997 S v 997 v 996 v boxster S v Cayenne S !!
12-30-2004 | 12:02 PM
#1
Thread Starter
AutoX
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 13
Likes: 8
From: Australia
997 S v 997 v 996 v boxster S v Cayenne S !!
Porsche Australia has just completed a tour of capital cities here with this group of cars for potential customers (like me I guess- having just sold 03 C4S manual transmission) to drive. Well organized day-long event, 2 clients per car, taking turns as passenger and driver in each car on a carefully selected route of little used rural and hill roads. Great way to find good places to drive near my city.
My bias:
Best car 997 S (manual). A touch of "nasty" about it. Engine note like fighter jet as heard from Boxster S with top down. Better torque especially from 130 - 180 kmh compared to my "old" car. Gear box wonderful - big improvemnt over 996. Could not feel a great deal of difference with sport vs standard PASM. Best would be sport only suspension with 20 mm lowered body and mechanical rear diff. Great poise.
Second best Boxster S (manual). Drove a section of really tight twisting road, 3rd/4th gear at 4-5000 rpm (when I could glance at dials). Felt sublime in balance and making an average driver feel great. In comparison, 997S and 997 make their rear weight presence more obvious when the road gets tight. But lack of straight line grunt makes BoxsterS distant second.
997 - if I can't have "S", I don't want 997. For me the difference in engine feel was that good (and for most other drivers present)
996 C4S tiptronic. Clever ploy by Porsche to show up the differences. Felt slow and lazy in comparison with 997 (and pales next to manual C4S coupe).
Cayenne - no comment in this group.
But perhaps the most impressive part of the day was that not one client driver in the 997 S was a match for the lead car driven by a Porsche Driving School Instructor. He was driving a basic Boxster! Talent wins over grunt every time!
My bias:
Best car 997 S (manual). A touch of "nasty" about it. Engine note like fighter jet as heard from Boxster S with top down. Better torque especially from 130 - 180 kmh compared to my "old" car. Gear box wonderful - big improvemnt over 996. Could not feel a great deal of difference with sport vs standard PASM. Best would be sport only suspension with 20 mm lowered body and mechanical rear diff. Great poise.
Second best Boxster S (manual). Drove a section of really tight twisting road, 3rd/4th gear at 4-5000 rpm (when I could glance at dials). Felt sublime in balance and making an average driver feel great. In comparison, 997S and 997 make their rear weight presence more obvious when the road gets tight. But lack of straight line grunt makes BoxsterS distant second.
997 - if I can't have "S", I don't want 997. For me the difference in engine feel was that good (and for most other drivers present)
996 C4S tiptronic. Clever ploy by Porsche to show up the differences. Felt slow and lazy in comparison with 997 (and pales next to manual C4S coupe).
Cayenne - no comment in this group.
But perhaps the most impressive part of the day was that not one client driver in the 997 S was a match for the lead car driven by a Porsche Driving School Instructor. He was driving a basic Boxster! Talent wins over grunt every time!
12-30-2004 | 03:35 PM
#3
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,564
Likes: 1
From: Chicago
In one word "Tip". It's why I got rid of mine (sop to former wife). Also the C4S felt nose heavy a lot of the time. I could never ever get it balanced on the throttle with the back out. I'm going back to 2wd!
12-30-2004 | 09:16 PM
#4
Thread Starter
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 13
Likes: 8
From: Australia
The C4S on the driving day was tiptronic and convertible (1620kg). It felt so different from the manual - always searching for the right gear, especially with a series of short hills. I don't think it has anything to do with 4WD. The C4S I owned was a coupe(1495 kg) and manual transmission. On the track, it was great - the 4wd gave fantastic control.
Like I said the selection of a C4S convertible tiptronic clevelrly accentuates the improvements of the 997 over the 996. I wonder how we would have felt if they had supplied a 996 manual coupe.......
Like I said the selection of a C4S convertible tiptronic clevelrly accentuates the improvements of the 997 over the 996. I wonder how we would have felt if they had supplied a 996 manual coupe.......
