Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

991.2 - Manual. My Review [with pics]

911_AS

Well-known member
Joined
22 Apr 2013
Messages
915
I have been given a 991.2 standard base 3.0 Carrera as a loan car, whilst my own 991.1 C2S is at the OPC having a Service and some other work done. I have been driving the .2 on & off for the past week, and wanted to spend some "quality time" with the car before sharing my thoughts on it.

Staring with the Manual Gearbox:
I wasn't too sure if I was going to enjoy the Manual transmission. My current 911 is a PDK as was my previous 997.2. Plus, living in London where the avg. speed is 10mph(!), I was concerned the Manual box might be a bit of chore. I needn't have worried - the .2 Manual Transmission is simply wonderful. It was very interesting to find the bite-point was exactly the same as my old 997.1; yet the physical gear-change feels shorter and more rapid when it engages. Even in traffic, I didn't feel it was heavy / laborious. Obviously it's not as comfortable as a PDK, as the left leg is constantly required to do some work. BUT that work is satisfying and - although this may sound cliche - it does offer a more driver-involved experience. I'm no racing driver, so a Manual gear-change for me will never be as smooth and quick as a dual-clutch PDK: BUT the PDK will never offer the satisfaction of that >Manual > clutch-down > engage control.

If I didn't live in London, I would strongly consider getting a Manual; the linear power-delivery feels smooth and offers great feedback and overall control. I have no idea how I will feel when I get my own car back though; I guess the PDK in Sports-Mode is the ideal balance, but watch this space...

Speaking of power delivery, the BHP from the standard Carrera was more than enough. The engine feels lighter and more free-revving. The S models are always the ones that people want, but I now understand why the Base Carrera is often a favourite amongst some fans. I might feel different on a track or more open roads, but for time I spent with the car, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.

There are some other items on this car which mine does not have. I love the 14-way adjustable seats and often found myself using the lumbar support, a sign of age, clearly! The memory seats also automatically go back and the steering wheel lifts when the door is opened, giving the driver that little bit more room when leaving the car. I do, however, prefer the Sports hard-back seats as they are more comfortable and tiny bit wider.

Vented Seats - these are super cold!!! I used them for 10seconds before quickly turning them off. If the UK was as hot as the Middle East or the US West Coast, these would be a must-have. However, as we are only blessed with 4 days of summer, these will be rarely used.

Red interior - as bold as I am, this just wasn't for me, even on a white car. If it was half red & half black, I think I could live with that. But, as every single panel is covered in red, it got a bit too-much after a while. I massively prefer the more classy, two-tone interior in my own car over the 'red sea'.

Entry & Drive - I wasn't sold on this, it's more of a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. The pre-inserted key should really be a button IMO.

Reverse camera - a must-have. It just made life that little bit easier when reversing in tight and awkward spaces, which was put to the test in my under-ground office car park in Central London. The camera proved to be an absolute god-send!

PSE - I really like the symmetry of the two centre exhausts. The note sounds great, but it's not quite as throaty and as deep-bass'd as the naturally aspirated cars. I would certainly want one on a 991.2, as without it, the engine sounded a little too vanilla.

PCM - this is hugely improved over the .1. The Google Maps and the touch-screen feels far more up to date and intuitive than the PCM in the earlier generations. My previous cars had a tendency to tell me to turn Left / Right a little bit too late sometimes. This Sat-Nav on this version is definitely clearer when it comes to Junctions and Exits, and the on-board displays are easier to read. The screen auto senses when the hand is near, and displays the relevant controls - this is superb.

Steering Wheel - the car has the steering wheel with the Audio controls on the thumb stalks. I liked this a lot, but I found myself constantly changing and playing with the buttons! As the car is a manual, I cannot comment on the paddle-change, but I do like the little toggle-control dial thingy on the wheel to select Sports / Sports Plus mode. Nice touch, I still prefer the simplicity of the Sport Design SW though.

In Summary - I think the 991.2 in manual, is a superb car and would not fault anyone for buying one. However, for me personally, I do not think the cost-to-change up, makes for a good value proposition. Despite the little improvement touches, it's not dramatically better than the 991.1.

Enough of my waffling now, this is what you lot really want to see....! Enjoy.
 

Attachments

  • img_1045_copy_147.jpg
    img_1045_copy_147.jpg
    508.3 KB · Views: 4,293
  • img_9109_copy_949.jpg
    img_9109_copy_949.jpg
    427.6 KB · Views: 4,293
  • img_1832_copy_201.jpg
    img_1832_copy_201.jpg
    441.2 KB · Views: 4,293
  • img_4092_copy_152.jpg
    img_4092_copy_152.jpg
    208.5 KB · Views: 4,292
  • img_0846_copy_382.jpg
    img_0846_copy_382.jpg
    214.8 KB · Views: 4,294
  • img_3126_copy_113.jpg
    img_3126_copy_113.jpg
    216.1 KB · Views: 4,294
  • img_4048_copy_347.jpg
    img_4048_copy_347.jpg
    346.6 KB · Views: 4,294
Great write-up. :thumb:

Very similar observations to when I have had a 991.2 out for a test drive. The overall improvement in the .2 in my opinion does not justify the cost-to-change, and at the moment I still can't make the mental change from a NA to turbo engine.

P.S. Agree, the red interior is enough to make your eyes bleed. :oops:
 
Just got a manual 991.2 gts a couple of weeks ago. Can't say how happy I am with the gearbox! Previous car was a dct M4 which I hated!
 
Matalic black
 

Attachments

  • a61ea182_b1b4_4484_82a5_132db0e70c92_177.jpeg
    a61ea182_b1b4_4484_82a5_132db0e70c92_177.jpeg
    1.9 MB · Views: 4,195
Aginley said:
Just got a manual 991.2 gts a couple of weeks ago. Can't say how happy I am with the gearbox! Previous car was a dct M4 which I hated!
:welcome: to the Forum, and health to enjoy your new car. :lol:

Will be interesting to hear details of the comparison to the BM after you have a few miles on the 911.
 
Aginley said:
Just got a manual 991.2 gts a couple of weeks ago. Can't say how happy I am with the gearbox! Previous car was a dct M4 which I hated!

The sheer thought of a 991.2, GTS, in Manual, is salivating. By all means, feel free to add pics and your thoughts to this thread, or start a new one. You must add pictures though, lots and lots of pictures, as text alone does not do the car justice!

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the car.
 
Blimey... they are high tech now inside.

But still the same GCSE Design 'fail' cupholder positioned over a bank of expensive electrickery! :wack:
 
Robertb said:
Blimey... they are high tech now inside.

But still the same GCSE Design 'fail' cupholder positioned over a bank of expensive electrickery! :wack:

Agreed unfortunately I have had coffee in the heater controls 😬
 
Car

Car
 

Attachments

  • 73470b4e_d807_405c_86fb_c12cbe3ccd00_184.jpeg
    73470b4e_d807_405c_86fb_c12cbe3ccd00_184.jpeg
    367.8 KB · Views: 3,994
  • 0c27275c_5cb1_40d7_9c1f_6f8ed5a16147_144.jpeg
    0c27275c_5cb1_40d7_9c1f_6f8ed5a16147_144.jpeg
    367.8 KB · Views: 3,994
Robertb said:
Blimey... they are high tech now inside.

But still the same GCSE Design 'fail' cupholder positioned over a bank of expensive electrickery! :wack:

I can say that its not a huge job to remove the coffee impregnated switch pack .. strip and clean it .. already done it on a G1 :)
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,350
Messages
1,439,432
Members
48,707
Latest member
race911turbo
Back
Top