How Good is the Manual Transmission in the Porsche 992?
If you just placed your order for a new 911 with the PDK transmission you may have made a big mistake.
What do Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren all have in common? They have all stopped producing manual transmission cars. Heck, even the latest Corvette is an automatic-only automobile. Some of the most historic and prestigious sports cars force enthusiasts to go without a manual transmission. What is this world coming to? Thankfully, there is one notable exception: Porsche.
Various Porsche 911 variants have been getting a lot of press lately. The new 911 Turbo S recently debuted. And the next-generation GT3 has been spied in testing and lurking in Super Bowl ads. However, one of the most anticipated models is a regular Carrera S with an honest to goodness, shift on your own, manual transmission. YouTuber Nick Murray recently got his hands on one of the manual transmission cars and gives us his impressions.
It is wonderful that Porsche is offering a manual in its newest 911, however, with the PDK being such a fantastic transmission, the manual needs to be equally as impressive. According to Murray, we have nothing to worry about. “Here we are in the 992 generation and this transmission is easily the best manual transmission I have ever driven. Certainly, the best in any Porsche and perhaps the best in any car full stop.” Well, that sounds encouraging.
The main appeal of a manual transmission car is the level of engagement it offers the driver. As great as modern dual-clutch automatics are, they cannot match the feel and involvement of a true manual. However, in the new Porsche 911, there is another, more superficial, reason to choose the manual over the automatic. The manual just looks better. The 992 911 has gotten near-universal praise since it launched, but one of the few criticisms has been the look of the silly PDK lever. The manual looks and feels so much better. As Murray says, “It just fits perfectly in the center console. It falls directly to your hand when you put your hand on it. And because it is such a short throw, you are not moving your whole arm, you can just do it with your wrist.”
Out on the road, Murray falls in love with the manual as he demonstrates some of its features such as the automatic rev-match. “It really makes you sound like a hero, like you know what you are doing. It is a really cool feature,” he says. Some will argue that if you are going to order the manual that you may as well learn how to heel and toe on your own. That is fair enough, but you can simply turn off the automatic rev-match if you would rather do it all yourself.
Murray sums up by saying that the usability of this transmission is amazing. The clutch is light and predictable and the transmission itself is smooth but makes it clear to the driver when the next gear has been selected. By the end of his test, he is absolutely convinced that his next 911 will be ordered with the manual transmission. It is hard to argue against that. With most automobile manufacturers already abandoning the manual and with the advent of the electric car, it seems the manual days are numbered.
Thank you, Porsche, for giving us such a fine send-off!
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