So I have had the GTS for a year now and have done 22,000Km with it and thought I would share a long term update to the initial review I made and uploaded here (https://www.rennteam.com/forum/thread/21068553/RoadTest_Review__991_Carrera_GTS/page1.html).
Just going to touch on some subjective aspects of the initial review on which long term use may have changed my initial opinion on, or may have confirmed it, and any new thoughts that may have appeared since.
All in all, I'm going to get this out of the way first, the car is definately a keeper, more than any other 911 I have owned previously. To sum it up, this car was made for my needs and preferences and fits me like a glove.
I like to drive a sporstcar everytime I get into a car for anything, and having to drive a sedan, SUV or whatever takes away from the joy of life. So my 911 has to be a daily driver that I can use for everything and all year around, from driving to work, to having fun on a mountain road on the weekend, and everything in between.
But as far as sportcar preferences go, I have always been on the sportier side of sportcar setups. So for me the GT3 for example has always been the ideal 911, and my choice if it didn't have to make any compromises for serious daily use in the process. And on the other hand the Carreras were ideal for daily use but have always been a bit to soft for my taste. The Turbo of course out of the question then since its purpose is different and even less sportier. So I have always opted for the sportiest suspension options, sport seats, sport exhausts, and other sport options available on the Carreras but deep inside was still left wanting a sportier car.
And as you can see were I'm leading with this, this GTS version ticks all the right boxes, that is, short of having the GT3 engine and PDK. The GTS sits perfect in between the Carrera and GT3, or at least as perfect as any 911 variant ever has. This is why I'm so appreciative of it, and so happy I got it when it was still available in the short span that it was being sold, and can see it being a keeper since don't see anything on the horizon yet that will get me to trade it in for, since the next GTS will not have this atmospheric engine.
So the engine, its a big part of the package. The GTS would not be the same with the new 3.0L turbocharged engine. Just like a GT3 would not be the same with it's engine being downsized and turbocharged, the straightline performance may be better due to the greater torque, and may post a faster lap time, but the GT3 experience would not be the same. Its a matter of the type of engine fitting the type of car best.
A few days ago I was driving on some mountain roads with other Porsches as I sometimes do, had a blast... 2nd and 3rd gear roads with bends one after the other, getting on the throttle as early as posible coming out of the bends, with instant throttle response at the tip of your right foot, and modulating it to the traction with such a progressive power delivery, keeping the engine in the top range of the rev band all the time, as it reved freely and effortlessly up to the limit... and that screaming sound sorrounding it all!! ... windows down echoing from the rock face and vegetations on the sides of the road... the downshifts into second were a spectacle, as the engine screamend increscendo in 2nd reaching the limit, then into 3rd, then lift off as the exhaust burbles and pops loudly, and you lay on the brakes as you hit the downshift paddle and the exhaust blips loudly with the perfect PDK match reving, along with the mechanical sound of the engine braking, and then on the throttle once again hearing the revs climb and change tone across the rev band ... the whole experience leaving you anticipating the next corner to get to do it all over again.
I had a 991.2 with sport exhaust in front of me part of the time, and could not hear anything coming from it, nothing, as if he wasn't there, just like the other aspects of the engine I mentioned above weren't there either. The higher torque was of no benefit to it either, nor were the lower CO2 emissions. This is why while the new turbocharged engine has its good points, not a single one of them is of benefit to the GTS and this experience. On the other hand, each time we stopped for a break, some of those other P-car drivers behind me would come up and compliment me on how they enjoyed hearing the soundtrack of the GTS from behind through the bends. Apperently it could be heard from 2-3 cars behind.
The chassis of the GTS (and here I think I can extend to the 991 generation in general) is very posed and forgiving compared to previous generations, it takes a lot more to unbalance the car in the corners by bumps on the road or driver inputs (or errors
). And its most noticeable at higher speeds such as highway speeds and bends. I think this would be the characteristic that stands out more versus previous generations. And while the ride is softer than my previous 997S-20mm, it has less roll and handles road irregularities better. The only thing that I kind of miss a bit is the 997S-20mm steering, not that the electrohydraulic steering in the GTS is worse, its better than in previous 991 Carreras I have driven, and in reality is equally capable than the 997's, but it's more of a subjective feeling, I miss a bit of the "nervousness" of the 997S-20mm steering.
Now we come to the PDK, many of you know my reluctances towards the PDK in the long term being a "manual guy". After one year I can say I'm happy with the PDK and would do it again. But part of that is the exhaust sound of the GTS though, without it I would not be as content with the PDK though. If I were buying the same car again I wouldn't think twice about getting it with PDK, but if it were getting a 991.2 now I would find myself in the predicament all over again, will still be happy with PDK after a year? Maybe yes or maybe not, but would not be able to say right now.
That said I would love to have a manual sportscar too if I could, because no matter how good the PDK is, it can never 100% substitute a manual, and I miss it sometimes. If I could have a second 911 in the garage, whicb I can't, it would be preferably a manual.
