Prisma

I’m lucky enough to have been able to purchase a 992 recently. Before buying I did a lot of research & reading of anything I could find - a lot of it on here, so I wanted to provide my thoughts on the 992 now that I’ve had it for a while, so that I may help others. This is obviously going to be my personal opinion.

A little about my car: 2S, white metallic, rear-axle steering, PDCC, Matrix headlights, sport exhaust, front axle lift, Burmester, sport-tex seats (18 way), surround view and a bunch of other options. I’ll give some info on some of these options later.

General feedback on the car - I love it. It’s hard to convey how great the car it is in words, or a video or even a short test drive. You need to proper drive it to appreciate it. But the car is fantastic. I had an F80 M3 previously and the 992 is just a different league. I would say that the M3 is to the 992, what my wife’s Qashqai is to the M3. The M3 is a great car and compared to most cars, feels solid, responsive and very fast. Compared to the 992 the M3 feels tall, slow (!) and unresponsive steering. The 992 is just that much better - which I’m glad, since it’s also twice the price.

Handling

The car is stuck to the road. How do they do that? I can feel the car following the contour of the road exactly. I feel every bump, every dip, everything. It’s hard to describe but it’s a great feeling and really allows one to throw the car into a corner knowing it will stick. The car is really at home on twisty B roads.

Power

I’m still under 1000 mikes so haven’t been above 4000 rpm but even so, it’s plenty fast. So far though, I’ve had no issues putting down power like the M3 had. In the M3, one had to be ever so gentle moving off in Sport mode to avoid wheel-spin or TC kicking in, or god forbid the kangaroo! It’s much easier to get going in the 992. Power; go.

Once car fully broken in I’ll try launch control and higher revs and update this.

Sound

This will be fun. Like I mentioned above I have Sport Exhaust - when you first turn the car on from cold - my god does the 992 greet you in a nice way. Roars into life. I love it. Like it’s happy to see me. The car literally screams into life.

Normal Mode driving. Terrible. No other word. It’s pretty bad sound and a bit embarrassing sometimes if I have a passenger, although if driven smoothly it’s relatively quiet, so it’s possible to “fly under the radar” (hopefully it improves as the car runs in)

Switching to Sport Mode is pretty much the first thing one needs to do after switching the car on. Sound in Sport mode is pretty good considering. Much much better than Normal. I’m almost always in Sport Mode unless cruising at 75 (ish) on a motorway. Besides improved sound, it also disables the start-stop system. I have a personal dislike of start-stop & even if it was buried down 10 levels of menus, I would still disable it every time.

Sport Mode does use more fuel than Normal Mode of course.

Practicality

Had no issues here. The rear seats are incredible for a car like this. I’m lucky that I’m quite short (5ft 7) and my wife even shorter. I’ve carried my 2 kids in the back no problem as well as adults of similar size to me. I guess since I’m short my seat is quite far forward. This was definitely one of my biggest worries - I wanted to carry my 2 kids and occasional friend but very hard to know for sure until you try it.

The boot/trunk/frunk is ample big. I was able to fit our weekly shop in here no problem, plus it’s cool to pop-the bonnet. I’m sure the casual onlooker must be thinking “gosh, this guy really likes looking at his engine” lol

The frunk is easy to open. It does have a safety latch which requires manual disengagement - and it’s hilarious watching friends and family trying to open it. Obviously I can do it blind-folded now ☺️

Rear-Axle Steering

Never had this before and never thought I’d need it but I think it’s great. The car handles differently with RAS, and at slow sharp corners it’s almost freaky. You feel the back end swing round. Completely different feel to any car I’ve ever driven. It does bring a new level of agility to an already agile car. If I went back I would chose this option again.

Front-Axle Lift

I don’t have Sport PASM, even so I debated FAL a lot. Around my area there’s a lot of speed-humps, dips, hills, etc... well turns out I didn’t need FAL. Haven’t used it once. There is 1 car park that I’m sure I’ll need it. I guess it’s almost like insurance. It’s good to know it’s there. Although I worry that when I do eventually need to use it, it will be because I’ve started to scrape by which point it may already have damage. But let’s see, perhaps I just need to use it as practice. Either way I think I’d skip this if I was ordering again.

“The bad stuff”

Here I will cover what I call “the bad stuff” - things that I found in my research/reading that are bad about the car.

Drive Mode Selector - aka shifter - aka nubbin - I hated this after hearing & seeing feedback in videos, comments, etc... I wanted to wait for manual - I’d convinced myself it was terrible. Turns out it’s a complete non-issue for me personally now that I own the car. For me it’s not a shifter. It’s just a Drive Mode selector. I turn car on, change mode and drive. The nubbin just fades into its surroundings and is not overly prominent. It just fits well in my mind. Not a single comment about it from anyone that’s been inside.

