Bruce In Philly

Hey, it is fun to toss around definitions and experiences... compared my friends Tesla, and my wife's IS250 AWD, my 997.2 is a sports car and beyond. Carreralicious, you pretty much nailed my feelings. I will add, what really affected my opinion on what a sports car is was driving a Lotus Elise. Wow... what a raw experience... stones pinging against the floor pan... a go kart... now that is the sports car benchmark for me. Compared to an Elise, my 997.2 is a LazyBoy recliner. Again, this is all relative and just our opinions based on our experiences.

I will say, that the bottom line for a sports car is that it is track-ready off the show room floor. Braking, oiling, and cooling that can handle the rigor. That definition, for me, is really the acid test. After that, it is kinda silly actually. My friend took is Alfa out on the track at Summit point and promptly tore his engine mounts... not a sports car. Another guy took his bran new Corvette (this was around 2001 - don't remember the model) out and had to leave at lunch on day one because his brakes kept boiling... the car was unsafe on the track... not a sports car. So you see, you kinda have to lay down a base definition and then go from there. All in good fun.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

sandwedge

Nicely summed up Bruce. No, a 997 will never be a Lotus Elise but I still don't hesitate to call the 997 a sports car. As you say, it's track ready from the show room floor and you would have to work hard to boil the brakes, never mind busting the engine mounts.

SilCab

My 997 is my daily and it is wonderful.

bmwcousins

I have a '10 997.2 S with PDK.. Ohlins, headers, Forgelines, 143,xxx miles and I commute approx 40 miles round trip 4 days a week.

For me it's perfect, It's fast enough, comfortable for me. I like the more sports car feel.

I've had many BMW's with alot of miles and the Porsche is by far the lowest cost to maintain.

lexhair

Some days I just want to get to work and crave the electric rack in my 970.2. I would daily my 997.2 if I were 15 years younger. I would daily a 991 without question.

NoTurboRequired

Great to see so many people dailying their 997. They’re great cars and meant to be driven.
For me, with a 997.1 4S MT, I find traffic quite tedious. Every time a car slows down I’m thinking ‘please don’t stop all the way’ because the clutch and first gears are quite hard. Potholes are hard and rough road surfaces mean a lot of road noise, result being that I’m quite tired after a boring commute.
These cars are nothing short of fantastic with the way they lean in the corner, and the thrill of going through a string of bends and with the road weaving a bit up and down makes it all worth it. However if your commute is so that you always have some slow crappy car in front of you, no inspiring roads and low speed limits, you would never know what a good car this is and I would definitely daily something else, especially giving the current fuel prices.

I just sold my 5 series estate and am dailying the 911 for now, but have ordered an i4 M50 for the winter. It’s pretty great at all the things the 911 is bad at. Hopefully I can keep both.

mpath

I had an E39 V8 Touring as my daily for 15 years - loved it but the least reliable car I had ever owned. Just before COVID I bought a Tesla to use as a dd instead of my 997.1 C4S MT that had been my dd. Like many of us, I worked from home during COVID and fast forward to today I only go to the office once a week - but still take the Porsche while the Tesla has been relegated to grocery duty.

RangerRick

Personally I have been comutting in both my 911's for the past 18 years - Never an issue, always runs, always puts a smile on my face, even in traffic in NYC - If you sit comfortably in a 997, I don't see the problem :-)
BTW, both my 911's are 6 speed.

BHMav8r

I have been driving mine as a daily commuter for about 15 years now. Enjoy it every day - that's what they are for.

However, my commute has only been about 5 to 8 miles. Hardly any traffic to speak of. Now there is one stretch of hwy (not interstate) that can have some stop and go traffic, but I can usually miss most of it.

Only problems:
1.) wish it was higher speeds (the new stretch of hwy is)
2.) get a lot of grief from the new $100,000 truck crowd saying I'm "rich" cuz I drive a 15+ year old P-car. Go figure.

Enjoy.

RangerRick

I have been DD all my 911 since 1982 - works for me, I commute from Northen NJ to my Office in Midtown Manhattan - no issues

biggreek

Wow ..I missed the rest of this thread. I need to venture here more.

So, to clear things up, I do *most* of my own work as I'm a technician by trade. (Exception is warranty). My biggest fear is time down and having to constantly dump money into something. I used to drive a 2000 TDI Jetta with 440k when I sold it. Talk about a nerve-racking experience, even with regular maintenance and frequent inspections. There were tons of let downs with that car as it aged. Even when it got me 50mpgs

I travel with work constantly, so its not 5 days a week. On average, about 3.

I'm still torn, ofcourse it's still not something that's happening tomorrow, anyways. I appreciate the outpouring of responses both for and against, greatly. What I need to do is actually spend a little time in a 997. Ive worked on them in the past, when they were newer. But never really got in depth beings that I never thought I'd be owning a 911, let alone looking for a 2nd.

propchef

^^^ this. lol When I point out it's a 2006 and cost me less than a used Honda Accord, that attitude usually changes.

Climarepair.com

In my opinion it is a good idea, since one of the advantages that Porsche has over other brands is that its cars are very comfortable both for sporty driving and for everyday use. If you have the opportunity, I would not hesitate and take the opportunity to enjoy one of the best cars that exist, but as you have already been told, this depends a lot on each person. Let us know what decision you make in the end.

ADias

Funny the OP owns a 991 and is considering a 997 (a car he considers old and less valuable) for commuting. He trades a longer wheelbase car (991) for a shorter WB car for commuting. The 991 is the softer, more GT-like commuter car. The 997 is the stiffer more fun driving weekend canyon carver. IMHO.

8x57IRS

I asked myself the same question. I think it's a psychological aspect. You don't want to "wear out" something newer. If you were to look at it purely rationally, you'd probably come to a different conclusion.