just test drove a 991s...
#1
02-12-2012, 04:26 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 36
Rep Power: 17 
just test drove a 991s...
Was getting my 997.2 Targa serviced, and figured I'd check out the new 991s.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
#3
02-12-2012, 05:10 PM
I love the 458 spider, super exotic and hot but its hard to turn away from super usability of a 911, the new cab is stunning and the options list is just as impressive. I have never really craved for a Ferrari because I love to drive it everywhere and just the massive attention would be hard for me to get accustom to.
#5
02-12-2012, 05:50 PM
I sure liked it better than my '11 TTS or any other 997 I've had. For one, the PDK is the way its supposed to be now, no hesitation at all. It truly is a great car and trust me I went into the situation really thinking I wouldn't like it or even want to like it. I was impressed. The turbo is going to be ridiculous but there's nothing wrong with this one either. It will please most people.
That being said, you can see Porsche's game plan. This car is in excess of 100K and the turbo is going to be north of 150K I'm sure. They want those sub 4 cars to be 150K plus in the coming years. Cheers to them however it's getting pretty ridiculous really price wise... In other words, they're making a LOT of money.
That being said, you can see Porsche's game plan. This car is in excess of 100K and the turbo is going to be north of 150K I'm sure. They want those sub 4 cars to be 150K plus in the coming years. Cheers to them however it's getting pretty ridiculous really price wise... In other words, they're making a LOT of money.
#6
02-12-2012, 06:59 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 36
Rep Power: 17 I sure liked it better than my '11 TTS or any other 997 I've had. For one, the PDK is the way its supposed to be now, no hesitation at all. It truly is a great car and trust me I went into the situation really thinking I wouldn't like it or even want to like it. I was impressed. The turbo is going to be ridiculous but there's nothing wrong with this one either. It will please most people.
That being said, you can see Porsche's game plan. This car is in excess of 100K and the turbo is going to be north of 150K I'm sure. They want those sub 4 cars to be 150K plus in the coming years. Cheers to them however it's getting pretty ridiculous really price wise... In other words, they're making a LOT of money.
That being said, you can see Porsche's game plan. This car is in excess of 100K and the turbo is going to be north of 150K I'm sure. They want those sub 4 cars to be 150K plus in the coming years. Cheers to them however it's getting pretty ridiculous really price wise... In other words, they're making a LOT of money.
Realistically speaking, there's nothing under the sun that can provide this quality/performance/experience south of $220k, so a $130k MSRP is still quite a steal.
To be honest, the exhaust note and the new gearbox programming really complete the driving experience, and the upgraded interior completes the "luxury" aspect that the 911 has been behind AM on for some time.
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#8
02-12-2012, 07:16 PM
Yea I agree, I just wished they'd gotten to these new benchmarks quicker rather than just do the "dog and pony" show the last several years. All these variations of the 997 are annoying and unnecessary. It floods the market too which devalues the cars. It gets pretty expensive to keep trading cars when getting nickeled and dimed so much along the way. In this case the new car really is worth the money however the monies wasted getting to this point is pretty ridiculous. That's why I bought and sold my TTS so quickly. It didn't take me two days driving to figure out the PDK was very sub par and that I was going to take a 40K hit on it in a very short period of time. Of course the fact they released the TTS two years in a row, for the first time ever, really confirmed a bath was coming.
Hopefully the new regime doesn't "*****" things out in the next few years so at least there's some value for the dollar left. At the new 991 price point I really wonder if the 911 will still be at the top of the list for best resale value. They're allowed to make money but they need to think about their loyal purchaser's too. YMMV
Hopefully the new regime doesn't "*****" things out in the next few years so at least there's some value for the dollar left. At the new 991 price point I really wonder if the 911 will still be at the top of the list for best resale value. They're allowed to make money but they need to think about their loyal purchaser's too. YMMV
#9
02-12-2012, 07:53 PM
Was getting my 997.2 Targa serviced, and figured I'd check out the new 991s.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
#10
02-12-2012, 08:13 PM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 36
Rep Power: 17 Oh, the list is looong. Let's see just from looking back at my experience in the 458 Italia so far.
1. been in the shop about 7 times in the last year/20k miles, that's more than once every other month (exhaust baffles broke twice, magnetic ride suspension stopped working twice, random warning sounds brought it in once, ipod connector stopped working once, and then regular service interval)
2. when scheduling the shop visit, there is typically 1-2 weeks of backlog, so if you have a problem that's not urgent, you'll just have to deal with it for a few weeks. if you have a problem that IS urgent, you'll have to do without your car for a few weeks.
