I know that many owners of these cars have some very strong views on this subject. I have one of each, and do not have strong pre-conceived views on either, (or favorites), so I thought I'd share my observations. (I'll try to keep them to observations, not judgments, so as not to unnecessarily induce any heart attacks on the respective forums).

The cars are very different - but both are truly amazing, in their own way. It would have been hard to imagine, 10 or even 5 years ago, with all the doom and gloom about gas, environment etc. that car companies on all continents could build cars with such extraordinary levels of performance, that can be driven every day (with the air conditioning running)!
<O
As I was looking for a way to sum up each car's "feel", the best that I could come up with was:
<O</OThe Porsche sounds and feels like a competent, well-behaved Grand Tourer.<O</O
The GT-R sounds and feels like a race car. A much more intense experience.<O</O
<O

The Porsche actually accelerates faster in a straight line (as verified by my G-tech and V-box), but since its NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), is lower, it does not “feel” any faster - if anything the GT-R may “feel” a bit quicker.

The Porsche TT suspension feels smoother and more compliant on the "normal" suspension settings - the GT-R feels much stiffer and firmer - more like a Porsche GT3.<O</O

<O
The Porsche transmission is tuned to give a smooth, more relaxed feel, more like a good quality torque converter automatic. Specifically, it starts off, and shifts up and down much more smoothly (and quietly). The GT-R is much more abrupt and firm on both take-off and on shifts. However, the Nissan gives much quicker, lag-free shifts on the upshifts. (My theory – I have no inside info on this – is that Porsche has designed in a larger capacity main clutch pack into the PDK, and they tune it to use a meaningful amount of clutch slip to both smooth out operation and protect the drive train on “launch” and other quick shifts, while Nissan used a smaller clutch pack, and tuned it to avoid clutch slip, to be more “on or off” like a toggle switch to protect the clutch from overheating).
<O</O
<O</O
The engines are equally blessed with lots of torque. The TT has more eventual torque but significantly more turbo lag. (Above 3500 rpm the Nissan has almost zero lag). The Porsche really gets cooking if you have the time and space to "stay on the gas", whereas the GT-R gives a more immediate response. <O</O

<O
Handling feel is also very different. The Porsche feels "normal" for a well-balanced sports car ie. competent, solid, smooth. It gives no immediate signals about anything unusual or extraordinary, but performs very well. When you drive the Nissan, you immediately become aware of an extraordinary sensation of a heavy, large car, being sucked onto the pavement with unbelievable force. It “feels” like it sticks and turns and accelerates in and out of corners like no other car. One can get immediately comfortable with driving this car on the street or track very quickly. Whereas in the TT one is largely unaware of the 4 wheel drive (a good thing), in the Nissan you are keenly aware of the way the car uses the transfer of power between the wheels and axles to maximum advantage ( also a good thing, but different).
<O</O
<O</O
Sound: Neither car is going to win the "best sounding sports car award" - turbos have a way of muffling nice engine sounds - both cars sound like giant vacuum cleaners - with the TT being a smooth vacuum cleaner, and the GT-R a rough vacuum cleaner. (By the way, anyone familiar with the Nissan will know that it makes lots of sounds - most not very nice - but although at first irritating and certainly a cause for trips back to the dealer to confirm that these sounds are actually normal - I am increasingly convinced that the Nissan engineers chose to leave those sounds in the drivetrain, rather than mask them with sound deadening, since they do give the car a certain character, (earlier I called it race-car-like), even if that character is a bit rough around the edges).<O</O
<O
So in summary, both are real fast - handle amazingly well, in dry and crappy conditions, and can be driven all day, any day.<O
The TT is the more relaxed Grand Tourer - the GT-R the more intense, immediate animal.<O

 

this forum needs another GTR vs TT thread like it needs another hole in the head...but at least you are objective since you have driven both cars

 

Very nice review!!! Thanks.


I love them both!

