A great day for a test drive!

[pwebb]

Test drive booked at 10.00am this morning and looking forward to ragging the demo car round the countryside. Local roads gave me other ideas though, even a Disco spun out in front of us. The Cayenne on winter tyres made short work of the trip to Swindon PC but here a couple of punters who didn't make it.

So, pretty silver C2S ready and waiting at Swindon OPC, and gingerly drove down the local main roads, leaving the twisty bits for another day. First thoughts were the reduction in tyre noise but the increase in exhaust noise - a good trade, I thought. The pdk box is so much sharper than I remember my Gen 2, with speed of changes in normal mode feeling as quick as in Sport Plus before. Contrary to fears about the electric steering, there's plenty of feedback but a much more solid feel to the movement of the wheel. Acceleration was fierce with two distinct phases of Varioram which was amplified by the sports exhaust. Little blips of the throttle between changes sounded great, and brakes felt solid and reassuring - then all went rather quiet as the car cut out at the lights.

Little fun bits - the G meter (with memory!) and the cool cornering lights. And the sport chrono wart actually tells the time now. Interior, as plenty of people have said, feels a step up in quality, and personally I love the new centre console.

dragged my son along for the ride

So back home and our friend was still waiting to pick his Ka out of the tree.

Thanks to Paul at Swindon PC for an entertaining morning

 

[Hendrik]

I agree....winter tyres on your Cayenne must feel right.
Glad you enjoyed the 991.
How is the acceleration Peter?

 

[pwebb]

Hi Henk
Indecently rapid for a non turbo car, I thought. Not really possible to give it the full beans in every gear due to the conditions, but short bursts felt quicker than I remembered the Gen 2, but maybe that was just self-justification[] along with the noise

 

[lowndes]

Peter

Thanks for the write up. I was out on Saturday morning and conditions were certainly challenging. The investment in winter tyres already paid off I felt.

Anyway to the 991. As the Chef on this register could you clarify something for me please. I read that the manual 7 speed cars are using a version of the PDK gearbox. Is that right? I thought the PDK box had two input shafts running one inside the other and needed two clutches to operate each half of the box independently. Unless you need two left feet for two clutches I am not exactly clear how it works.

The other PDK gearbox related matter was that I think I read somewhere that in normal driving mode if you ease off the gas it goes into coasting mode. Again I may be quite wrong on that but if it does do that isn't there a danger of "coasting" up to a bend rather faster than one might have expected as a result of a lack of engine braking.

Anyway enough of that...when is it due?

Cheers

Nick

 

[pwebb]

Nick
Indeed the literature says that the manual 7 speed is based on the pdk box, with 1-6 sport ratios and an overdrive 7th. I don't think the coasting function works on the manual. In coasting mode the engine is on tickover and responds immediately the accelerator is touched. However, I haven't seen how many pedals are involved in each gearchange [:-]

I didn't do any coasting on Saturday so can't report back quite how it feels. Stick it in sport and it doesn't work anyway.

Car is due for a Feb build and March 1 delivery if all goes to plan.

 

[lamboman]

Car is due for a Feb build and March 1 delivery if all goes to plan.

what is your colour and spec?

 

[cymro]

For February built, march delivery; when did you place your order.

 

[pwebb]

Spec is Guards Red, Black leather, with pdk on paddles, sport chrono, 20" Sport Classic wheels, and sports exhaust. Sports seats plus (?!), silver belts, TPM, cruise, and a couple of other minor bits and pieces.

Ordered it in October, but do not want delivery till March, hence the February build date.

 

[cymro]

I also ordered mine end of October, but will not be picking it up until end of march since I will be abroad.

Still can not decide whether to go for the sport chrono, had another test drive yesterday to check this out. There was a lot of traffic so I could not test it fully. I think it will be an option that I will never use. I think the sport mode is sufficient to what I want.

I have to make my mind up by next week to finalise the spec.

991 S
White
Black interior.
PDK
20" classic wheels.

 

[tscaptain]

Not having test driven one yet it's difficult to be sure (that's next week) but I have a feeling that the PDCC is one of the biggest changes to the new car and as such would certainly be in my spec![] After all the winding bits are the best fun and that option can only make them more fun?

 

[samg]

I had a short test drive in a well spec'd 'S' and have priced up the base model with

PDK
Flappy paddle steering wheel
Adaptive sports seats (with memory)
Roof Bars
Some comfort options

Still waiting to hear how the roof bars work - the dealer tells me you need to have the car factory-prepared for the roof bars and they can't be retro-fitted.

A few observations:
The non-paddle steering wheel switches were better than I expected - (far better than the unergonomic Tiptronic switches). Having had a flappy-paddle car in the past, the switches were counter-intuitive for me but you'd get used to them pretty quickly.
The start-stop function while disconcerting I found pretty responsive on start up in "town" driving mode.
I thought the grey central dial looked wrong - if I were going for an S I'd spec it as black like the other four.

A couple of questions:
With regard to the sport mode, does this only have an effect when in fully automatic mode - what's the point in 'M' mode?

