I bought my Walther PPK, made by Interarms in the U.S., in early 1999.
It is, indeed, the PPK and not the PPK/S.
I've probably put 2,000 rounds through it. It's my primary concealed weapon in the summer, because it will slip into a front jeans pocket and not show.
It's absolutely reliable with all ammo I've fed it, including lead bullets.
It may be a little heavy compared to today's .380s, but that heaviness helps to tame the recoil of +P loads.
An old design? I chose the PPK precisely for that reason: it's been a reliable design since 1929.
So many of today's semi-autos are boxy, wide and lack streamlining. Look at the Glock and derivatives, with their ridiculously wide, flat-topped slides. Give me the round, thin curves of a Browning Hi-Power any day.
Yes, the Glock is reliable. And a darned good gun by all accounts. But to me it's far wider and clumsier than necessary.
The PPK is thin, has its barrel fixed to the frame so the barrel doesn't move with each shot and affect accuracy, and is time-tested.
However, I know what you mean about the PPK being disparaged anymore. Often, the same people who disparage it have never even held one, let alone fired it. And some of those disparagers remain fans of the 1911 -- now who's tied to an antiquated gun?
I love my Kimber 1911 .45 too, by the way.
As for some of today's guns being "21st Century." Not true in most instances. So many of them are derivative of late 20th century designs.
It's rather like chastizing the revolver, for being an early 19th Century design (1835, if you go by Sam Colt's patents). Yet, for absolute reliability a revolver is tough to beat.
Just become something is an old design, doesn't make it obsolete.
I recall seeing an ancient Roman hammer in a magazine once. Though it was at least 2,000 years old, it looked just like the typical hammer you'd buy at the store today.
The PPK remains a reliable, accurate, practical pistol gun -- if properly made and of good quality.
My cousin put 8,000 rounds through his PPK in a few years. It still goes bang. Rather difficult to beat that kind of reliability.