Michael1

I took my first test drive today in a 997 (not the S). I presently own a 2000 C5 Corvette, and have been considering getting something different this time around (had Corvettes for 16 years now, plus there are soooo many of them on the road in So. Cal. now). My goal was to see how the 997 felt next to the Corvette in terms of ergonomics, and driving.

First step was to adjust the Adaptive Sport Seats. I spend a lot of time in my car, often hardly going anywhere in L.A. traffic. I've seen people ruin their backs with bad seats. I spent several minutes figuring out the controls and adjusting them. I also have Electric Sport Seats in the Corvette. The bottom line was the 997 Adaptive Sport Seats were very comfortable after getting them adjusted. They seemed to have better lateral support, too. Unlike the C4 Sport Seats, Chevrolet made the C5 seats too flat for good lateral support in my opinion, especially the bottom cushion. OK, one issue solved with the Porsche.

Next, was the foot position. The C5 has lots of room in the footwell for my size 12D feet. I wore the biggest dress shoes I own, and would often be wearing them while driving this car. The space was not quite as large as the Corvette, but plenty large enough, so no problem there.

The steering wheel in both cars tilts up and down, and telescopes. The Porsche wheel had plenty of adjustment. The wheel also had the proper 9-3 spokes for locking the thumbs, which I liked, so is improvement there for the Porsche.

I’ve always like the instruments in the Corvette, especially the large tachometer and speedometer. The 997 also had nice instrumentation. Unfortunately, the 997 is not available with the head up display the Corvette has, and I definitely will miss that feature.

One complaint I had regarding the Porsche ergonomics was that the sun visors are not wide enough (vertically) to fully block the intense So. Cal. sun at low angles. That's a big minus, because I am usually heading into the sun at sundown on my way home. It is rather strange they did this, because I don't see any reason why they couldn't have been wider.

The climate control seemed to work fine, after I set it from salesperson's manual mode at 62 degrees and manual low fan speed, to my Auto 68 degrees. It didn't seem quite as powerful as the C5’s, but it was very close.

The Porsche Communication Management System was very nice, and had all the functions I consistently use now such as outside temp, and fuel mileage and range.

The salesperson asked if I wanted the winding road or freeway loop. I chose the winding road loop.

We had a little problem getting out of the parking lot, because during the K-turns, it suddenly did not want to go into reverse. After several attempts by me and salesman, it finally went in, and we were off.

First thing I wanted to check out was the ride. This 997 was equipped with the optional 19" wheels and standard suspension. My Corvette has the Z51 performance suspension, so is stiffer than some Corvettes, but still decent for most road surfaces. I would say that the 997 had a slightly smoother ride. I was aiming for poorly aligned man hole covers, which is a good impact test.

Next was the acceleration test. It was very close, but felt just a tick slower than my well broken in Corvette. This car only had 45 miles. During all the excitement, I forgot the engine was not broken in, and ran it all the way to 7000 rpm. Whoops. The salesman reminded me that the engine was still tight, and should keep it below 6000.

I was surprised at how torquey the 3.6L engine felt. This was one of my concerns, coming from a 5.7L engine. Other than below 1000 rpm, when first launching the car, it felt like a much larger engine. It also has a surge in torque at about 3000.

One of the things I was anxious to check out was the transmission. One of my complaints about the Tremac used in the Corvette, is it takes a lot of effort to get into gear. Also some gears seem easier than others, and you can almost count the synchro rings by the effort. The 997 transmission slid into gear with almost no effort. Even though the car did not have the sport shifter, I didn’t feel that the throws were overly long. The 997 shifter did not seem quite as directly mounted as the Corvette’s, but then it isn’t. It has much longer distance to travel to get to the transmission. It was still quite precise, and I never felt as if I wasn’t going to get it into the desired gear.

Interior noise was comparable to the Corvette. Impact noise seemed a bit less, while road noise coming from the rear seat area seemed just a bit higher.

Then it was time for the twisties. Right away, I noticed the steering was very communicative. The Corvette steering, while good, does not have that “direct linkage” feel. As I built up speed, and confidence, I could tell the rear end was well planted, and was not going to break loose on me. In fact, the car had quite a bit more understeer than the Corvette. It wasn't so much as to be annoying, but it was there. Understeering cars are easier to take to the limit, and it only took a few turns, before I felt comfortable taking it there.

