mathfuzzy

Maybe an unnecessary thread, but I thought I'd share early impressions for posterity or anyone thinking of using their GT4 for boring miles. Know that I think life is short, and certainly too short to drive boring cars if an alternative is an option. Even for otherwise boring miles.

Yeah, okay, so I'm in the new car honeymoon period, but I think maybe there is no such thing as boring miles in this car. I had a lunch meeting in Union Square (San Francisco) today and woke up all excited about the drive. To give further context, thanks to the clean-up after DreamForce, that meant crawling in heavy traffic across Market to get to the Sutter/Stockton Garage. Oh, and it rained.

After having daily driven two 993's, a 996 and a 997, this car promises as good or better utility in for DD duties. I was a little worried that the LWB's would be either uncomfortable or impractical...or both...but so far so good on both fronts. I was also worried that I'd be scraping the front everywhere, but that hasn't been too big a challenge yet. Sure, it's early days and I don't want to make too early a call, but it's no worse than my 991.1 GTS SPASM with respect to clearance...which is just barely on the right side of livable. Crawling around in traffic is NBD. Visibility is good and the car feels smaller than the 991, so it was easy to squeeze in small spaces with confidence after only a few hundred miles. It also turns out I can live without rain-sensing wipers and dual climate control. Who knew? A rear wiper would be nice though (it wasn't even an option, right?).

Maybe I'll remember to update this after a few thousand miles, but I'm very happy camper after a few hundred. And the on-ramp to 101 near my house is WAY more fun in the GT4 than in the 435 it replaced!

Happy weekend everyone.

GeoJoe

Cool review and congrats.

The GT4 turns "boring miles" into an experience, no matter where the destination.

Dual climate is absurd in a cabin this small... and my dealer really thought I should have it. No thanks.

Hope you get to try it on the track where it really shines. The versatility of a DD and track weapon is outstanding.

Diablo Dude

Thanks for the update my friend.
Am very happy for you and your "new" GT4. I might be next!

NoGaBiker

LOL, mine has dual climate and it annoyed the crap out of me because I never have a passenger, and I always want the temp of the cabin to be what I want it to be. Finally figured out how to lock them together (I think it's called "sync") so I just have to operate the one temp change paddle.

If I could have a round **** with a blue index on the left and a red index on the right (like in my Wrangler) and another **** with 5 fan speeds, I'd actually be far happier than with this unnecessary eyes-off-the-road-because-I-cant-tell-which-paddle-I'm-pushing-nor-where-it's-gotten-to automatic system that never seems to actually know what I want but is harder to work than the 2-**** systems of old.

NoGaBiker

I hear ya. I'm 5 months in. Felt the same way at first, but reasoned with myself that I'd been that way about the previous GTS and Turbo, but that had worn off. Mind you, I'm normally a hold-em-a-long-time sports car guy, so it's not that I get twitchy holding a Porsche for more than 24 months.

Anyway, after 5 months I actually like the GT4 more than at first. I've enjoyed it on track only twice since I didn't start till late in the season (Road ATlanta in August and Barber in September), and my trips up to the mountains have been every six weeks at best. So mostly it's the daily slog for me, although having no actual job I can time my daily slogs better than most people.

At any rate, I find the GT4 invests every trip with a sense of occasion I've not enjoyed in a car for the past 12 years or so. I have my little start-up rituals and all the rest. I actually keep my Simpson gloves in the car and if it's dark out or I'm on lightly traveled interstate I'll pull them on because they grip the Alcantara so much better than my hands or leather gloves do. (Yes, I care enough about what other people think about the douche in the Porsche that I won't wear them if someone else can see them! . So crucify me...)

At the half-year mark the GT4 feels like a lifer to me. We'll see...

Shockwave

I dont daily drive my GT4 because my commute here in Los Angeles is terrible... Driving the GT4 is always a treat but it's meaningless when your stuck in traffic lol.

My GT4 is strictly a Friday Evening to Sunday car.

QueueCumber

Agreed. I love manual, except if stuck in traffic. Driving a manual in traffic is pure torture. Not only because of endless shifting, but because of all the idiots that get right on your rear end.