I already mentioned sound, but yeah. Sport Mode to the rescue. Thank god for Sport Exhaust.

Digital dials - now here’s something annoying. As everyone knows the outer 2 dials are obscured. It is not a major issue but it is annoying. There is non critical information like fuel and date - things that don’t need to be checked every 5 minutes, but also has coolant temperature which is kind of important. I need to move considerably to the side to check these 2 dials so it’s not safe to do so while moving. I guess one gets used to it, but yeah it’s annoying.

(Lack of) Heads-Up Display

The 992 obviously doesn’t have a HUD, but this is the single biggest feature I miss from the M3. Satellite Navigation in particular is much more “involved” now without a HUD. On the M3 the route and turns were projected on the HUD right in the line of sight. The 992 has it either on the right hand side of the digital cluster (which is obscured by the steering wheel) or in the central display which is well out of the way of where the driver should be looking.

Surround View

I think this system must be some sort of practical joke. On one hand it’s super smart. Activated automatically if moving slowly near obstacles. On the other hand the field of view is so large that it causes a massively distorted image. Very hard to read. With practice one can learn to decode the images I’m sure. I also can kind of understand why it’s like this - the car is very low, and the side mirror cameras do manage to capture the entire side of the car which impressive. I think 2 side cameras on each side, each covering half the length of the car would have meant a much smaller FOV.

Random comments

The doors are quite long so they can swing out quite a bit. I haven’t encountered any issues getting in or out in car parks - but they are longer than other cars I’ve driven (all 4 or 5 doors up until now)

The driver seat moves back & forwards automatically when turning engine off & getting out. Beautiful little detail that actually helps a lot!

If you have the seats quite a way forward (my default position as I’m short), they catch they fold-up visors on the top when folding forwards. Need to be careful not to damage anything!

Door handles are beautiful. Everyone comments on them. I thought they would be flimsy or delicate, but no; they are solid and feel great. Very high quality in my opinion. Everyone who has seen them loves them and comments on them.

Visibility is fantastic. The car is super low so pretty much every other vehicle is taller so can’t really see ahead of cars. Although I can almost; almost see under certain tall SUVs 😂😂😂

Summary

As I said at the start, I love the car. I think it is fantastic. It is my first Porsche so I may be in the “Porsche honeymoon period”.

Is the car perfect? Nope. Do I want it to be perfect? I’m not sure I do... I love the car the way it is, imperfections and everything. I think the feeling I get when I switch her on; when I drive trough a corner way too fast; when I watch the Matrix headlights do their dance; all these moments add up to a perfect experience for me.

I guess a car is usually just a car, a tool. Sometimes though a car is more than a car.

AGDelaney

I hope you don’t mind me adding my thoughts as a relatively new owner under yours using your structure.. Before buying also I did a lot of research & reading of anything I could find - one thing that isn’t in short supply is opinions, although I have noticed that the car has not been in circulation long enough for many multi car comparison articles or videos.

A little about my car: 2S, Aventurine green, sport exhaust, Sports chrono, standard stereo, sport plus seats, and a heated steering wheel. Quite basic.

General feedback on the car - I love it also, although it does feel more different than I expected from my 718S. I had a Boxster 718S and then before that an F10 M5. previously. The 992 is a scalpel to the BMW sledgehammer. My M5 would always spin up its rear wheels coming out of junctions. That isn’t fun every time.

Handling

I agree that handling and cornering is great. It is pretty supple over bumps (and our crap roads), and it holds going round corners linke a leech. I will likely have even more good things to say tomorrow when I go to my PEC Experience at Silverstone. Writing this from a local B&B. I also thought that the sport mode for PASM would be unusable on public rads, but I find it can be used for additional fun.

Power

I have done 2200 miles and was gentle up to 1800, but this car is indeed fast with little effort. The torque is amazing, and the more you press the accelerator the faster it goes - I don’t mean the obvious, but you press it and think this thing is fast, then you press it harder and you think wow, and then you press it harder still and feel your cheeks puckering.

Sound

I have Sport Exhaust Also - but I am a little underwhelmed. Nothing stirs the soul.

Normal Mode driving. Terrible. Agreed. Very quiet most of the time, with some burbles when you first pull away.

Switching to Sport Mode doesn’t do enough for me. I wanted to hear more, even f just inside the cabin. I dont care what people outside think. It is a little better, but not what I expected for the additional outlay and for my expectation of a sports car.

