911 V 944S2

[SUSIT]

Well just had a shot in my mates 93 plate 911 last of the air cooled jobs, jeeze that one quick motor but would i change?

well it pulls cleanly in 6th from 40 mph and keeps pulling to well i no not where, steers beautifully and stops darn good as well but heres the rub cant get my kayaking kit in the dam thing and as for a dinning room table and 4 fold up chairs, well no way so despite the S2 being a tad slower not quite as nice in the steering I still cant see past it as the best all round car I have ever owned.

Would you swap to a grown up beetle?

cheers

 

[Mike_Pollock]

No - I love the 993 shape but I would never have a car that is as impractical as a 911- unless I had a stable full of cars!

 

[Copperman05]

Not instead of, but as well as, yes, there are many Porsches I would like to own, some more than others.

Cant beat a 930 for performance and looks imo, bit of a handful though...

 

[ed325i]

i want a pre 89 911 next.

Ed

 

[Christopher I Ralph]

I absolutely love my 993 Cabrio, the performance, sound track, shape, etc., etc., but I DO miss my 944S2 and am still toying with the idea of buying another one, or a Turbo, purely for the practicalities. I have been camping in the 944 with all my gear and my mountain bike, with much space to spare.

Also, when I was on the PEYT in 2007, a fellow 944 owner lost her clutch so we ended up with a weeks full luggage for two, including suits etc., the booze(!) and two extra passengers. Talk about a Grand Tourer! Fortunately another member took Anne-Marie and Tim's luggage as that would have been stretching the capicity a bit too much. ;~))

I haven't used the 993 as a touring machine yet but the luggage will require some careful thought. I suppose that, being a Cabrio, I could stick the bike up in the air and hope that it never rains!

 

[PSH]

I've always liked the look of a 930 but it's performance is far less than my 944T in its current config and this difference will only get greater. Add to that the 930's tendency to swap ends at the slightest hint of lifting off into a bend, I'm better off and safer with the 944T. The 933 is a pretty car but to slow for me and I hate the pedal layout, pedals should be hinged from above, not from the floor like the old beetle.

Pete

 

[SUSIT]

ORIGINAL: PSH

I've always liked the look of a 930 but it's performance is far less than my 944T in its current config and this difference will only get greater. Add to that the 930's tendency to swap ends at the slightest hint of lifting off into a bend, I'm better off and safer with the 944T. The 933 is a pretty car but to slow for me and I hate the pedal layout, pedals should be hinged from above, not from the floor like the old beetle.

Pete

Agree re pedals, was a very upright driving position with off set pedals, use to off set with my strat replica but the angle they work at is most odd feeling to begin with.

My S2 is at the stage where it needs heaps of work on the body so trying to decide if worth spending the money or replace with another S2 a turbo or maybe go for a 911 of some sort, the space and practicality issue i think rule that out. but a hell of a car in the right hands, reckon most numpties could drive it at the legal limits anywhere, gets a bit twitchy a high speed

 

[Christopher I Ralph]

ORIGINAL: PSH

The 933 is a pretty car but to slow for me and I hate the pedal layout, pedals should be hinged from above, not from the floor like the old beetle.

Pete

I assume that you mean 993, not 933?

I agree that a N/A 993 will not be as fast as a modified 944 Turbo but it has better performane than a standard one and the noise is worth a few 1/10ths in terms of acceleration! ;~))

The tendency for the 'swapping of ends' was sorted with the new suspension set-up of the 993 but there is still a lot of power to be aware of, as with a 944 Turbo.

The hinging of the pedals certainly does take a bit of getting used to but the offset is not a problem at all.

 

[Frenchy]

I love all the incarnations of the 911, my holy grail is a 996 Turbo with an X50/DME Kit but would also be keeping one of the 944 Turbos, 964 is a nightmare on DIY servicing though (Plugs).
A mate has a 964 Anniversary and a 944 Turbo, he prefers the Turbo for long distance stuff and it is quicker than the beetle........................but the sound of the 964 []

 

[George Elliott]

Steve, the answer is "Yes and No" from the head or from the heart?

I had one, then the other, then went back and now am fortunate to have both.

The 944T is the thinking mans Porsche, its balanced, quick, more tolerant of a wider range of driving conditions (rain / wind / ice / traffic / heat) practical (hatchback) safer in an accident (fuel tank behind) more civilised (you can demist the screen easier for example) better gear change (anyone can take it to town) less conspicuous (dual carriageway 65mph in a 911 = 3 points, same place 944 may not be noticed). It is so evident that Porsche wanted to engineer out all the 911's weaknesses, and they ended up with a kind of a brilliant all rounder.

but, for some reason, the 911 is an unforgettable car,

it will make you smile in the right conditions, on the right road, in the right gear. The driving position - quite high, offset, heavyish pedals with lovely unique over centre pivot that feels so right in action, the view down the tops off the wings (less so 993 series on) the centre rev counter from the first car to date, the feel of the light front on the steering, the squat feel of the heavy rear under acceleration - the traction, the compact package, and this orchestra behind you which bounces of walls and offers you a glimpse of what a 917 mush have been like in action. Its a curious evolution of the peoples car, via the 356 - a triumph of development over design right up to the 991, the useable super-car. Addictive.

if I check my annual mileage, I do more 944 miles per annum - unfortunately maybe??

my answer to a good question, but not much help I suspect.

