I can't help but read all the posts by current 997 owners pounding the pavement of how glad they are to have either bought or retained their 997 .

So I ask this question to the 991 owners .. is their ANY who wishes he had bought a 997 instead of a 991 ?

Are their any 991 owners who are trading their cars in to buy a 997 ?

Is their any 991 owner who if given the chance to do it all over .. would have bought the 997 instead ?

If there is please express why .
If not .. I understand ya .

 

Although I miss some aspects if my 997.2 I have grown to love my 991 and would never go back. The improvements far outweigh anything lost

 

Not me. I really like the 991, but am still getting used to the PDK. I traded my 6 speed 997.2 in for it and wouldn't go back. In fact, I was wondering if I wanted a turbo, but after this weekend cruising around, I know that the 991 S has enough power for me (just not enough of the low end grunt that the turbo would solve).

 

There was a guy on rennlist who said he wasn't going to keep his 991 long, reportedly after putting a couple thousand miles on it. It was on one of the 991-bashing threads there.

After 2k miles I love mine more than ever, but I never owned a 997 and only drove one a few times.

 

It's a fair and useful set of questions, but it would be difficult and painful for a 991 owner to say yes to any of them.

Even if a 991 owner has doubts about their decision, I think the best thing for them to do is to put those doubts aside and spend at least several months getting to know the car and appreciating it's strengths before judging. There's plenty to love about the 991.

IMO, car enthusiasts must always be on guard against the 'grass is greener on the other side' syndrome, which not only takes away enjoyment of what you have, but can also be expensive and futile. Someone in 6speed once offered the advice 'love what you have' as a key to happiness, and I think it's excellent advice.

 

I don't own either (yet), but I can say from past experience that this seems to be a common phenomenon, and not just among Porsche owners. The owners of the "old" model hate on the "new" model - until they buy one.

In a way, it's a natural reaction. You have an emotional attachment to the current car you own. You don't want to see it replaced by something better, especially if you can't have it now or ever.

 

I had a 2010 997.2S and loved it. I have a 991s with PDK & PDCC and I have no trouble at all saying I love it more! Manifold makes some good points, but for me, answering your questions is easy. If I did not like my 991S I could sell it now, in days, for quite a lot. I could buy my old car back for under $80k and put a lot back in my wallet. I could go buy a leftover GTS, very well optioned, for 100k and put money back in my pocket. Or, I could probably trade it for a 997.2 turbo ('09-'12), depending on year, options and miles, even-up.

If I felt that the 991s was a mistake and that the answer was a 997, I have so many options, and no need to suffer for years with my mistake just to avoid admitting it.

For me, and all I am speaking for is me, Manifold and many others beg to differ, the 991 is a serious step forward and I would have difficulty going backwards. And like Gleek48, while other versions are coming, it is difficult to see how I could need, or use, more power. I don't think the low end torque, especially in sport or (from memory of test drives in sport+) is much of a problem and through chips and other add ons, (once the warrantee is up) that can be more cost effectively improve than paying for a 991GTS or turbo.

This is a great car. And what I like best is not found in any earlier 911s to anything like this degree-when you want a GT car that you can drive all day or go away with the wife for a weekend or week, it is great. When you want to throw it around the track, or your feeling the need for performance, you press a button and dial it in. Unlike say a GT3 (based on 997's - who knows what the 991 GT3 will be like), which was all race car all of the time, the 991S is a sleeper or an outright villain when you want. And it does both very, very well.

No offense to those who bought or keep their 997's. They are fine cars. But from my perspective of having owned both, they are clearly come in second - and the gap is fairly big!

 

Drove a 997.2 TT after I bought the 991S and despite the extra oomph, there is no way I would trade my 991 for a 997, was it a TT. I did not own a 997 before (had a Cayman R), so I have a tendency to think I am not biased...

 

Would love to hear your thoughts on the Cayman R.

 

I too owned a cayman R, and decided to trade it in for the 991!
I loved the cayman, but I gotta say the 991 drives and handles better than the cayman R...
The CR was raw 100% of the time, which was fun for me, not so much for the wife
The 991 gives me the dr jekyll and mr hyde which keeps us both happy!

 

Our CR is primarily my wife's DD. It was ultimately her decision to get it (with my encouragement ), and she prefers it to the 911. Go figure!

 

Must say after having spent a good 1 hour with the R, this thing is pretty raw, closer to a Lotus then I imagined. Not sure if I liked to noisy gear change click and clangs. Truly metal on metal... and I am used to the metal Ferrari gate.. I did like the seats ( bit narrow for long trips perhaps) and space is quite roomy for average europan guys... perhaps not the corn fed USA variety .

 

There is a lot of that indeed. The Cayman R was light on its feet and super-agile. The MT with the short shifter was great too and the steering was as communicative as people say about the 997. Still, the 3.4 engine lacked a bit of grunt and low end torque was not enough. In the end, the 991 is more polished and comfortable but even more capable and aggressive when you push it. I can take the 991S for long and comfortable trips and take to track on the week end. I also used the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde analogy before!

 

Oh, I love the clicks and clangs. When I hear them, I always think 'holy cow, this thing is really mechanical'.

I think the CR has the potential to become a classic, but it depends on how the next Cayman turns out.

 

Wow, my wife hated the sport bucket seats, the stiff ride and hearing debris being picked up by the rear tires...