I'm living in the city and the wife doesn't know how to drive stick. I've only had manual cars for the past 20 years until last year when I bought my wife an automatic.

Question being if I can live with a Tiptronic setup or not. I know they are not as fast as a DSG or somewhat harsher like an SMG setup. I've driven my friend's Boxter S Tiptronic but it just doesn't seem "quite right". I can't even bear to drive my wife's car in semi-auto mode and just leave it in D most of the time.

I'm pondering if I should go for practical with the wife and city life(bumper to bumper traffic) in mind or throw out the practical sense all together if I'm going to be getting a Porsche.

What say you guys?

 

I own one and was mostly influenced by WAF. She said I can get a toy if we can both drive it. She drove the 996 once when I got it for 3 minutes and never since... I am selling mine to buy a turbo and it will be stick. FYI I live in NYC and drive into work sometimes but its not a DD. If I was to DD, I would stay with a tip

 

I own one because of SoCal traffic (mine is a DD) and I didn't want to hassle with replacing the clutch periodically.

Rudy

 

Do you guys use the Tiptronic or keep it mostly in D because it's too clumsy or slow?

 

i have a tip.. in plan on getting a f1 style steering wheel soon , i think it would be more fun to have real paddle shifts...btw the tip wouldnt of been my first choice but i wasnt looking for a porsche when i got it

 

I sold my 6-speed Boxster and replaced it with a 911 C2 Cab with a Tiptronics transmission. My bad left knee forced the move. That said, I think my next Porsche will be a PDK.

 

I think you'd want a manual. It's not a family car so wife will probly not drive it.

Having said that, I don't think the tip is that bad compared to DSG. However, it simply doesn't feel as connected as a manual. I took my tip to track. It performed really well. However, once I learned to drive a stick, I'd not go back.

The best transmission in terms of feel and speed is a F1 paddle shift. I have driven a few DSG and I dont like the automatic smooth aspect of it at all. I feels fast but not fun. They need to make a DSG that blips the throttle to make it more aggressive.

 

Thanks guys for the feedback so far, I guess as one of the posters put it I fear that I'll come across that perfect road when I'm driving and admire the off camber curves and look down and see that I can't row the gears.

 

I bought mine as a toy that both my wife and I could drive. She has driven it once or twice over the last few years. At first I felt a little guilty, having a Porsche that was an automatic....but now after driving it for several years I really like it. I have a BMW that is a standard so I can row the gears all I want. The Porsche has plenty of power to overcome the auto and it is fun to autocross. I have never missed a gear in all of the auto crosses I have driven in. I went and test drove a 6 speed and it was nice but I think I will stay with mine. I would like to drive a PDK to see if it is different. On the other hand, mine is paid for so it is looking pretty good right now.

 

Wife. That said, I want a PDK as next car. In traffic, I always use the tip manual, not automatic, to be able to accelerate quickly if I am switching lanes and so forth. The only thing I don't like is that as my car is a '99, the tip is slow.

 

I bought my car with 3 pedals because my wife can't drive a car with 3 pedals. So there are no questions who is driving what!!
Although the 2010 Turbo with PDK is temping.

 

I'm absolutely new to the forum, but, spent about 2 years reviewing the differences and drove several tips and manual transmission PCars. My brother-in-law has the tip and loves it as a DD. I wound up buying the 6 speed.

Whenever we get the opportunity to get out on the open road, I've found that the manual is much more fun to drive.

My two cents....

 

I am Geschwindigkeit's brother in law from the previous post and have the tip as a DD. It is really nice in the ATL traffic but my first choice was the 6-spd. After driving the tip, I was impressed at how fast it shifts. It feels similar to some of the Audi DSGs I have driven so based on my budget and car availability, this was the one thing I had to "give up" to get my first P-car.

-Bo

 

Hello,
Never thought I would 'want' an automatic. But now it is the only transmission I want to have, as a toy or DD. Basically it comes back to an old injury, and the discomfort factor.

Having said all that; changing the automatic trans fluid made a huge difference.

I know that my car's transmission was replaced by Beverly Hills Porsche (imagine what that place is like) under warranty at about 30k.

Also, this is my ninth P-car and the first one that didn't need repairs when purchased.

Good luck.

 

Thanks guys, if everything goes right, I should be picking up a manual in a couple weeks. If this car was a daily driver, I would've given the tip a second thought but since this is a second car(mainly for weekend duties), I've decided on the manual.