997 vs 996 - a review
Discussion
Our most recent local Porsche Club drive had around 40 participants with ten 997 Carrera S's included in the convoy. Here's what I think of the new car. Please be gentle with me...
First visual impressions are promising. In the flesh, the 997, especially in S guise, is an impressively proportioned shape – more muscular definition than the rather bland soap-bar shape of the 996, it sits on its haunches looking squat and purposeful, yet it retains the modern elegance that the 996 first tried to achieve. Think of it as a sort of younger Pierce Brosnan.
The lights (not to everyone’s tastes obviously) are, in my opinion, a return to traditional (and more attractive) Porsche design cues and coupled with the coke-bottle hips, render the overall design possibly my favourite amongst all previous 911s. I’m not keen on those protective films on the haunches, though, a bit like an after-market backstreet garage decided to fit them thinking they would add street cred. Otherwise the detailed design touches (like the reduced number of slats on the rear or the lower rear lights) are cohesive and integrated into the overall shape better than the 996.
Swing the driver’s door open and the first thing you notice is the quality of the tightly-woven interior covering on the door. Looks promising. Slide into the sports seats, twiddle with the seat “compression” switches (to expand or contract the side bolsters), and you soon find that these seats would perfectly contour just about anybody. Add to that the softer leather and the more tactile nature of the 3 spoke wheel compared to the 996 and you begin to appreciate how much Porsche has been listening to its customers. Any 996 criticisms of Fischer Price interior trim can be banished to the past – the overall feel is solid and “nuggety”, with a soft-touch finish.
Shame, then, about the massively ugly dinner plate of an airbag staring back at you from the centre of the wheel, as well as the slightly tacky feel of the gear lever and the even tackier alu-look plastic squares on each side of the steering wheel. Nevertheless, overall you would have to agree on most objective levels that the quality of the interior is at last befitting of a 65 grand high performance car.
Sadly I didn’t get a chance to twist the key to hear the engine fire into life as the car was trundled out to me, but I did hear an S fire up in the showroom accompanied by a gratuitous blip of the throttle, and for a second I thought we had been joined by an air-cooled interloper. Good news, then.
As we move off, the driving environment is familiar and the on-road experience is at first almost indistinguishable from the 996. Hit sport mode, however, and the throttle response and damping sharpen appreciably. Sadly, steering feel does not. Admittedly in my limited time behind the wheel (about 45 minutes on mostly straight fast roads with a few second gear roundabouts thrown in), it’s difficult to make detailed comparisons with the 996 Carrera 2 that I owned for two years (and which grew on me as each month went by, such was its sophistication and slow-burn charm).
996 devotees preach the gospel of accessible speed whilst 993 fundamentalists crusade on behalf of intimate steering feel and the hollow rasp of air-cooling. And so it is that Porsche philosophy advances incrementally yet again – maybe it was the 19” wheels, but even in full sport mode, I did not feel a huge amount of empathy with the rubber around the wheels, or the mechanical bits attached to the wheels and connected in turn to the palms of my hands. Once again, I must confess that my limited exposure did not allow tail-out slides around enormous and empty roundabouts, and with a squadron of other Porsches swarming around, it would have been daft to experiment with the car’s attitude via the loud pedal as opposed to the steering wheel. Grip was massive (of course) and stability mid-bend was clinically impressive, but intimacy and delicacy? Pre-1996, I’m afraid.
And whilst the sports suspension was comfortable around town, the car suffered from disconcerting jiggling at speeds above 180 kph (about 112 mph) on A roads which had been rutted by heavy vehicles. A run down the same roads in a GT3 an hour later suggested the problem was specific to the car and not the road. The GT3 was stable and involving at the same time.
The good news is the engine is powerful yet cultured, slightly lustier at the top end, and still sounds glorious (although I imagined for a brief moment that my previous 996 sounded fruitier at lower revs, though I could be mistaken).
