After 5 years of Lotus ownership and with a family on the way - I need to sort out the fun car ie. need more than 2 seats - even if the rears are token (afterall what will a small kid care about foot-room?).
I'm not sure there is much choice in the 'fun with four seats' category; don't much fancy a saloon car (rules out the BMW, Audis, Mercs etc.), not brave enough to go Italian (a Maserati might have been fun). So it really only really leaves a 911.
So with budget 40-£50k - I went for a test drive in an 2002 C4 at my local OPC and am now very worried about the experience.
My first big concern was the seat which was awful - probably my own fault for not adusting properly. I'm 5'9 and average build and the seats were full leather sports seats. It felt like I was sat 'on' rather than 'in' them and my back was pretty sore after the 15 mins test drive. Is this a common short-coming? I know it is horses for courses but I would be interested if anyone had similar experiences or if it was just my own incompetence setting the seat position.
Secondly I came away feeling underwhelmed by the experience. The C4 was rather 'undramatic'. I don't doubt that the performance is there in the 911 - it just doesn't jump out of the car and yell it. The feedback was less than I'm used to, it struggled to outpace a BMWS 330 off a roundabout (again could just be me being outside the optimal rev range), the engine noise, while fantastic, was sub-dued (switchable sports exhaust anyone?) and I came away unsure that it is a car I would jump in and drive just for the sheer hell of it (which it pretty much all the Elise gets used for at the moment).
On the positive side though the grip was great, the car handled unadulations and rough surfaces in the road with much more poise than my similar vintage Elise. Also, despite being a significantly bigger and heavy car - it didn't feel it. They seems to have the extra weight in all the right places - even if some of it hanging out the back!!! Oh . . . and I won't even mention the build quality differential - I don't think I've been in a five year car that felt so solid.
Clearly some these concerns are driven by lack of familiarity - you learn when you can push the car and when you should be more cautious and of course your driving style changes.
So does this ring true for anyone else who made the switch from a lighter, lower power car to the 911? And how much of this is just first impressions from an all too short drive around the block? This was the first 911 I've driven - is there much difference in character between the models - ie. would I get a more go-kart-esque experience in any of the other 4 seaters.
Any thoughts (and/or re-assurance) welcomed. If I don't get one I don't know what else I can consider.
Many thanks
Mike
PS: it has to be a 996 - part of the 'case' for changing is based on the improved saftey features (ie. airbags that seem to be everywhere in a 996).
Migration info. Legacy thread was 56372
I'm not sure there is much choice in the 'fun with four seats' category; don't much fancy a saloon car (rules out the BMW, Audis, Mercs etc.), not brave enough to go Italian (a Maserati might have been fun). So it really only really leaves a 911.
So with budget 40-£50k - I went for a test drive in an 2002 C4 at my local OPC and am now very worried about the experience.
My first big concern was the seat which was awful - probably my own fault for not adusting properly. I'm 5'9 and average build and the seats were full leather sports seats. It felt like I was sat 'on' rather than 'in' them and my back was pretty sore after the 15 mins test drive. Is this a common short-coming? I know it is horses for courses but I would be interested if anyone had similar experiences or if it was just my own incompetence setting the seat position.
Secondly I came away feeling underwhelmed by the experience. The C4 was rather 'undramatic'. I don't doubt that the performance is there in the 911 - it just doesn't jump out of the car and yell it. The feedback was less than I'm used to, it struggled to outpace a BMWS 330 off a roundabout (again could just be me being outside the optimal rev range), the engine noise, while fantastic, was sub-dued (switchable sports exhaust anyone?) and I came away unsure that it is a car I would jump in and drive just for the sheer hell of it (which it pretty much all the Elise gets used for at the moment).
On the positive side though the grip was great, the car handled unadulations and rough surfaces in the road with much more poise than my similar vintage Elise. Also, despite being a significantly bigger and heavy car - it didn't feel it. They seems to have the extra weight in all the right places - even if some of it hanging out the back!!! Oh . . . and I won't even mention the build quality differential - I don't think I've been in a five year car that felt so solid.
Clearly some these concerns are driven by lack of familiarity - you learn when you can push the car and when you should be more cautious and of course your driving style changes.
So does this ring true for anyone else who made the switch from a lighter, lower power car to the 911? And how much of this is just first impressions from an all too short drive around the block? This was the first 911 I've driven - is there much difference in character between the models - ie. would I get a more go-kart-esque experience in any of the other 4 seaters.
Any thoughts (and/or re-assurance) welcomed. If I don't get one I don't know what else I can consider.
Many thanks
Mike
PS: it has to be a 996 - part of the 'case' for changing is based on the improved saftey features (ie. airbags that seem to be everywhere in a 996).
Migration info. Legacy thread was 56372
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