Talvandi

I drove BMW M3's for several years before getting the Cayman S and was worried that I wouldn't be satisfied with the power but I was completely wrong, the drive was amazing. I think I'll have the same experience with the base carrera.

Talvandi

Totally understand, this is the main reason why I asked the question.

AlterZgo

This is my problem w/ the way Porsche prices their cars. All the price levels blend and it's a super slipperly slope. I wanted an S, but my S optioned out was $140K... A Turbo is $170K... so what's another $30K - $40K when I'm already spending $150K w/ tax?

Thankfully, I just decided that I still need to scratch the manual transmission itch so Carrera S it is for me... if I can ever find an allocation.

I think the bottom line is, if the base Carrera has the options you want, that's the one to go for. If you must have a manual or the other stuff that's not available on a base, get the S.

Power is fine on both... and I totally get the whole car is too fast for the road thing. I don't have a 911 yet, but my tuned M3 is only enjoyable thru 1st and half of 2nd gear on regular roads. I get maybe 5 seconds of hard acceleration and any more and it's jail time. I can't imagine what I'd do with a turbo, let alone a turbo S.

rk-d

It's not a problem for Porsche, I can assure you.

"Just another $30k and I can go to X"

Next thing you know you're in a Turbo S.

AlterZgo

Oh I've crunched the numbers on a Turbo S as well. I'm a firm believer in getting exactly what you want rather than settling. But I'd probably draw the line at a Turbo. The Turbo S has options I don't want or really care to have (CCBs, center lock, and the addt'l 60 hp) and some that I'd still need to add so I don't see the point. But, since I'm positive I want to enjoy these last opportunities to drive manual cars before they go away in the next 5-10 yrs, a Carrera S is ideal for me. I know you have a TTS on order so no disrepect meant... but for me, I imagine a Turbo S would feel like living in a gilded cage... having the finest, highest performing car around... yet no where to really appreciate the incredible performance, other than on a track. I do love the way the turbos look... particularly the smaller rear wing compared the Carrera's aerokit rear wing.

Arun Rao

agonized over base v. s just a few months ago. went with the s because while i wasn't going to push either the base or the s to their limits, the s had the higher limit "just in case". silly i know, but extremely happy with my choice (and then i went off and tuned the car to push the limit higher

3rdpedal

I have an S on order. I think the price gap shrinks a bit if you add some of the standard features from the S that are options on the Base. Also I think there are a few features as mentioned on the S that are not available on the Base.

But I can also tell you a lot of people say the S is a bit too fast and that before you can really enjoy the power ramp you have to slow down. At least in daily driving. If I could get a Manual in the Base, I wouldn’t be getting an S. But I might be getting a 4.

I did not opt for a 4S. Or try to find an allocation for one. I live in Colorado. And from my understanding while the C4S is more snow worthy than the C2S, a good set of winter wheels and tires with a rear engine vehicle can make it quite capable. So long as you don’t drive it on the most extreme of days which I would not expect to.

Jay-muc

I have a 992 4 cabrio ... great car BUT the ca. 12 k€ buys you a significantly faster car with more NM torque which changes things significantly, especially with passenger and/or in the mountains etc. And yes, the normal car is not slow but it does have less torques and acceleration in those circumstances which ... in my view ... changes the experience from full on sports car to luxurious and yes somewhat swift tourer ... I I would do it again, I would skip full leather, light and some amenities to close the gap somewhat for my contience and then take the 450 hp ...

drchip

Red brakes, get the S, nuff said

cactusjack

First question - what is your budget.
Second question - PDK or 7MT.

Maybe the 2nd one should be first.

Then go from there.

aggie57

Agreed, welcome to the land of tiered product pricing.

rk-d

No offense taken. There is no logical argument for a Turbo S, let's be honest. It's a ridiculous thing to get as a daily driver.

If you're wanting a manual, then your question is answered quite simply - GT3 or Carrera S.

It's true that you can't fully exploit a TT/S on the street, but of course you can't do that with a Carrera S either. You might be surprised that even at legal speeds, there is a meaningful difference between the Turbo/S and Carrera S. That said, there is no doubt the Carrera S is plenty fast.

As far as Turbo vs Turbo S -- I originally had a base Turbo on order. I really wanted PCCBs and that alone makes the Turbo S the only real option. Also, by the time I upgraded the Turbo to the spec I wanted, it ended up including $20,000 worth of options that came free on a Turbo S - wheels/lights/seats/trim. At that point, I was about $15k away from a TTS. Even then, I was struggling to keep the Turbo budget below some imaginary line that I didn't want to cross for fear of losing the one advantage the base Turbo gives you -- value. At that point, I gave up and committed. Of course now, I'm diving into the PTS weeds and the budget is way above where it was when I first started. Slippery slope....

Dan Nagy

The C2 is a very capable version. It will still go 180+. Good luck with your test drive.

detansinn

This is purely a budget decision. You set the amount that you want to spend, then configure Base 2/Base 4 or S/4S to that budget. The S cars are faster, have bigger brakes and a proper LSD/PTV+, plus they unlock options not available on the Base cars. If you can live without those performance options, the Base cars are totally fine.

Really, anything beyond that is nonsense. These are both are stupid fast cars for US roads. You can't use the Base more on the road or whatever that's all about. For many buyers, the Base will be the fastest car that they've ever driven, but that doesn't mean that it's more fun than the S. The suggestion that S has more turbo lag (it doesn't) or is somehow less fun than the Base is also total manure. As a side note, you can't just put on a tune on a Base and make it S any more than a tune on an S makes it a Turbo.

As for the TT/TTS cars, the difference between a Turbo S build and a Carrera S/4S build with similar options is about $70-80k. That's a much bigger step than the $15-16k difference between an S and a Base. If you're wringing your hands over the price delta between a Base and S, the Turbo cars aren't part of the picture or decision tree.

michael818

Just a quick response on driving in the snow. The C2, with the weight over the drive wheels and a set of winter wheels, is more than capable in the snow. The bigger factor in driving in the snow is ground clearance. I've never regretted not having the C4, not that I have a problem with it, but since my driving in snow is limited to lighter snowfalls, the C2 is fine.