Galion

Interesting test Drive / reviews from future owners, borrowed from another forum. Thanks to 911uk

".....Ok, Picked up from Mid Sussex Saturday afternoon a 991 Carrera S, lots of extras that I wanted to try, including PSE. Got told that the standard car they had, also sounded fantastic without PSE, but wasn't convinced and so took the one with, also had Sport Chrono.

First impressions were and still are that this car has changed completely in character, and I must say completely for the better. Firstly, upon turning the key, the noise from the PSE is amazing, it is a totally different characteristic of the car now, the added benefit of this is that on overrun with the PSE you get this wicked cackle from the exhaust, the trouble is that it does no good for fuel economy as you are forever on and off the throttle in order to hear it!

The ride comfort in this car was amazing, the demo had PDCC (Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control), and I was astounded at how the car could ride this smoothly and stay totally flat in the bends. The demo also had Steering plus, which you really can feel the effect of, I know that many have said that losing the hydralic system is a huge loss to the 911, but for my use of the car, it is perfect as you are not constantly sawing at the wheel as it rides over bumps, which makes a longer drive much more enjoyable, added to this the front end bobbing that my 997 had is completely gone, this was really noticable at higher speeds, and on a rough undulating dual carriageway made the outgoing model feel unstable.

Interior, I was really concerned about this one, as I am not a Panamera fan and was worried that I would really dislike the new centre console, the only slight niggle that I had with the console is that on cornering, your left knee seems to press quite hard into it, it didn't quite feel natural, but on the plus side, the offset pedals seems to be more centred which makes for a straighter back, and thus no back ache on a long drive. The seats were as comfortable as my 997, unfortunately they were not sports seats+ (with added wings) and as I am quite broad-shouldered I missed this. The instruments are very clear, but with all the new buttons it does take some time to get used to where everything is. The demo had the interior lighting pack, this in the Panamera I think is gaudy, but in this it is very very, well, sexy, and I have added this now to my build.

The roof lining and pillars are covered in alcatara, which really finishes the car off very nicely, one thing that I did seem to notice is that the dashboard really seems deep, and gone is the feeling that you have your nose pressed to the windscreen (I know that’s an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). Door pockets completely changed, gone are the integral door bins, and have been replaced with side pockets that can be opened out for larger items (an Audi feature that I like).

The other feature I like, something that I really couldn't see why it didn't do this before, is that the stopwatch on the dash is now dual function, ie, it behaves as a lovely clock for 99% of it's life, and a lap timer for those whom wish to use it as such.

The lighting on the demo car was dynamic, and a vast improvement on the previous system, as the previous system I believe (GT4 correct me if I am wrong) had a halogen 'infill' bulb that gives you your forward light whilst turning, I am not a lover of this system, as it can become distracting to your night driving. Auto headlight's too!!!

Power delivery is awesome in this car, the closest I have driven to this is a GTS, but the 991 appeared to me to give a far smoother delivery of the same result, in Sports Plus, the delivery is exceptionally aggressive, but the real kick in the back seems to have gone on gear change, this is something of an improvement as at times in the GTS it would bang into gear so hard that it would lose traction on a damp surface, and when you are already doing... at most 65... it became a bit disconcerting. The new software in the PDK seems to learn your driving style at that moment far better than the previous version, I did however find that at times that the gearbox when put into sport, or sport plus, was staying in normal mode, I do wonder if there will be an update for this at some point.

Braking is another area which this car excelled, the pedal now seems to be slightly more assisted than before, but not overly, and gave me total confidence when braking hard.

I was very sad to take this car back to the dealership, as I really fell in love with it over the weekend. After I took it back, I then took out a more standard 991 Carrera S without PSE, without PDCC, without Sports Chrono. When I turned the key with the salesman’s words of the standard one without PSE sounds amazing, just didn't ring true, although to be fair to him, I have spent far longer driving the cars than he has by this point, it was disappointing. What’s the point of having a sports car without all the noise! The other thing that I noticed while driving this car was that without the PDCC the car really didn't ride as well, it was more unsettled in a straight line over a bumpy road, and the cornering was not as sharp, the whole car just felt, well, loose, this is why I was glad that I could still add this option as well.

