The Debate Rages On: PDK or Manual 911?
Power and efficiency or emotion and involvement? If you build your dream Porsche, which transmission is your weapon of choice?
Democrat or Republican? Pro-life or pro-choice? These are topics that are bound to divide people and spark arguments among even friends and family. So, you can imagine the sparks that fly between strangers on internet forums. However, there may be one subject even more divisive, especially among automotive enthusiasts. Automatic or manual? Drop that little bomb on the 6Speed Online forums and watch the two camps duke it out. Enthusiasts certainly have opinions on other topics such as what color looks best on the new 911. However, nothing seems to bring out the passion like choice of transmission.
Porsche makes this choice especially difficult because both their PDK and manual transmissions are excellent. Going back 20 or 30 years or so, the decision was easy. Automatics of the day were all basically terrible when compared to the manual transmission counterparts. If you were buying a sports car, you were buying a manual or you were missing out on a significant part of the sports car experience. However, times have changed, advances have been made and the PDK along with some other dual-clutch transmissions have become so good that they are technically superior to the manuals. Although, is being technically superior enough?
I was a manual transmission only guy for many years. The first car I picked out for myself many years ago was an Acura Integra GS-R with a 5-speed. Many other manual cars followed. A Mazda Miata, a couple of WRX variants, an S2000, a MINI Cooper, and a couple of Porsches. All were manual transmission cars, and all were wonderful. Four years ago, I was looking at a new Porsche, a Cayman S which happened to be sitting at my local dealer and it had the PDK transmission. It cannot hurt to just test drive it right? Word of warning, do NOT ever test drive a Porsche if you are not prepared to buy it. One drive in that PDK and I was hooked.
Since that purchase, I have been fortunate enough to drive several other PDK cars, including a Turbo S and a GT3. They never fail to impress. If you want a top-end Porsche today, such as a new Turbo or GT3 RS or GT2 RS, you do not even have a choice, you have to go with the PDK. The Turbo is a do-it-all, high-speed cruiser, and the GT cars are finely honed track weapons where ultimate speed is the name of the game. It is in these areas that the PDK is tough to beat. There is no question that the PDK is a faster and easier car to drive.
I will never forget my first track event in my PDK equipped Cayman. I thought to myself, I would pop it in manual mode, and use the paddles to get myself around the course as fast as possible. Wrong. To get a feel for it, I simply put it in Sport Plus mode and stuck it in drive and off I went. I was amazed at how good the transmission was and how it always seemed to be in exactly the right gear for the situation. I didn’t even have to worry about missing a gear like I did in my previous manual track cars. Maybe a pro driver could get a better lap time working the paddles, but for someone at my level, the PDK was a revelation.
The PDK is also easier to live with when driving long distances and in traffic. Furthermore, anyone can drive it. If you are out with a friend who can’t drive stick, there is no option of letting that friend drive home if you are in a stick shift car. (Of course, you should choose all of your friends based on their ability to drive stick, but a few automatic-only friends may slip by.)
The PDK is often looked down on because it is not as fun or involving as a manual. There is some truth there, but it can be shifted manually and even without a third pedal it can still be an involving experience. I drive my car in manual mode 90 percent of the time and while not a full manual, it is still a lot of fun to run up and down the gears using the shift paddles. So, PDK is faster, easier, and nearly as involving as a true manual transmission. Clear win for the PDK right? Not so fast. No pun intended.
Sports cars are about feel, and emotional connections. As brilliant as the PDK is, it is clinical and cold when compared to a true manual transmission. You drive a manual transmission car and you know you are in charge of what is going on. You want to be fast around the track, you need to master shift points, and heel and toe downshifting, and so on. It takes more skill, and your skill is rewarded. You have more street cred when you have mastered the manual transmission.
A manual transmission Porsche is also typically a bit lighter and less expensive than the PDK version. It also doubles as a nice theft deterrent device in this world of fewer and fewer drivers that can drive stick. So what if the manual is a few tenths of a second slower, it is all about the journey right? Isn’t that why you buy a sports car in the first place?
I am looking to add a second Porsche to my collection at some point in the future. I love my Cayman, but when I make that addition, it will almost certainly be a manual transmission car. There may not be any objective reasons to select a manual, but I just miss it, I just want it, I just need that involvement back. If you were buying a Porsche what would you chose? What would you recommend to your friends? What side of the fence are you on?
To quote the great Monty Python: “Is this the five-minute argument or the full half hour?”
Photos: Porsche
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