oldsock

I couldn't agree more! The interior looks like someone applied that stick-on wood stuff to cover up the aging wood trim, and did a poor job at that. This car just needs some love! A couple of hours with a Porter-Cable and some creative interior TLC and this baby would be beautiful!

5CHN3LL

How do you guys rationalize as fact that less than 5% of owners want an automatic when the MAJORITY of 996s shipped to the US were tips?

If you own a manual, EVERYONE with good sense prefers a manual.
If you own a cab, EVERYONE with good sense prefers a cab.
...

Kalashnikov

Manual is fun when you have great roads to use it on often. It loses its appeal quickly when you spend few hours in traffic moving at 3mph.

If I lived in the first picture, I would own a manual. Unfortunately like majority of people in US I live in the second picture. 5% of pleasure on Saturday through the twisties does not make up for the 95% of pain of sitting in traffic for me.

morganabowen

I prefer a stick shift, even when driving in LA traffic. Yeah, sometimes I get tired of shifting to move 3 to 5 feet, but overall I enjoy driving a vehicle with a manual transmission

Imo000

5% of RL owners prefer the manual. After all, Porsche sold all those automatics (lets not chuch them up by calling it something else) to buyers that wanted just that. Same scenario as the 928.

wyovino

Let me ask this question again, more clearly.

Of all of the people expressing distaste for Tiptronics 996's, how many have driven a Tiptronic 996? And when I say driven, I mean a spirited drive in manual mode. I think we all know what the opinions of 6-speed owners are. I'm looking for people who have actually driven both.

I drove manual cars (not performance cars) for more than 20 years, so the "manly" factor isn't an issue. When I drive my Tip 996, it's in manual until I get to highway speed and then I switch to automatic. If it's bumper to bumper, I leave it in auto. Aside from the left foot action, how different is it?

I don't want to hear about statistics, or assumptions, just real experience.

Btw - Mashing the pedal to the floor while in Automatic mode is a rush. It will drop to the lowest safe gear and the pull is impressive.

porrsha

If the Tiptronic is so good why did Porsche go to the PDK? When I lived in LA I would have considred the tip but was able to escape the urban jungle. Now I live in a place where as clutch makes more sense.
If a clutch were the ultimate answer then F1 would be using that instead of a paddle shifter. F1 cars have a clutch pedal right?

wyovino

So I guess the answer is "no". People who are condemning Tips haven't driven one.

Sneaky Pete

Here is a link to the dealer. http://www.autopassindy.com/newandus...aspx?MakeID=55

Since this place is in my back yard I might go look at the 928S4. Now that looks like fun.

tarzancoe

I drive a tip and live in the mountains. Awesome. You get used to shifting a split of a second earlier as the tip Is a tad slow. I don't even realize the delay now. Driving it in manual Of course. Keep in mind that driving in twisties, you don't push it as much as on the track; you have that split of a second to shift with no problems.

That said, it was no fun when the box went kaput and I had to install a new tip from porsche at the tune of 9.5k. This would be my worry with a tip over 100k miles. Rebuilding would be 5.5k.

Good news, got rebuilt engine and new transmission. What an investment haha.

alpine003

+996. I've actually driven my friends BOXSTER S tip in a spirited fashion on several occasions but since I drive like a nut I def prefer a manual to be able to do the 5th to 3rd drops and to engage neutral in certain situations(newer PDKs can engage neutral at any time). But for most "normal" drivers, the tip would be a good fit and offer the most flexibility for a DD.

pfbz

To me, this reads like a car with issues...
That doesn't read like a description of a well running car to me...

jasper

I drove a 997S with a tip once and was genuinely impressed.

I still prefer a clutch though...and not once in 30 years of driving has it bothered me in traffic.

5CHN3LL

Is this question genuine? Why did Porsche introduce a BETTER version of what they were already selling?

Porsche, like every GOOD manufacturer, pushes for better.

If the entire world looked at what exists and said, "mmm...good enough" - we'd still be driving Model Ts and buying blocks of ice from the ice man to keep our groceries cool during summer. Oh, and we'd be getting leech therapy and bloodletting from our surgeons instead of titanium knees and new heart valves.

I'm surprised your username isn't "gremlin" or "pacer" instead of "porrsha," since you're clearly not interested in advancing the state of the art in any field. :P

Imo000

I don't think the Tiptronic is better than manual.The PDK is a better performer over the manual but jot the automatic. They introduced it because the market demanded it, to fill the need for those that don't want to use a clutch pedal, that doesn't make it better at least not to me.