I hope this gives an insight into my experience, I would say that if you are going to spend this amount of money on a car, drive it for as long as possible, and as many different variations/options of car as possible, as it really will make the ownership far more enjoyable.

Now... if I could only fast forward to March!"

Galion

Another one


".......The 991 is probably every sportscar you'll ever need.

The noise was lovely, then I turned on the PSE

Really quite odd against the trend of every new modern car getting quieter and quieter, either because they can (more and better materials = progress or luxury) or because a Euro man with a clipboard says so.

I guess we have the 991's tuned induction and "Sound Symposer" resonance membrane behind the rear seats to thank.

You almost don't need PSE (not quite).

Taking the car out, it handles almost completely flat with minimal body roll, then you turn the PDCC on.

That will be the new wider stance, better weight distribution, retuned PASM and exemplary passive chassis doing their stuff before PDCC even gets a look in.

Even under vivid acceleration on such a cold and wet day, the perfectly placed tyres never even lit up the traction control light, let alone the rubber.

The traction and grip on this RWD Carrera is astonishing, the forthcoming AWD and wide-body's handling and road holding will be something to behold.

I didn't notice any lack of steering feel, but then I didn't notice any particular presence of steering feel either. Although this could be down to any steering inputs being translated flawlessly and accurately to an amended line, no scrabble, no under- or over-steer, no characteristic bob or dart from the nose. Perhaps with such verbatim responses you don't need to feel every lump and bump in the road, every change in surface grip?

(VW) DSG was good, PDK1 was better, PDK2 is something of a revelation.

It's not so much it replaces a manual, but with such instantaneous and smooth changes it's almost like you have just one gear.

The power transfer and acceleration are at once linear and phenomenal.

Whether accelerating from a standstill, or overtaking other traffic, the resultant slingshot from a floored throttle is awe inspiring, particularly from what is in effect almost the entry-level model (admittedly £90k+).

This version of PDK I found impossible to trick: it was always in the right gear.

That was unless it was in no gear.

Slightly bizarrely, at almost any let off from the throttle (except whilst cornering), the gearbox drops into "coast" mode and the gearbox selects neutral and the engine drops to an 800 rpm idle. It took me back to my first driving days, and popping the gear into neutral or simply depressing the clutch on hill descents to save fuel.

Another fuel saver (and a first for the 911), is the new stop-start system that kicks in immediately any time the car comes to a complete standstill. This is also a little disconcerting initially, mostly the sudden loss of the sound symphony, replaced by the noises from the outside world, or more likely the quiet of the outside world.

You soon get used to it, though.

Before the throttle has even moved a mm, the engine has instantly, and without drama, fired back up into life - and again in the right gear. If anything, it just seems like the soundtrack has been put on pause before resuming seamlessly from where it was at the press of a button, not the reality of a 200kg 3.8 litre 400 BHP flat-six being spontaneously started up. There certainly isn't any pause in the intending to go and the car moving off as expected.

The interior of the 991 is stitch perfect.

The quality of materials used, fitting and even tactile feel of the buttons are all beyond reproach.

The centre console may have been inspired by the Panamera or Cayenne, but with the seat set low, the feeling is of a cocooned sports cockpit, rather than luxo-barge.

The view out of the side window includes the new curiously anti-Tardis wing-mirrors: they look enormous housings, but have really quite small mirrors inside.

Even so, during the drive, the sheer performance of the 991 did get me asking myself if I REALLY needed all those savings.

However, the pivotal moment came on returning back to the OPC and parking the 991 up against its 997 predecessor.

Somehow the 993-esque headlights of the 997 seemed even more appropriate.

