997.1 Porsche 911 Carrera Review

This evening I did something I promised myself I'd never do... I drove a 911.

I met up with a friend who was eager to hear what I thought of his 997.1 Carrera and how it compared to the M3.

After the M2 Competition (ruined my life), I didn't want to "want" anymore cars, which is also why i turned down a spin in Maurice's Tesla 2 weeks after buying the M3 :D I just wanted to enjoy what I had. All the hype about Porsche steering feel got to me though, and without much encouragement really (let's be honest) I decided to go for it.

The 911 is a timeless shape, and in my honest opinion apart from the classic "whale tail" 930s, I think the 997 are the sweet spot in terms of design, analogue feel and daily usability, I find the 996 is a bit too dated and the 991/992 are obviously much more modern.

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Walking around the car, it just looks so different from everything else around it, the signature "swoopy" roof, the "haunches", and peeking inside at the interior lay out and just how low the thing is to the ground gets you excited before you even get into it.

Sitting in the car, you really feel like your back side is an inch away from the tarmac, the driving position is spot on with the pedals, the dials, the arm rest, although... the steering wheel was too close to my leg in its' highest position (and the seat in the lowest position) even though I'm not particularly tall at 6 foot. The steering wheel also felt too big and a bit thinner than I would've liked. I did like the design and the fact it had no buttons though.

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Having adjusted everything to my liking, I took off immediately noticing how much heavier the clutch is than the M3's, and going over the first bump I experienced that 911 "bob", I couldn't believe how pronounced it was actually. The ride was comfortable and well dampened if a bit wallowy with the suspension in comfort mode but was definitely welcome in the traffic on the way to better roads. It's also seriously quiet up to 5k rpm, as a civilised gentleman's car should be I suppose, very different from the ASBO M3.

So how does it drive?

The gear ratios feel equally spread out, which makes good use out of first and second but is particularly nice for downshifting and rev-matching from third to second. The gear actuation is a pleasure with a short but precise throw with a very satisfying feedback as it slots into gear, I'm not sure why but 3rd to 4th and vice versa is particularly satisfying. I remembered Hammond saying something about it being like loading a shotgun - something I've never done - but it somehow made sense. The throttle is responsive without being overly sensitive and jerky like on modern cars with "sport" buttons that have aggressive mapping. It's just right. There's low end torque but not a lot, it's a very linear power delivery to red line with the engine/exhaust getting significantly louder passed 5k rpm which adds to the drama of power building. The rear end has what feels like infinite traction with super wide tyres and the weight of the engine over it, and frankly that's probably a good thing!

The rear engine / rear drive experience...

Going around the first few corners felt so incredibly foreign, the front end is light and you just can't load up the front tyres if you drive the way you drive the M3, there's no grip, you feel it going wide for a second until it bites into the tarmac and goes around, you can't arrive at the corner at the "right" speed and accelerate around the corner like you would in the M3, you have to lift off/dab the brakes as you get into the corner in order to load up the front tyres, but then you're going much slower than you'd want. So ultimately I've found you have to arrive at the corner "too fast", dab the brakes to load up the front and get down to the appropriate speed, and THEN you realise how sweet this car's handling can be when you're willing to put in the work. It's extremely satisfying, but a bit tiresome if I'm honest, on a very twisty stretch of road I found I did this for the first 2 corners and then "gave up" for the next few. It will take time to recalibrate your driving to get the most out of this car at the limit.

I've also noticed the steering rack ratio is quite wide, which makes it lack that sharp and immediate response to steering input that you have in M cars, however after my focus shifted from the driving dynamics of a rear engined, rear drive car and we ran out of perfectly surfaced roads, my attention was drawn to "that" steering feel. It really is like feeling the texture of the road with your finger tips, and it's such a nice feedback to get through the steering wheel. Definitely a "nice to have" in any sports car, but perhaps it's blown a bit out of proportion by enthusiasts. The PASM suspension was set to the sport setting when the going got twisty, and you do feel a big difference in how tight the car becomes - there was much less bobbing and no wallowing, but surprisingly the car retained that well dampened feel, running over a drain cover that wasn't particularly flush didn't send any jolts through the suspension for example. The brakes didn't initially instil confidence as they aren't very servo'd but they are definitely up to job. It's a very involving car to drive, and I was pleasantly surprised that you can wind it up through the gears without hitting crazy speeds, I think I made my way to 4th (not to redline admittedly) on a motorway on ramp, looked down and I was doing 118km/h which would've been more like 180km/h had I done the same in the M3. Overall it felt like a real occasion to drive and was a very satisfying experience in a mechanical, analogue kind of way.