Practicality

I am 6’2” and not exactly male model material, and I fit with lots to spare. Plenty headroom. In fact, with most cars I drop the seat as low as it will go. I did this initially in the 992. I recently it it up a bit as I found it more comfortable as a driving position. Each to their own of course. Otherwise, dont care about practicality. Plenty space.

“The bad stuff”

Drive Mode Selector - aka shifter - aka nubbin - Totally agree that it is a drive selector. It would be useless as a way to change gear, but as I only touch it twice a journey, it is not the issue that everyone makes out.

Digital dials - I agree that this is the real issue. It is very annoying having to lean your head to see the temperature or fuel.

Cup holder - I have had the recall. I hate the centre cup holder and it is in the glove compartment.

I should not have to pay extra to have my passenger side wing mirror dip to see a kerb.\

Random comments

Door handles are beautiful. Agreed. It is only a little annoyance when they close flush even if car not locked. The pull action feels a little odd. But hardly a deal breaker.

I hav had some false alarms going off. Usually interior. Annoying, especially as I have PVTS so if you don’t hear it, and cancel the alarm before it cancels or silences itself, then you get a call from the security centre and the Connect app is disabled until they reset it. Daft. You should be able to reset it yourself from the app instead of a call, especially when it is 3am!

Car Play does not stretch to full extent of the screen which is a little annoying. Feel like I am missing out.

Summary


A car is indeed just a car. I will change it after a couple of years. But I am very glad that I have an early 992. It was not a bad decision in any way

uniqueMR

Congrats. Drive it in good health. Thanks for sharing

enzotcat

FYI - dials in the 991.2, which I have, while not digital are *also* obscured. So much so that I have to move my hands away from the steering wheel and move my head around to see the temperature or fuel. I gave up on doing that and just use the 3rd MFD display to see temperature and fuel. So in other words, it's really no different visibility-wise . Interestingly enough, I just drove a Cayenne with the digital display, and could see all 5 dials happily. Perhaps it has a bigger steering wheel, dunno, but it wasn't an issue there.

dichael

Thanks y’all. Always nice hearing from owners!

Sebvelez

Agreed... I think there’s a lot of variables and each of us see the dials differently depending on our position and height. I have both a 997.2 and an ‘87 911 with the 5 separate dials and in both cars I unfortunately don’t see the end dials clearly unless I move around my head, much like what’s been described to be the case on the 992. I’m 5’10”, standard build and pretty standard seating position. Can’t wait to try out the 992... I’m sure my view will be obscured again.

Thank you for the reviews! Helps putting up with this long wait a little more bearable!!

chance6

How is the Burmester??

NigelPlays

agree, share your thoughts on the Burmester.

Prisma

Burmester is ok. The sound is clear and the surround sounds works well. I’m sure that if hear back to back with the BOSE i’d hear a difference. Do I think it’s worth the money? Probably not to be honest. Although I do think it completes the interior well, with the nice large front speakers & rear speakers.

But to be fair, I have not used it much yet - I mostly drive with music off for now as I’m still getting to know the car; although I think it will come into its own on the first big road trip with the wife - either as background music, or to drown out her “slow down!” 😂😂

JMO1805

First off, thanks for the feedback. I'll be making a switch later this year from the M4 to my 911. Can you comment on the ride quality in terms of cabin noise and harshness?

darkblack

Thanks for the detailed review, it's always refreshing to read first hand feedback of a genuine owner.

I'm considering SPASM in combination with FAL for the occasional bumps around London and UK in general. Would you consider that overkill? You say you don't think you actually need FAL but do you think with the car 10mm lower with SPASM, getting FAL would make more sense?

Prisma

For me cabin noise has not been an issue, in that I’ve never noticed it. Ride quality is much firmer than M3. It’s brilliant. You feel every bump and dip of the road but it’s not uncomfortable; it feels completely planted - and the car corners extremely flat.
After driving the 992, the M3 felt really floaty, very detached from the road. It took my brain a few minutes to re-adjust.

Prisma

Its a good question and I don’t know if there’s a right answer. I will give my thoughts, but other more experienced owners may offer better advice.

I haven’t had to use FAL yet, and I haven’t scraped the front either. There’s one multi-storey car park near me where I will definitely use/need it. The thing is I know I have it so it kind of gives me confidence to venture into different roads, villages and so on. I think that if I had SPASM and no FAL I’d be even more cautious taking new routes. And I don’t think I want to be worrying too much about what I may encounter up the road - I’d rather be enjoying the drive & the car.

JS

Very sharp.
Congrats ! ! !

miglio

Have you tried coasting / sailing mode in 992?

So when you leave the gas pedal the rpm goes down like in N ?

This should be the coasting mode and it's very good for consumption, but in 992 seems to be NOT WORKS..