It was almost an exact replay of the day the short, stubby, sit-up and beg, upright 993 saw its future as it stood next to the sleek, stretched, aerodynamically designed (soap-on-a-rope), technologically advanced 996.

My heart skipped a beat.

For me the shorter, narrower, taller, slower, rawer, flawed 997 was suddenly the more loveable, cute even, more iconic, more seminal, more NINE ELEVEN.

The digital 991 with all its technological tours de force was somehow more anodyne, its responses a little too perfect, a little too engineered, a little too PS3.

The 991 is extraordinary, but at the same time, extra ordinary.

The 991 may be every sportscar you'll ever need, but for me, it won't be every sportscar I'll ever want.

For me, it generates no desire.

For me, a little of bit of the 911's soul has died."

Galion

And another


".....I have today taken delivery of a shiny new Porsche 991 Carrera S PDK, and over Christmas I am looking forward to finding out how to drive it properly and discovering what the car is like to live with. Unfortunately, however, when I have done that it will be about time to give it back, because the car on my drive isn’t the one I ordered months ago, paid a deposit on and specced before just about anyone else. No, THAT car Porsche has for some reason decided not to build until sometime next year and they won’t tell anyone why. I have asked of course but the official response so far is “it’s none of your business”.

Now, that is a response I’d consider poor if I’d ordered a forty quid food processor from Argos, but when we are talking about a sports car costing about the same as a small house it’s dismal. My initial reaction was, as you might expect, to cancel the order but OPC Nottingham has bent over backwards to keep me in the deal and compensate for the lamentable disconnect between the hyperbole of Porsche’s marketing brochures and the reality of its attitude towards customers.

So anyway, Nottingham has generously lent me one of its cars for a couple of weeks and I plan to use the Christmas break to try it in as many situations as practical. Though not in the snow I hope.

As the title of this post suggests I consider myself to be a duffer and hence my opinion of the car is borne of my enjoyment of driving and love of nice cars, equally my complete disinterest in marketing guff, technical specifications and three and four-letter abbreviations (PDCC & PTV – WTF?).

My first impression of the car as I drove the salesman back to the showroom was that driven like a runabout it is quite happy and gives no impression that it is actually a very fast sports car. Only when I reached a stretch of dual carriageway and decided to press on a bit did the throaty growl of the sports exhaust kick in and betray exactly what it was. Noticeable too was how comfortable the car is when compared to previous 911s.

Once I was on my own in the car I was able to fiddle about with a few things and try to figure out how they work. I haven’t the slightest idea what options the car has on it other than sports exhaust and sports chrono and I think an hour or so with the manual will pay dividends. I do know, though, that it hasn’t got DAB radio and it isn’t available as an option either which is daft, frankly.

I am pleased to report that this car has the PDK buttons (not paddles) and they seem excellent to me. I am quite aware of course that this marks me out as an amateur and not one of the cognoscenti.

I would say that the 991 is immediately completely different from the 997. Yes, it is clearly from the same stable but the 991 is vastly more sophisticated, refined and technical.

Which brings me on to the steering. The one or two reviews of the car I could be bothered to read described the feeling as numb and I can see why they say that. Initially, I thought it was fine. No better than the 997, no worse, just different. Then I thought it was better because it is so immediate and it has little free play. But on a couple of occasions I took a corner and it didn’t behave as I was expecting. In fact I got a slightly seasick sensation when I anticipated 997 feedback that never came. Time will tell whether I get used to it.

Whilst I haven’t had an answer from Porsche as to why my car has been delayed there is a rumour that it’s because I elected not to have a sunroof. The demo car has one and, unless there is something very clever about the roof that is beyond me, I am very glad I haven’t ordered one. It’s a slightly curious arrangement whereby a big slab of roof slides back to reveal a not very big sunroof hole and it sort of sits there at the back of the car like a slipped wig revealing a bald patch. I have a suspicion that Porsche is trying to promote sunroofs by making most early cars with them, I do wonder though whether it might persuade people to order their car without one.

