Hello community,

I have been researching the last few months on a 991.2 4S or 4GTS. I'm very close to placing an order on my very first Porsche!

My car will be a weekend driver. I live in pleasant weather Northern California. I do not plan to track or take it up to the snow.
I'm more of a mostly show and some show kind of guy A fast Porsche with some comfortable amenities. I plan to have this car long term.
Help me decide on these very specific options that I can't seem to make a final decision. Are they are not worth the extra cost? What am I missing?

Here goes:

Sports Plus seats 4-way or 18-way / Power Sports Seats (14-way)
I definitely want these. Is the 4-way good for most people? I but don't know if I will miss the 18-way memory package.
Would the Power Sport Seats (14-way) be just as good?
$3030 for 18-way with memory package
$1530 for Power Sports Seats (14-way)

Lane Change Assist
Must have or will I not miss it?
$850

Rear Axle Steering
This is included in the 4S Sports Package but is an option on the GTS.
Would it be a mistake not to get this on a GTS?
$2090

Front Axle Lift
This seems like a no brainer and not buy. 2590.00 to move your nose up 1.5 inches.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to replace the plastic lip periodically?
$2590

My must haves:

- Full Leather
- PDK
- Bose
- Metallic Paint


Your insight appreciated.
D-

 

my 2 cents

 

I’ve had my 4S for 1.5 years and use as a DD. Have also done 5 hot laps with it to give rides during track days. Here’s my thoughts:

1. 14 way are fine for me
2. I don’t have lane change and don’t miss it
3. Rear steering is worth it, but I ordered separately with Sport Chrono and not the package with PSE as I didn’t like the centralized exhaust look (others will disagree)
4. I’ve had no issues without the front lift
5. I didn’t do leather and am undecided on whether it’s worth it, I’ll keep car until 992 is out and will upgrade
6. PDK is great but a preference, I have it and love it. I have had lots of manuals and don’t miss it.

Good of luck and enjoy! Btw, if I was ordering now I’d likely do a GTS4 as you get a lot in the package.

 

Get the lane change assist. Relatively cheap.
Especially helpful if you have others drive the car.
Steering column in leather. Will see it every day and again not too pricy. More if deviated stitching.
Rear wheel steering. Helpful in u-turns and hairpins on track. Front axle lift not necessary if take oblique angle into driveways.
Try the seats out at local Porsche dealer. Lots of opinions on this.
Sunroof(s)or no sunroof optional.

 

So much of the decision rests with your budget, imo. With regards to seating, your best bet is to sit in the various seats. I went with the 18 way, cause I could afford them and I wanted s few of my close friends who have bad backs to be comfortable.
I do have RAS and I like it. Makes parking in tight spaces easier. I don't have lane change assist, cause I'm a good driver.
Don't have the lift. My GTS is less prone to scrap bottom than my previous Cayman R.

 

I haven't tried the 4-ways. 14-ways vs. 18-ways is entirely about your preference. I have both (two P cars) and I love the 18-way whereas my wife hates them and she has the 14-ways. I find that I slide around too much in the 14-ways, and she doesn't like the way the 18-ways squeeze her in place. No one on this forum can help you with this one, you must sit in them and decide for yourself. Note that the 18-ways do not have leather covered backs and Porsche makes you cough up even more $ if you want fully cover them in leather.

Someone said they don't have lane change assist and they don't miss it. I'm not sure if they had it on a previous car. I have lane change assist and I would definitely miss it. On two occasions, it has warned me about someone merging into the middle lane at the same time I was also merging into that same lane. It paid for itself.

Rear axle steering is fantastic. At high speeds the car seems to magically teleport itself sideways. For a weekend driver in northern CA, then you will love this one on the twisty roads. It's nice in tight parking lots, too. Frankly, though, if you don't get it you probably won't notice.

Plenty of 911 owners do fine without the front axle lift, you just need to be careful entering parking lots from the road and avoid really steep inclines. I have SPASM (10mm lower) and I use FAL every single day because there are places I drive every day where my car would scrape. It's expensive, but it might eliminate the hassle of getting the front replaced if you do make a mistake someday.

If I were buying used or off the lot where I had no control over the options, I would agonize over the presence/absence of options. When ordering, however, you have total control. I recently placed an order for a new Macan for my wife, and we decided we weren't going to skimp on any of the things we wanted. We looked at it this way:

Over the next several years, every day you drive your car, are you going to feel happy that you didn't get option X?

