nick49

I sold my '99 996 Cabriolet after having owned it nearly 7 years. It was a 6 speed, sport seats, full leather and had 19 Exclusive options as well as 6 normal options, loaded to say the least. I loved everything about the car, lightness, handling and agility, somewhat raw feeling yet extremely comfortable and accomodating, I had the PSE motor sound and poor quality sound system that was almost never on.

I'm thinking about buying another Porsche, and the first requirement will be a Cab, maybe a TT, maybe a C4S, or just C2, 996 or early 997, I haven't decided. I'd like some input from those that have experience with the 996 and now have a 997. Is the 997 that much better? Is your experience with the 997 much more fullfilling and a higher level of satisfaction? Ergonomics and driving experience and overall satisfaction is important to me. The latest electronic anything is totally unimportant to me.

Interested in hearing your opinions.

utkinpol

only 996 worth buying is 996 gt3. NA 997 car is much better, 997.2 6speed car is much better than 997.1 6 speed, 997.2 PDK with SC is much better than 997.2 6speed. life goes on, so do those cars.

yemenmocha

I shopped both and couldn't believe the differences between the 996 and 997, especially in appearance (both exterior and interior). The performance difference was noticed too but won't blow you away like, say, the difference between a Carrera and a GT3 or Turbo.

fgv1it

I would go for a 997, '06 or later, for two main reasons: the 997 interior compared to the 996, and the mechanical improvements of the '06 and later cars, mainly the IMS bearing.

Selo

I try to get excited about 996's but the interior is just, well, plain ugly in my opinion. Call me superficial but I just can't get beyond that.
And I do think the 997 is a much better car technically.

Roverrich

I had a 996 and now a 997. As stated, differences very noticable and worth the added expense. Not only is the fit and finish that much better, but the car handles and feels so much better. FWIW, I switched to a BMW after the 996 and only after driving a 997 am I going to go back to Porsche. If you have the means, you should definitely do a 997.

_Nathan

I would rather have a Boxster than a 996 Cab.

PHDX2

997 all the way!

nick49

We still have the Boxster we bought over 8 yeras ago, its pushing almost 24K miles :-)

sbpsu354

I had an 03 996 C2 for 2 years and recently moved to an 06 C2. Looks are subjective, so I can't really help there. I'm among the few that actually like the headlights on the 996.1. My 996 had the US M030 sport suspension and it was a bit harsh on Colorado roads. I never had a problem with the car, and would probably still own it if the CPO warranty hadn't ended this month. The 997 is an evolutionary step of the 911 with improvements all over the place. Even though my 997 has 19s, the ride is more compliant, and the front end tends to float a bit less. Both my 996 and the 997 have the M96 motor, but as the 997 is an 06, I believe it is supposed to have an improved IMS. Also, though it may be in my head, the 06 seems to pull harder around 4k revs, and just seems stronger overall. From a sound perspective, my 996 had the sport exhaust, which was pretty cool. I was amazed at how quiet the car was with the valves closed, but ran with it open most of the time. My 997 is somewhere in the middle.

My only minor gripe with the car is the transmission. I've recently learned that the 997 has a completely revised transmission. When short shifting from 1st to 2nd gear you can feel a bit of a grab or rumble if you don't pause between gears. At 6k, the shift is smooth as silk. A Porsche rep drove the car on Tuesday of this week, and said it's completely normal, and they hear this complaint often. They also mentioned I wasn't hurting anything, it just feels weird.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the 997. I really do like the look of the round headlights, front bumper, and interior better. I also dig the peace of mind that comes with the another CPO warranty. For me, buying the newest I can afford is the way forward.

Andy

mambodoc

997.2 C4S PDK here...theeeeeeeeeeeeee best! MHO Get a 997...997.2 if you can.

nick49

Sorry, but I'm disregarding your opinion. I specifically asked for opinions from those that have owned the 996. I suspected you have never owned one by your comments, life goes on ;-)

neavsie

I owned a '99 C2 coupe from 2005 until March with few options, trading it in for a '05 997 C2 Cab with a few nice options. Both manual transmission.

In terms of overall performance, I am hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two even though one was a cab and the other a coupe. I guess I lack the requisite finesse.

I have the full leather option on the new cab which combined with the revised dash makes the 997 a much nicer place to be in my opinion. The PCM with nav, while not perfect, is a nice improvement over my 996.

I also really like the optional PASM on my C2 which gives a smoother ride than the 996 until you hit the button which starts to excite your fillings. I always hit the sport chrono button as I prefer the mapping that provides. The latter is naturally subjective, though PASM does provide appreciable benefits depending on your mood.

Xenon lamps are nice as well as are the garage door openers and heated seats in the cab...small things but nice options over my 996.

Must admit that I dig the open top, over the coupe which has massively contributed to the overall feeling of well being, so this will likely bias my experience.

I'd like the 997.2 with PDK but am happy dropping less money on what is ultimately a third car.

Ucube

I upgraded from a '99 to an '06 several years ago and never looked back. Aside from the exterior and interior improvements (night and day to me), the 997 feels much tighter and sharper in every respect. Granted the performance gap is much wider between an '06 S and a '99 C2, but I'd opt for any 997 over a 996 without question (except the GT and TT models, of course). Although subjective, the overall satisfaction with the 997 is at another level to me.

Edgy01

If you want a cabriolet then you should go with the 997. It's my understanding that Porsche made substantial changes to the 997 to benefit the cabriolet aspects of the car--tighter and stiffer. Many complained about the looseness of the 996 cabs--and they worked hard to fix that on the 997s. Remember, the 997 was designed first around the 997 cabriolet, followed by the coupes.