Getting back into the M3 was hilarious afterwards, everything felt soft and squishy, and it legitimately felt like I got into a 4x4 after the 911. It's kind of like when you get into a normal car after go-karting.

Bottom Line:

Pros:
-Gear ratios
-Gear actuation (and the short throw)
-Driving position
-Steering feel
-Sense of occasion (styling / interior etc)
-Ability to enjoy without reaching jail-time speeds

Cons:
-Sound (it's not just that it's not loud but, it's also not a very defined sound... just noise)
-Steering ratio is too wide
-Brake feel
-Rear engine / rear drive driving dynamics. Sure, you'll eventually get used to it, but I'm just not sure it's better.

Nice write up...


But for the sound - you have to wind up the revs.

There is NOTHING like the howl of a flat 6 - a cold air induction kit really helps it though..

And for the brakes - they are servo'd.. they just aren't over servo'd like most cars.

The brakes are probably the best thing on a Porsche - they are so progressive and predictable. Whenever I drive my wife's f30 I nearly go through the windscreen the first few times I brake....

Porsches are sutble and understated... Sure there are halo models but for the main part they are about the drive.

I've been lucky in that I've driven/tracked a lot of varieties but my 996 C4 was my favorite just because it was usable (daily driver for 8 years). It was like a scalpel in terms of response and accuracy on the road. Even my panamera has that steering and brake precision..

And I say that having driven 996 turbo, 964 RS, 997 GT3, 997 turbo and even a 997.2 GT3 RS

All amazing cars but sometimes less is more..


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Originally Posted by alan996

Nice write up...


But for the sound - you have to wind up the revs.

There is NOTHING like the howl of a flat 6 - a cold air induction kit really helps it though..

And for the brakes - they are servo'd.. they just aren't over servo'd like most cars.

The brakes are probably the best thing on a Porsche - they are so progressive and predictable. Whenever I drive my wife's f30 I nearly go through the windscreen the first few times I brake....

Porsches are sutble and understated... Sure there are halo models but for the main part they are about the drive.

I've been lucky in that I've driven/tracked a lot of varieties but my 996 C4 was my favorite just because it was usable (daily driver for 8 years). It was like a scalpel in terms of response and accuracy on the road. Even my panamera has that steering and brake precision..

And I say that having driven 996 turbo, 964 RS, 997 GT3, 997 turbo and even a 997.2 GT3 RS

All amazing cars but sometimes less is more..


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I'm very curious about a 4 wheel drive variant after driving this, how do they compare? Can you get on the power early in corners or does the front get light as well?

8 years in any car is very impressive and says it all really, I must find one to drive!

I 100% agree about less being more, I thoroughly enjoyed the driver involvement I got in this without having to go super fast. I've banged on about this at length multiple times about how BMW should have a lightweight / low power M car with all the things that make M cars so enjoyable (think of something like a 2 series with 1100 kgs, 250bhp, nice seats, bespoke trim bits, gearing that makes the most of the available power and an LSD for circa 40-50k) no unnecessary stuff, literally electric windows.. and A/C. Have it basically stripped out but in a way that doesn't make it look like a stripped out track car.

But no... we get AWD for irrelevant faster 0-60 times (for bragging rights of course) and grills for the chinese market :(

Re: less is more 2 cars that remain in my memory as particularly fun cars were a very early 116i (yes, really! Nice suspension set up, perfect gearing and lots of fun to wind up), and a DSG 105bhp 7.5 Golf rental (fantastic gearbox, and again gearing that made the most of the power, really was entertaining and that was back to back after getting out of the M2 Competition which says a lot!) but of course neither felt "special".

Very little difference between 2wd and 4wd.

It uses a viscous coupling so it really only apparent if you loose grip on the front - otherwise it pretty much behaves like a 2wd.

The car was light at 1365kg so the extra 4wd gubbins wasn't really that noticable.

The whole braking and accelerating thing is critical in a rear (or mid engined) car - you need to get the weight on to the nose to get the grip turning in and then you want it on the rear for accelerating.