The 991 is undeniably attractive and it deals with the ugly Do-Do **** of the 997. From the front, though, it looks pretty similar to the previous car. As I waited to pay for fuel I looked out the window and without the mirrors on the doors I’d have been hard pressed to tell the 991 from a 997.

The engine and gearbox are wonderful, making the 991 a car that’s easy to bimble about in but a snarling racer when a bit too much (or just enough) right boot is applied. It doesn’t need a sport button... or a Sport Plus button but when that button is pressed oh... my... Lord. It might as well be labelled “Rocket Ship Mode”. The car takes off and screams up the gearbox with an unimaginable snarl, blipping the throttle on the down shifts. Absolutely incredible.

I need to work out how to stop the car erasing the adjustments I make each time I get it, especially the auto stop-start which I have turned off repeatedly because it’s lumpy, annoying and it detracts from the finesse of the experience. Also the driver’s seat seems to move fully back each time I get out but not return to my preferred position when I get in again. Somewhere there’s a button that will store this information.

Being a duffer I don’t tend to analyse cars logically, I tend to get a gut feeling about them. My feeling about the 997 was that it was a logical progression from its predecessors and the lineage from the air cooled cars was apparent. My feeling about the 991 is different. Yes, you can tell it’s a 911 but it has moved the game on more than the expected increment. The utter speed of the thing combined with smoothness and its lighting responses to the smallest input makes it slightly less like a sports car and more like some sort of intergalactic fighter craft. There is something about the driving experience that suggests you aren’t driving the car as much as piloting it.

Over Christmas I’ll be doing some family days out, B-road blasts and a couple of longer journeys so I should have a very good idea of whether my order for a 991 was a wise idea. I have a feeling, though, that when I give Nottingham back their demo in January I will be even more annoyed with Porsche – because the car I’ve got isn’t mine to keep and I’ll have to wait at least a couple of months for mine to show up

Alright then, so today was the first time I saw the car in daylight and I was surprised to note that it has a grey interior, or actually I black / grey 50/50. The car itself is Tedious Silver Metallic which does nothing for it at all and in my opinion anyone ordering this car should specify ABS (Anything But Silver).
Having viewed the car from all angles and in different lights I cannot say that I am unconditionally in love with the new design. It’s better than the 997 but there are some gawky features, for example the spoiler lip and rear lights that wouldn’t look out of place on a Halloween pumpkin. But then I don’t think that there has ever been a Porsche that I didn’t feel had a beauty spot somewhere or other – with the possible exception of the 930.
I had a play about with the sunroof today and again found myself wondering what on earth Porsche was thinking. Okay it might technically be excellent but it looks like a collaboration between the hairdressers of Paul Daniels and Donald Trump whose brief was to design a something that looks like it’s fallen onto the car from a tree.
My pickiness about the aesthetics aside, I have to admit to being ever so slightly excited about the prospect of driving the 991 again today and as I climbed aboard for the first time I’m sure I had a silly smirk on my face. The feeling I got as I fastened the seatbelt again reinforced my impression that I was about to fly this machine, not drive it. In part I think this feeling comes from the way that the cockpit surrounds the driver and that interfacing with the controls is like becoming part of the system.
Today the car was mostly used for a family trip to a country pub some twenty miles away. The journey included some dual carriageway, some B roads and A roads with sweeping bends. I was surprised and impressed to find that even with the family on board the car behaved almost exactly the same as with just me in it. The performance was still breathtaking and the additional weight almost completely unnoticeable.
This particular car has Porsche Sports Exhaust which I presumed was already switched on. Not so. I found the button today that turns it on and what was already an impressive growl from the engine became more of a bellow. Which got me thinking: Does a car that sounds so good without a sports exhaust actually need the thick end of two grand spending on it to make it sound just a little bit better? Would that money be better spent on something else? PDCC maybe?
But then again the car seems remarkably flat in the corners, so does it really need PDCC? I assume that it hasn’t got it but I am not sure. The handover yesterday was quite hurried because the dealership wanted to let me have the car as soon as possible, which suited me just fine for two reasons. Firstly because I wanted use of the car as soon as practical and even if they had done a detailed handover I’d have forgotten most of it almost immediately.