Or are you likely to feel regret that did get option X and you don't appreciate, use, or even notice it?

 

If I were ordering new, I'd have the lane change assist for sure. I've had it in a few vehicles now (both my daily driver and my wife's vehicle have it). I think it's a great safety feature, personally.

I've not had the chance to drive a 911 with rear-axle steering, so I don't know what I'm missing - but I'd definitely order it as I'm a sucker for any of the "performance" options

 

I'd never consider ordering a car with 4 way seats. The mechanical forward-and-backward positioning is much, much clumsier than the power seats.

This becomes even more significant if anyone else drives the car semi-regularly. Having the car remember your preferences after someone has messed with it is a big plus.

14 way vs. 18 way is primarily about how you feel about the depth of the bottom cushion and the size of the side bolsters. You really need to sit in both, first hand. No one else can tell you how you'll feel about them.

Lane Change Assist is a significant safety feature. It's not a substitute for a headcheck, but it's one more warning. If it saves you from even one accident, it's paid for itself many times over. People who dismiss it either haven't driven a car which has LCA, haven't been driving long enough to appreciate how events can conspire to produce the unexpected, or simply aren't paying enough attention to realize how often near-misses arise.

Rear Axle Steering gives you improved turning radius at low speeds and improved stability at high speeds. It's not a "must," since the car is already fairly easy to maneuver and stable, but it is an improvement. I ordered it on my upcoming GTS just because anything that makes parallel parking easier seems worthwhile to me.

Front Axle Lift depends mostly on your local conditions. If you drive anywhere regularly where scraping is a regular danger, it's definitely worth it. The "just repair the car periodically" argument makes little sense to me - if it's going to happen at all, it's probably going to happen a lot. Personally "take the damage and repair it" seems like a poor solution to anything.

 

On to the subject of GTS or 4S... of course, depending on which model you choose some options are already on the GTS, like Sport chrono, PSE, Centerlock Wheels and all the Black Bits...

Even though I own a 991.1 GTS, If I was going to buy New, and keep for a long time, I would probably go 4S...

That Way, I could get the Silver wheels, 5 lug easier to deal with, leather interior instead of Alcantara. The Leather will outlast the alcantara and can be a bit expensive to replace a few years down the road...

The 991.1 GTS used to have that great N/A sound that builds and builds to a crescendo of pure Porsche metallic symphony, but alas no more...

However, I might just be trying to sway you from the GTS, because im in the 991.1 GTS Crew, and your not...!

 

You really need to sit in the seats yourself. Better yet drive the car and sit in them for about an hour. I had an Audi S5 with a sport seat. Sat in them prior to ordering the car for a few minutes and thought they were great. Once I got the car I found that after about 30 minutes I could not get comfortable. Was great for short drives but I ended up avoiding driving the car on longer drives because of the seats.

 

Why get a 4 in California?

More weight, number steering imo. I used to drive a Targa 4S and moved to a GTS and could immediately tell the difference of communication through the steering wheel.

 

I've come to prefer AWD even if it's warm and dry. I like the added traction from a stop, and the one time I got a little sideways unintentionally (cold weather with summer tires), it was remarkable how easy it was to recover with AWD.

 

This. 100% this.

I would totally not go for a 4 unless you absolutely had to. Waste of money and adds unnecessary weight.

I will also say that I bought 14 way seats and regret not having the 18 way seats. I'm 6'2" and 250 lbs.

 

He is in California, not Boston. I grew up in NY and have family in MA so I understand your logic. Having the AWD extends your season there and he added traction is nice when the roads are slippery with sand and gunk.

The 911's rear weight bias and lack of low end torque (yes even in the .2's) make this unnecessary in climates with better weather. Now that I live in TX, I can even understand why people drive RWD SUV's.

 

There are so many opinions it’s tough to comment.

1. I have 14 way seats. I’m broad shouldered and the 18 ways felt too tight for me.
2. Rear axle steering is a must
3. I lived in a flat area and recently moved to a hilly area. I didn’t order the car with the axle lift but wish I did. I do scrape now but I don’t visibly see anything from the front.
4. All the extra leather is silly in my opinion but to each to their own. I have the entry level black leather with the plastic dash and I am very happy with it.