MerlinsGarage

Back to the OP.
So how good is the base 911?

Last months C&D pits the M4 vs the 911 (non-S for price reasons) but the Porsche is still the choice from a "drivers" prospective as well as other catagories.
To me that speaks volumes.

StudGarden

Plus it looks a million times better. Mercedes is barely hanging on to sedans IMO but the rest all look the same. Not counting the "twin kidney" grill, the M4 looks like any other Sonata or Accord from even a slight distance. The 911 is a true automotive icon to an extent most competitors have given up even trying decades ago. The original M's were ugly boxes like old Volvos. Today's look much better, but there's nothing special about them at all. Cheaper though I guess, so there's that. Plus it's slower than a base Carrera around a track.

ggreg911

As a current BMW 750 and X3 owner ( past M3) I am very disappointed in the direction of the BMW lineup. The cars are terribly ugly...including the M4.

In April, my two BMW leases will come up and I will replace with a Macan and a S550.

For me there is no comparison between 911 and M4.

disden

I too was a BMW guy for a long time, but the styling got strange, plus the steering feel got lost as the cars got more bloated.

As for original S vs non-S question, I can put on my 2 cents. I had a 991c2s and now have a non-S C2 cab. In terms of daily driving to and from work and around town there really isn't much difference. Because you really have to rev these motors to high rpm to get the power out, simple driving around town is identical in feel. Plus, you look like an a-hole doing that in town or in the neighborhood! So I think it really depends on what the car is for, as a DD I think a 991 non-S is a fantastic choice.

To put this in perspective, I have a Turbo Cab on order, picking it up next month in Zuffenhausen. However I love the way the 991 non-s drives and feels, so I am contemplating leasing a non-S C2 as a daily driver! I really hate my A6 tdi, plus whenever I drive the kids anywhere I take the monster SUV. These 991's in any trim are just so damn exciting and fun to drive- yet comfortable which makes them great. I don't think you can make a poor choice.

Grunty

+1
I am likely to let go of my 550 and x3 also.
While I really like the way they drive, bmws are stylistically uninspired. There is zero sex appeal in their line up.

djlynch

Good wisdom here!

FORENN

Very surprised to hear all of the anti-Bimmer/M3/M4 comments. Bang for buck, it's very tough to beat the new M3/M4. I, for one, love the way it looks, have heard mostly great things from those who have driven them and very much look forward to taking one out for a test spin soon. I agree the 911 looks better, of course, but the M3/M4 is far from ugly. Looks clean, aggressive and, for a sedan, quite sporty.

MayorAdamWest

I had a current gen 550i xDrive and loved it. What an amazing car. Downsized to an S4 to get the 991S. The S4 is great too, but I miss that 550.

1analguy

The new M4, though too stylistically understated for some, may be good "bang for the buck", but there's an even better BFTB deal out there...provided you can get past the wildly overstated look: the C7 Corvette. Personally, I can't get past its looks, which is why I'm here now...

OldGuy

As far as the BMW goes, 2 years ago I tried trading my X5 4.8is in on a Cayenne S. Porsche will not budge on the S. The S hybrid no problem on the Cayenne V6 no problem but not on the S. So I go back to my BMW guy who is always bailing me out it seems like on wifeys car or our SUV and I confess on what I was doing. He says Paul, I will do what ever you want to keep you in a X5 or what ever you want X6. So he has a couple X5Ms and I drive them and they are slick and FAST, much faster than a Cayenne TT I drove(I tried to do apples to Apples but I couldnt find a Cayenne TTS to drive) and gave me a Killer deal. I got a completely loaded X5M for just about what I was going to pay for a loaded S. 555 HP in the BMW package is hard to beat. And when I spotted a better looking set of rims and pointed it out to the sales manager he just called the service guy and had the swapped out no charge.
I dont like the depreication level of the BMWs tho.
I really wanted that CayenneS too. but I have no regretts. The Macan IS nice though.

FORENN

I guess it depends on what we're including in "bang for the buck." I'll take an M3/M4 over the C7 eight days a week because of the *way* more attractive styling (like you, I also can't get past the C7 looks), legitimate back seats (I actually use the back seats in my C4S and would appreciate the added utility of the larger back seats in the M3/M4), etc. So it's an easy decision for me; I'd take the M3/M4 all day long over the C7. But you make a fair point and I imagine many others would agree with you.

As an aside, are we really having an M4 vs. C7 discussion in a 991 vs. 991S thread? My apologies to the OP.

bccars

Don't beat up on the BMW's so hard. The M3/M4 are brilliant cars. Off course our 991's are better sportscars, but that doesn't demerit the M's.

disden

I like the new C7, the Z06 looks killer. Being taller at 6'3 I tried to see if I could fit in a C7 vert, for me was only slightly more spacious then a coffin. Another reason the 991 is nice.

disden

The new Ms look great. I had an E92 M, that V8 was killer sounding. I just hated the steering feel, was really odd, even in Sport setting it just felt too artificially heavy without giving any feedback. Hopefully on this newer version they have improved it.

Scottish Pete

Going back to the original question of what you get standard with a Carrera S for the $14,600 besides an additional 50 hp with the larger 3.8 engine:
$950 twin pipe exhast on each side
$1,320 PTV steering
$1,560 Carrera S 20" wheels
$2,950 PASM suspension lowering the car 10mm (3/8")
$7,700 for the 3.8 engine and red caliper 6-piston bigger brakes

Seems like we should get the $950 back if we buy the $2950 PSE exhaust system . . .