My 997TT test drive
Engine:
- The car has a rather typical Porsche turbo sound; nothing spectacular - however, typical for a Porsche turbo...
- Turbo boost builds up quicker than in my car
- The Overboost indicator appears for more than 10 seconds (actually it never switched off...); the indicator also appears if you press the throttle at revs above 5500; in conclusion, the indicator does not appear to be linked to the actual status of the overboost but is more some sort of "reminder" that SC and the overboost function are activated.
- While I did not feel the additional power I did some test runs up to 305kph (on the speedometer)
- Firstly, the speedo is pretty accurate at around 200kph (+ 1% to 2% maximum or so)
- I did 200-305kph three times; acceleration times were between 22 and 23 seconds in each run (air temperature was around 24C)
- This would imply 0-300kph times well below 40 seconds, which I think is rather quick
- When I tried to do the same test in my car a little bit later I had more traffic; while I have to repeat the test in my own car I can safely say that the 997TT is at least 5 seconds quicker to 305kph (starting from 200) than my 996TTx50
- I also compared the acceleration 200-305 in 5th gear/6th gear and 6th gear only (i.e. no shift at all); interestingly, the acceleration figures were the same...
- As a consequence, I do no longer believe that the manual version is quicker than Tiptronic above 200kph; given the torque/hp characteristic of the 997TT it seems rather irrelevant whether you have 5 or 6 gears.
- Fuel consumption seems pretty much identical to my car
Steering:
- A little bit lighter than in my 996TT
- The progressive steering characteristic is a massive improvement; you can drive tight bends (up to 180 degrees) without shuffling hands
Brakes:
- The car had PCCB
- Compared to the steel brakes of the 996TT the PCCB is a massive improvement
- Instant feed-back, excellent brake feel, very strong - just perfect
- The PCCB is still a bit noisy from time to time
Suspension:
- In sport mode the car is comparably stiff as my 996TT with x73
- No substantial horizontal or vertical gearing in sport mode
- The standard mode still provides a relatively harsh ride but adds a rather unfavorable instability
- Thus I strongly preferred sport mode
- In tight corners the car feels a little bit lighter than my 996TT
- In essence, the suspension setup in sports mode appears pretty close to the old x73 option
BTW: The interior is a big improvement over the 996; more space, better seats, better driver position etc. Liked it a lot.