As we went over dips in the road, I could tell I was in a rear engined car. Porsche did a good job damping the motions, though. It also felt like the front tires weren’t quite as firmly planted to the road, as if the ride motions might have been upsetting the camber a bit. The overall experience was very controlled, though, and any loss of speed would be slight.

Finally, it was time to take the car back to the dealer. I inspected the front trunk room, which was surprisingly large, and the rear seat area. There is not as much luggage capacity as the Corvette, but the 997 seemed it would do most of my hauling jobs fine.

As a final test, I took my Corvette over the same loop. The only real difference I noticed was that the Corvette did not seem to pick up the dips in the corners that the Porsche did. I’m still trying to figure out why. Perhaps the ride motions are more damped in the Corvette, or perhaps it is just not as noticeable in a car with near 50/50 weight distribution.

So what’s the verdict? I liked the Porsche very much. It would be an easy car to make the transition from Corvette into. It has similar performance, ride, noise, A/C performance, comfort, and level of gadgetry. It is a step up in terms of interior quality, steering, and shifting. I didn’t really see any downside, unless, of course, if you consider the price.

Since I have gotten use to trading up in performance when I get a new car, and the 997 seemed so close to my current car’s performance, I decided I’ll road test a 997S next. Stay tuned.

Michael

merbesfield

Good write up. You will like the S much better. I never considered the non S. I have driven a few Vetts and I have to say, yes I am biased, the there is no comparison. That is with the older Vetts. The new one does compare, albeit much less expensive, but the quality and feel is so much better in the Porsche. Plus, everyone has a Vett, but not a Porsche. Good luck with your decision.

RevUrGT3

Very interesting write up Michael, keep us posted and I hope to see the "I did it" post...

donkeyman

Thanks for sharing your impressions with us. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the "S".

scycle2020

nice, unbiased write up...i also had a c5 vette, a2001 conv., which i had for 3 years, it was my 3rd vette over the years...i love my c5, a very confy ride, great throaty engine sound, good handling.....i didnt like the manual top, the cheapy interior,the seats could have been firmer, the handling and steering feel could have been better...the car felt big and heavy , even though it was not...it was more at ease on the high way than narrow , mtn, twisties.....i test drove a 997s, which was much quicker than the vette, handled better, better manual tranny, better steering and nicer interior.....i wanted a conv. and a 997s conv were just comng in a t the time, and would be over 100k!!!! so i test drove a 987s boxster, and for half the price, found a go cart like car that was quick, well built, great tranny and steering and engine sound.... i like it much better than c6 vette, which i wasnt crazy about.....if you want a coupe, the 997s is the ticket..worth every penny

CdomiG

I had an original '67 Rat-motor fastback Corvette that was modded for short track/street and was very loud and tons of fun. I remember my mother riding with me from Philly to AC in 1/2-hour - her eyes were priceless. Her comment - you can see the gas run right of the car. 4MPG and even at idle you could see the fuel gauge ticking down. Oh well that was 38 years ago. Now the Cayenne Turbo w/PowerKit can match that with much more civility. The C6-Z06 promises much, for me the 997 GT3 is where it is. That said it is good to see the Corvette team trying to live up to Zora Duntov's commitment to fun. Hooray Beer.

MJones

Really want to get a feel for the 997?
Sign up for PDE
http://www.porschedriving.com/

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It's an ultimate test drive!

dmac

Great write up! I don't own either, but I am considering a new C6 vert or the new C6Z06 (although I would really like a convertible, but performance of a supercar for a little over $70,000 maybe hard to pass up.) I will compare it to a 996 C2 Cab and 996 C4S Cab. I would consider the 997S Cab, but this would run over $100,000 and definitley more than I want to spend at this time.

I look forward to hearing your feedback and soon I will need to drive them all, make my comparison list, and go for what just "feels right". I think the better finish on the interior in the Porsche will be a strong plus if everything else seems similar since most of our time is spent in the car.

Did your C5 have the 350hp engine? This would seem to be comparable to the 997S which is 355hp.

I am concerned about he power of the 996 which is 320hp, but there is more to performance than just the hp and track #'s. Besides, this forum is a great resource for mods if I feel I need more.

dmac

Wow, thanks for the link. It looks like this is done in Birmingham, Alabama. Have you done any of the courses, and if you have, which one?

Michael1

My C5 Corvette has 345 hp. I think if the 997 was broken in, I might not even notice the difference. The 997S should be faster, so I'm looking forward to testing it out.