Whilst I have never felt that a Porsche interior was beautiful or intuitive (and still don’t) the 991 is the best yet. The build quality is excellent and the switches just a little bit easier to use than on the 997. The ashtray is a bit of a mystery mind you, it will accommodate a carefully folded toffee wrapper at best. Pointless for even the least enthusiastic of smokers.
So how did the car fare on the family outing? Well, the kids loved it and squealed with excitement as the PSE roared. Mrs Manks too liked the more luxurious, spacious feeling of the interior over the 997. It was quite telling that we were all still quite cheerful at the end of the trip whereas in the past I’ve had complaints from the Manklets about leg room and being uncomfortable. To be clear, though, the back seats of the 991 are still really only suited too occasional use and as a feature to allow a family man to argue that the 911 is such a practical purchase.
Despite the family day out I did manage to conjure up a feeble excuse to go out in the car on my own and ponder what I had learnt, and I think it is this: In this car Porsche has moved the game on and has not been afraid to take some risks: The electronic PAS, the interior plushness and the obvious move to a broader more GT orientated car. There isn’t even an engine to look at, just two electric fans.
This car does not appear to be about pandering to purists; it is more about being an incredible means of travelling from point to point in an efficient, fast and quite beguiling manner. "

Psycho Sid

Wow... some great reading!

I would have like to find out a bit more on the effects of the raised center console as that is a very real concern to me (6'4" with long legs)).
Currently in my 996 I have my knee somewhat over the shifter and it works, with the new one I'm not sure... seems that it would place the knees at 10 and 1 o'clock rather than the comfy 10 and 2 position...
Guess I'll find out soon enough, because I'm absolutely in love with the 991!

Thanks for posting!!!!

Sid.

JLHendrix

These are interesting. Thanks for posting. It seems that the reviews find much in the 991 to like but are uniform in their assessment that this interation of the 911 moves farther in a different direction from its predecessor than previous generations have moved from theirs. I happen to love the feel of the aircooled cars and think that there is just enough of their DNA in the 997 to make me happy about my decision to go back to porsche from a string of BMWs. I am doubtful that I could the say thing about the 991 though won't know for sure until I drive one.

Alstoy

Great posts-thanks for posting. Not quite convinced that the last one is a "no journalist" as I haven't read articles this good in a long time.

Galion

".....Okay, so today I have tested another 991 "S" with a lesser spec than the car I have on loan.

It hadn't got:

PSE
PDCC
Sports Chrono
as well as probably some other omissions.

The car was Guards Red and I must say it didn't look as sharp as the silver or white cars I've seen. Under showroom lights Guards looks hot, when a little grubby and outside it looks uninspiring in my opinion.

The main reason I wanted to try the car was the lack of PDCC - I wanted to see if it is worth £2300. And the answer is...I'm unsure.

This afternoon was damp so I could not drive particularly hard. However, the difference between the PDCC car and non-PDCC car was immediately apparent, though they are not THAT different, if that makes sense. The reason it was so obvious was that I have driven the PDCC car daily so when presented with a non-PDCC car I could hardly fail to spot the difference. Given a few days off, though, I may have struggled more to notice.

The non-PDCC car is very flat but there is still slight body roll. However, it is progressive and predictable.

Pressing on a bit in the bends the lack of PDCC made the car feel more familiar and old 911-like. The most noticeable difference was the front end bobbing sometimes on the exit from bends and on one occasion this led to a slight drift at the rear end. It was easily controlled and non-threatening but I don't think it would have happened in the PDCC car.