Slow in, fast out. I drive my 2 ton panamera the same way.. (although being RWD with 650Nm of torque it breaks traction constantly).

And this is where Porsche brakes make sense - they aren't just binary on or off.. you can easily modulate them to shift more or less weight towards the front.

And re the 996 I think the interior will possibly age better than the 997 - the 997 is in some ways in a weird place where just after interiors really changed). And at the end of the day, a 997 is just a 996 in a slightly different dress (no, seriously).

I've included a gratuitous shot of my last 17 years of cars (with a 5 year break before the panamera).

Out of all of them I couldn't pick only one.. well
. I hated the silver 2.7 boxster and that's the only one I regret buying

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Great info, thanks!

So the slow in fast out thing is a 911 thing regardless of 2 or 4 wheel drive.

How do you feel about the “BMW wiggly back end mid corner throttle” thing? That’s probably one of the most enjoyable things about driving for me which I missed in the 911. Funny enough that concept freaked my friend out who much prefers no wiggles to speak of :D

Not talking about traction off, crazy angle drifts or anything like that by the way, just little adjustments that you can control with your right foot even with everything turned on (and a front end that never stops gripping).

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Originally Posted by alan996

Out of all of them I couldn't pick only one.. well
. I hated the silver 2.7 boxster and that's the only one I regret buying[/IMG]

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Alan, it looks like you had a Boxter S as well as a 2.7. Interested to hear your comparison on those. I'd probably look in the direction of a Boxter to follow the Z4 as a very limited use toy at some stage.

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Originally Posted by Peter-E36

Great info, thanks!

So the slow in fast out thing is a 911 thing regardless of 2 or 4 wheel drive.

How do you feel about the “BMW wiggly back end mid corner throttle” thing? That’s probably one of the most enjoyable things about driving for me which I missed in the 911. Funny enough that concept freaked my friend out who much prefers no wiggles to speak of :D

Not talking about traction off, crazy angle drifts or anything like that by the way, just little adjustments that you can control with your right foot even with everything turned on (and a front end that never stops gripping).

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I don't know the BMW wiggly thing you refer too...

Last time I felt that was in my E36 cabrio - it was called scuttle shake...

My wife's f30 is xdrive and I dont drive it that much. Before the panamera I had an X5 40d, X5 30d and a hateful E93 320i.

On the whole, BMW suspension is too stiff.. large wheels tramline and the cars above aren't the kind you typically hustle...

My brother has a z4 back in around 05 and even that would shake the teeth out of your head on a backroad and oh my God did it tramline....

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Originally Posted by dergside

Alan, it looks like you had a Boxter S as well as a 2.7. Interested to hear your comparison on those. I'd probably look in the direction of a Boxter to follow the Z4 as a very limited use toy at some stage.

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It's a bit of a weird comparison tbh...

I'll take it in order....

My 944S2 was ~200bhp but had mountains of torque as it was a 3l inline 4

The 2.7 had more BHP but made much less torque. I think that is what threw me and why I didn't like the car. The 2.7 (and esp 2.5) don't have the same level of torque but really love to rev. Probably not helped by the fact I spun the 2.7 in to a barrier in mondello (thankfully at low speed).

The 3.2s was 260bhp (ish) but had way more torque. Plus it was a TIPTRONIC (shock horror). The tiptronic gearbox really suits the larger torquier engines - and if you know how to drive it, you can control it via your right foot...

The only reason I sold it was a 996 came up for sale privately 2 years later that I had actually tried to buy before I got the boxster S - but I missed out on it back then.

So, roll on the 996... Back in a manual again, but now we had the torque and the power with the 3.4. the boxster was scalpel like.... 996 was more like a razor blade...

Out of all of them - in some ways I miss the 3.2s more but maybe because it was pre family and sensible stuff like that..

If you can stomach the road tax go 3.2 and don't rule out tiptronic. It's a MB box and really you can track it, cruise, double tap to go down 2 gears. Unless you plan to track it a lot, it's a more practical gearbox

986, 996, 987 and 997 all use the M96 engine so unless you are going to 2009+ they all share the same date re IMS, scoring etc

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Originally Posted by alan996

I don't know the BMW wiggly thing you refer too...

Last time I felt that was in my E36 cabrio - it was called scuttle shake...

