Longer term 991 owners..
Yeah, wouldn't have ordered it either. Was just wondering because I didn't see the option in the configurator. Had it on a previous car, too, and didn't want it again.
God, this bothers me as well...
I find myself placing the iPhone in the door compartment, only to forget it's there when I leave the car...

I can't find a practical place to put it, where it's still visible!
The voice control is so "Feb 2011". In all seriousness, with the iPhone and Siri showing us where things are headed, I was very disappointed when I realized the voice control expects me to tell it to page down through music lists and tell it which number selection I want. I should be able to just say "Beatles" and it does its best to find that artist/track/album. Using VC to page through music lists is more difficult and more dangerous than just using the touch screen. It's silly.
I only use it now to enter addresses for nav.
Other peevs:
- Yes the iPhone doesn't fin in the tray. That's a shame.
- Auto start/stop is linked to coasting. I like coasting, but I do not want the start/stop. Fail.
- I wish I had gotten full leather, as I have lamented about here before. I am happy with every other choice I made, so overall I am happy and I do love the car.
I only use it now to enter addresses for nav.
Other peevs:
- Yes the iPhone doesn't fin in the tray. That's a shame.
- Auto start/stop is linked to coasting. I like coasting, but I do not want the start/stop. Fail.
- I wish I had gotten full leather, as I have lamented about here before. I am happy with every other choice I made, so overall I am happy and I do love the car.
Buckwheat. I have about 3,000 miles on mine. Driven it on the track a bunch, lived with the car as a daily. You know how I put cars through their passes and am Porsche to the bone. I could care less about things like nav, voice control, powered seats. I care about PSE, Sport Plus, Launch Control, PASM.
I love the car it is a tremendous improvement over the 997.2. The Handling difference is unbelievable. I can achieve the same lap times as my 997.2 GT3. I'm good but not a pro so it's harder for me to extract all the perfomance out of that car but I can get more out of the 991. Numbers I'd never be able to get close to in my 997.2S. I never scrape because I'm use to driving these cars, thats a non issue. I have no rattles. In fact this is the first Porsche I've had that is RATTLE FREE! The PSE is heaven. It makes me smile everytime I lift off that gas and hear the snap crackle pop. It makes me smile more when I bury the accelerator. The Bose sounds great. Yes Nav is cool too in the display but I just use my cell phone nav bc it's faster for me. the PASM is remarkable! Goes from Panamera to near GT3 feeling.
Only negative is wind buffeting over 100mph windows down, but cracking sunroof aleviates it. I don't like where the flasher button is, Eventhough I have the Sport Design wheel which is a MUST with PDK, I'm still a manual driver and like to grab the shifter and hit the flashers inadvertly sometimes.
Buckwheat you can call me and pick my brain on it if you want.
I love the car it is a tremendous improvement over the 997.2. The Handling difference is unbelievable. I can achieve the same lap times as my 997.2 GT3. I'm good but not a pro so it's harder for me to extract all the perfomance out of that car but I can get more out of the 991. Numbers I'd never be able to get close to in my 997.2S. I never scrape because I'm use to driving these cars, thats a non issue. I have no rattles. In fact this is the first Porsche I've had that is RATTLE FREE! The PSE is heaven. It makes me smile everytime I lift off that gas and hear the snap crackle pop. It makes me smile more when I bury the accelerator. The Bose sounds great. Yes Nav is cool too in the display but I just use my cell phone nav bc it's faster for me. the PASM is remarkable! Goes from Panamera to near GT3 feeling.
Only negative is wind buffeting over 100mph windows down, but cracking sunroof aleviates it. I don't like where the flasher button is, Eventhough I have the Sport Design wheel which is a MUST with PDK, I'm still a manual driver and like to grab the shifter and hit the flashers inadvertly sometimes.
Buckwheat you can call me and pick my brain on it if you want.
2000 mile mark here (hooray)...
Here is my list...
+ Very comfy, rivals my now departed 335i, if not better
+ Sounds great, I do have the PSE, but the car sounds great with it on or off
+ I still have not dropped the car into Sports +, but I do use Sports mode quite a bit and that alone makes a big difference when I want firmer steering and a sportier feel.
+ Effortless driving around town, it's just great and there is no harshness
+ Rock solid, no rattles here, fit and finish is tight
+ Sunroof, I have already used the sunroof in this car more than the last 6 cars I had combined (that had sunroofs)
+ No scrapes. My now departed 997.1 TT scraped every time I took it out. This has only scraped once.
- No backup camera, biggest gripe. No excuse in this price range for a car that isn't the easiest to check behind
- Front and rear sensors are too slow to react/detect objects. Seriously, what's the point?
- No start button, another major peeve. I don't even have the keyless option. But the new key design is such a pita to get in the keyhole. This is one thing I do miss from my 997. There was something almost exciting/satisfying about putting the key in the ignition on the 997. The 991 key design is just terrible imho.
OVERALL: Love it. Great car, first Porsche that I have used as a DD and I couldn't be happier. Well, truth be told, I wish I would have gotten a different color but I still like what I have.
Here is my list...
+ Very comfy, rivals my now departed 335i, if not better
+ Sounds great, I do have the PSE, but the car sounds great with it on or off
+ I still have not dropped the car into Sports +, but I do use Sports mode quite a bit and that alone makes a big difference when I want firmer steering and a sportier feel.
+ Effortless driving around town, it's just great and there is no harshness
+ Rock solid, no rattles here, fit and finish is tight
+ Sunroof, I have already used the sunroof in this car more than the last 6 cars I had combined (that had sunroofs)
+ No scrapes. My now departed 997.1 TT scraped every time I took it out. This has only scraped once.
- No backup camera, biggest gripe. No excuse in this price range for a car that isn't the easiest to check behind
- Front and rear sensors are too slow to react/detect objects. Seriously, what's the point?
- No start button, another major peeve. I don't even have the keyless option. But the new key design is such a pita to get in the keyhole. This is one thing I do miss from my 997. There was something almost exciting/satisfying about putting the key in the ignition on the 997. The 991 key design is just terrible imho.
OVERALL: Love it. Great car, first Porsche that I have used as a DD and I couldn't be happier. Well, truth be told, I wish I would have gotten a different color but I still like what I have.
Last edited by hed; May 10, 2012 at 08:21 PM.
Not much that has not been said yet!
Negatives:
-rattling, incl. around the front loudspeakers with the BOSE system. Not acceptable
-buffeting with windows down on the track
-car sits a bit too high to my taste (do not have SPASM). Will be lowered ASAP.
-a little too much body roll (do not have PDCC). Will change sway bars when aftermarket parts become available
-plasticky VW-ish gas cap. Had a nice 'Porsche' cap from my previous car but does not fit on the 991
-PDK still downshifts automatically if you do a kickdown/floor the gas pedal in manual mode (maybe it's normal, but do not like it)
-No possibility to select a different default setting for the sport exhaust, sport mode or rear spoiler
-ventilated seats reset each time you turn off the engine
-no black exhaust tips option
-bumper to be removed to access the engine
-NO MANUAL E-BRAKE