 

I can’t imagine the concept of comparing a Nissan to a Porsche 20 years ago, let alone a Porsche turbo. All the performance stuff aside, I like the ultra modern lines of the Nissan. I am sure it will sell for a lot more if it has a different badge. I also like the classic lines of the 911. I feel like I need to be 20 years younger to drive the GTR. ; D

 

lol...

 

Nissan has done a nice job with their line up of cars. I think GTR should have been sold through their Infiniti dealers though. Better warranty and service to customers. I hate going to a Honda / Nissan / Toyota dealer.

 

I'll sum up my view on the cars...

997 TT = Bulletproof
In fact my 07 has never had so much as one issue. I really could not believe that the service interval from new was 2 years or the first 20K miles.

GT-R = Maintenance nightmare
In the span of one oil change in the 997TT you will be visiting Nissan many, many times. Just for the scheduled stuff, not to mention all the other problems. The last thing you want to be doing is making trips to your Nissan dealer to repair your "highly reliable Japanese car". No thank you.

I drove the new PDK and it's acceleration is quite simply astonishing. I have a spot for the new S when and if it becomes available. If the new 997TT is this good I can's imagine what the S will do.

 

true, but new 997.2 tt is going to cost upward 150 k no? So considering the price... you can get 1 gtr and another one to use as spare parts lol

 

LOL, It is hard to rationalized the cost of 997.2 with car like GTR. The Japanese sporty/performance car industry does not have the brand equity to charge like their European competitors. This might be changing with car like Lexus LFA. Either Porsche are marketing genius, or we are simply suckers, just look at the option list ; D. The interior quality of GTR is night and day compare to Porsche, but we pay them well for those quality. But take a close look at 996 and older Porsche’s interior... I don’t think 997TT buyer cross shop the GTR, I do check out the dealer each time I see it in the showroom, but I wouldn’t put down $100K for one.

Same reason I go look at M3, there is a lot to like about the M3, you can get a GTR and an M3 for a fully options 997.2TT. Question is — If you have 170K budget to spend on car, would you buy a GRT plus an M3 vs a 997.2TT?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaYKS...eature=channel

 

great review

 

GT-R owners get quite a different treatment than the average Nissan owner.

In fact, I've received much better service with the GT-R than I have ever had with my Infiniti or Porsche.

At Nissan, I'm a celebrity. Hell, my wife gets special treatment. Everybody knows who I am when I call in.

Free nitrogen whenever you want/need?

Loaners for oil changes?

This is not your average Nissan, and they don't expect you to treat it as such. We don't wait for anything - front of the line, every time. The only time I wait, is when I insist.

 

Its the maintenance that makes me cringe, the Inside Line GTR was a very expensive car to maintain and I don't know if I could stomach the maintenance. It seems that the Porsche Turbo's are alot less in maintenance and they don't require any proprietary fluids.

 

I call B.S... When I had my Viper (04 Mamba) I thought I would be treated as a Viper customer and not a "Dodge" customer. Yeah right.. You are still treated like the brand and not the model. Not that it is always a bad thing, just saying..

 

It's in the agreement that you sign...

You will get loaners for everything. A premium (no Kia's, unless you specify). Nissan MUST do this for you. It's even in the owner's manual.

The salesmen cannot sell you the car - only GM or dealer prinicipal.

You get a special rep, special tech (sometimes two) assigned to your car, etc... These are the only people allowed to TOUCH your car. Nobody else.

 

Besides tires and brakes (due to tracking)

The car only costs me $1800 for ~18 months (and for an additional 6 months).

(2 oil changes, transmission fluid flush, diff flushes, done at the dealer, with Nissan fluids)

I don't see this as outrageous. I'll be doing another oil change ($170 - if I don't want to do it myself) in about 6 months.

You don't have to use proprietary fluids either (it's stated in the manual).

The money I'd save over a 911T ($60-$70k), would surely work out to over $1k/yr I've spent so far on maintenance for my GT-R.