Sports-Plus is tempting but I don't think having a more sensitive accelerator pedal is a good thing. Could someone explain how this improves the performance - and again is it only effective in automatic mode?

Sam

 

[Alex L]

What was the weather that day to make so many cars crash off the road? Under 0 degC and lots of ice?

 

[pwebb]

Yes, Alex, a clear night and very sharp frost took the local authority by surprise, so no grit lorries out. Very treacherous, but the Cayenne on winter tyres seemed to do the trick for me.

 

[pwebb]

ORIGINAL: samg


A couple of questions:
With regard to the sport mode, does this only have an effect when in fully automatic mode - what's the point in 'M' mode?

Sports-Plus is tempting but I don't think having a more sensitive accelerator pedal is a good thing. Could someone explain how this improves the performance - and again is it only effective in automatic mode?

Sam

As far as I know, the sport and sport plus mode both work with or without the car in auto. Sport plus is pretty hardcore for the road, but brilliant on the track, and that is principally why the sharper accelerator response is part of that. I've only tried the 991 in standard and sport, and I'd say that the feeling was that the new standard is similar to the 997 in sport. Demonstrably quicker shifts than before. I didn't venture into sport plus, but certainly the track bias was the case with the 997.

 

[lamboman]

ORIGINAL: cymro

Still can not decide whether to go for the sport chrono, had another test drive yesterday to check this out.

sport chrono includes dynamic engine mounts, so worth having IMO

 

[samg]

ORIGINAL: lamboman

sport chrono includes dynamic engine mounts, so worth having IMO

I've read Porsche's description of DEM but don't understand what it means in driving terms - and I guess that means I won't need it or won't miss it.

I also can't see the connection between DEM and Sports Chrono - are they connected in some way?

Regards, Sam

 

[pwebb]

Sam, from the dealer launch material, this is what they were given. Am not sure it answers your questions fully, but at least offers some clues:

Sport Chrono Package including Dynamic engine mounts
As before, the optional Sport Chrono Package gives increased sportiness at the push of a button. The functions
and features of this option are carried over from the previous generation 911 including the Launch Control function
for the PDK gearbox.
One new feature of this option is the performance based shift assist display for manual transmissions. The shift
indicator in the TFT display that is normally calibrated for economy is adapted to indicate the optimum shift time for
acceleration and performance.
The package also now includes dynamic engine mounts as first seen on 911 Turbo and GT models. These mounts
combine the advantages of both a hard engine mount and a soft mount. For example, a rigid connection between
the engine and the body is ideal for driving dynamics and performance. However, engine vibrations are then
transmitted through the body of the car and to the occupants. Conversely very soft engine mounts minimise these
vibrations yet do not give the dynamic benefits of a rigid mount. Dynamic engine mounts resolve this apparent
contradiction by adapting the rigidity of the engine mount

 

[bobfair]

I have DEM on my GT3 and in my opinion they are worth having. They make the car softer on the road but turn it into a real hard core animal on the track. Its part of getting two cars for the price of one

 

[Hendrik]

Peter, glad you have ordered the red again. Cant wait to see it in March 2012.
I can not imagine what the 991 Turbo would be like if the current 991 is as lively as you suggest. Seems worth the wait!

 

[tscaptain]

Well today was a great day for a test drive and courtesy of those nice folk at Exeter PC I have just returned from a play in the 991 C2S.
I won't drone on about it as Peter's earlier report covers most. Their demo car has PDK (with buttons - yuk!), Sport Chrono Plus, Sports exhaust and PDCC among other things.
What did I learn? The PDK is leaps and bounds ahead of the 997. The downshifts are just hilariously brilliant and upshifts are quicker too. If I hadn't been reminded about the electric steering then I wouldn't have known. In fact the greater assistance at low speeds is very welcome and at higher speeds feels just like it's predecessor but with more stability.
The sports exhaust is a cracker. Get it north of 5000 rpm and it fills the cabin with a wonderful rasp. In fact the only downside I can see here is that you will constantly want to drive like a hooligan.
Peter is quite right in that the tyre noise is well down on previous models.
But, as I suspected, the real major leap here is with the PDCC. This thing just corners flat. Ok we didn't get the chance to really rag it around the twisty bits but even so the lack of body roll in corners is most apparent. It would be the first tick in the options box for me.
Seeing the car outside for the first time also lets you appreciate the difference in the body styling - and I like that too. Cabin doesn't really feel any bigger but getting back into mine afterwards reminds you that the 997 cabin was in need of a major facelift. The seats in the 991 are nicer too with longer thigh support.
So - bottom line is that I feel this car is, as they claim, a big step up from the 997.2. Would I buy one? No. Why?
In two words - turbo torque!
However, if I still had my C2S I would be seriously tempted. Must tick boxes - PDK (with paddles) Sport Chrono Plus, PDCC and PSE[]
I did come away wondering what the 991 GT3 and turbo will be like though.........(BTW, the dealer view is that the turbo will be nowhere near the £140-150k numbers being bandied about on here - time will tell on that one)

Not long now Pete![]