I wish I knew[8|]

George
944t

 

[robwright]

ORIGINAL: PSH

I've always liked the look of a 930 but it's performance is far less than my 944T in its current config and this difference will only get greater. Add to that the 930's tendency to swap ends at the slightest hint of lifting off into a bend, I'm better off and safer with the 944T. The 933 is a pretty car but to slow for me and I hate the pedal layout, pedals should be hinged from above, not from the floor like the old beetle.

Pete

Fully agree my experience of 911s was of a mate's 1990 964. The pedal box layout was awful! Set to the left of the steering wheel and hinged from the floor. Having said that it did make a lovely noise, which I fear I will never replicate from my 944. Still I will stick with the 944 I can fit the kids in the back and more than a washbag in the boot []

 

[DavidL]

I upgraded my 944t mainly because I couldn't move it on for a sensible price but I covet a 996T, but in a colour. None of these grey/black/silver things. There is a lovely guards red one for sale currently.

But I digress - I look at these things with their 25K price tags and then get into my 22 yr old, ok slightly tweaked car and wonder why I want to change it (ok I want both but they both do the same job).

My 944 goes some, more than "adequate" for uk roads, handles well now thanks to some kws and,as has been said, is supremely practical for what it is. A 996 you can't even get into the back - I carried all my spare parts back from Promax including a complete exhaust system. There was a 996t parked next to it as I loaded it - would it go in there? Would it hell.

So would I swop - I'd love to but realistically why? So until I can house, use and afford both, no. Or I get a very good offer.

Oh and 993s are a dreadful shape - looks like someone has sat on the front. Can't see what the fuss is about. Definitely won't be going that way.

Oh and I suppose someone better congratulate Chelsea. Well they did win.

 

[Fat Albert]

I did seriously consider getting a 964 when I changed, but I could have only afforded a cheap one, and as a daily driver that could have raped my wallet, so thought the 968 a much more practical proposition and with a Janspeed exhaust has some soundtrack, but nothing like a flat 6

I couldn't do this in a 964 though:

 

[robwright]

I mean seriously though what has there been since the 944 and the 944 S3 (968) that can fill that niche? Absolutely nothing that is useable and can fit more than 2 people. Apart from the Cayenne and the Panzermerra, which are obviously in completely different catagories.

 

[MarinerChris]

Well I just got back from the longest day of my life test driving two 993's and a 968.

One of the main purposes was to test drive a left hand drive and right hand drive 993 in the same day, almost back to back and my findings were very interesting.

The difference between left hand drive and right hand drive 993's is amazing. In the right hand drive car you do feel as if your feet are over to one side, whereas the left hand drive the peddles are immediately in front of you. I am not sure if I would get used to a right hand drive 993, but the left hand drive one felt like home right away.

Both cars were awesome, but I can confirm that the right hand drive one is the one with the odd driving position.

I have also driven a left hand drive 968 today and have driven a right hand drive one earlier in the week, and there is no difference really in driving position.

Both cars are really capable, but very different. 993 makes a better noise, but you can feel that it is just waiting to beat you up if you got too cocky with it, however this could all be in the mind, because its not as if I could give the cars proper stick when I don't own them and the seller is sat next to you... Well I could, but I would probably have been taken out of the car and beaten with a stick! I think the 968 would make a better cross continent car than the 993..

The real shame for me is that what I could probably do with is is a 968 for driving to Germany once a month, making left hand drive the best choice and a 993 at home as the garage queen and my UK toy, but that would mean a right hand drive 993 is a better bet, unless I want to get fit by running around the car each time I use a car park ticket machine or a toll booth (rarely for the second one)

The other complication is that I am still a bit smitten with a 86 220 944 turbo I test drove the other week.. Something about the look of that car and its deep teledials.

 

[colin944]

At last I have found someone else who thinks the 993 is not the best 911.I hate the styling of it.flattened out all the good bits and left the bad bits ( fat backside) I would never swap my S2 for a 911 of any type.Unless it was worth alot of money then I could sell it and build my ulimate 944.The only air cooled porsche I would really want would be an early 356 or maybe a 914 ( just cause it looks so wrong) or defo a 917.But never a 911.I grew up with beetles and if you want a beetle then buy a beetle don't buy a 911.

 

[944Turbo]

I dont like the 993 either, its the windscreen/roof line that looks wrong to my eyes. I do quite like the look of a 964 turbo, but I don't really like the sound of a flat 6 either!
Tony

 

[MarinerChris]

Two very different cars, which is why I am buying a 968 and a 993.

For all those that fancy a 996 Turbo, I have been there and once you get over the G-Force, it really is quite boring to drive.

 

[supersport]

They are two completely different cars and I love them both.

Left hand drive 911s don't have the offset peddles. The fact that they are floor hinged has never been an issue for me and not really noticed it. I also think that the going backwards into a hedge is largely myth. Mine has never bitten me and I have done the stupid and come out of it with only the hint of a twitch and cetainly no worse than the 944 has done when doing the same thing. It is certainly way more capable than I am.

There was a really good serries of articles in 911 &PW about the 911s across the years where he twatted them around a track and tried to provoke them and exmined the handling characteristics. He pretty much said that a lot of it was myth, although the later cars are very complementary.

I find the 944 to be a very easy car to drive that really hides its age and is very complementary to the driver. You almost feel that you could do anything to it and it wouldn't byte you. But it just doesn't have the ooomph of the 911.

 

[George Elliott]

just doesn't have the ooomph of the 911.

..........mine does, and its far from the ultimate in 951 circles

George
944t