Exterior
991 is very much a small variation on the 911 design language. I don't see that there is anything to dislike in the new look "" but neither is there much to differentiate it from the 997. If you like one I'm pretty sure you will like the other.
Interior
Much has been made of the "˜improved quality' of the 991 interior. I must admit I didn't notice much difference, especially in the touch points. One thing I never really liked in the 997 is the plastic "˜clicky-clacky' action of the column stalks "" they seem to have been carried over unchanged.
Centre console "" does not seem to provide improved functionality or ascetic benefit in my opinion. It does however take up space in the cabin, reducing the feeling of more interior volume. I do worry that the console may get in the way in a manual car "" I drove a PDK and therefore had little interaction with the shifter.
More room in the cabin "" not sure I noticed.
Noise
Press reports mention dramatically lower road noise but I didn't find this to be the case. It was certainly quieter than my 997 but only slightly. Different tyres may have a bearing on things of course.
Engine is certainly more vocal but the character of the sound is not quite the same, by no means unpleasant though.
Engine
Power delivery seemed more linear, perhaps with less of a rush as the rev build "" although this could be masked by the transmission's performance. Plenty quick enough but, on the road, not noticeably quicker than the 997.
PDK
I have to admit to being a strictly manual transmission guy.... however the PDK was easily the best automatic I have driven "" smooth in auto, responsive in "˜manual'. Not being pre-conditioned to paddles, I found the buttons easy to operate. I can see the advantages if you need to drive in traffic and I can appreciate that it would be quicker on the track. Having spent several sessions in a GT3 around the Silverstone GP track the reduction in physical and mental workload with PDK would undoubtedly give a faster time "" but, unless you are in a race, is that what you really want?
In the real world, on real roads, where speed is governed by sightlines, I don't see it being much quicker.
Since most of my driving remains on normal roads with traffic, one of the few remaining pleasures to be had is a well executed part-throttle up or down shift. PDK, for all its benefits, would remove one of the last driving skills you can enjoy even when driving to work.
Chassis
Granted I didn't get to push the envelope but the 991 felt more like a "˜normal' car, with less of the rear-engined characteristics. The fact that it had more immediate/accessible front end grip would certainly make it more familiar to most drivers, especially in greasy conditions.
Steering
I must admit that while driving the 991 I didn't think the steering was deficient in any way "" but getting back into my own car after the test drive it was as if I had been wearing gloves in the 991. All the small amplitude, high frequency feedback seems to have been filtered out in the new car. Without wishing to lower the tone "" it was like the difference between sex with or without a condom. Always good, but one is clearly better.
Electric Parking Brake
Actually I never used it - just shifted to Park. I have had other cars with this feature and it so far has worked efficiently and flawlessly (and how often have you ever heard that said of a Renault Scenic!).
I would really like to try a manual variant of the 991 to give a more consistent comparison, but it struck me that the 991 seems to have been intended to be a PDK all along, with the manual as the secondary product. No doubt this is driven by customer demand, but things like the electric parking brake, centre console bulk, stop-start, sailing, etc "" all move the car in a different direction.
Let's face it any car in this class is going to be a great drive and I would easily prefer the 991 over (even) more expensive offerings (Bentley Conti SS, XKR-S are two I have driven recently), but I think I would miss some of the things they have left out. Then again I guess each new generation would have generated similar comments.
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