In the market for either a 991.1 GTS or 991.2 911T manual. Looking for everyday cruiser with 4seats to fit the family on weekend drives and spirited solo driving. Looking for feedback from those that have experienced both in some capacity. Priority is driving dynamics and fun. May look to trade in 3-5years from now and I figure both cars will have decent resale values if I dont rack up too many miles.

 

I had a 991.2 gts and 991.1 gts (both manual) so feel I can make an honest opinion. The 991.2 is a better dd (barely) due to the newer tech and is faster in a straight line. However, the 991 wins in nearly every other category. Sounds way better and has better power divert being NA. The 991.1 is also the last naturally aspirated carrera. You really can't go wrong but for me its no question the 991.1 manual (especially when you add an exhaust and numeric shifter). Just my .02

 

Like the guy above me said, for a daily the infotainment in the .2 is leaps and bounds better. Some may argue it's irrelevant since for NA cars the engine/exhaust is the soundtrack, no stereo required. A .1 GTS will be much more car out of the box than a 991.2 T, though you can even the HP/tq score with a $1500 tune.

Neither is a bad option, and both will be worth big $$ in 5+ years when everything's gone electric/hybrid. Regardless of which you choose, I highly recommend you buy the DSC Sport suspension controller. Makes the car much nicer for road driving but still puts it down in the corners when you push it.

Also, a word of warning on "4 seat family fun": Anyone over 5'5" will not have a good time sitting in the back (I assume your kids are small, but just saying). If your kids are really little, there are no rear-facing car seats that I've found that will fit in either 991 with someone in the passenger seat.

 

Love my 2019 Carrera T. It’s the perfect blend of chassis, power and stimulation of the senses. The 370HP engine is more than enough for the street and the lack of sound deadening, light weight glass, and door strap pulls make the car feel kind of like a baby GT3.

 

Hard call for daily drivability in terms of driving but to me, CarPlay and warranty are part of daily driving experience. So I say T with any engine tunes wins my everyday 911 category.
But for more of a trophy car (for normal people like me for mid term owning), GTS would be my pick.

 

Depends…on whether you want barebones experience or a luxurious sports car, especially if the car is spec’d with LWBS, no sunroof etc. IMHO I wanted a sports car that is only a sports car, I have no aspirations to drive my T across the country (I deplore highway driving and have other vehicles for that) with a sunroof open. I wanted something that felt light without the other blending bits. Engine size/output was not a factor it was about fun. The T hit all those marks and then some. Sound of the exhaust, I couldn’t care less about since it is subjective and completely customizable. These 3.0L engines are quick and robust and at 370hp will probably last a while. The GTS I drove was fantastic, amazing, great…but for some reason I love the T twice as much and it only seems to grow, maybe because they are “rare” or maybe just because it’s that damn perfect at its intended design. I cross shopped the 991.1 GTS and when I drove the T I was hooked but to be fair I never owned the GTS so perhaps long term enjoyment would be different. This car is not a GT3 but it may be the best canyon carver around. Good luck either way, it’s a fun journey.

 

IMO both are awesome. I would say if you plan to mod it, go with the 991.2. If you want to enjoy as is, then the 991.1. The 991.1 will have a great exhaust note, the 991.2 more modern and easier to make power.

 

I’m not sure if your options are on price alone. If there is wiggle room, consider the .2 GTS.

 

If you are looking for an everyday cruiser and to haul family, forget the 911. If you are looking for solo (or plus one passenger) driving fun, either 911 will do just fine with a manual transmission. They are fantastic cars but their range of usefulness is rather limited (IMO) for mundane driving.

 

I'm not sure which will hold better value over time, but I came from a 991.1 S PDK to a 991.2 GTS manual. Main reason is that I needed a manual car, love the PDK, it's great, but I'm just a manual guy. The sound of the 991.1 with some exhaust work is amazing, the 991.2 can't compare, but some exhaust mods on the 991.2 can also sound pretty good, just not as good lol. When I made the switch, I knew I was sacrificing the exhaust note, but the benefits favor the 991.2. The slight visual changes externally are nice, the PCM upgrade(Apple CarPlay and screen layout) is really nice as well. What I like best of the 991.2 is the power delivery and how much fun it is. It's linear, but does have a nice kick the pants. For me, the 991.1 was just a bit too slow, even with some mods I had. Don't get me wrong, it's no slouch, but I do like to feel TQ pushing me back in the seat.nnIf you can live without the NA sound, I think you'll find the 991.2 model for you. A base model engine in the 991.2 model is plant quick for any one.

 

my vote is for the .2 That are both great. The .2 is just cumulatively better in areas.

 

You said, "a weekender for spirited drives" The T would probably be a better daily but for spirited drives is not as good. The value proposition should be the same but is probably not. Seems like the GTS right now is 115 to 130 ad the T is 100 to 110. The market is looney tunes so either one could be particularly hit hard by a correction but my guess is the older one would take the harder hit.

 

They’re different cars. If you plan on mainly driving around town the .2 is better… more torque, the PCM has CarPlay out of the box, etc.

if you plan on carving canyons with them and you’re willing to invest in mods for the .1 then the gap closes substantially. You can retrofit CarPlay in the .1 using the JoyeAuto kit (and it works quite well), retrofit the 991.2 multifunction steering wheel using the GPS adapter, upgrade the suspension (at minimum the DSC controller, even better also coilovers like Bilstein B16 or Tractive DDA), and upgraded exhaust/headers.

the .1 needs to be revved out. Most people they complain it’s not peppy enough don’t know how to drive an NA car properly. These cars beg to be revved hard and love to live in the 5k+ range and shifted at redline. That’s part of the reason why a turbo car will always be the better “around town car”… you’ll get peak power at much lower RPMs.

these cars are all too fast to be properly pushed to 8/10 or more on the street. You’ll easily hit 100+ mph in the twisties. So just because the .2 is a bit faster isn’t necessarily a great reason to go that route unless you want to be ultra competitive at the track (and at that point you should be looking at a GT3RS anyways).


Neither car is great for hauling the family. It’s a 911 not a panamera or macan. The rear seats are tiny. Yeah, people do daily 911s (and it’s going to be more reliable than an F car like a 458 or 488) but at the end of the day it’s a sports car.

 

this ^^^

Quite a few folks mentioned the better infotainment in a 991.2. For a very reasonable price I got CarPlay and a backup camera retrofitted to the PCM in my 991.1. So this is a great option for ya.

991.1 GTS and add in $1000-1500 in PCM upgraded and you are golden.

 

Do you want a car that you can modify to make faster? If so, definitely go for the turbo car. The 991.1's are fun, but "slow" by modern standards.