3. when you fill up gas, your filling neighbors sort of hover for a couple minutes while eyeing the car, before rushing in to ask questions and take pictures. fine most of the time, but sometimes you're in a rush to leave
4. was okay with people taking pictures of the car, but nowadays a lot of people take videos of it with me/girlfriend/family in it and I feel less comfortable about that
5. people post those videos online now, which means not only do you have to watch out for cops, but people who might be videotaping you that will eventually lead to a citation from the internet (rare, but it happens depending on your speed)
6. you feel bad taking it through a car wash, and so have to make trips to a detailer on a fairly regular basis (my building doesn't have a place where I can respectably hose down the car)
7. valets enjoy putting a lot of miles on it
8. parking on the street in certain areas of town can be a little scary
9. very wide/hard to park in general
10. you can't cut people off without evoking a massively negative reaction, and quite possibly somebody keying your car later in the day (I find the more mainstream car you have, the meaner of a driver you can be and not have people care, this may seem a bit ******y, but if you drive in the city a lot, a little ******baggery can save you literally hours each day)
there's more, but this is just off the top of my head
*update: oh right, and with the 458 spider you can't put the top down while in motion, so if you're driving along and it starts to rain, you're going to get soaked as you find a place to come to a complete stop to put the top up. And once soaked, the high end italian leather on the interior will get destroyed, whereas the stuff they cover 911's with can take much more of a beating. And once it's destroyed, it'll cost you the price of a used mini cooper to get it fixed.
*update2: also, the price difference does matter:P the spider optioned up would put me back $330k give or take. I could get a 991 Cab S and a V12 Vantage for the same price, and have enough leftover to buy an SUV to take friends around.
Last edited by droppedclutch; 02-12-2012 at 08:22 PM.
#12
02-13-2012, 01:09 AM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 36
Rep Power: 17 but a daily driver the 458 is not (this I know because I HAVE daily driven it for about a year, or at least have tried to when it wasn't in the shop).To be honest, most of the issues you can get used to, but the one thing that is always an annoyance is the throttle sensitivity. In 7th gear at highway speeds, you'll be hard pressed to hold your speed between 75 and 80 mph. You essentially end up fluctuating between 70 and 85 unless you constantly stare at your speedometer (I do not recommend this). I was foolish enough to get mine without the cruise control option. If you intend on driving a 458 on the highway for any length of time, I highly recommend getting cruise control. Note, this gets annoying even on 15-20 minute highway voyages, so even if you used it as a weekend car, you still would get annoyed to and from the destination road.
#13
02-13-2012, 03:31 AM
Was getting my 997.2 Targa serviced, and figured I'd check out the new 991s.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
I gotta say, the new car is so good I feel like I got ripped off for buying the 997.2 just 3 years ago. The bump in performance is really nothing compared to the improvement in the overall driving experience.
The new PDK shifts really slam home and each upshift and downshift feel completely on par with my 458 Italia. Finally the downshifts have a completely satisfying throttle blip, and the engine noise resonates through the cabin at just the right level at all the right times.
The interior of the car feels substantially upgraded as well. The 997.2's interior was excellent, but still had elements of plasticy switch-gear and some faux leather surfaces that simply felt cheap. Not as bad as MB's SL class (sorry if I offended anybody, purely subjective), but still not at the level of, say, a modern Aston Martin. The new car's interior replaces all of those cheap bits of its predecessor and I would say it trumps that of the current generation Aston Martins. AM will have to really step up its game in the next generation to have any chance against Porsche.
That being said, the 991's market value is actually higher than that of buying a brand new V8V, so I guess Porsche is aware of what's happened as well.
Prior to the 991, I loved how usable my 911 was on a day to day basis, but it always lacked that emotional character that my 458 has. I was willing to put up with the hassle of parking/repairs/unnecessary attention received from the 458 in exchange for that race car feeling, but after spending about an hour whizzing around in the 991, I may actually cancel my 458 spider order and get a 991 Cab S instead.
Last edited by speed21; 02-13-2012 at 03:35 AM.
#14
02-13-2012, 05:19 AM
nice review, some Ferraris look and sound nice but the rest of the car is just an overpriced piece of metal.