I feel a bit anxious writing this, as if I’m about to expose myself as a motoring charlatan, someone who pretends to know and love cars and driving, but really hasn’t got a clue. Every one of the local Porsche Club members tumbled out of the Carrera S with huge grins on their faces, vowing that Porsche could never top this. Journo after journo in the respected British motoring press claims the 997 is on all empirical levels a better car than the 996, and who am I to disagree? Sure, it is objectively faster, safer, more stable, more comfortable, probably better built and more accessible to a wider customer base who prefer to order medium and not medium rare.
As for me, I didn’t get that all-important wiggle through the wheel that tells me the suspension is working with me. In contrast to the 997, even though the traditional 911 is telling me stuff that might phase a newbie into backing off, I know it’s on my side, and providing I keep the faith and keep my foot in, and make minute adjustments each time the wheel tells me something new, I’ll be fine.
To be honest, I’m somewhat relieved. When someone told me the Carrera S had clocked the Nurburgring just 8 seconds slower than the 996 GT3, it shook my faith in my new steed. Whether it’s true or not, I’m not sure, but perhaps I was expecting too much from the 997.
But trust me – if you have a GT3, hang onto it for the time being. And if you’re looking for an all-round high performance sports car that provides an incomparable signature driving experience (and don’t need the peace of mind that buying a new car brings), take a look at a second hand 996 turbo instead for the same money. If, like me, you order medium rare, it would make a lot more sense.
>>> Edited by Harris_I on Saturday 18th September 13:16
First visual impressions are promising. In the flesh, the 997, especially in S guise, is an impressively proportioned shape – more muscular definition than the rather bland soap-bar shape of the 996, it sits on its haunches looking squat and purposeful, yet it retains the modern elegance that the 996 first tried to achieve. Think of it as a sort of younger Pierce Brosnan.
The lights (not to everyone’s tastes obviously) are, in my opinion, a return to traditional (and more attractive) Porsche design cues and coupled with the coke-bottle hips, render the overall design possibly my favourite amongst all previous 911s. I’m not keen on those protective films on the haunches, though, a bit like an after-market backstreet garage decided to fit them thinking they would add street cred. Otherwise the detailed design touches (like the reduced number of slats on the rear or the lower rear lights) are cohesive and integrated into the overall shape better than the 996.
Swing the driver’s door open and the first thing you notice is the quality of the tightly-woven interior covering on the door. Looks promising. Slide into the sports seats, twiddle with the seat “compression” switches (to expand or contract the side bolsters), and you soon find that these seats would perfectly contour just about anybody. Add to that the softer leather and the more tactile nature of the 3 spoke wheel compared to the 996 and you begin to appreciate how much Porsche has been listening to its customers. Any 996 criticisms of Fischer Price interior trim can be banished to the past – the overall feel is solid and “nuggety”, with a soft-touch finish.
Shame, then, about the massively ugly dinner plate of an airbag staring back at you from the centre of the wheel, as well as the slightly tacky feel of the gear lever and the even tackier alu-look plastic squares on each side of the steering wheel. Nevertheless, overall you would have to agree on most objective levels that the quality of the interior is at last befitting of a 65 grand high performance car.
Sadly I didn’t get a chance to twist the key to hear the engine fire into life as the car was trundled out to me, but I did hear an S fire up in the showroom accompanied by a gratuitous blip of the throttle, and for a second I thought we had been joined by an air-cooled interloper. Good news, then.
As we move off, the driving environment is familiar and the on-road experience is at first almost indistinguishable from the 996. Hit sport mode, however, and the throttle response and damping sharpen appreciably. Sadly, steering feel does not. Admittedly in my limited time behind the wheel (about 45 minutes on mostly straight fast roads with a few second gear roundabouts thrown in), it’s difficult to make detailed comparisons with the 996 Carrera 2 that I owned for two years (and which grew on me as each month went by, such was its sophistication and slow-burn charm).
996 devotees preach the gospel of accessible speed whilst 993 fundamentalists crusade on behalf of intimate steering feel and the hollow rasp of air-cooling. And so it is that Porsche philosophy advances incrementally yet again – maybe it was the 19” wheels, but even in full sport mode, I did not feel a huge amount of empathy with the rubber around the wheels, or the mechanical bits attached to the wheels and connected in turn to the palms of my hands. Once again, I must confess that my limited exposure did not allow tail-out slides around enormous and empty roundabouts, and with a squadron of other Porsches swarming around, it would have been daft to experiment with the car’s attitude via the loud pedal as opposed to the steering wheel. Grip was massive (of course) and stability mid-bend was clinically impressive, but intimacy and delicacy? Pre-1996, I’m afraid.