Positives:
Too many to be listed
It may seem futile, but I do not think I could live without the PSE.
Sport steering wheel with flappy paddles. I am now using my PDK in manual mode most of the time (you are as much in control as with a manual and are shifting gears MUCH faster) and find my fingers looking for paddles when I drive other cars.
Overall, the fact that the car is great on the track and on the road. I personally do not buy into the whole 997 vs 991 discussion. This car is a new generation and like all new generations before, it pushes the limits a little further and you will need to go faster and harder to get the same sensations (scare ?
) as before.
In brief, 3 months and 6,000 miles later, I am still as excited as the first day and still find the silliest excuses (but do I need one?) to take the care for a spin
Negatives:
-rattling, incl. around the front loudspeakers with the BOSE system. Not acceptable
-buffeting with windows down on the track
-car sits a bit too high to my taste (do not have SPASM). Will be lowered ASAP.
-a little too much body roll (do not have PDCC). Will change sway bars when aftermarket parts become available
-plasticky VW-ish gas cap. Had a nice 'Porsche' cap from my previous car but does not fit on the 991
-PDK still downshifts automatically if you do a kickdown/floor the gas pedal in manual mode (maybe it's normal, but do not like it)
-No possibility to select a different default setting for the sport exhaust, sport mode or rear spoiler
-ventilated seats reset each time you turn off the engine
-no black exhaust tips option
-bumper to be removed to access the engine
-NO MANUAL E-BRAKE


Positives:
Too many to be listed
It may seem futile, but I do not think I could live without the PSE.
Sport steering wheel with flappy paddles. I am now using my PDK in manual mode most of the time (you are as much in control as with a manual and are shifting gears MUCH faster) and find my fingers looking for paddles when I drive other cars.
Overall, the fact that the car is great on the track and on the road. I personally do not buy into the whole 997 vs 991 discussion. This car is a new generation and like all new generations before, it pushes the limits a little further and you will need to go faster and harder to get the same sensations (scare ?
) as before.In brief, 3 months and 6,000 miles later, I am still as excited as the first day and still find the silliest excuses (but do I need one?) to take the care for a spin
Last edited by SM_ATL; May 10, 2012 at 08:51 PM.
And I think it illustrates the point that some tradeoff may inherently be involved between performance vs lively dynamics.
As a runner, the thing I can stand the least is distracted drivers -- on the phone talking/texting/emailing, whatever. I am glad there is no easy access place to stow the iPhone. Seriously, cannot believe this is a "complaint." Agreed that little console provides zero room for anything but change from the toll booth, but hardly worth a mention i think. I keep my iPhone in the covered console in the center which conveniently enough charges while I conveniently keep my eyes off of it and on the road. If you are driving this car as it should be driven, you probably shouldn't be looking anywhere but the road, and your hands should probably be on the wheel and shifting. My $0.02
As a runner, the thing I can stand the least is distracted drivers -- on the phone talking/texting/emailing, whatever. I am glad there is no easy access place to stow the iPhone. Seriously, cannot believe this is a "complaint." Agreed that little console provides zero room for anything but change from the toll booth, but hardly worth a mention i think. I keep my iPhone in the covered console in the center which conveniently enough charges while I conveniently keep my eyes off of it and on the road. If you are driving this car as it should be driven, you probably shouldn't be looking anywhere but the road, and your hands should probably be on the wheel and shifting. My $0.02
Because this car is not a daily driver for me, I seem to forget from time to time to grab the phone on the way out.
I just find it convenient to have the phone in plain view, so as to serve as a helpful reminder to take the phone when exiting the car...
My BMW 328i (daily driver) has a nice place for my phone in the center console where I place it and never forget it when leaving the car.
I am sure over time I will get used to the fact that the phone is tucked away, and this will be non issue...
this has been my take for a long while. If you have the ability, guts, b@lls, whatever and surroundings (track) to push the 991 it limits it will thrill you more than a 997.
I read it differently, that you need to push the 991 harder to get the same thrill as the 997, not that the 991 necessarily thrills more than the 997 when both are at the limit. But since I can't currently drive either car at the limit, it will be a while before that matters for me.
I read it differently, that you need to push the 991 harder to get the same thrill as the 997, not that the 991 necessarily thrills more than the 997 when both are at the limit. But since I can't currently drive either car at the limit, it will be a while before that matters for me.

Everybody has his own 'thrill' metric...