I am, as I have mentioned, a duffer so please forgive me if this is nonsense. But it seems to me that the win with PDCC is not necessarily just the lateral stability but the control of weight transfer. I have noticed no bobbing on the PDCC car and have not had any drifting; I wonder if this is because fore and aft weight transfer is smoothed?

I remain unsure whether to add PDCC. Though the matter may be out of my hands because my car's spec is about to "freeze". I have however added Power Steering Plus because it makes the car nice to drive at low speeds and when parking. For £177 the added feeling of refinement is well worth it.

So, I am going to sleep on the PDCC issue and make a decision in the morning. The "for" argument is that the car will then be without compromise. The "against" is that the car will lose a little "traditional" feel. Also it takes the car well over my target price.

Now, being in a position to test the cars before finalising the order is a double edged sword. Yes, I am getting to try the options before I buy but I am also having to make a very speedy assessment of the merits of each new option and even the old favourites need to be re-evaluated. For example PSE is no longer a no-brainer. The car sounds superb without it and some might argue it would be better to invest the price elsewhere.

Today's car had standard wheels, no PSE or Chrono and it was still a superb car. Even in "poverty spec" (if a car of that value could ever be such a thing) the 991 Carrera S wants for little. The 997 needed some options to finish it off, it seems to be less the case with the 991.

Thanks must go to OPC Nottingham for making the second car available at the drop of a hat."

Psycho Sid

Oh am I envy you!!!

Thanks again for all the insights!

Could you please give me some feedback on the effects of the raised center console, as it pertains to the position of the right leg/knee.
Also, it has been said that the foot-well was really designed for the PDK and adding the clutch pedal makes the space too cramped with no place to put your left foot with the manual transmission...

Thanks!

Sid.

Galion

haha, I am not the OP, just collecting some imput from demo TD.


".....Yesterday; I had the chance to drive the 991 S, PDK and I would like to share my impressions.
But first a short history of Porsche and me - for reference: 997.1 4S with PSE => loved the car, the look, the steering, plenty of power, the sound. Only complain: suspension was too hard and too noisy for the bad city roads i spend most of my time on. So the facelift came and I went for the 997.2 Carrera, no S, no 4, no PSE. Suspension was a bit softer but not more comfortable! Too soft - in fact - to feel sporty at times and still hard and loud bang noises and jolts in my back over some holes and tram train tracks. Sound was surprisingly good after a few month even without the PSE, the PSE testdrive car totally disappointing as there was a barely noticeable differences to the normal exhaust. Also liked the 2 wheel drive better then the 4S as the it was more fun to drive in my opinion. A negative change on the other hand was also something they did to the front track wheels, they changed the postion to the car to make it more stable but it gave a weird feeling when doing u-turns. Overall I thought the 997.2 was not really better than the 997.1 which was a bit disappointing.

So along comes the 991: have been following it on here and every other available source, watched hundreds of videos, saw it at IAA in Frankfurt etc. I was excited: I liked the look and the reviews sounded great. Many of the things I did not like in the 997, mainly the suspension were supposedly fixed. So I could not wait to drive it. Yesterday I finally did ...

So what was my first impression? To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. Did I expect to much? Do I wanted to love it to much? maybe ...

So what's to like:

still love the ext look, especially the side and the front, the back on the other hand from a very straight view looks not as good as on the pics, but maybe the grey colored car I had does not bring it out as nice as a white ext color. I really like the new lamp design, the bulging not flat glas part - like an old watch. Superb.
Love the inside, i dont mind the panamera similarities, everything looks and feels more quality. Not hugely better than the 997.2 like some wrote but overall a bit nicer. Quite like the new door closing sound and feel. Really nice!

The best part about the 991 in my opinion is the new chassis and suspension. That is how the 997 should have been already. Just great. Brilliant in fact. Comforable over bad roads and yet not soft. I could even drive it in Sport mode in town, something I could do with the 997 only for seconds before I could not stand it anymore. Huge progress. Turn in is better, 200 km/h + driving in a straight line as vastly better. More stable, steering is less nervous here also - just more confidence inspiring.

