010 Nissan GT-R Premium costs $49,500, with a 2016 model coming in at $74,900. If you want to go a bit more hardcore, a 2018 Nissan GT-R Track Edition, with a 565-horsepower unit, will cost $70,100. The Nissan GT-R NISMO Edition Commands Much Higher Prices Nissan Nissan introduced theGT‑R NISMO in 2014. This is the fastest Nissan GT‑R ever. With a 7:08.679 lap time, Nissan claimed the volume production car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Under the hood, the 3.8-liter V6 VR38DETT engine was treated to know-how that NISMO gained from participating in events such as the Nürburgring 24 hour race, with new high-flow, large diameter turbochargers, used for GT3 racing. Engine output rose to 600 horsepower and 481 lb-ft of torque. A top-end 2018 Nissan GT-R NISMO will set you back $129,000 in 2026.Ultimately, the Porsche GTS and the Nissan GT-R are both incredible cars. Both have a ton of heritage and legions of loyal fans. The choice will be a personal one, and you have likely already made up your mind which you would take.