I think you have to consider what you are going to enjoy most day after day. Nobody is doing full throttle runs all the time, unless they live at a track. :-) As long as the acceleration is comparable, it is no big deal. You'll want to look at the entire package.

Just as the Corvette has changed over the years, so has the 911 (probably to the chagrin of the 911 air cooled purists). The 997 actually has a bit larger exterior than the C6 Corvette now, although you would never know it by looking at it. I think they did a fantastic job on the styling of the 997 this go around, too.

Have fun with your search.

Michael

Crazy Canuck

My dad's 2000 C5 Vert is sitting in the garage beside the Carrera S right now. They are two very different cars.

Each has their positives but overall the 997 is the better car - at a substantially higher pricetag. Worth it? To me yes.

The biggest difference to me is that the Porsche doesn't hop sideways when encountering choppy broken pavement like the Vette does. It feels more solid, better engineered and more refined. The steering on the Vette is overboosted. The Porsche's is perfect. It handles like a smaller car than it is. The Vette handles very well as well but I find I am aware of it's size.

Transmission- The Corvette 6 speed is a little balky at times. The 1st to 4th shift is annoying but can be over-ridden by applying more throttle. The Porsche transmission is smoother (and mine has the Sport Shifter) but either car shifts fine if you don't hurry the shift.

I think Chevy has the edge on the A/C. I usually leave it on with the top down and it does a decent job of keeping the cockpit reasonably comfortable even when it is 30+ Celcius with high humidity.

Brakes are no contest. Porsche.

Interior component quality. Porsche. I ordered full leather. Everyone who has been in the car has said it was well worth it.

Engine. Say what you will about a pushrod engine being a relic from the past but it does allow for much smaller packaging. It's really a tossup. I don't know of any Corvettes that suffer from RMS failures to the degree Porsches do. The Porsche is much more willing to rev however. If you didn't know the other existed you wouldn't complain too much. The Vette does have more torque and you know it when you stick your foot into the throttle. That never fails to pin a grin on my face.

Exhaust - I switched the std. Vette exhaust to a stock Z06 titanium exhaust (cat back) and it made the exhaust note a lot more enjoyable. The Porsche exhaust (std.) has evolved a bit since new. It is really nice as well. The exhausts of both cars are throaty enough yet pleasant enough when driving for 5+ hrs. No resonance.

Storage space . . . well the Vette will hold golf clubs-with the top down. The Porsche does too just not in the trunk as the Vette does. Not a big deal to me.

As for the manual top . . . well I was used to a '73 Triumph TR6 before the Vette. The Vette top is a dream. Who cares if it's manual? It's light, easy to fold and looks pretty good.

Appearance? The 911 shape is timeless. The C5 *** always looked a bit big to me. The C5 was originally supposed to have a spare tire and engineers designed for it (big ***). After runflats were specified and the spare tire removed the rear end was never redesigned. Both look good. The 997 with its well proportioned curves does it for me.

PCM - Porsche communication management is a bit of a pain in the *** to use - especially audio. Too bad it couldn't be configured to show the Porsche logo instead of the rather dull main display. At least it can be turned dark. Half the time I turn the stereo off (yes the Bose system of the Porsche is better) and listen to the exhaust note.

Both cars handle high speeds extremely well but the 911 feels like an extension of the driver.

I miss the HUD in the Porsche as well. It really is useful in the Vette. Some may think it's a Star Wars gizmo but it actually keeps my eyes on the road while keeping an eye on the speed, tach and temp. One guy on the Corvette forum even wired his Valentine 1 to display on the HUD of his C5. Very useful. The digital speedo integrated in the tach of the 997 works pretty well for me though.

Buy the 997. You won't regret it.

donkeyman

I had a HUD on my Nissan Bluebird. It's about the only thing I miss from that car.

lexpilot

Excellent dissertation, Michael.

scycle2020

my c5 vette had 350hp, the porsche 997s has 355hp...no contest , the porsche is much faster than the vette...most mags test the 997s in the 4.1 to 4.3 0-60, and the vette is 4.7 to 4.9 seconds...this is a big difference andyou feel it subjectively....i am convinced that porsches put more hp than stated....a 996 carrera with 315 hp is right up there with a 350hp vette,a gt3 with 380 hp can keep up with a 420 hp stradale, and even my 280hp 987s feels just as quick as my 350 hp vette...go figure.....

dmac

Interesting comparisons in this article reflect what many of you have commented on as well.

http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coup...ers/index.html