Also better: the sound outside: louder, especially in sport, much louder at high revs, just more sporty and closer to the 997.1 then the 997.2 in my opinon.

Whats not to like?

a) Sound inside => is a mixed bag, it really does sound a bit artificial from the back seat opening, somehow it just not sound like really coming from the enginge and the car. more like coming from the back loudspeaker. Of course it doesnt but there was a hint of that in my head. Not a deal breaker but not perfect. Question: does anybody know whether the PSE (my test car did not have it) disables the sound composer? that would be my preference and better in my opinion.

b) Steering => I am sorry but it is not as good as the 997.2 steering which was already a bit worse then the 997.1 steering but the loss is bigger this time then from the switch from 997.1 to 997.2; again not a deal breaker it works fine and is certainly no Audi steering but I am sure I will miss the 997 steering in the 991, in fact I would be willing to spend 2000 Euro just for keeping the old one.

c) PDK, well I am just not an automatics guy I guess, so take this with a grain of salt. I never had one before, only in test drives. From my very limited experience I do not see such a huge improvement from the 997.2 PDK to the 991 PDK as some reviews said. In fact there are still things which annoy me: automatic mode => my test car did not have Sport Chrono so I could not test Sport plus, but in Sport and Normal PDK still shifts too early for my taste. Even worse and rather embarrasing: if you step on it, then it goes down 2-3 gears, revs really high, huge sound effects for all bystanders and takes off like a rocket. Some people may like that but for me its just embarrasing in town and it is not something I feel I am controlling. Another thing I didnt like: going 40 km/h in 4th gear, step on the gas and it goes to 1st gear, reving close to the limiter, toons of torque in wet conditions. HELLO??? what were they thinking? going down to maximum of second would be great and you would still be in plenty of torque area having some room before the next shift. That in fact is the problem in my view - the automatic goes always for the fastest solution, i.e. shifting a gear too low for my taste to the the last 500 rpm of the power band and then of course shift up right away again just a slipt second later. The result is a whinning and screaming enging, instead of a much more civilized shift to lets say a 4500-5500 rpm area where there is plenty of torque also and the sound is nice as well. I am sure its a tiny bit slower but i would like it so much more. But maybe its just me ...

In manual mode, much better of course, as I can control the shifts BUT since sometimes I accidently pressed the gas over the limit and came into kick down mode, AGAIN it shifted automatically a gear down even though I was in manual. Just annoying! So overall again unfortunately the PDK is not for me, especially considering the about 6000 Euro more I would have to pay to be happy with it. Sport Chrono (2000) I would have to take with the PDK (3500) which I am not taking without - as well as the higher price for the sport steering wheel due to the paddles (500).

d) a minor thing, maybe it can be changed or programmed but I noticed that the Display next to the Rev Counter (which by the way is brilliant with a great resolution) changes brightness quite a bit. I could not really pinpoint it but sometimes I thougth it got much brighter when I got slow or when i shifted or stopped ... not sure. Maybe somebody knows more about it. It just turned way to bright at night sometimes. Minor thing ... just strange that the main screen does not behave like that so it feels odd.

e) Maybe it was the PDK, maybe a combination of many little things - all taken together but at times I felt like being at home driving a car on Forza Motorsport 4. Actually sometimes not so far away from a Ferrari 458 driving experience, which although the 458 has an even better sound, has an even better turn in and of course is quicker. Overall the 991 is leaning into that direction a bit. Not sure that is good or bad, as I like the 458 a lot but maybe just a bit Porsche atypical compared with history and tradition. I remember the evo review 458 vs. Porsche GT3 RS and the Porsche won because of its analog nature and involvement. I am missing a little bit of that in the 991.