Roadster08

If it makes you feel any better I rock my red puma driving gloves all the time to protect the alcantara. Learned that lesson from my Cayman R. Could careless what others think as they drive by in something more mundane.

mathfuzzy

Great to hear. Intuition says that I'm right in your wake, 5 months behind, and hoping it's not just confirmation bias.

Now I need to go shop for some driving gloves...

GregWormald

I was a bit cautious about being seen in driving gloves--until I started wearing them. Now I don't care.

With the minute or so it takes to put them on I get consistent grip on the wheel every time, protection for the leather wheel from sweat, etc., and a "fatter" steering wheel.

I ordered a pair of fingerless so I could use the touch screen and they don't make my hands hot even in 35°C.

(A plug for the maker--great gloves, the softest Italian deer leather, in any colour or colour combination you want, made in a couple of days--Kuc Leather Gloves, Poland. Found him on ETSY.)

NoGaBiker

^^ Oh, I agree -- I've had a pair of Italian or French leather driving gloves in every car I own since the 80s. Even my Wrangler. But I find them to be a little slippery on the Alcantara for spirited driving, so a few months ago I grabbed my Simpson race gloves for a run up in the mountains. They worked so well I decided to just store them in the car and wear them every time I won't be seen to look like a DB.

But for regular 'round town driving I wear the leather gloves.

stout

14,500 miles of daily driving later, I have zero regrets in using my GT4 this way. It's been bulletproof, and totally utilitarian while adding a sense of occasion to every trip. And it's a blast on back roads and race tracks? Is this the perfect Porsche?

If it had back seats, I'd drive it to 145,000 miles, and then 300,000. Alas, I need those back seats...

mathfuzzy

Stop me if these observations get tedious, but I find that it’s good to get early impressions down, because they quickly tend to either fade or become normal (and thus, unremarkable and not seemingly worthy of sharing).

I had a couple hundred mile round trip drive to the PCA Zone 7 awards dinner last night and took the GT4. Although the drive there was tedious with a bunch of traffic, I enjoyed driving the car. The lack of traffic on the drive home was welcome and made a fantastic car that much more enjoyable. What struck me in this drive is that, in some ways, the GT4 is like my early 911S (as I observed to Diablo Dude). There’s a feeling of smallness and lightness that I haven’t felt in a any Porsche since that early S. Sure, the capabilities of the GT4 are way beyond those of the early S, but there are some big sensory triggers, like the quickness of steering, that bring me back. I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but not having one in the GT4 made me realize how great self-dimming rearview mirrors are.

Since I hadn’t driven my 991 GTS in a few weeks, I took it out today for some exercise and an Italian tune-up, which was WAY informative. For starters, I sure wish I could transplant the steering feel from the GT4 to the GTS. I realize that’s not possible, but as much as I find the GTS steering to be good and competent, the GT4 is something else entirely. Maybe it’s a personal preference thing, but the GT4 steering is just the right weighting for my liking. I guess it has EPS, but IMO it’s not intrusive or, frankly, evident. The GTS drive was very familiar and enjoyable, although today is the first time that beloved car has ever felt big or heavy to me. Fascinating.

Okay, this is embarrassing, but I’m among friends, right? The 12-year-old boy in me loves the gun battle that comes from the back of the GTS on overrun when I open the flaps on the sport exhaust. Totally love that sound. It’s curious to me that it’s not present on the GT4. I guess it’s more mature and neighbor-friendly, but screw that...I’d love to dial in the same sounds in the GT4. Certainly a first class complaint!

Sven76

I don’t like the burps on overrun, mainly because it is artificial and not very neighbourhood-friendly. GT4 is already hilariously loud, most tracks over here I get into trouble, have to shortshift or even use a silencer.

ajw45

Thanks for the observations! You're lucky to have both cars in the garage. When my buddy was debating a 911S vs GTS he thought the GTS felt way better after driving them back to back but he figured if he only had one in the garage, he wouldn't notice the difference and chose the S

I thought the overrun burbles in the exhaust were similar between the GTS and GT4 with PSE on? If you want a gun battle, get some race headers! It is literally like gunshots going off when you drop off the throttle at high rpms and people think your car is backfiring. As Sven noted though, it can be problematic loud and the pops seem to blow peak sound at some tracks so now I wish there was a way to tune them out....