Ok, Picked up from Mid Sussex Saturday afternoon a 991 Carrera S, lots of extras that I wanted to try, including PSE. Got told that the standard car they had, also sounded fantastic without PSE, but wasn't convinced and so took the one with, also had Sport Chrono.
First impressions were and still are that this car has changed completely in character, and I must say completely for the better. Firstly, upon turning the key, the noise from the PSE is amazing, it is a totally different characteristic of the car now, the added benefit of this is that on overrun with the PSE you get this wicked cackle from the exhaust, the trouble is that it does no good for fuel economy as you are forever on and off the throttle in order to hear it!
The ride comfort in this car was amazing, the demo had PDCC (Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control), and I was astounded at how the car could ride this smoothly and stay totally flat in the bends. The demo also had Steering plus, which you really can feel the effect of, I know that many have said that losing the hydralic system is a huge loss to the 911, but for my use of the car, it is perfect as you are not constantly sawing at the wheel as it rides over bumps, which makes a longer drive much more enjoyable, added to this the front end bobbing that my 997 had is completely gone, this was really noticable at higher speeds, and on a rough undulating dual carriageway made the outgoing model feel unstable.
Interior, I was really concerned about this one, as I am not a Panamera fan and was worried that I would really dislike the new centre console, the only slight niggle that I had with the console is that on cornering, your left knee seems to press quite hard into it, it didn't quite feel natural, but on the plus side, the offset pedals seems to be more centred which makes for a straighter back, and thus no back ache on a long drive. The seats were as comfortable as my 997, unfortunately they were not sports seats+ (with added wings) and as I am quite broad-shouldered I missed this. The instruments are very clear, but with all the new buttons it does take some time to get used to where everything is. The demo had the interior lighting pack, this in the Panamera I think is gaudy, but in this it is very very, well, sexy, and I have added this now to my build.
The roof lining and pillars are covered in alcatara, which really finishes the car off very nicely, one thing that I did seem to notice is that the dashboard really seems deep, and gone is the feeling that you have your nose pressed to the windscreen (I know that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). Door pockets completely changed, gone are the integral door bins, and have been replaced with side pockets that can be opened out for larger items (an Audi feature that I like).
The other feature I like, something that I really couldn't see why it didn't do this before, is that the stopwatch on the dash is now dual function, ie, it behaves as a lovely clock for 99% of it's life, and a lap timer for those whom wish to use it as such.
The lighting on the demo car was dynamic, and a vast improvement on the previous system, as the previous system I believe (GT4 correct me if I am wrong) had a halogen 'infill' bulb that gives you your forward light whilst turning, I am not a lover of this system, as it can become distracting to your night driving. Auto headlight's too!!!
Power delivery is awesome in this car, the closest I have driven to this is a GTS, but the 991 appeared to me to give a far smoother delivery of the same result, in Sports Plus, the delivery is exceptionally aggressive, but the real kick in the back seems to have gone on gear change, this is something of an improvement as at times in the GTS it would bang into gear so hard that it would lose traction on a damp surface, and when you are already doing... at most 65... it became a bit disconcerting. The new software in the PDK seems to learn your driving style at that moment far better than the previous version, I did however find that at times that the gearbox when put into sport, or sport plus, was staying in normal mode, I do wonder if there will be an update for this at some point.
Braking is another area which this car excelled, the pedal now seems to be slightly more assisted than before, but not overly, and gave me total confidence when braking hard.
I was very sad to take this car back to the dealership, as I really fell in love with it over the weekend. After I took it back, I then took out a more standard 991 Carrera S without PSE, without PDCC, without Sports Chrono. When I turned the key with the salesman's words of the standard one without PSE sounds amazing, just didn't ring true, although to be fair to him, I have spent far longer driving the cars than he has by this point, it was disappointing. What's the point of having a sports car without all the noise! The other thing that I noticed while driving this car was that without the PDCC the car really didn't ride as well, it was more unsettled in a straight line over a bumpy road, and the cornering was not as sharp, the whole car just felt, well, loose, this is why I was glad that I could still add this option as well.
I hope this gives an insight into my experience, I would say that if you are going to spend this amount of money on a car, drive it for as long as possible, and as many different variations/options of car as possible, as it really will make the ownership far more enjoyable.
Now... if I could only fast forward to March!
