My 24 hours with a 991 Carrera 4S

I recently visited the Porsche showroom to inquire about the 2013 Cayman which comes out next week. After talking to the brand manager, I was offered to test-drive the 991 C4S for a day so I can have something to compare the Cayman to when it comes out. I picked up this beautifully spec'd C4S in Carrera white and black interior with CF trim.

The first thing I noticed when I sat down was how spacious and comfortable the interior was. Everything seemed to be closer, higher than the previous 997. Most notably, the placement of the gear on a higher center console, closer to the steering wheel, made the drive in manual mode great. The dashboard and PCM were user friendly and easy to set up, however I felt it was a little too much to have two screens, but this caters to those who would like to have a navigation map on the center PCM and the vehicle stats or the g-force meter in the dash.

Starting the car, you can immediately hear the raspy but deep exhaust note. It felt like the car starts with the exhaust in sport mode, then immediately goes to normal mode. Revving the car in normal mode, you feel the RPM is sluggish and the exhaust note tame, however switch to sport mode and you can immediately feel the deeper exhaust note and the quickness in the RPM. Once everything was set up, I left the dealership in the middle of morning traffic so I behaved myself. In the middle of all the traffic, the car felt very at home. It was very comfortable, quiet and you somehow forget that you're driving a sports car. The seats in this C4S were the sport adaptive seats which are extremely comfortable and provide the right support for daily driving. Once I hit the highway I engaged the sport button and you can immediately feel the change in personality. The car becomes tighter, stiffer (although the sport button doesn't engage the suspension), the gear immediately down-shifts bracing for imminent WOT and the exhaust becomes louder. Acceleration becomes much crisper and you are not as comfortable any more. At this point I engaged the sport plus, and the car went into insanity mode. The gear downshifted further and would not up-shift unless you hit the limiter. The suspension was engaged and stiffened the car further, and you can truly feel how great this chassis is. Everything feels like its pulled together, harmoniously, although the steering felt a little disengaged and you don't feel the close connection between the steering wheels and the front tires on tight turns. I've driven many fast cars, and under heavy acceleration, you can usually feel the rattles and creeks of a car that is fast but is not meant to be fast. This isn't the case with this car.

The PDK gear box is a delight, and after a few hours driving in sport mode, you get to know the intricacies of this box and it adapts to your driving style. The shifts are extremely quick and crisp. I didn't like the non-paddle shifters on the steering wheel which Porsche has been using for ages. I was hoping for paddle shifters like the ones in the upcoming 991 GT3.

That being said, this car is fast where it counts, but also shows its weight in higher gears. First and second gear feel blisteringly quick, especially with the exhaust sound in the cabin, but once the car hits third gear, the smile on my face slowly turns into a question mark. At first I thought something was wrong, so I was switching between sport and sport plus. At the end of the night on a clear road, I engaged sport plus and floored it. I learned that the acceleration is not even, meaning its very quick off the line but then becomes sluggish in 3rd gear onwards. It was disappointing to find out that after the 140-160 mark the car isn't fast any more and leaves me wanting more.

I got the opportunity to drive the McLaren MP4-12C a couple of weeks ago and to me, these cars have great resemblance. Both are extremely comfortable for daily driving, have a great chassis, and have more than one personality although the Porsche takes the cake because of the better interior design and slightly more comfortable steering wheel. In terms of power, there is no comparison of course, thus the price difference.

In terms of exterior styling, I noticed that the Porsche does not generate any sort of reaction from the crowd. This is the dilemma of all Porsche owners because to the general public, all 911s look the same and this one is no different. Despite the aero kit, rarely anyone pays attention to the 991 which is disappointing for the average young success story who wants that attention.

Overall, after spending 24 hours with the 991 C4S, I can say that its a great touring car and it would be fun to have one as a daily driver, but it would probably get boring very quickly.

 

Hope you enjoyed those 24-H , and i really love the white on this C4S

 

Porsche Bahrain should pay you bro. very well written and thanks for sharing!

 

Don't mind doing it for free as long as I get to drive nice cars

 

Great job!

 

That's awesome, thank you for the write up. Much appreciated

 

Thanks for the review. Are you able to compare this to the 991 CarreraS?

 

Unfortunately not, didn't drive the S version

 

Awesome review bro!!

On another note, I saw the new Cayman yesterday around Zuffenhausen... it looks MARVELLOUS, a million times better than the older one.. I actually looked at it twice!!

 

Great review. I'm shocked to say I felt the same way. My friend recently purchased a 991 C2S and he took me out for a ride, we did launch control twice, and from 0-60mph (100km/h) it was breathtaking! Then he would get into 3rd and it was tame, and 4th was... Boring! I was shocked that a 400hp Porsche could become so restrained in higher gears. I think it's a combination of factors (longer wheelbase, increased curb weight, more compliant suspension, etc.) that makes the chassis outshine the engine.

I hope the GT3 can fix this problem.