I drive it on manual mode when I want a bit more interaction with the tranny, but I also drive it in D mode too which is excellent in aticipating what gear you want to be in at every moment within the constraints of the driving mode (Normal, Sport, Sport-Plus). The only thing is that when wanting some sudden acceleration the kickdown can jump one too many gears than you were expecting and lurch forward faster than you wanted, couple that with the exhaust sound, and you may find yourself creating a bit of a scandal around you when you just wanted to acecelerate moderately and anonymously in traffic 
After having driven the PDK extensivley, I definately think that the paddles should be stuck to steering column and not to the wheel. On tighter corners were there is lots of wheel lock you have a hard time reaching the paddles and you have to go for the stick if you don't want to loose to much time fiddling about. However why does it downshift when you push the stick forward and pull for upshift? Not a huge problem but very counter intuitive. I believe its fixed now in the 991.2 versions, but wonder for what reason its was set backwards in the first place.
Did I mention the GTS' exhaust sound already? 
... OK, OK... I will just mention that in Sport-mode though, its a bit too much for city driving due to the loud burbuling & popping on retention when you let off the throttle. Its out of place and calls too much attention IMO, gives the impression you are driving aggresively when in fact you are not and I don't appreciate this in city driving. Simple solution is to set normal non-sport mode and just keep PSE ON, not that you need Sport-mode in city driving anyway, since you should be obeying speed limits and driving extra cautiously due to pedestrians, traffic etc. But in non-sport mode, the PSE while activated will is still just as lound and sporty on acceleration but there is much much less burble and pop on retention/deceleration than when on Sport mode.
The choice of exterior color was another issue I wasn't 100% sure about on how it would turn out to be after a while, since I'm more about subtle colors such as black, but I can say I'm very glad I made the leap of faith of getting the GTS' Carmine Red... thanks to all those here that helped me make the decision with your reasuring commnents about the color.
It looks great in the sunlight, and the black wheels and black accents the GTS were made for the Carmine Red. This particular red tone and the wheel and sport design bits, etc does grab a lot of attention, more than I would have expected, both from fellow P-car owners and from people on the street or other cars in traffic. Add the exhaust in, and find myself gettin thumbs up from pedestrians and a lot of petitions to rev or accelerate from other car drivers. Something that I don't feel comfortable with since I like to pass unnoticed and be left to enjoy the car privately. But inspite of that, the color choice is still worth it, the GTS's understated looks and clean lines is just so beautiful with it... I never would have thought!
I have yet to see a Carrera with any type of combination that I like as much as the GTS aesthetically and its because the GTS has a few elements part of its specific looks that you cannot get on the Carrera, like the centrelock wheels, the black engine grill with the extra grill strip bellow the spoiler, the alcantar interior, etc... nothing to outrageous fortunately as this is a daily driver, but enough to give it a sportier characteristic look I really like.
Something very worth mentioning is the 90 liter gas tank option that the GTS has because of being a widebody but RWD, can't say enought about how much I like this option now. Having to do 300km drives many times it means having to stop half the times on the gas station, a huge time and hassle saver without any drawbacks whatsoever. As a curiosity, the needle only works till 60Liters, its not adapted to the 90 liter capacity, so it will still show full 100% until you drop bellow 60 liters, also the OBC milage estimate depends on that too so will diplay milage of full 60 Liter gas tank, and until you drop bellow 60L you won't see it drop down. Not a problem at all, just a curiosity.
There a some small nuances you notice after some use, for example the headlights selection switch to the left of the steering wheel has a red led that exactly reflects off the rear view mirror, so when it's darker out is seems like there is a red braking light on the rear view. They obviously missed that detail when designing that led light.
Similar thing happens with the sport chrono dial on the dash, the dial face has shiny elements on it and its placed in such a way on the dash that it always reflects off the windshield. Not a problem, but they could have taken it into account when designing the hump in which the dial is embeded.
The lower lip of the front bumper is a problem sometimes. It scrappes easily due to the greater overhang of the sport design bumper and lower clearance of the lip, and since its not an add on part like in other aerokit bumpers, but part of the full bumper, it cannot be replaced.
One issue I was curious about was the wear of the Alcantara in the interior, after 22,000km there is no noiticieable wear, save maybe a little on the 9 and 3 o'clock positions of the steering wheel, and the left elbow rest on the door, but hard to tell.
Biggest issue though are the Pirelli PZero N0 tires the car with from factory. They offer subpar grip in the wet and are unpredictable at times in the wet. And as I have mentioned before this is a daily driver so has to fast in the wet too. Fortunately this is not a problem with the car itself and will hopefully be solved when I fit the new N1 PZeros.
And finally mechanically speaking I have had zero issues with the car so far, it has been flawless since I drove it off the dealership.
Well I hope I have been able to transmit the more subjective aspects of the car and given you, as best I can, a personal point of view away from the paper stats and features 
--
⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS
Re: 991 GTS Review LONG-TERM UPDATE
