GTsilber

The amount of people with buyers remorse and the need for other people's validation is too damn high.

996tt all day.

Frank996

I didn't have a 996TT but I did have a 996 4S before I pulled the trigger on a 997.2 C4S.

Interior and comfort is like night and day IMHO and getting quickly to 60mph (or 100Km/h) is no longer for me a deal breaker tbh. This said, I'd go with the 997.2 any day of the week, and with PDK - WOW!!!

PS. Prices going up or down, who cares!!! You own a 911 because you're supposed to have fun in it so go out there and have some fun damn it :-)

Lowcountry

I would not trade my 2007 S for a 996TT or GT3. It's strictly an aesthetics thing for me, and I recognize the great performance of the top of the line 996's as being slightly better than my 997. That said, I've passed plenty of Cayman S, Carrerra S, etc. on the track with my heavily modded Mini Cooper S, so having higher potential performance levels doesn't always equate to being faster.
Also, if you want your Carrera to perform like a world-class sports car (which it is), carry the RPM up over 5K. That's where these engines are in the zone.

Edgy01

When I ordered my 997S cabriolet I had the benefit of many of the earlier orderers as far as which options to include. One big one for me is the sound. Turbos, particularly, the water-cooled ones, have a significantly dampened noise profile, which was not appealing to me. In fact, it isn't until you check off the sport-exhaust box do you find what these things should sound like.

The 996 interiors are probably the worst of all "911" interiors, very dated, and not at all traditional yet updated as the 997 provides. When I got into my 997 for the first time I recognized that everything was essentially where it was supposed to be, as compared to my extensive time in Porsche automobiles (since 1974).

The need for more 'power' is very common as seen within the forum. But, quite practically, where exactly are you going to use that? Unless you're in Wyoming you break the speed limit if you linger at higher RPM in second gear. If you drive anything but a 6-speed, I can see the frustration. As Tony suggested earlier, hold the engine speeds higher before you shift so that you remain in the prime power production area of the engine. With the higher displacement, these cars can pull from much lower RPMs but why bother? Take advantage of your power production and you will enjoy the car a lot more. Most of you have much more automobile than you can safely drive. Unless you are one of a handful of Formula 1 drivers, you have no idea what your car can do for you at present. Take some additional driver training classes to exploit what you already have.

These are terrific cars. Of course, if you go ask someone on the 996 Turbo forum what they think, you will get a different answer. Keep in mind, too, that the 996 turbo is 12 years old now--in the youngest version.

Spend less time on this forum asking such questions and settle with what you have and drive it. Driving these things is the best way to appreciate them.

GTsilber

you honestly think the 993 interior and cockpit is better than the 996?

mickfluff

let me answer this.... yes by 1 billion times. But in the 997 they got it right.....

997_Toronto

No...can't get over the 996 headlights, they just don't do it for me.

GTS Sully

If someone gave me a 996, turbo or not, I'd simply sell it. Was not a fan of that ugly car the first time I saw one and was glad to see it go away with the intro of the 997.1.

mpath

OP, well that's part of your problem right there....you have an S5 . A good friend of mine got's the V8 version, and it's pretty sweet too. And welcome to RL.

mpath

Now where's that meme?

Petza914

Nope. Can't deal with the interior design, front light design, and slabbed sides. The first modern 911 I drove when I started my search was a 996TT and although it drove great, knew I couldn't own it. Lucky for me, I didn't have to make the choice between the 996TT and 997. I think found my supercharged 997 by accident and has wanted that car since the original excellence article on the RUF R-Kompressor came out, so I've got TT type power in the better aesthetic package, but even still, wouldn't take the 6TT over my wife's NA 997.1C2S either. Yes, it's faster, but I'd always have remorse when seeing a 997.

And I also agree that the 993 interior is better than the 996 - it was just too far a departure from the classic interiors that came before and the style never continued to evolve, simply getting replaced by the more evolved version of a classic interior in the 997.

Falcondrivr

Any 996 is great to drive. The turbo is amazing and probably the best performance car value out there. But the interior was ugly and dated the day they introduced it, and it's only gotten worse with age.

dgjks6

Wow, lots of 996 hate here. It really does exist. I thought the 996 hate was something invented by the auto press to make fun of Porschophiles.

The only real difference I noticed between the 996 and 997 interior is the side bolsters on the seats don't wear as much. Otherwise pretty much the same. Granted my 996 had full leather interior which I think makes all the difference, but the 996TT I think all have the full leather.

Falcondrivr

You're right of course, except for the seats, gauge cluster, dash top, center dash, center console, air vents, head unit, hvac controls, shift ****, shift lever, backlight color, steering wheel, door cards, window switches, and overhead panel. So yeah, nothing really except for everything you see and touch.

Petza914

The question was about preference, so I wouldn't call responses here "hate". I don't think too many are contesting that the drive of the cars is similar and that the 996TT is powerful, exhilarating, and an excellent value, but also has shortcomings that aren't overcome by the positives.

From an interior perspective though, they're not close to the same - seat shape and design is quite a bit different as is dash, center console design & shape, button placement & shape, etc irregardless of the material covering it.
There's not much comparison between this


and this

(even without the aftermarket steering wheel)


and I don't think many prefer the combination front lights and nostrils


to the more modern yet also more classic 997 front