Bushbaby

Hello All - has anyone on here considered cross shopping for a 718? I've just turned down a delivery mileage 25th Anniversary Boxster in favour of my trusty 997.1 C4S. While objectively quicker and way more competent, the Boxster feels soulless relative to the 997.1 and is far less engaging behind the wheel. Anyone else have a similar experience? I'd be interested to hear opinions of other 997 fanatics 😀

Graufuchs

Prefer the 997 over my previous 991.2 and 718GTS. Great cars, all of them, but for me personally its the 997 that delivers a more visceral driving experience without beating you up.

Is it the quickest or fastest, nope but at this stage it doesn't matter to me.

voiceprint1

might be a placebo effect, the 718 S essentially shares 80% of it's parts aside from the exterior with the 991

jamesinger

This is going to be an unpopular point but the 911 isn't a sportscar anymore to me. It is a cool Grant Tourer. This is especially the case with the 992.2. In any case, the 718 is the same size as the 997 when I park next to one and is a mid engine that can be had with a great 4cyl., very tuneable, motor OR essentially a 4.0 carrera motor that was never in the carrera because it went to 3.0tt. If my car disappeared, I would spec a 718 GTS 4.0 over any other non-GT dept. car if what I wanted was a sports car. Since I am getting older, the GT direction the 911 has been evolving into works for me, so I still have the conflict of, which one? This is also the case with the M3 vs. the M2. The M3 seems like an M5 to me at this point, and the M2 seems like a dream E36 or something. I am not a cool enough car journalist to get all these cars loaned to me but I would love to spend a week or so doing physical comparisons and etc. spending real world time with them as well as canyons and track.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 200K miles

My 2000 Boxster S was more fun to drive... a better sports car than my current 997.2.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

ThunderRolls

I wouldn’t say unpopular, but I think my 997.1 still is sporty although verging on being a GT. I can’t believe how much bigger the newer versions of the 991 are. 991’s and up are really in the GT class. My first Porsche was a 928 and it amazes me how the 911’s have moved in that direction.

Tyler85

My personal preference…the 718 4.0 is better than my 997.2 C2S in performance, build quality, and experience. Also more $$$.

E39Nutz

Have a 718 spyder and 997.1 C2S. When the weather is nice, i always pick the Spyder to drive. Its stable at triple digit speed even with top down, corners way better than C2S. Not to mention quicker and the burmester audio rocks.

Petza914

Nothing gives you the experience of a 911. It's the only RWD rear engine car you can buy that's semi modern.

A little less exclusive in an AWD model because it changes some of the driving dynamics with respect to steering feel and understeer.

997turbocab

I am enjoying everyone's thoughts on this. We are in a similar predicament but I am thinking of getting rid of the 930 for a 718 Spyder to go alongside our 997 GTS. Apparently now that we have the 997 GTS all our kids fight to not go in the 930 lol....Apparently they don't like driving around with no A/C.

akhbhaat

Not exactly the same but close: I had both a 981 GT4 and a 997 C2S, both largely stock.

I think the outcome to this comparison naturally depends on the trim levels/models you're thinking about, as well as your intended use.

The GT4 felt fairly special and was one of the best overall cars I've personally owned. Not something I would choose to daily (for several reasons), but it always felt like an event to drive. Compared to the 997 C2S, everything was sharpened or amped up ~20%: chassis, engine (+sound and throttle response), steering, brakes, shifter, clutch, seats (buckets)...everything. Cabin had similar (maybe slightly better) ergonomics and better materials and build quality. All of the digital tech shared between the two--oil monitor, active damping, stability control, etc--worked a lot better; wasn't as crude, evident, or invasive. Still comfortable enough to drive 2 hours to/from the track and lap all day. Also, my wife couldn't stand to ride in it, and I can't think of a stronger positive endorsement than that.

The C2S was a good car but was not one of my favorites. It did have a handful of relative upsides, though: fantastic outward visibility, lower frequency (I wouldn't quite say "more") feedback through the chassis i.e. it seemed more talkative at road legal speeds and didn't need to be pushed as hard to feel settled in. More progressive breakaway at the limit. But ultimately, a bit too...sedate? Refined? Not boring in any case; I enjoyed driving it, but I could never find a great use case for it and never fell in love with it.

I also had a 997.1 GT3 for a short while (pandemic bubble, got in and out at cost). Same special sauce as the GT4, plus a better engine, but as a driver (not collector) I couldn't realize the value for money against the GT4 (much more expensive to drive and insure). May revisit at some point because I really, really liked the car on a purely emotional level.

The only non-GT 718 I have meaningful hands-on experience was a base 4cyl PDK I rented on Turo once. Very competent but did nothing for me on an emotional level; in that case, I'd definitely go for the 997 C2S.