991.2 Carrera T ownership experience

[lemming]

It’s been a hot minute.

Just wanted to comment on >1 year later and about 10,000 miles later. Mostly highways. Some canyon driving.

The first comment I would start with is: the 992 Carrera T should be pretty awesome if they could improve upon this.

Overall, still impressed with the 991 platform. It doesn’t feel dated (to me). I like the driver interfaces. I like the steering inputs and clutch take up. The suspension is a little floaty, but it tightens up when you switch the PASM to “on”. The steering is okay. It’s not revelatory like the 987.2 (which is still hydraulic), but it’s not terrible for EPS. Brakes feel more than adequate for this car. I have never felt like I wished I had the Carrera S or Carrera GTS brakes. Separate paragraphs to discuss the shifter and the engine.

Shifter. Probably not super controversial. But the 7 speed is pretty good when it is warmed up. Notchy when cold. In stop and go traffic in LA, I think it’s pretty effortless driving, actually. Kicking into 7th gear is still a little weird. You get used to it, but it’s not a natural thing when you first climb into the car. What I will say is, at LA highway speeds, I’m getting >28mpg. And this is going from heart of San Diego to northwest of LA in <2 hours.

Engine. I go back and forth on this one. 90% of the time, this engine is great. I like the torque. And the sounds. The turbo whoosh and exhaust pop doesn’t get old. It’s highly amusing. But still has that core flat six sound. It’s probably more due to gearing (it’s that hateful Porsche 3rd gear), but the engine can fall flat on its face if you try to accelerate in 3rd gear and are not in the top half of the engine range. The power never overwhelms you. But it tends to feel sufficient. Very effortless power into triple digits and beyond. That’s probably aerodynamics, but the engine is a willing partner.

As a serial car buyer/swapper, I think this is one of the cars (like the 987) that I am happy to drive day in/day out. It sounds ridiculous, but there’s not driveline lash or ponderous weight which dominates the car from red lights or sudden stops on the 5. It’s really a super competent car and if I could find all of this in a more economical way, I’d gladly be open to it. For now, this is a wonderful ownership experience.

I wish we could all have this kind of driving experience, to be honest. There’s so few things to complain about.

[Jeff_DML]

thanks for the review. Are you trading it in when you get the 992 GT3?

[lemming]

No. Keeping this 991. Likely trading 991.2 GT3.

[Josh (PA)]

On the 7sp, do you notice the slightly weird orientation of the top row of gears vs the bottom. I find 6 to 5 and 4 to 3 take a bit of a left push... not too much though or you wind up 3 gears down instead of 1... I find I need to be just a little careful because its not a straight push to the top of the H pattern. That's my only quibble with the shift set up, especially after swapping out the OEM knob for a shorter, more heavily weighted one.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

On the 7sp, do you notice the slightly weird orientation of the top row of gears vs the bottom. I find 6 to 5 and 4 to 3 take a bit of a left push... not too much though or you wind up 3 gears down instead of 1... I find I need to be just a little careful because its not a straight push to the top of the H pattern. That's my only quibble with the shift set up, especially after swapping out the OEM knob for a shorter, more heavily weighted one.

No…..I haven’t. But will pay more attention on drive home.

The sick truth is I still prefer the tried and true 6 speed used in the 987s to this MECOSA 7 speed. But it’s fine. It just feels less mechanical. Like more plastic in the linkage or something.

The 991 clutch is great though. For an old man like me, this is a great thing. It makes driving a manual in LA traffic ‘almost’ effortless.

[JST]

Relevant and timely!

https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews...ibextid=Zxz2cZ

This does sound (to me) like the 911 to have, if you can’t swing a GT3.

[SCA]

Originally Posted by JST

Relevant and timely!

https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews...ibextid=Zxz2cZ

This does sound (to me) like the 911 to have, if you can’t swing a GT3.

I know nothing about the writer, but I was fairly unimpressed by his review.

[robg]

Originally Posted by SCA

I know nothing about the writer, but I was fairly unimpressed by his review.

Yep. Most automotive reviews (including this one) spend about 3/4 of the review regurgitating the spec sheet. Interesting note about the suspension though; first time I've read of Carrera T having an overly firm suspension- but makes sense given that he tested in New England (with some of the worst roads in the nation).

[lemming]

Originally Posted by robg

Yep. Most automotive reviews (including this one) spend about 3/4 of the review regurgitating the spec sheet. Interesting note about the suspension though; first time I've read of Carrera T having an overly firm suspension- but makes sense given that he tested in New England (with some of the worst roads in the nation).

I read the review.

Different elements came out to me. I think we can often be jaded or so calibrated to what the car is, it’s refreshing to have a subjective opinion from someone somewhat less in tune with what the Porsche 911 is in current state.

The writer was trying to convey that the car is well executed. Cohesive. Driver inputs seem to be consistent and show signs of engineers that obsessed about their design outputs.

To be honest, how many cars can you say that about? We continue to hear about ‘less’ steering feel in the new M2. And the continued legacy of rubbery shifting. Mercedes tends to be a hot mess in their AMG division right now for steering feel (none), brakes (touchy) and automatics (suck pondwater). No one really talks about Audi’s. Which says a lot through silence.

If I had a critique, it would be that this writer didn’t bring in sufficient context to point out the areas where the 992 could be “good” versus “awesome”. That is usually found in other reviews and is missing here.

[FC]

Originally Posted by lemming

No one really talks about Audi’s. Which says a lot through silence.

Good point.