Both professionals and amateurs have posted their impressions of the .2 at length. Having owned seven 911s dating back to 1987, I'll give you my thoughts in a few short words and numbers. It's still a 911.

 

Well said!

 

I was telling my wife the other day: No matter how many options you have or don't have, it still performs like a Porsche.

 

Really? That's it? Some of us are dying to hear more about the base Carrera from someone who is not a journalist but still has a lot of Porsche experience.


How did it accelerate relative to your 991.1 C4S? How did it sound. (did it have PSE). Any lag?

 

He didn't need to write any more, we all already know from all the others:

-Easily 300-400mph faster with the 5% horsepower gains.

-Sounds roughly the same as a Tesla

-10 to 15 minute turbo lag depending on starting revs

-CarPlay with Siri is so massively improved, she actually gives you blowies while you drive.

-Pulls so many Gs with RWS that you actually have to use AGSM maneuver to keep from blacking out.

 

Do you have a source for this? If it's true, I may be listing my 2016 GTS in the classifieds in a few minutes.

 

A quick Google search shows many results (may be NSFW):

https://www.google.com/search?q=siri+*******&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

I'll look forward to seeing it in STG's hot for sale thread!

 

Just cracked open a Deschutes Inversion IPA, so I guess I'll have to comply with subshooter's request.

I drove my wife's 997.2 C4S about 90 miles to the dealer for service and then jumped into the 991.2 for a 45 minute test drive. The comparison would have been a bit better if I had driven my 991.1 C4S, but it is what it is. Also, keep in mind that both my wife's and my cars are manuals and they both have Sport Chrono. The tester was a PDK base C2 with Sport Chrono but without PSE. I drove the car in sport mode and used the paddle shifters. Took some local streets, a highway, and some winding 2 lanes.

Providing full disclosure, I have a .2 C4S Cab on order, so I'm definitely a bit biased. By the way, the dealer had a C2S Cab on the showroom floor in the exact color combo I ordered - GT Silver with a red top and red/black interior. It looked awesome. I'm so glad I opted for that combo.

I think what everyone has to consider is that the neither the .2 base nor the S is meant to replace the .1 GTS. The GTS is a special car with tons of power and plenty of torque. Those of you that have them should rightly feel that you have fantastic cars.

That all being said, the car I drove was amazing. There was no turbo lag, and it sounded just fine inside and outside the car. For some reason, whenever a sound clip is posted online, there seems to be some turbo whine. I didn't hear any. It just sounded like a 911 should. While I was in the showroom, the sales manager fired up the .2 S with PSE, and it sounded great - way better than any of the videos that have been posted. From a power standpoint, the best way to describe the .2 is Porsche has made the base perform like an S. I tried driving along at 2000 rpm in 3rd gear and jumping on the accelerator. There was no turbo drama. It just pulled and pulled. I tried cruising in 7th at 70 on the highway and jumping on it. Unlike my 4S, it hit 90 in no time (Can I get a retroactive ticket for admitting this?). While I'm probably not the best judge of linearity, it felt pretty linear to me. I found myself wondering how much power the 3.0 would have without the turbochargers, since at times the boost gauge would read zero but the car was accelerating pretty strongly. If you're like me and your driving generally consists of tooling around at 2000 rpm with occasional blasts to 6 or 7000 rpm, you should love this car. If you're a high rev person who like to drive at 5000+ rpm most of the time, it won't be the same as your NA car, but it won't be bad either.

The bottom line is exactly what I stated in my original post. The car is still a 911. The really good news is that Porsche seems to have developed a base car that performs like a .1 S and has more standard features than the .1 base. While I'm by no means suggesting that my .2 S will be as great as a .1 GTS, I'm hoping that it will give me a nice GTSish performance boost over my current car.

I really don't remember what turned me into a Porsche fan all those years ago, but I'm glad it did.

 

Well said tgcrun. And a great write up. Thank you.

 

Thanks for the write up Tom. I appreciate it very much. Now it's my turn to have an IPA.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

I love the different perspectives that all of us have. My .2 test drive made me run like hell and jump into a GTS faster than I otherwise would have.

 

thank you for sharing your thoughts. i have to ask though, why the mention of the comparison/replacement of the GTS.1? i would think that it's obvious that it's not, maybe others don't? there will be a new GTS .2, and then possibly more variants down the road. they're just different, but i still don't understand the reason to mention such. isn't the topic about the base 991.2 test drive? perhaps you also own a GTS.1 and hence why you mentioned it. just curious is all.

as for the SOUND of the base car without PSE AND the C2S with PSE, it basically echos what i mentioned in some other thread about the exhaust noise of the new .2 motor (in my case it was a C4S.2 that i heard). you say it sounded just fine both inside and outside the cabin, but some other person in this forum said he couldn't hear the motor inside the cabin at all (let's please not start with "maybe one car had a problem" or "maybe one tester was hard of hearing" nonsense). i think the car i heard sounded absolutely fine....good even....hec, maybe even great! i'll assume that you don't think it sounded horrible in any way. it's great to "hear" that you were able to gain feedback of the motor from inside. i love it that you thought the exhaust noise wasn't "terrible or horrible." of course, sound is subjective so the hec with all of what i just wrote.

as for the .2 cars having turbo lag/not having turbo lag, it sounds like it wasn't something that you took notice to, or that made the drive unpleasant, or that made driving it any less fun than a NA car. you go as far as speaking to the linear aspect of the power delivery. is there anything you didn't like about how the motor made power? we're talking about the lesser powered base motor, not even the one in the higher spec S model, and you really liked it.

"the car is still a 911." i love that statement and find very little not to like about the new car. again, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

And that's why there's a Pcar for everyone. Hopefully, the next GTS will be awesome.

 

I will add my 2 cents.

I drove a 991.2 C2 and C2S back to back last week. Both were manual and both had PSE.

Power / Turbo Lag : the C2 felt very linear and I didn't feel any turbo lag. The turbo whine was clearly heard and I liked it. The car was fast but it didn't excite me. I was underwhelmed. The PSE pop and crackle off throttle was fun - on it I didn't think there was much too it.
The C2S was noticeably faster. The turbo whine equally audible. The turbo lag was clear to feel. The pop and crackle was there again but this time under acceleration there was much more of a throaty growl to the engine. Overall much more enjoyable experience.

In the end I decided to buy a 991.1 C4S and I love love love the growl of the NA when you are on it - imo much nicer than the .2