I went to the Porsche store in Newport Beach to get a new ash tray (mine is peeling) and my favorite Salesman (Eldon) was there and he was standing in front of the two 09 997's they have been allocated a White Carrera Coupe and a Aqua Blue S Cab with PDK.

So he asked me if I wanted to take it for a spin and I said sure.

My impressions-

- Very quick off the line (did not have Sport/Chrono or Launch Control) but still big difference and that was in Auto mode

-I am not sure I like this engine sound better- it did not feel as throaty but then again I did not get totally on it with the Salesman at this juncture but still did not seem to "burble" like the older 997

- The steering defininitely felt tighter and that was enhanced with the fatter steering wheel that I was told comes with PDK

-Definitley quicker over all

-I too had a hard time getting used to the PDK shifting mechanisms- the stick is just the opposite of my Steptronic BMW 6 series- "down" means a lower gear and "up" means a higher gear- takes away from the "slapstick" notion that you just "slap" the stick down to move to a higher gear.

The Paddles were somewhat confusing to me- but then again I am not a track guy- but you actually have to click the backside of the paddle to downshift- I think that both the shifter and the paddles can be quickly worked out with some practice but I must admidt that it would take a few drives to get it down- I would not call it a negative- but if I was to let the wife drive it- I would say leave it in DRIVE and do not touch the paddles....

- The inside was medium gray and had the new ventilated seats- the new Navi was nice and the touch screens were a big improvement- although the framing in black was not the most impressive- but it did not look bad-

I think the LEDs on the front is a little bit much- the back lights look more natural- but the back lights are "smaller" than my version and eevn though they have more LED's and are "Updated" I think that the back lights could look better- I wasn't sold when I saw the picture of the backlights and in person they were only slightly better than I had hoped.

I believe that the mechanical improvements are much more impressive than the cosmetic tweaks- but one always gets used used the the cosmetic changes after a while- I did not care for the Aqua Blue over Gray- but a White Cab 4S with Sand Biege and a Cocoa Top may look a lot better!

Actually the truth is I will eventually will get one, but after driving it -I won't be as hurried as I thought I was going to be....

Its definitely faster and more stable but then again it is definitley more "refined" as well, and I think just a tad of character is lost in the translation....But isn't that progress?

 

I agree ...

One of the reasons I canceled my 09 C4S order was I couldn't get my head around the "stripe", I Liked the back of 06-08 C4S so much better.

IMHO, 09's are a PDK play, if your rowing gears, not need to hurry to your dealer.

 

I agree about the stripe- it made the C4S 996 look like it was "tweaked" in the rear end sort of like the old 944's that said "Porsche" across the back end (add on)- I always thought the 944 looked better without it- and I definitely think the 997 looks better without it

 

what stripe ?

 

Red rear center reflector...

 

maybe im a moron (dont answer that), but I dont see it

 

Don't forget to order special package X13a - "Chrome Sport Wheels"

 

The red stripe is only on the 4 models, check out 09 C4/s or targa/s pics on porsche.com

 

 

The PDK [performance] is an improvement, as are the LEDs [safety].

I don't really like the "stripe" on the AWD models.

My

 

^ The stripe is nothing a bit of paint won't fix right up.

 

I've yet to see the stripe in person so I'll reserve final judgement until then...