Aug 10, 2006 4:13:34 PM
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Ron (Houston)
- Rennteam Moderator
-
- Loc: Houston, TX , United States
- Posts: 8812, Gallery
- Registered on: Apr 10, 2002
My first impression of the 997TT
A good friend of mine took delivery of his new 997TT blk/blk 6 speed couple days ago, he actually bought it from Florida and was shipped here.
Got a chance to drive in the car as a passenger for about 45 minutes and I tried it for about 10 minutes. I personally DO NOT like to drive anyone's car but he insisted on it so I didn't pass and wanted to find out for myself.
First off the car is really nice and well put together but as we all know design wise it doesn't show that he paid almost 150k for it.
I believe this 997TT has 95% marketing input and 5% engineering input. If I owned a 996TT I wouldn't see the need to upgrade to 997TT since the wow factor is not present for me.
I personally didn't feel or see the advantage of the new VGT (again marketing hype, perhaps). Of course we didn't drive it very fast since the car wasn't broken in yet.
I noticed when you punch it at corners or turns the tail would sway but would come back to control very fast.
The clutch felt very soft no effort to press it; I felt the same about the clutch feel when test-drove the first Carrera S couple years ago.
The steering felt kind of numb for me unlike the 996TT or the 996 series, although very precise but didn't give me the solid feel of steering as the older models. It felt more like the SL than a true Porsche, again I should emphasize this is my personal opinion.
Breaking is out of this world, unbelievable.
The high-speed test remain to be seen when the car is ready and broken in.
All in all this is a fantastic car, no doubt, but Porsche needs the get on the ball since competition is very fierce out there. I remember when the 996TT came out that was the car to have but at the present time buyers have many different choices and options from other manufacturers. It felt to me as if Porsche rushed out the new 997TT to the market or perhaps Porsche's philosophy is gearing more towards GT and comfort line up cars. If at this time of my life and career I could opt for the new 997TT I probably would.
To make it easier I'll put my likes and dislikes in order and please note this IS ONLY my personal opinion and doesn't constitute majority of us here.
Likes:
- Comfortable ride
- Well put together
- Love the new rims
- Awesome breaks
- Excellent visibility
- Controls at excellent reach for the driver
Dislikes:
- Muted exhaust
- Very light steering feel
- Turbo lag
- No wow factor (again this is my personal opinion)
- Very soft clutch feel
- No acceleration punch factor the way 996TT did for me
- No noticeable acceleration from stand still
I hope I didn't offend any of the new 997TT owners, they should consider themselves very fortunate to own such a fantastic car.
Got a chance to drive in the car as a passenger for about 45 minutes and I tried it for about 10 minutes. I personally DO NOT like to drive anyone's car but he insisted on it so I didn't pass and wanted to find out for myself.
First off the car is really nice and well put together but as we all know design wise it doesn't show that he paid almost 150k for it.
I believe this 997TT has 95% marketing input and 5% engineering input. If I owned a 996TT I wouldn't see the need to upgrade to 997TT since the wow factor is not present for me.
I personally didn't feel or see the advantage of the new VGT (again marketing hype, perhaps). Of course we didn't drive it very fast since the car wasn't broken in yet.
I noticed when you punch it at corners or turns the tail would sway but would come back to control very fast.
The clutch felt very soft no effort to press it; I felt the same about the clutch feel when test-drove the first Carrera S couple years ago.
The steering felt kind of numb for me unlike the 996TT or the 996 series, although very precise but didn't give me the solid feel of steering as the older models. It felt more like the SL than a true Porsche, again I should emphasize this is my personal opinion.
Breaking is out of this world, unbelievable.
The high-speed test remain to be seen when the car is ready and broken in.
All in all this is a fantastic car, no doubt, but Porsche needs the get on the ball since competition is very fierce out there. I remember when the 996TT came out that was the car to have but at the present time buyers have many different choices and options from other manufacturers. It felt to me as if Porsche rushed out the new 997TT to the market or perhaps Porsche's philosophy is gearing more towards GT and comfort line up cars. If at this time of my life and career I could opt for the new 997TT I probably would.
To make it easier I'll put my likes and dislikes in order and please note this IS ONLY my personal opinion and doesn't constitute majority of us here.
Likes:
- Comfortable ride
- Well put together
- Love the new rims
- Awesome breaks
- Excellent visibility
- Controls at excellent reach for the driver
Dislikes:
- Muted exhaust
- Very light steering feel
- Turbo lag
- No wow factor (again this is my personal opinion)
- Very soft clutch feel
- No acceleration punch factor the way 996TT did for me
- No noticeable acceleration from stand still
I hope I didn't offend any of the new 997TT owners, they should consider themselves very fortunate to own such a fantastic car.
) and 599 for wkends/occasional commuting (great exhaust note and fast paddleshifters 
. He is thinking about selling it but he always changes car probably 4 to 5 cars annually.