My wife's f30 is xdrive and I dont drive it that much. Before the panamera I had an X5 40d, X5 30d and a hateful E93 320i.

On the whole, BMW suspension is too stiff.. large wheels tramline and the cars above aren't the kind you typically hustle...

My brother has a z4 back in around 05 and even that would shake the teeth out of your head on a backroad and oh my God did it tramline....

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Yep Z4 is the stiffest ride of any car I’ve ever been in, and tramlines like crazy with the run flats, as you say the other models are not the for the twisty B roads.

If you have some time, let’s meet up and go for a drive in the e92 and I’ll be happy to oblige :)

Thanks Alan, appreciate the feedback. A pal has a micro-mileage '00 S (manual) that I've driven just a little and liked. The Z4, with 218bhp, also demonstrates that you don't need alot of bhp, just the right amount, for some entertainment, if you consider the occasion, the freedom, handling and the journey as measures of enjoyment ahead of the need to scrape the door handles off the road when cornering all the time.

I'm aware of the IMS, and the other issues so would be watching out for them. I have a pal that is a Porsche specialist down these parts and would use him to inspect anything for those reasons and be prepared for remedial work at some stage, if necessary. Those weak spots generally aren't hugely expensive it they are done as remedial work rather than failures. Because they aren't rare now, the Boxter is fantastic value for money imho. But, there are enough of then that have been pampered, etc. (although I suspect you have to sort through some chaff to find the wheat, but that means the numbers will reduce quickly as the dogs are weeded out) that finding a good one isn't a needle in a haystack task. I also think they will become fairly collectible in time as we get further in to alternative fuels and autonomous cars of the next decade or so. I'd be happy to have one as part of a Desert Island Discs fleet.

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Originally Posted by Peter-E36

Yep Z4 is the stiffest ride of any car I’ve ever been in, and tramlines like crazy with the run flats,

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I have 18" non-RFT's on ours and while it is still stiff, the waywardness is much reduced. I had it on RFT's for a while and it was a bit skittish!

There's great value in the Boxsters - especially with some people towing the Clarkson line on them. Was talking to one of the lads at Mondello about the Porsches they have there for the experience days - he was saying he'd choose the Boxster S for the track every time over the 996 they have. I'm pretty torn between replacing my recently departed 986 Cayman with a 981 version of going for an i8 for something very different.

Yeah, I was at a corporate experience event there a little while back and got the same message. I had the Boxter and was happy with how it pedalled.

I quite like the Cayman too but if I had to choose one to fill a slot in a small fleet it would be the fun factor soft top I’d go for.

My brother in law has an i8 and I’ve had a couple of goes in it. That could be another slot in a fleet. I think there will be a realisation in time that it was a trail blazer on where sports cars are going. Another car that is stinking value (and low road tax 😀).

I don't know if that's true but I've heard years ago that mondello's 996 was restricted / detuned.

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Originally Posted by wcooba

I don't know if that's true but I've heard years ago that mondello's 996 was restricted / detuned.

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I don't imagine theres any truth in that - its not much more powerful than the Boxster S to start with (50 BHP or so). One of the cars was in with Specialist Cars when I was having work done on my Cayman and Ken there didn't mention anything about it being detuned. He was echoing the sentiments of the Boxtser S there being a much better car on track than the 996. I lost him when I mentioned the Cayman GT4 that a friend owns - which he reckons is one of their all time best cars.

Jesus lads, you’re really selling me here on NOT selling my Boxster S. Everything written above is true. I was never really a fan of the Boxster until I bloody drove it. There is nothing else to say really. They are excellent.


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Originally Posted by ecooney

Jesus lads, you’re really selling me here on NOT selling my Boxster S. Everything written above is true. I was never really a fan of the Boxster until I bloody drove it. There is nothing else to say really. They are excellent.


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I've always loved the Boxster - I remember watching the first broadcast of Top Gear when Tiff reviewed the Boxster (was a blue 2.5 I think) and they said they'd prefer it over the 911. The only negative I've ever heard on it was from Clarkson, who is a gobshite.

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Originally Posted by kdevitt

I've always loved the Boxster - I remember watching the first broadcast of Top Gear when Tiff reviewed the Boxster (was a blue 2.5 I think) and they said they'd prefer it over the 911. The only negative I've ever heard on it was from Clarkson, who is a gobshite.

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Found it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGiFQPGwRxE