droidfan

@Steve Cole, between 2014 and now (model year 2018) Audi systems have evolved a lot. You should go to an Audi dealership to see what I mean ;-)

I do agree my 911 driving is awesome but I need more from a 100K+ car (see me previous posts in the thread) and I don't want to feel that the European owners are better treated than us in the US.

Also we understand that having Apple Car Play only and Android Auto missing is also not only on Porsche shoulders as Google would need to be having a better TOS for allowing Porsche to accept it. But still, I would expect Porsche (and its mother group VW) to weight in to get this deal done correctly.

cug

But of course, most manufacturers make you buy the Nav to actually get Car Play. Porsche has the option of not getting a nav on Boxster and Cayman, but not on the 911. The nav is included as is Car Play.

I guess this will change over time, but at this point, manufacturers make a killing selling the higher end communication systems and forcing people who actually just want Car Play or Android Auto to still do the same.

droidfan

@rai, I like you analogy for the difference between the M3/4 and the 911 ;-)

But I also disagree on your comment "it's better for a car to have no navy as they get dated real fast". Man, we are in 2017 if I recall correctly ?!? Right ?

FYI Porsche has confirmed me that the "Nav updates" are downloaded in the background on 991.2 cars

cug

@droidfan – Yes, I saw that. It'll be interesting.

I've made the decision a few months ago to get one last "real car", before cars and transportation change completely. I'm actually mostly looking forward to this, but it will change the world. Slowly, much slower than people expect, but it will change. Maybe I will see it happen.

droidfan

@cug, we are exactly in the same boat :-)

I am thinking that my current 911 is the last or the one before the last before I will get an electric car. The Mission E seems interesting in that context... but I will surely miss in the future the awesome sound and vibrations of our gas engines (no sound recording will produce the same results).

FYI I tried multiple times a Tesla S and this was not an interesting car for me. This car is important for the all car industry because it shows some path for "full electric" but I like to say that a Tesla is more like a PC and a Porsche is more like a Mac ;-)

What really blows my mind is to spend $100K+ on a Tesla to have a crappy quality for the interior. The dash system is sort of interesting but i don't like the huge screen that feels totally out of context.

The PCM screen is small in comparison and I could appreciate a 9inch one instead for sure, but it makes sense in a 911 to get one "with a correct size (meaning not too big, not too small) "

Concerning the "speed of change" I do agree with you. It all boils down to have the equivalent of gas stations and AFAIK the "electric charge stations" are very slowly deployed and you will never be able to have them as deployed as real gas stations. Last, I don't see how I could similarly get a small tank of "electricity" if I run out of it in my car. Right now I would "just" walk to a gas station, fill a small gas tank and go back to my car.

cug

LOL ... interesting comparison coming from an Android fan ... ;-)

I did a long test drive in a Tesla and they were the only ones actually allowing for proper test drives here in the US. Freeway, curvy roads and so on. I liked it until I hit a curvy road. That weight is killing it. Plus the car is huge.

Most of my test driving was in Germany where you can generally get a car for some time and test it out thoroughly.

droidfan

@cug, I did that comparison on purpose for joking and it is nice to see you got it ;-)

Yes the Model S is waaayyyy to big and heavy. I was considering my M5 to be a "big boat" but man this Tesla is much more than that.

I think a 991 or M4 size is about right for me and my use cases (except for the back seat / trunk space situation on the 911)

Would you tell us more about your Germany test driving experience?

cug

I have a pretty good relationship with the dealership in Bonn and when I was over the last time, I stopped by and got a 911 C2 for a day. Headed into the mountains and had some fun. Another time I was at the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen for my Mom's birthday and for that I rented a Boxster for a day.

I do know some of the other dealers in Bonn as well, so did tests in an F-Type, an SLK43, an M4 and an S4.

droidfan

@cug nice indeed. You have done those in 2017 or before ?

On my side, I have many test drives in the SF Bay Area and more recently in the last couple of months I did:

- 2018 M4 Comp package
- a few 2017 / 2016 Porsche (911, 911S, Cayman, Cayman GTS, a few Macans)
- 2017 C63S AMG

The new M4 was way too harsh for my taste.

The C63S was pretty impressive (exhaust wise) and the interior was pretty nice but the screen was kinda lame. The car was heavy too.

The 911 drives were all good and that is why I decided to get my 911. The base Cayman was totally underpowered and the Cayman GTS was quite nice but a bit too noisy in the cabin.

rai

it's 2017 and yet many infotainment nav systems suck. I was watching top gear saying how bad the Lexus system is, and how bad Cadillac is many reviews say don't buy the car because of the CUE system. I wish it was not so. Why can't huge multi billion companies make a decent system after so many years?

But infotainment system on car today will look dated in 10 years unless like Teslas can be upgraded with software.

kennypowers

i agree. I have a 991.1 S but I think it's easier and better laid out to use than the Audi system in my wife's 2015 q5. That system sucks to use for many reasons, in our opinion.

honestly the current I drive system for bmw is one of the best, but I find the one in the p car to be pretty good as well. I love the nav screen in the gauge cluster.

i also can't think of any comparable sports cars to the 911 that cost the same, perform the same, and have better electronics.

that said, to each their own.

cug

We are getting a bit off-topic, but as it's the thread you started I'll give it a short go:

• 2016 BMW M4 – standard M4, no comp package or so, DSG, I liked it generally and found the car practical and but a bit like a German Mustang GT, which really isn't my thing; it was the closest contender for me given the day to day practicality, but I just couldn't see myself identifying with the car
• 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman S – didn't like the engine too much, car overall was nice, just not quite what I wanted, I liked the size and "hatchback"; bummer that the engine layout of the 911 doesn't allow for that or that the Cayman doesn't have the sweet engine of the 911; I would have preferred a Cayman with the C2 engine over a 911, that's probably also why Porsche doesn't offer this
• 2017 Jaguar F-Type S – did a few test drives and a two day rental while I was in Germany and needed a car anyways; lovely car, nice sound, surprising fuel economy with the automatic gear box, but I had time and did very relaxed driving; it was fun dialing up the exhaust noise, but got old pretty quickly, this made me decide to not go with sport exhaust on the 911; loved the "hatchback", absolutely hated the infotainment; very nice engine, a little rough around corners, not nearly as refined as any of the Porsches
• 2017 MB C63S Coupe – short test drive in the Bay Area only; too much a muscle car, I just can't identify with something like this
• 2017 MB SLK43 – if it had the same super nice interior quality of the new C43 or C63 I would been very tempted by this one, but I really didn't like the plastic feel
• BMW M2 – fun car, felt like a total hooligan => not a good fit for my personality as I like a more no-nonsense approach of clinical perfection, not tons of compromise, massive wheel arches, etc, even though it might be a ton of fun; at least not in my daily driver

I did more test drives, like Golf R, MX-5 RF, Audi S4, Audi TTS, Boxster, Alpha Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and others as my goal with this was to find "my last real car". I'm planning on driving this car until the wheels fall off.

droidfan

@kennypowers I agree that the BMW infotainment in one of the best. I think the new Audi one is pretty good. The one in the new MB C63S was quite good too.

Yes, I also agree that the small roundy LCD screen on the right hand side of the RPM counter in the 911 is a blast too. So easy to use and provide good informations.

droidfan

@cug, sure, let's do not go off topic of the thread, but thank you a lot for your interesting feedback.

DNorby

funny thing about electric cars...they were around at the beginning of the automobile, they didn't work then and they don't work now. Go buy a DeWalt battery drill, use it and see how long those batteries last.