991 test drive summary
Discussion
Had the chance to spent some time driving a 991 on Sunday so I took the opportunity for my (if I remember correctly) first thread in the Porsche forum – maybe it is interesting for some:
Pro:
Looks: found it to look significantly better looking than in the pics. It is bigger but still looks VERY compact and aggressive. Lights look superb, esp. rears look the dogs when on. Also a plus: Front wheel arch much more pronounced, very aggressive overall stance. 20” rims also look very good, albeit the brakes look a tiny bit puny now…
Sound is fantastic, even without PSE (this particular car didn’t have it) – they seem to have focused a bit more on intake noise which is very noticeable inside the car (in a good way)
Power wise I would say that it is definitely on par with my RS (997.1) if not a tad quicker (didn’t drive them back to back and the pdk makes for a different driving experience altogether).
I am lacking experience with 997 2S/4S/GTS cars so cannot really compare the car with its predecessor handling (or otherwise really) – I find it hard to describe anyway – let me put it this way, it feels like a very well composed GT. Definitely more GT than sports car but not in a bad way. I found the steering to be quite light, but also not necessarily in a bad way. It is a very solid feeling car if that makes sense. Didn’t get the chance to really push the car so forgive me for not being more specific.
I was a bit worried about the interior after seeing the pictures, however I must say that I was positively surprised. Yes, there is a lot of plastic, but it does look good and first class. The windscreen has moved forward a substantial bit and overall sitting in it makes for a smug fit (especially because of the higher centre console) – really nice place to be overall. Leg room is hughe, A-Pillar cover has increased in size, but there is enough headroom.
Display á la Panamera/Cayenne I also liked a lot – Nav screen seems substantially larger than in the 997.1/2
Con:
Not an awful lot: The larger sunroof doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to me – it doesn’t open more than just over a third of its overall length. The switch for it (very big and prominently placed in the centre console) is s
te, not intuitive to use, but akward. Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.
But all that is may be being a bit pedantic.
All my personal opinion of course, taste is different as we all know…
Overall, my personal view is, that albeit its hefty price tag, it is going to be a success. The GT3 & RS version of that is going to be absolutely bonkers if not as raw as its predecessors….
Pro:
Looks: found it to look significantly better looking than in the pics. It is bigger but still looks VERY compact and aggressive. Lights look superb, esp. rears look the dogs when on. Also a plus: Front wheel arch much more pronounced, very aggressive overall stance. 20” rims also look very good, albeit the brakes look a tiny bit puny now…
Sound is fantastic, even without PSE (this particular car didn’t have it) – they seem to have focused a bit more on intake noise which is very noticeable inside the car (in a good way)
Power wise I would say that it is definitely on par with my RS (997.1) if not a tad quicker (didn’t drive them back to back and the pdk makes for a different driving experience altogether).
I am lacking experience with 997 2S/4S/GTS cars so cannot really compare the car with its predecessor handling (or otherwise really) – I find it hard to describe anyway – let me put it this way, it feels like a very well composed GT. Definitely more GT than sports car but not in a bad way. I found the steering to be quite light, but also not necessarily in a bad way. It is a very solid feeling car if that makes sense. Didn’t get the chance to really push the car so forgive me for not being more specific.
I was a bit worried about the interior after seeing the pictures, however I must say that I was positively surprised. Yes, there is a lot of plastic, but it does look good and first class. The windscreen has moved forward a substantial bit and overall sitting in it makes for a smug fit (especially because of the higher centre console) – really nice place to be overall. Leg room is hughe, A-Pillar cover has increased in size, but there is enough headroom.
Display á la Panamera/Cayenne I also liked a lot – Nav screen seems substantially larger than in the 997.1/2
Con:
Not an awful lot: The larger sunroof doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to me – it doesn’t open more than just over a third of its overall length. The switch for it (very big and prominently placed in the centre console) is s
te, not intuitive to use, but akward. Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.But all that is may be being a bit pedantic.
All my personal opinion of course, taste is different as we all know…
Overall, my personal view is, that albeit its hefty price tag, it is going to be a success. The GT3 & RS version of that is going to be absolutely bonkers if not as raw as its predecessors….
noneedtolift said:
Yes, there is a lot of plastic, but it does look good and first class. The windscreen has moved forward a substantial bit and overall sitting in it makes for a smug fit . . . . .
That feeling comes as standard for most new Porsche owners . . . . 
Excellent write up.
(doesn't make me want to rush out to my local OPC for a test drive though)
Edited by Slippydiff on Wednesday 7th December 13:22
noneedtolift said:
Yes, there is a lot of plastic, but it does look good and first class.
Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.
UK cars will have full leather interior as standard, so there will be a lot less plastic.Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.
did the rattles come from the roof?
SFO said:
noneedtolift said:
Yes, there is a lot of plastic, but it does look good and first class.
Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.
UK cars will have full leather interior as standard, so there will be a lot less plastic.Plus the roof made an awful noise when closing, plus there were a few rattles when running over bumpy roads.
did the rattles come from the roof?
The "plastic" impression stems largely from the large centre console which I am not sure of if it will come in leather as well? But as I have said it does look good, even if some of the switches are akward to use.
The more time passes and the more I reflect on the experiance, the more I am taken by it (the car, not the centre console
).
Made good reading.... Has everyone seen the EVO test drive clips on youtube?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwA0vs_NM6Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=poMybaHje_I
Chris Harris gives it some welly.
noneedtolift said:
I am lacking experience with 997 2S/4S/GTS cars so cannot really compare the car with its predecessor handling (or otherwise really) – I find it hard to describe anyway – let me put it this way, it feels like a very well composed GT. Definitely more GT than sports car but not in a bad way. I found the steering to be quite light, but also not necessarily in a bad way. It is a very solid feeling car if that makes sense. Didn’t get the chance to really push the car so forgive me for not being more specific.
I seriously do hope they will sort this out for the GT3/RS models. It's exactly the race car feeling a 3 generates whenever you use it that appeals to me. If I need to drive the t*ts of the car to make it an event then it's useless on regular roads.the only down side i can see so far for the car is that Porsche are giving all models massive and horrible badges on the rear. So the 911 will now have PORSCHE written as well. So Im guessing quite a few cars will end up being de badged to avoid this ugly addition to the rear of the car.
i hate to think how many versions Porsche are dreaming up of this car... gts, speedster, will there be an RS name or they will keep to the gt3 and gt3 rs names. the list goes on... the only tragedy is those that have to make do with the basic model... (joking).
i hate to think how many versions Porsche are dreaming up of this car... gts, speedster, will there be an RS name or they will keep to the gt3 and gt3 rs names. the list goes on... the only tragedy is those that have to make do with the basic model... (joking).
f1ten said:
the only down side i can see so far for the car is that Porsche are giving all models massive and horrible badges on the rear. So the 911 will now have PORSCHE written as well. So Im guessing quite a few cars will end up being de badged to avoid this ugly addition to the rear of the car.
True - what makes it look extra weird is the different font type for "PORSCHE" and the model description. Can also see a lot of people going for badge delete.
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