I suppose if I tracked the 991 I would always wonder if I would prefer a manual. I don't and I find the pdk to be almost clairvoyant - in my moderate and spirited drives it always seems to pick the right gear.

I can row if I want as I have a MGB - four forward and two overdrive (Laycock)

 

My 991.1C2S is my first "modern" 911. I wanted PDK since I daily it fairly regularly and it is the way to go in routinely heavy traffic IMHO. I have my '82 air cooled 911 to satisfy my "rowing" needs and it absolutely covers that with a blanket. No modern MT 911 can replicate the completely analog feel of an old school air cooled 911, period, full stop. I have zero regrets with the PDK, it is absolutely lovely and with my COBB AP, I can pick different settings to dial it in to my tastes. In the future, if/when I get a different modern 911, I will certainly consider a MT, but likely only if I am not going to daily it. In the meantime, I enjoy all my miles. Just my $0.02, that's about all it's worth!

 

Ditto. The PDK is a technically great transmission and makes the car faster but the cost is loss of engagement.

 

honestly guys maybe it’s me but I really don’t get this « loss of engagement » thing. I drive my PDK in manual and sport + mode 95% of the time, it’s only in auto when stuck in traffic or when i’m having my coffee, or when cruising for a long boring highway drive. I really feel like I can extract every little ounce of power from the engine and very precisely. I don’t miss the manual at all, zero. And for some odd reason I find the PDK feels « analog » for an auto, I feel very connected to the car plus I get the practicality of an auto for everyday. Anyways maybe that’s just me. I’d prob enjoy a manual as a third car, but I wouldn’t want it to be my only option for an everyday sports car.

 

manual is not great for stuck in traffic or commuting or a lot of every day driving. Some folks like it anyway. A lot more folks love it in a weekend car. While a few folks love it in a track car, it’s just plain slower and doesn’t make much sense (to most people)
it’s okay for the loss-of-engagement thing to not be your thing. Both transmissions are fantastic. Sometimes you feel like ice cream and sometimes cake.

 

Which is why they make both.

 

If you drive a .1 PDK and generalize your opinion to the .2 cars, things seem like they make sense. The .2 twin turbo engine paired with the PDK is a whole different animal than the .1 NA paired with that generation PDK. It must be driven to be understood. Then drive the .2 GTS PDK and things get a whole bunch more fun.

Its great that we all have options and hopefully will continue to have options.

 

Everyday I regret it!

J/k. I liked the PDK but felt like something was missing. I like to row the gears and know I needed a manual.

 

Honestly I would regret getting a 7MT after owning a 5MT air cooled car. Absolutely no chance at replicating that analog feel of old. Not to mention you will shift 3-4x before even breaking the speed limit.

The perfect garage would be an air cooled 5MT car paired with a modern 3.0TT PDK. The transmissions are better suited to their engines.

 

After my Boxster S manual, no regret at all.

 

it's not just you.
couldn't have said it better myself. absolutely love the PDK for all the reasons you state. zero regrets

 

My TTS is my first PDK after 12 MT Porsche cars of various vintage. At the beginning of ownership there is that awkward period of what to do with your left foot. But once you are used to the PDK and really how amazing a tool it is for ultra quick effective shifting and you then understand why Porsche chose this type of tranny for their high performance cars, you love it.
I do ride in manual 90+% of the time asi like selecting my own gearing but I have the Cobb PDK tune also which make the gear changes quicker and sharper (GT3 like) and even better overall experience. Not that I don’t still love MT but in this car the PDK reigns supreme.

 

Never! I'm going on 2,700 km and counting on a cross country trip in Eastern Europe, stuck with a manual. It wore out its welcome the first 2 days....

 

(I say the following based on my particular PDK use, my use is 99% manual mode, I can count on one hand when i have had the PDK in auto - I also have Cobb PDK aggressive file and inverted "correct" shift pattern)

Manual Vs PDK is one of those things that are blown way out of proportion. I am not sure if people do this just to be different or hang on to the past.
I did go through a period when my car was new to me, I was new to the 911 (Vs the cayman) and not having a manual made me feel like I was not as "engaged". That ended soon after I got more familiar with the vastly greater limits of my 991 Vs the 987. Driving the 991 at near 8/10-9/10 on street, PDK is nothing but a blessing.


There is also an argument to be made that at street speeds, not aggressively driving the manual does give you something to do as you have to row gears.
At spirited speeds, especially as you get near the limits of street driving, the PDK is just perfect. No way I can go through my favorite set of ramps and corners as quickly, smoothly if I were driving a manual. Connecting a set of well known corners together, braking deeper and trail braking, changing gears mid corner if needed, all are far quicker, safer and smoother in the PDK.
Additionally, PDK gearing is always shorter than manual, so its strange to see people pay more for a trim with 30-50 more HP (or spend thousands trying to make the car marginally faster) yet handicap themselves with the taller/slower gearing of manual.
furthermore find it odd (and somewhat aggravating) that even the most seasoned auto-journalists make sure they mention (at least once, if not repeatedly) that they would prefer a manual, that they can heel and toe on their own, that auto-blip is for those who don't know how to drive a manual etc. All of this feeds into the phenomenon that is more fitting for cars with lower limits, power and capability, manual transmission does make a slower car more fun, driving slow car fast is fun in its own way.

my .02 cents

 

I have to agree here between the differences I have experienced between a 991.1 GTS and a 991.2 GTS both being PDK. I have been a long-standing believer of NA manual cars but the 991.2 PDK variant is quite different in my experience and I'm surprised how much I love the 991.2..... like someone said .... It's almost clairvoyant and brilliant. Luckily I do have a NA manual car as well (not Porsche) which I really love as well..... some days you want ice cream and an other day it's cake ...... perfectly said by someone ...... neither option is a bad choice or wrong.