Two similarly spec'd 997.2 4S models, but one had sport seats and one had extended leather. Ideally one car would have both, but if you had to choose which one would you go with? I'm expecting sport seats to win by a large margin, but I'm curious as to what people think and why. Probably easier to add sport seats to a car with extended leather than vice-versa, though. That is one consideration.

 

I went with Sport Seats because I have extended leather in a cab and it is a royal pain in the **** to keep clean, since my car is a daily driver and the top is down more than up. I also have colored stitching and finding sport seats to match is proving difficult.

 

I think the answer depends on how you plan to use the car. The full leather interior is beautiful and I highly recommend it, especially for a car that won't be a regular track car. The sport seats are also extremely nice, but you may not take advantage of them very often if you don't drive on the track or take frequent drives on curvy roads. Some people find the sport seats to be a little bit tight and not as comfortable as the regular seats.

I'm lucky enough to have the extended leather package and the adaptive sport seats in my car. It's a great combination. In my old 996, I had the full leather package with the comfort seat option. While I did always want sport seats, I never found the standard seats to be unsupportive or inadequate. The full leather interior was a "must have" item in that car, and I would have taken that option over the sport seats.

I know that was a bit of a rambling response, but hopefully it will provide you with some direction.

 

Thanks all for the responses so far. As I said in my intro thread, I am actively searching. I keep finding cars with all *but one* thing on my list of desirable options. It's hard to find a 997.2 Targa 4S with full leather, sport seats, and manual. I can find 4S's with sport seats and no full leather, and no Targa. Or a Targa with full leather and no sport seats. Or a Targa with full leather and sport seats, but with PDK. I guess I will just have to compromise or be willing to wait until one pops up.

I'm searching Ebay, Autotrader, Cars.com everyday and also the Porsche vehicle locator every few days. Are there other places I should be looking?

 

Wow, I'm shocked at the even split so far. I would have bet money that most would vote for the sport seats and say the full leather was not important to the driving experience or something to that effect. Just when you think you know...

 

You've hit the nail on the head with your comment on the driving experience. For some people, the most important parts of the driving experience are things like handling, steering, brakes, seating position, etc. For others, the most important parts of the driving experience are things like comfort, the feel of the interior surfaces, the upscale experience offered by driving a nicely optioned Porsche, etc. This is why Porsche makes so many variants of the 911. This is why you see some GT3RS cars with no radio, no air conditioning, etc.

It would be great to find a car with all the options you want. My advice is that you shouldn't settle for something close to what you want. Keep looking until you find it. It's out there somewhere. I looked for over a year to find the 997 that had the combination of options that I wanted. I did have a priority list, and there were some "must have" items on my list.

 

When you say "Sport Seats", are you referring to bucket seats?

I might be confused because in the 991s, the regular seats are called Sport Seats and the bucket seats (if you can get 'em) are called "Lightweight Bucket Seats".

.

 

I voted for sports 'bucket' seats b/c mine isn't a daily driver. If it wasn't, you can easily trade with any member here plus cash. Leather is better for a daily driver, easier to get in and out, easier to clean, heated/ventilated, lumbar support for those long trips, etc.

 

I voted sports ADAPTIVE seats if that's what the OP was referring to for seats.
Porsche has sport seats too iirc.
If keeping a car a long time, the standard interior imo is easier to keep up and holds together better and wont fade as easy as leather.


It a $4K plus option vs. as $2.6K option.

 

Like the one I had. I don't think you should compromise. You know what you want and there are roughly 400 in the US. Patience and one will pop up. PSE can be added (actually that might be really the only performance one that can, maybe sport chrono without the cool clock?) so if a car is missing that get the rest and add later. Good luck in your continued search sir! Can't wait to see what you end up with.

 

My last two Porsches (996 and 928) had full leather, but my current 997 does not. Honestly, it's not something I would pay extra for, though it's nice to have. All have had standard seats, with which I've always been very happy. All were DDs that never saw the track. Śport seats sound like something worth having, but as someone pointed out, they really aren't very comfortable. Any option has two components: the cost and the value to you. Only you can answer the second part. It's a great problem to have, though.

 

My car has sports seats in leather and they are the most comfortable seats I've had in any car.

 

Sport seats in leather or sport buckets in leather?

 

Sport seats in leather is what they are called. They are not very radical.