Final Verdict: I will buy one for sure, just for the suspension and chassis alone, its so good. I will very probably get a manual again and I also will not pick the PDCC, it was not on the test car and I did not miss it a bit, very little roll on sport setting anyway. For sure will get the PSE and hope that it overrides the sound composer. Will pass on the Chrono as it makes really more sense with the PDK and not so much without. PADEM as part of chrono: cannot comment as the sport chrono was not in the test car and I have never driven a GT3 but i did not miss anything when doing sharp turns or slalom.
Is the 991 the perfect car - my perfect car? No. My perfect car would be the 991 with 997.1 steering and the enging from the 997 GT3 RS 4.0. so far not part of the car configurator :-)
Will I be happy with it - I am sure I will.

neuneleven

Great read, thanks for posting.

Seranad

Funny to read my own review (post #9) which I gave on a different board here also :-)
but thank you Galion, I enjoyed the UK reviews a lot.

not so funny to read my own review and see all the spelling mistakes :-) sorry about that, English is not my first language.

But I can add to my review, especially as to the merrits of PDCC as I had another test drive just a few days ago. this time with a car which had PDCC, Sports Chrono and PSE.

PSE is fantastic, scares old ladies at the street and makes little boys scream in excitement as I drove by. I am not going into the whole PDK or manual discussion again, I liked PDK a bit better the second time around, especially in connection with Sport Chrono but felt that the best driving program for me would have been something in between Sport and Sport +. Sport tries to stay between 2-3K revs which is too low for me and Sport+ stays in first gear all the way up to 65 km/h which means driving in first most of the time, so its only usefull on the track I guess.

PDCC: its hard to compare when there have been a few days between the test drives but my impression was the PDCC car was even better riding, smoother and and even more stable than the one without. doing a slalom movement on the street, it stays amazingly flat but on the other hand I got slightly dizzy like reading in a car kind of thing as if your movement and the sensory input dont match. Cornering was great, grip unbelievable, I drove in the rain and never even slided once or slipped anywhere. It felt like driving 4 wheel drive. I would say even better than the 4S I had before.

On the other hand, I like to slide sometimes :-) and the slightly unreal and dizzy feeling also made me think, 3200 Euro makes it one of the most expensive options.

In the end I was unsure if I should take it or not. I ordered my 991 yesterday and left it out for now. Order freezes in Feb, so I have some more time to think about it and hopefully read some more reviews and opinions on it.

To all of you: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Psycho Sid

Alright, someone who's actually driven one!!!

So I'm doing a copy/paste of my previous post as it really applies to you
Oh man do I envy you!!!

I hope you can shed some light on this...
Could you please give me some feedback on the effects of the raised center console, as it pertains to the position of the right leg/knee.
It seems like the console pushes the (right) leg closer to the steering wheel...

Also, it has been said that the foot-well was really designed for the PDK and adding the clutch pedal makes the foot-well too cramped with no place to put your left foot with the manual transmission...

Any and all feedback is much appreciated.
Thanks!

Sid.

Edit, just noticed this was your first post... welcome to Rennlist!!

Psycho Sid

Oooohps...
Thought the last one was actually you... my bad

That said your thread did attract one of the authors so that's awesome!
I'm sure lots of RL's have questions...

Keep up the good work, love your thread!

Cheers,

Sid.

Galion

Welcome Serenad, great review BTW!
From your review, I concluded that given the fact that for the first time you get a SPORT mode button as standard equipment, the Sport Chrono PKG wouldnt be a must as it was in the 997, specially for a car that will never hit the track.
Now, I rather use that cash in the PSE option, this is good news to me.

Seranad

Sid: i am 6 ft tall and i did not have any problems with my knee at all. but to be honest i did not really pay attention. too much other things going on. so i guess for a definite answer you need to wait for a taller guy to test drive it. sorry!

as to the clutch, i did order a manual but i test drove only pdk, twice. no manuals around at my dealer yet.