superdog

I won't make this too long. But I had a chance for a long road trip this weekend, and I got to break in my Targa 4 GTS. First impressions with a little commentary:

The trip had rain, traffic, torrential downpours, traffic, open roads, severe fog, sunshine and some great open roads.

It handled exceptionally well in all situations. The car is very well balanced and feels "planted" to the ground. Coming out of an AMG GTS, this car inspires a lot more confidence.

When deciding on the transmission, I waffled quite a bit. I have had back issues in the past, with even a few procedures and a surgery. I was nervous that the third pedal would exacerbate some of the lingering pain. I also almost did not take it this past weekend, because my back has been pretty tender the last week or so. Yet, the car is really comfortable. I had no more issues driving this than I did my daily for the same time frame. The AMG put me in places of pain after just 20 minutes or so. The Mercedes is appointed really well and it looks amazing inside and out. But it is nowhere near as comfortable.

The speed. I get that everyone wants more power. But damn, this thing is super fast. I imagine I will get bored in the future and want to increase the speed too. Especially because it appears to be so easy. But I really don't think it needs it. At all...

The exhaust. It is not as loud as I had hoped. But I love the burbles. It is a heck of a lot of fun to drive and I have had a lot of people comment on how great it sounds. So while not a snarling V8, it certainly does sound good. Especially on a cold start. The best analogy I have is a fighting style. The AMG was like Mike Tyson, and the 911 is like Jackie Chan. Both badasses and great at doing the job. The 911 just has so much more grace and poise.

Radar detector. Let's just say, I am really glad I got one. The dealership installed it for me, and I already got my money's worth out of it. I had one incident where the young lady got busted as I moved over to let her pass. I saw nothing, but heard the chirping. I slowed down and pulled into the right late. She kept going at the same speed. Not 90 seconds later a state trooper is flying up behind us a pulls her over.

Top down driving. Most of the weekend was raining. It was still wonderful to have the car out and about. I am really hoping for some sunny days soon though. I had about 30 minutes with the top down. I don't listen to music in the car. It is am radio or a book on tape (my wife has her head phones on). But with the top down, I had the urge to play some classic rock. What a great feeling it was.

This is my first Porsche. I had always felt this brand was the pinnacle. I think now I know why. I can really see myself bonding with this car.

Gave her a nice wash in the rain before drying her off inside the garage afterwards.

superdog

Pics or it didn’t happen.

Looking filthy

Pit stop ant the in-laws

Just pretty

superdog

Only complaint is my drivers side view mirror stays in the down position. Annoying to have to press the recall button each time.

Ill get that fixed at 1,500 mile oil change.

One N Done

Great write up and Targa. My 991.2 GTS driver mirror also pointed down whenever I got in even though I saved all my setup in memory 1. Turned out my key had the mirror save on it pointed down. Try resaving your setup to the key (key button next to the numbered memory settings).

fastforddriver

Great write up and congrats again. The car looks great.

fastforddriver

Which radar detector did you have installed? I might need to look into that.

superdog

Thank you, very much!!!

I will definitely try ASAP. Appreciate it.

superdog

thanks. appreciate it.

and I put in a k40 jammer and detector. I can get specific details if you like.

guaranteed at least one ticket averted this weekend. I need to get to thanksgiving this year, and then I only have 2 points on my license again. so far, this was a great investment.

superdog

I wanted to add that I absolutely love FAL.

My driveway is basically flat. Yet is still scrapes. And I have scraped a few times in other areas that I would not have expected. All super minor, but still. Having the FAL has been huge for me. Especially because I can go up and down while driving.

Just amazing.

PacPaliPorsche

Spectacular looking car. 3 pedals FTW! Use her in good health and for many miles!!!

superdog

thanks. i am loving it!!

now if we could just get some good weather on the weekends, it would be super.

Hurricane

Beautiful car!!! Congrats!

phefner

Love the Targa. A radar detector (I use Escort 360C), Escort Live, and Waze, make for a great defense. I use an iPhone and when connected to the PCM, you get all the audio alerts from Waze and Escort Live. One obviously runs in the background.

Cheers.

superdog

i actually had waze on as well.

and this was a curious case because there was no police icon. he must have been well hidden. i even commented that there was no visual evidence, but that the detector was going nuts.

but i am right there with you. i love the redundancy of having them both. better safe than sorry.

SB27

GREAT write up. Thanks for sharing.

I also have a new 2019 Targa 4 GTS and would add the following:

+ Love the wide hips and the 4WD. As you said, it feels really planted and digs itself out of turns/apexes very nicely. I also have 991.2 GT3 and I can report that the rear end of that car feels more "alive" and wants to dance -- in contrast to the Targa 4 GTS that wants to plant, dig and go.
+ Love the Rear Axle Steering feature. Just makes the car feel so much tighter/manageable in an urban setting.
+ I am with you on the FAL. Love that damn thing. Has saved me a dozen scrapes in less than 1,000 miles. It's a must have option IMHO.
+ With regard to the sound, I decided to enhance it "just a bit" by going with the Soul Sport Cats. Same no drone / calm demeanor with the valves closed / sport setting OFF. But now much deeper sound and burbles when you are in sport setting and have the Valves Open. Thanks to the posters here that pointed me to this very nice upgrade. So far, I love it.
+ The engine is solid. Of course, it is not a NA 4.0 as in the GT3 but the larger turbos on the GTS are nice.
+ The PDK transmission is wonderful and love the Sport and Sport + buttons. Also love that Sport mode opens the exhaust valves and disables the damn automatic idle turn off feature.
+ With regard to the engine, I am curious about tuning it to get more power so long as it doesn't change the current smooth delivery of torque and HP. Would welcome others thoughts. Obviously, some guys have basically turned the GTS into a poor man's (LOL) Turbo S. More power is awesome if it is linear. I don't want to change the linear nature of the power delivery though. Again, thoughts welcomed.
+ The reason I bring up power is the car feels a bit lazy down low (it is a smaller displacement / turbo engine) but then really gets amped as you get much higher into the rev zones. My wife called it "going from sleepy to wide awake" when she drove it. Pretty much describes the GTS power delivery.
+ The build quality is awesome on the Targa. I am amazed at the chassis rigidity without a hard / fixed roof on our city's pretty **** poor roads.
+ I love the Targa real glass and the automated roof system. The glass just seems to deaden the sound a ton more -- especially with the roof up. It's as close to a coupe sound level/feel as you can get and then removing the top just gives you that "ahhhhhh" feeling as only a cab can do. It's been discussed here a lot but it really is THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS when trying to decide between Coupe and Cabriolet.

Glad someone else out there is having as much fun as me enjoying the hell out of his/her Targa 4 GTS (and a return to the Porsche brand after being out of it for over 20 years).