997 C2 and S (PDK) test drive this Sat - my views
Hi,
Thought you might all like hear my views from tests (quite briefly) of both a C2 and C2S this weekend. Both with PDK and both were cabs (although I'm not really into soft tops personally).
They both are, undoubtedly great cars. The engine is definitely more urgent, sounding a bit more "Ferrari-esque" (Nick will like that) with a more slightly more highly strung / revvy feel (and of course more power) and I really liked the traditional suspension on the non-S version. I think they might have ironed out some of the PASM issues on the C2S, too but I still seem to get just a bit more steering and seat of the pants feel on the non-S. Could just be my imagination...
The PDK is completely seamless - no jerkiness at all, and I can see that you could get much better 0-60 times from PDK than manual. Very impressive.
However...
Overall the cars seemed *very* similar indeed to the previous half generation and if anything (sorry Porsche) slightly more "plasticky" in their finish. The PDK changer is semi-metallic with a solid feel, but the trim (particularly the non-S) seems just a bit cheaper than in mine. I'm very picky about this kind of thing, so again it may not even be noticeable to others.
I really don't like the steering wheel buttons for PDK changes. Somehow, even though I have only rarely used paddle shifters, they seem much more natural than the buttons, especially when you are changing gear with the wheel turned hard for some reason.
For this reason alone I would stay with a manual. Also there's something very pure about the driving experience when operating the notchy-but-smooth P-car box that I would miss with the PDK, especially when changing down.
Of course the electronics look a lot better - nicer buttons, nicer layout, proper 3D view which helps and I was told that the "lag" which I at least sometimes annoyingly get with the Nav System (like telling me to take a turn off a roundabout just too late) is pretty much gone, although I didn't test it.
Finally, Porsche have made what might seem like an insubstantial error, but for me it badly damaged the image of the car: the wing mirrors seem MASSIVE. Like dumbo ears, they just don't fit with the rest of the car and make me feel more as though I am driving some chunky saloon rather than a high performance sports car. Since the 997 original has great rear visibility anyway I can't imagine it was mandated by the Eurocrats, so I'm not sure where this came from. This is a big issue for me as you have these things in your view all the time, I'm very into the aesthetics of owning these beautiful creations and as I said they just don't seem to fit with the rest of the car. Porsche might argue they were putting a more 993 feel into the mirrors which indeed have similar proportions, but I think these are much bigger.
So in conclusion a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. I like the engine (with a manual I think I could really get to like it), and with the extra power of the non-S version I could even imagine stepping down. But I don't think I will go for the facelift: the original somehow seems more integrated and the facelift a bit more like a mixture of additions, some of which work, others which don't.
The P-Car guys (in Porsche W London) were trying hard-ish to get me to go for the facelift, but I don't think I'll go for it.
By the way they were offering me mid-40 ks (GBP) trade in value for mine (Oct/Nov 2005), which seems a bit low, so I might just keep mine or sell and hoard cash for a while until our self generated little "perfect" financial storm blows over...
Hope this bunch of fairly random reflections is useful - feedback welcome, including disagreements!
Best SoS.
Thought you might all like hear my views from tests (quite briefly) of both a C2 and C2S this weekend. Both with PDK and both were cabs (although I'm not really into soft tops personally).
They both are, undoubtedly great cars. The engine is definitely more urgent, sounding a bit more "Ferrari-esque" (Nick will like that) with a more slightly more highly strung / revvy feel (and of course more power) and I really liked the traditional suspension on the non-S version. I think they might have ironed out some of the PASM issues on the C2S, too but I still seem to get just a bit more steering and seat of the pants feel on the non-S. Could just be my imagination...
The PDK is completely seamless - no jerkiness at all, and I can see that you could get much better 0-60 times from PDK than manual. Very impressive.
However...
Overall the cars seemed *very* similar indeed to the previous half generation and if anything (sorry Porsche) slightly more "plasticky" in their finish. The PDK changer is semi-metallic with a solid feel, but the trim (particularly the non-S) seems just a bit cheaper than in mine. I'm very picky about this kind of thing, so again it may not even be noticeable to others.
I really don't like the steering wheel buttons for PDK changes. Somehow, even though I have only rarely used paddle shifters, they seem much more natural than the buttons, especially when you are changing gear with the wheel turned hard for some reason.
For this reason alone I would stay with a manual. Also there's something very pure about the driving experience when operating the notchy-but-smooth P-car box that I would miss with the PDK, especially when changing down.
Of course the electronics look a lot better - nicer buttons, nicer layout, proper 3D view which helps and I was told that the "lag" which I at least sometimes annoyingly get with the Nav System (like telling me to take a turn off a roundabout just too late) is pretty much gone, although I didn't test it.
Finally, Porsche have made what might seem like an insubstantial error, but for me it badly damaged the image of the car: the wing mirrors seem MASSIVE. Like dumbo ears, they just don't fit with the rest of the car and make me feel more as though I am driving some chunky saloon rather than a high performance sports car. Since the 997 original has great rear visibility anyway I can't imagine it was mandated by the Eurocrats, so I'm not sure where this came from. This is a big issue for me as you have these things in your view all the time, I'm very into the aesthetics of owning these beautiful creations and as I said they just don't seem to fit with the rest of the car. Porsche might argue they were putting a more 993 feel into the mirrors which indeed have similar proportions, but I think these are much bigger.
So in conclusion a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. I like the engine (with a manual I think I could really get to like it), and with the extra power of the non-S version I could even imagine stepping down. But I don't think I will go for the facelift: the original somehow seems more integrated and the facelift a bit more like a mixture of additions, some of which work, others which don't.
The P-Car guys (in Porsche W London) were trying hard-ish to get me to go for the facelift, but I don't think I'll go for it.
By the way they were offering me mid-40 ks (GBP) trade in value for mine (Oct/Nov 2005), which seems a bit low, so I might just keep mine or sell and hoard cash for a while until our self generated little "perfect" financial storm blows over...
Hope this bunch of fairly random reflections is useful - feedback welcome, including disagreements!
Best SoS.
)
