Porsche 911 Owners: Do You Prefer a Manual or PDK?
Are you unwilling to trade feel and emotion for absolute speed, or is an automatic 911 worth giving them up for?
In the old days, no proper sports car came with an automatic transmission. And for good reason. Automatics were simply slow, and drivers much preferred to shift their own gears anyway. But something changed over the last several years. Now, automakers have created gearboxes that shift way faster than any human, creating a substantial performance gap between the two. Right now, at least, you can’t even buy a new Porsche 911 with a manual. And sadly, the manual transmission looks like it’s on its way to the great automotive graveyard in the sky.
That is, unless Porsche fans have something to say about it. We’ve seen what our voices can do in the past, of course. But a recent piece from Joe Kucinski at our brother site 6Speed Online had us thinking – have we reached the point where most people are simply conceding and switching to the PDK in their 911?
Historically speaking, automatic versus manual debates are a guaranteed way to create a heated argument in the forums. Hardcore, old school manual fans will argue that giving up that joyous driving experience in the name of better performance is akin to selling your soul. Automatic fans will say those folks are living in the past, and will happily point out the superiority of their product.
Kucinski himself is like a lot of us. He’s owned several automatic and manual cars, and was traditionally a stick-only guy. That is, until he test drove a Porsche Cayman S with a PDK and brought it home. Since then, he’s owned a few PDK-equipped cars, including a 911 Turbo S and GT3. “The Turbo is a do-it-all, high-speed cruiser, and the GT cars are finely honed track weapons where ultimate speed is the name of the game,” Kucinski said. “It is in these areas that the PDK is tough to beat. There is no question that the PDK is a faster and easier car to drive.”
Even on the track, when some might be tempted to switch to manual mode, Kucinski found that his own abilities were inferior to the car’s. “I was amazed at how good the transmission was and how it always seemed to be in exactly the right gear for the situation. I didn’t even have to worry about missing a gear like I did in my previous manual track cars. Maybe a pro driver could get a better lap time working the paddles, but for someone at my level, the PDK was a revelation.”
Of course, there’s no debating that the PDK is also better in heavy traffic. It’s easier to live with on a daily basis. But as Kucinski points out, you can simply switch the PDK to manual mode and have some fun and row through some gears. But it still doesn’t provide quite the same feeling.
“Sports cars are about feel, and emotional connections. As brilliant as the PDK is, it is clinical and cold when compared to a true manual transmission,” he said. Thus, Kucinski admits that he misses his manual Porsches. Heck, that would even be his choice the next time he adds a car to his stable.
We’re massive manual fans ourselves, so we’re inclined to agree with these sentiments. But we’re curious to know – how do you feel about this touchy subject? Are you team manual for life, or have you switched over to the dark, automatic side? Head over here to read Kucinski’s excellent piece in its entirety, then let us know what you think about it!
Photos: Porsche
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