Last week I decided to get rid of a curiousity that has been present since I was a kid. What's it like to drive a Porsche? So off it was to the local dealer. I did not expect much. I just came from trying the impressive MB E500 and the comfy but bulky BMW 730d. So what can Porsche offer?

I got a 911 997 S4 to take for a 30-minute spin.

I thought my reaction would be "nice, but not my type of car". It wasn't. It was: WOW! I want one!

Since that drive I have been looking at ways to stretch my budget so that I can afford a 997. I can. Now there is only one question: Which model?

I'd be very grateful if you'd be so kind to provide your personal opinions on the different models. I'll start by giving my newbie thoughts:

Carrera v/s Carrera S
Seems those who get a Carrera immediately start looking for the Carrera S. The dealer had a few regular Carreras, but was short on the S model. So I guess S is to prefer before the regular Carrera

My preference: Carrera S

Manual v/s Tiptronic
According to the dealer the sales ratio for new cars is 60/40 with overweight for the manual version. The reason being that so many buyers look for those extra tenths of seconds offered by the manual version. On the other hand I understood that newer versions (turbo only?) actually beats the manual version due to very quick gearshifts.

My preference: Not sure. I am a Tiptronic type of person. I'd probably hate having to shift gears manually while in traffic. I guess it'd be Tiptronic even though its slower. My concern is that TIptronic may not keep its value as the manual versions do. Or maybe that's not the case. Another reason for not being sure.

2WD v/s 4WD
Seems to be two drawbacks with 4WD: Slightly less baggage room in front and slightly less "vivid" behaviour. On the other hand 4WD would be safer, faster and definetely(?) better during winter. Or is it so? Isn't it that with all the electronics the 2WD will be a very good winter car as well?

My preference: 4WD, but not as important as S over regular.

Carrera v/s Turbo
The turbo seems like a complete monster. I thought the 4S was increadibly fast. I think the Turbo with its additional +100 HP would kill me. Then there is the extra money for it. Hmm... Maybe next time.

My preference: Carrera

Coupé v/s cab
I have a MB cab today, so I was thinking of getting rid of it. I feel I am sort of "through" with cabs. Been there, done that. Having said that, I know I will miss one thing: The feeling of driving a cab in a summer night. There's nothing like that. Feeling the warm evening air while driving with the roof down on a summer night. Plus: The cab has the hardtop option. If the hardtop is really good it may not make a lot of difference. Hmm...
Coupé v/s hardtop: The coupé certainly looks better! But it can't be taken off!

My preference: Confused. Please provide further cab/coupé arguments (help!)

Coupé v/s Targa
The coming targa might be the perfect one for me. Does not look as good as the coupé, but bettern than the hardtop it seems. I like the hatchback thang. My only concern is that the targa openinig may not offer anything near a cab experience. Only 0.45 suqre meters opening? Not much it seems. Another big concern is that the Targa may not be popular in porsche ranks. I have always liked targas. But I do not have a clue how targas are seen in the Porsche community.

My preference: Confused. Please provide cab/coupé/targa arguments? (help!)

Summary
So it seems to be that I am going fot the 4S with Tiptronic. But is it going to be the summertime cab w hardtop, the classic coupé or the interesting targa?

 

A couple of points from someone who asked, then answered all those questions and has lived with the result for a year.

I have a Tiptronic and am very pleased with it. Very smart auto trans and easy to shift manually with the controls on the steeering wheel. Maybe the manual is a few clicks faster in out and out tests, but in day to day driving you will never notice, but you will notice how the car downshifts and then moves now! -- quicker than you ever drop down a gear or two with a manual -- greater for traffic, etc. I'd recommend the Tipronic unless your car will not be a daily driver and you just want to be "more involved" when you go out for a sporty spin in it.

There is always an appeal of more power: upgrade to the S, or one of the GT3s or whatever, and of course there is the Turbo. But it depends what you want. If you intend you car as an occasional driver -- as your sporty or special car -- then I would opt for something with a good deal of power and tricked out rather extreme -- I like the normally aspirated (GT3, I think) one with 415 HP in that rergard.

I went with the standard Carrera because I did not want a really sporty, "involving" car. I intended, and use, my car as our daily driver (other than the other two cars listed below, I have no other cars, so this is the grocery-getter.) Our Carrera is just a perfect daily driver, particularly for in a city: it is small on the outside, comfortable on the inside, incredibly well built and designed \to be intuitive to operate in all ways, great dynamics, nimble and quick responding, and with a solid feel. I love it. This particular car is, in my opinion, not terribly sporty, just very elegant and excellent in every way.

Four-wheel drive? I'd get that: it improves handling all the time. And I would get the S engine to handle all the extra weight it brings (and a bit more).

Turbo? Only if you realy want to go all the way to "over the top" just to be extreme. Sure, its about the fastest stock thing on the street, but absolutely dominating straight line power is not something you can buy from a dealer: in a straight line a Turbo will get spanked by all manner of modified "common" stuff cruising around any town on a Friday night. Sure, it handles and stops much,
much better than any of them, but no different than a good, top-end normally aspirated GT3 or whatever.