New Targa 4S - first month's impressions.......
Discussion
Guys
Have had the new car for nearly a month now and thought I would post some first impressions / likes / dislikes and maybe offer a bit of help to anyone thinking of diving in to Targa ownership. Hope this helps.
First off, this is my first non-Turbo car in over ten years. It’s taking some getting used to, as I’m used to hitting the power band at 2,500 RPM but now have the wring the car out to get it to sing – reminds me of my old Yamaha YZ100 Motocross bike in the late 70s, when it would start to run away from you as it hit its power band! I have that same feeling of having to hang on in the 911. I’d imagine that, of they do run with Turbo only cars below the GTs later this year, there will be a clear distinction between the NA and non-NA cars. Anyone who, like me, has been in turbos for years may actually prefer the new forced induction, as it’s a bit like learning to drive again going back to NA. I’m also getting use to 20mpg and a smaller tank and no matter what I do, the tank seems to empty fairly quickly. Thank god fuel is still pretty cheap.
The roof: It is a thing of wonder and, when closed, is coupe quiet. Open, there is buffeting and while I don’t think this will bother me when the weather improves, it’s not great in cold weather as the wind does whip around the cabin a bit (more so than my JCW Mini Cabrio with the wind deflector in place). There’s also a design fault in the deployable wind deflector, as you need to push down on it on the passenger side of the car to raise / lower it, and it’s obviously been designed for LHD. In a RHD car, it’s quite a reach from the driver’s seat. This is a sloppy bit of design. The roof operation is not as smooth as the videos would have you believe, and the jerkiness worried me at first, but having looked more closely at a few YT videos, I think this is normal. It does look very fragile and I’m just hoping that German engineering stands the test of time. A word of warning – a lot of what you’ll read on the web is that the rear parking sensors prevent the roof being opened if there is an obstruction behind. Not correct – I tried it and the roof will still raise when you’re backed right up to something else – make sure you leave plenty of room.
Cabrio vs Targa seems to be a regular question. I chose the Targa because I think it is so much prettier and has the added bonus of fabulous rear visbility, and thus less travel sickness for the kids. Speaking of whom, my 13 year old and ten year old do fit pretty well into the back, but do complain about the verticalness of the backrests. Up front, I could well be in a cabrio, so I think the Targa offers the best of both worlds, and who really wants to be in the back of a Cabrio at speed (or carry passengers at speed when you can’t have the wind deflector deployed).
I’m happy with my spec – love the PDK box and how it has so many different characters. I don’t know when I would use Sport Plus as it’s so bloody aggressive – though it’s fun for scaring the kids. I don’t have auto wipers and, call me lazy, but I do miss this, as I have it on all my other cars, and you get used to it. Not sure I’ll get much value out of Sport Chrono, but do wish I’d specced the PSE, and I may do that as an after market but, (advice please) can I really justify 2 grand for a few farts and pops? The PCM system is so not intuitive that I’ve actually reverted to the user manual for the first time in years. I’m sure I will get it in the end, but it wasn’t designed by an ex Apple staffer for sure. The heated seats are good but seem to have a mind of their own about which temperature they decide I need – sometimes they feel lukewarm, other times pretty hot. They are never super hot.
The Grip on the car is phenomenal, and I shudder to think what you have to be doing to get it out of shape. The 4WD gives you so much confidence accelerating hard out of a corner. But, the car really is Jekyll and Hyde. With the top up, in normal mode, it’s as docile and pliant as anything out there (in fact, it feels smoother than my Range Rover Sport!) and having also driven a non PASM car, I would never order one without it. In Sport mode, it’s a noticeably different beast.
I haven’t given the car a proper run on an empty country road with good sight lines yet, but I’m itching to do so. Despite being the “softer” 991, I’m convinced I will give up before it does. The public reaction to the car has been either muted (I think 911s are pretty invisible these days) or positive ( I actually got a thumbs up from a guy in a Fiesta ST last week) but I am conscious not to drive like a hooligan as I feel an “obligation” to the Porsche community. I think the GT Silver helps keep the car “quiet”. GT Silver is a very lovely colour – it looks especially lovely at dusk when it takes on a different hue and becomes warmer and accentuates the fat hips on the Targa.
If anyone has any questions about the car, I’m happy to share my limited experiences.
Have had the new car for nearly a month now and thought I would post some first impressions / likes / dislikes and maybe offer a bit of help to anyone thinking of diving in to Targa ownership. Hope this helps.
First off, this is my first non-Turbo car in over ten years. It’s taking some getting used to, as I’m used to hitting the power band at 2,500 RPM but now have the wring the car out to get it to sing – reminds me of my old Yamaha YZ100 Motocross bike in the late 70s, when it would start to run away from you as it hit its power band! I have that same feeling of having to hang on in the 911. I’d imagine that, of they do run with Turbo only cars below the GTs later this year, there will be a clear distinction between the NA and non-NA cars. Anyone who, like me, has been in turbos for years may actually prefer the new forced induction, as it’s a bit like learning to drive again going back to NA. I’m also getting use to 20mpg and a smaller tank and no matter what I do, the tank seems to empty fairly quickly. Thank god fuel is still pretty cheap.