And whilst the sports suspension was comfortable around town, the car suffered from disconcerting jiggling at speeds above 180 kph (about 112 mph) on A roads which had been rutted by heavy vehicles. A run down the same roads in a GT3 an hour later suggested the problem was specific to the car and not the road. The GT3 was stable and involving at the same time.
The good news is the engine is powerful yet cultured, slightly lustier at the top end, and still sounds glorious (although I imagined for a brief moment that my previous 996 sounded fruitier at lower revs, though I could be mistaken).
I feel a bit anxious writing this, as if I’m about to expose myself as a motoring charlatan, someone who pretends to know and love cars and driving, but really hasn’t got a clue. Every one of the local Porsche Club members tumbled out of the Carrera S with huge grins on their faces, vowing that Porsche could never top this. Journo after journo in the respected British motoring press claims the 997 is on all empirical levels a better car than the 996, and who am I to disagree? Sure, it is objectively faster, safer, more stable, more comfortable, probably better built and more accessible to a wider customer base who prefer to order medium and not medium rare.
As for me, I didn’t get that all-important wiggle through the wheel that tells me the suspension is working with me. In contrast to the 997, even though the traditional 911 is telling me stuff that might phase a newbie into backing off, I know it’s on my side, and providing I keep the faith and keep my foot in, and make minute adjustments each time the wheel tells me something new, I’ll be fine.
To be honest, I’m somewhat relieved. When someone told me the Carrera S had clocked the Nurburgring just 8 seconds slower than the 996 GT3, it shook my faith in my new steed. Whether it’s true or not, I’m not sure, but perhaps I was expecting too much from the 997.
But trust me – if you have a GT3, hang onto it for the time being. And if you’re looking for an all-round high performance sports car that provides an incomparable signature driving experience (and don’t need the peace of mind that buying a new car brings), take a look at a second hand 996 turbo instead for the same money. If, like me, you order medium rare, it would make a lot more sense.
>>> Edited by Harris_I on Saturday 18th September 13:16
Harris,
Nice review. It is always good to read the opinions of regular Porsche owners rather than the journalists that we get so used to.
I might pop into my OPC and have a look at the 997. I can't afford one at the moment. However, as on another thread on this forum, the Boxster Coupe might be worth a look especially in Club Sport trim. We'll see.
I also think that your comments about looking at the 996 Turbo and GT3 as alternatives are very valid.
Nice review. It is always good to read the opinions of regular Porsche owners rather than the journalists that we get so used to.
I might pop into my OPC and have a look at the 997. I can't afford one at the moment. However, as on another thread on this forum, the Boxster Coupe might be worth a look especially in Club Sport trim. We'll see.
I also think that your comments about looking at the 996 Turbo and GT3 as alternatives are very valid.
Harris, you don't think I should sell my GT3 and place an order for a 997 then?
I haven't driven a 997 but I agree that looks wise, the 997 is an improvement on the 996 which is rather bland. The only aspect of the 997 I don't like is the steering wheel on the 'S'version. Look ugly, cheap and tacky and lifted from a low budget mass produced saloon. If I bought a 997, I would ditch that wheel asap.
bennno - I totally agree. The S was bouncing too much as we approached 200 kph (although this was on a slightly ragged surface). Too difficult to control. I would probably go for the -20 plus lsd as well.
geoff - no way. Stick with the GT3, I am happy to report that there's still nothing like it.
As johhny says, a Boxster Coupe CS could be the way to go to tempt existing GT3 owners. We know the chassis will be great, they just need to give it the engine it deserves.
geoff - no way. Stick with the GT3, I am happy to report that there's still nothing like it.
As johhny says, a Boxster Coupe CS could be the way to go to tempt existing GT3 owners. We know the chassis will be great, they just need to give it the engine it deserves.
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