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No way! I was looking at the same car in dealer inventory before someone picked it up. Great choice, this is really the perfect configuration.
Since you snapped this one up I had to order one from Germany, and it will arrive here in May. Out of curiosity, how was the discount? You can PM me if you prefer.
Had a rainy, grey, gritty, 500-mile "get-acquainted" weekend, and despite the weather, I'm awed. A few observations, since I've benefited from so many other ones here on Rennlist:
1) The engine. She is a beast. A beastly beast. All of the handwringing about turbo-non-purity, 991 vs 991.2, exhaust note/sound/etc...IMHO, arcane nonsense. (My opinion! Please don't flame!) I just feel that if you are not rendered breathless, frightened, slightly nauseous or giddy by the engine and its howling, bottomless power, I'm guessing you're either a veteran racecar driver, or mildly spoiled. In Carrera S dress, she is a beast.
2) PDK. I was a diehard, lifelong gear-rower. I came off a 6-speed manual S5, and a manual E46 M3 before that. My only other Porsche was a '95 993 stick (the one my wife ran over with her SUV). So the move to a non-manual was a big leap of faith for me. And I think it's been a great one. PDK is NOT an automatic in the conventional sense. It is more like a "perceptually-actuated" manual transmission. The gear shifts are so clear, so obvious and so delicious that even when you're not using the paddles, the sense is as if you've telepathically shifted the gears yourself. And when you use the paddles, you get the same effect from a gentle inward tap of your fingers. braaahhh-Braaahhh-BRAAAHH!
It's highly involving, like a manual, but the silky, almost electronic refinement of the gearbox is a delightful and dizzying new experience. Shifting in a micro-instant. I'm glad I got it, and look forward to playing more with it.
3) Chalk/Blue dual-tone leather interior. It's my first "light" interior. It is stunning. The offset chalk stitching against the soldier-blue leather dash and doors is gorgeous, almost nautical. The seats (heated/vented) are superb. I've sat in several 911 black interiors, and I don't mean to cast aspersions. But the chalk/blue is so fresh, elegant and cheerful that I'd have a hard time seeing myself enjoying a dark interior half as much. Just this one driver's opinion. I'm going to be cautious about new jeans and the seat bottoms...but otherwise, love.
4) Tech. The car is almost overwhelming crammed with technology, which surprises and delights, and may even confuse. It will clearly take a few weeks of seat time, parked and noodling, to figure it all out. But a few first-blush impressions. "Enter and drive" (or whatever it's called) is magical, and surprising. The idea of never putting a key in the dash is new to me. The action of unlocking the car with a touch is wild and cool (as is locking it with a finger touch to the door handle). The experience of inadvertently having the hood pop open because I was standing in front of it with the key in my pocket, splashing a bucket of water on it, was a surprise. You have to learn that when the key is on your person, you're like a human proximity beacon for the car, and it will do things when you get close and gesture towards it.
Same thing with the awesome and ultra-refined multi-media screen in the car. It also has a proximity sensor and sometimes just by hovering your hand in front of it, it does things. By and large, I find the user interface to be intuitive; it's just that there's a ****-ton it can do (or be customized to display), and it'll take weeks to get it all figured out.
One of the neatest features is the second interface screen in the gauge cluster, which you can toggle through via a click wheel on the steering wheel. Great info, exquisitely displayed, from tire pressure to trip data to phone info to NAV to entertainment. In some respects, it's SO information-rich that it can almost (at this point) be a driving distraction. I'm looking forward to learning it and having it become second nature, so I can concentrate on driving.
4) Overall. It was a great intro weekend to an incredible machine. The density of design, engineering, history, and performance is pretty darn overwhelming. Truly a privilege to be able to own one and drive one. As the sales guy (and a decent one) at the dealer said, "if this doesn't put a smile on your face, there's a medication for that."
Despite rain and crappy winter-clinging weather, I rolled out the hose, washed her (2 bucket method), and put her to bed for the week. May be more of a daily driver if it ever gets nice here in New England. Thanks for letting me share.
Great update! A quick word of caution, do not hand was your car with your key in your pocket. With the key on your person, you can open the frunk just by waving your hand (or spraying water) over the crest. I've had this happen a couple times by accident.
Spent some time in the garage futzing around with my iPhone to figure out how to best use it in the car. Choices, choices. You can use it as a Bluetooth wireless music source and handsfree calling unit. Or plug it in to the USB port under the armrest and use Apple Car Play. Or download the Porsche PCM Connect OR Porsche Car Connect apps. Or just use it as your untethered phone. Or just shut up and drive. But not in the garage at night after work.
I'm not sure of the actual usefulness of the Porsche apps. And while Car Play is slick and easy to use, you have to plug in for that (which I do half the time anyway to get a charge). But for now, it seems like the Bluetooth connection is the easiest way to get the most utility with the least amount of effort. Hop in, keep the phone in your pocket (or toss on the seat), and you're good to go. For longer trips, plug in and play with Apple Car Play. Sadly this doesn't seem to support Waze, or it'd really be the killer app. So for traffic avoidance, still have to "drive by iphone."
Still, fun peeling back the Carrera digital onion. Am I missing any phone hacks or goodies?
Last edited by MeshGearFox; 03-29-2017 at 09:56 PM.
03-24-2017, 01:34 PM
