Test Drove Turbo - I'm Gettin' One: DONE
Drove my 997S to dealer to test drive used Turbo. Sales guy in car so couldn't pay total attention to car - too much blabbing on both our parts. Also keep in mind I'm an amateur; took a BMW "driver ed" track weekend about a dozen years ago: that's about it for me knowing what I'm talking about, sorry.
First impressions:
Don't get pi**ed at me but I'm soooo glad the 3200-4000 rpm drone of the 997S with stock exhaust is freeking GONE when cruising! That "engineered" sound bugs tha cr*p outta me. Maybe it's a gene that I have; so annoying to me that Porsche would build that "boy racer" sound effect into the 997s car (sorry, I have a pet peeve about that *incessant* needless drone).
Turbo exhaust note is subdued which is absolutely GREAT for me. No annoucing to every quiet household in my neighborhood that I'm goosing the car for a cheap thrill. No lone bicyclist on quiet rural highway hearing a "speeding ahole" coming up behind him and wondering if life really _is_ unfair and he's about to get catapulted into Eternity.
Cornering: the car is hugely more grippy in highway on ramp. Totally different car than my 997S. You can feel the thing grabbing the curve like the tires have claws digging into the ground chasing prey. The car seems to have a monsterous intent in rounding corners with one goal in mind: fast. Nothing is wasted wondering if there's enough "physics" to stay on the asphalt trail.
Lightness? It's great. Got no problem with that contradiction because within a few minutes I realized it's just an illusory sensation since the car's huge grip is actually more stable than the 2wd.
Steering less sensitive? Definitely worth the trade off. The thought crossed my mind why would anybody want a thicker wheel on this car uunless for arthritic hands? The car feels more like a killer road machine and less than a old-style 1960s sports car so thinner wheel keeps steering sensation as "light" as possible (maybe just my imagination).
Best part, worth all the trade offs IMO, when you pass on a two lane road the oncoming traffic appears to remain stationary! the pass is over so fast you have not a touch of the usual anxiety, the pass is over in "half" the time: amazing what a few seconds means when your "eating" a slowpoke car going about 50 mph. The 480 HP is actually __safer__ than the 355hp car! Other drivers probably get their panties less tightly jambed too since it's over so quickly. Use THAT to convince the wife you _need_ a Turbo if she wants the best chance to keep you alive.
The tiny delay for the Turbos to kick in? I found it interesting: it's like the car dutifully eases you into the blast off, a quick acceleration like the 997S and then, in a half second, "BAM!" a shove boosts you off to do what you gotta do. The lag is ZERO problem, as I tried to say: the delay is almost a safety feature getting you ready in a half second for the power surge. Maybe it will get annoying later when you get used to the car?
All in all? I'll "never" become a track guy so the TT is basically a road car. Since you can't responsibly burn your backside massacre-ing corners on public highways the steering-heaviness and diminished sports car feel in road handling isn't much of an issue for me.
Public rural highways require LOTS of power for passing, big brakes, lots of "swerve-avoidance-stickiness(?)," and the TT has _all_ this in spades. It IS the ultimate road car for guys who want to get somewhere without dawdling. It is the Ultimate road car for guys who love to drive while getting somewhere without dawdling. It is the Ultimate road car for guys who want to get somewhere without dawdling but are out on a Sunday drive and want to enjoy a "leisurely" drive.
Interstate highway: it is so great that the 997S drone is f'ing GONE. Because face it: interstate travel is BORING lots of the time and who needs a drilling, vibrating, numbing engine hummmm to grate on your nerves and fatigue your brain?
Didn't spend much time "test driving" in the Home Depot parking lot but the fact that the car is so tame in pedestrian-rich environments has got to be a plus.
I'm getting one. WOW!
First impressions:
Don't get pi**ed at me but I'm soooo glad the 3200-4000 rpm drone of the 997S with stock exhaust is freeking GONE when cruising! That "engineered" sound bugs tha cr*p outta me. Maybe it's a gene that I have; so annoying to me that Porsche would build that "boy racer" sound effect into the 997s car (sorry, I have a pet peeve about that *incessant* needless drone).
Turbo exhaust note is subdued which is absolutely GREAT for me. No annoucing to every quiet household in my neighborhood that I'm goosing the car for a cheap thrill. No lone bicyclist on quiet rural highway hearing a "speeding ahole" coming up behind him and wondering if life really _is_ unfair and he's about to get catapulted into Eternity.
Cornering: the car is hugely more grippy in highway on ramp. Totally different car than my 997S. You can feel the thing grabbing the curve like the tires have claws digging into the ground chasing prey. The car seems to have a monsterous intent in rounding corners with one goal in mind: fast. Nothing is wasted wondering if there's enough "physics" to stay on the asphalt trail.
Lightness? It's great. Got no problem with that contradiction because within a few minutes I realized it's just an illusory sensation since the car's huge grip is actually more stable than the 2wd.
Steering less sensitive? Definitely worth the trade off. The thought crossed my mind why would anybody want a thicker wheel on this car uunless for arthritic hands? The car feels more like a killer road machine and less than a old-style 1960s sports car so thinner wheel keeps steering sensation as "light" as possible (maybe just my imagination).
Best part, worth all the trade offs IMO, when you pass on a two lane road the oncoming traffic appears to remain stationary! the pass is over so fast you have not a touch of the usual anxiety, the pass is over in "half" the time: amazing what a few seconds means when your "eating" a slowpoke car going about 50 mph. The 480 HP is actually __safer__ than the 355hp car! Other drivers probably get their panties less tightly jambed too since it's over so quickly. Use THAT to convince the wife you _need_ a Turbo if she wants the best chance to keep you alive.
The tiny delay for the Turbos to kick in? I found it interesting: it's like the car dutifully eases you into the blast off, a quick acceleration like the 997S and then, in a half second, "BAM!" a shove boosts you off to do what you gotta do. The lag is ZERO problem, as I tried to say: the delay is almost a safety feature getting you ready in a half second for the power surge. Maybe it will get annoying later when you get used to the car?
All in all? I'll "never" become a track guy so the TT is basically a road car. Since you can't responsibly burn your backside massacre-ing corners on public highways the steering-heaviness and diminished sports car feel in road handling isn't much of an issue for me.
Public rural highways require LOTS of power for passing, big brakes, lots of "swerve-avoidance-stickiness(?)," and the TT has _all_ this in spades. It IS the ultimate road car for guys who want to get somewhere without dawdling. It is the Ultimate road car for guys who love to drive while getting somewhere without dawdling. It is the Ultimate road car for guys who want to get somewhere without dawdling but are out on a Sunday drive and want to enjoy a "leisurely" drive.
Interstate highway: it is so great that the 997S drone is f'ing GONE. Because face it: interstate travel is BORING lots of the time and who needs a drilling, vibrating, numbing engine hummmm to grate on your nerves and fatigue your brain?
Didn't spend much time "test driving" in the Home Depot parking lot but the fact that the car is so tame in pedestrian-rich environments has got to be a plus.
I'm getting one. WOW!
