MJBird993

I wrote, earlier, in part: I drove the base 911, and it just didn't do it for me. I drove an S and it seemed to fit me better...A year later I felt like I had overpaid for the whole thing, it was too much power.

For me, no, it wasn't a wallet issue. Any of these cars is way more than you can use on the streets, the way traffic is these days makes it difficult to have some fun, and the track days are behind me. And they (Porsches) are really expensive, and I just wasn't enjoying it enough to justify the money.

1analguy

991s are noticeably lighter than 997.2s. 991 Carrera 19s will ride and handle better than S 20s. A 991.2 Carrera will have a lot more torque "under the curve" than a 997.2 S, and combined with the car's lighter weight, the 991.2 base should pull a bit harder than a 997.2 S...perhaps as well as a 991.1 S. I think the 19s on the Carrera make more of a difference than most people realize. They're just as wide as the 20s and they're lighter, so they have less "flywheel" effect. JMO, but they look better, too.

Archimedes

Either of these cars, base or S, are awesome drives and nobody needs any more power than the base car, but to say that the power of the S is not usable on the street and there's really no difference between the cars is nonsense. I'd hate for someone who's never driven these cars to make a decision based on such a contention and would strongly encourage the OP and other potential buyers to drive both and decide what's best for them. I drove them back to back when I was shopping and there was a very material difference in my mind between the cars, particularly in the area of midrange torque around town. And I use every bit of the torque and horsepower in my car on a regular basis, so I don't understand the logic that anything over X is overkill on the street. I have 450HP in my RS5 and you can damn well believe I make use of it all the time.

I have a Cayman S as well, with the 325HP 3.4 motor, and I can tell you that, while both are great cars, going from that to my Carrera S is pretty night and day in the power department.

mgscarrera

It's a lovely car
I can take my kids to school in it and track it regularly-
amazing chasis rigidity, sublime 7MT and steering and balance
I enjoy hustling the 3.4L motor - in the 3.8 S car, the engine presence is more pronounced and power is everywhere - the 3.4 car is a joy to rev and hear it snarl -
suspension is very good, even on track, some dive and roll, but overall, very impressive right our of the box-

you cant go wrong with this car -

HK G36C

It is a true 911. Having come from a 993, I can tell you it is pure with enough everything.