The roof: It is a thing of wonder and, when closed, is coupe quiet. Open, there is buffeting and while I don’t think this will bother me when the weather improves, it’s not great in cold weather as the wind does whip around the cabin a bit (more so than my JCW Mini Cabrio with the wind deflector in place). There’s also a design fault in the deployable wind deflector, as you need to push down on it on the passenger side of the car to raise / lower it, and it’s obviously been designed for LHD. In a RHD car, it’s quite a reach from the driver’s seat. This is a sloppy bit of design. The roof operation is not as smooth as the videos would have you believe, and the jerkiness worried me at first, but having looked more closely at a few YT videos, I think this is normal. It does look very fragile and I’m just hoping that German engineering stands the test of time. A word of warning – a lot of what you’ll read on the web is that the rear parking sensors prevent the roof being opened if there is an obstruction behind. Not correct – I tried it and the roof will still raise when you’re backed right up to something else – make sure you leave plenty of room.
Cabrio vs Targa seems to be a regular question. I chose the Targa because I think it is so much prettier and has the added bonus of fabulous rear visbility, and thus less travel sickness for the kids. Speaking of whom, my 13 year old and ten year old do fit pretty well into the back, but do complain about the verticalness of the backrests. Up front, I could well be in a cabrio, so I think the Targa offers the best of both worlds, and who really wants to be in the back of a Cabrio at speed (or carry passengers at speed when you can’t have the wind deflector deployed).
I’m happy with my spec – love the PDK box and how it has so many different characters. I don’t know when I would use Sport Plus as it’s so bloody aggressive – though it’s fun for scaring the kids. I don’t have auto wipers and, call me lazy, but I do miss this, as I have it on all my other cars, and you get used to it. Not sure I’ll get much value out of Sport Chrono, but do wish I’d specced the PSE, and I may do that as an after market but, (advice please) can I really justify 2 grand for a few farts and pops? The PCM system is so not intuitive that I’ve actually reverted to the user manual for the first time in years. I’m sure I will get it in the end, but it wasn’t designed by an ex Apple staffer for sure. The heated seats are good but seem to have a mind of their own about which temperature they decide I need – sometimes they feel lukewarm, other times pretty hot. They are never super hot.
The Grip on the car is phenomenal, and I shudder to think what you have to be doing to get it out of shape. The 4WD gives you so much confidence accelerating hard out of a corner. But, the car really is Jekyll and Hyde. With the top up, in normal mode, it’s as docile and pliant as anything out there (in fact, it feels smoother than my Range Rover Sport!) and having also driven a non PASM car, I would never order one without it. In Sport mode, it’s a noticeably different beast.
I haven’t given the car a proper run on an empty country road with good sight lines yet, but I’m itching to do so. Despite being the “softer” 991, I’m convinced I will give up before it does. The public reaction to the car has been either muted (I think 911s are pretty invisible these days) or positive ( I actually got a thumbs up from a guy in a Fiesta ST last week) but I am conscious not to drive like a hooligan as I feel an “obligation” to the Porsche community. I think the GT Silver helps keep the car “quiet”. GT Silver is a very lovely colour – it looks especially lovely at dusk when it takes on a different hue and becomes warmer and accentuates the fat hips on the Targa.
If anyone has any questions about the car, I’m happy to share my limited experiences.
Phil B said:
Open, there is buffeting and while I don’t think this will bother me when the weather improves, it’s not great in cold weather as the wind does whip around the cabin a bit (more so than my JCW Mini Cabrio with the wind deflector in place). There’s also a design fault in the deployable wind deflector,
how bad is the buffetting at around 80mph (assuming wind deflector is deployed)?is it uncomfortable or uncomfortably loud?
It's not too bad at all. I could comfortably drive at 80mph with the roof open. They key is to get the little deflector down in its lower position above, say 40mph (it booms below this speed unless it's up). I think the journos have made more of this than they needed to to find something to complain about. It is an open car FFS, so you have to expect (and some would say want) a certain dgree of buffeting.
Ted
I see you've had 991s before so you probably won't have the Paulian moment I've had, but I still pop out to the garage at night just for a peek, and look for any excuse just to go for a drive. In fact, for the first time in years, I've just been going out "for a drive". I'm sure you're going to love the Targa - I think it's the utter nuts! I'm so tempted by the sports exhaust - I don't think you get the same noise drama with the targa as with the cabrio, so maybe the PSE is essential.
I see you've had 991s before so you probably won't have the Paulian moment I've had, but I still pop out to the garage at night just for a peek, and look for any excuse just to go for a drive. In fact, for the first time in years, I've just been going out "for a drive". I'm sure you're going to love the Targa - I think it's the utter nuts! I'm so tempted by the sports exhaust - I don't think you get the same noise drama with the targa as with the cabrio, so maybe the PSE is essential.
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