992 interior quality - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Hi, I'm activity searching for a 911 and went to try a 991.2 GTS (15k miles) and a 992 C4S (35K miles). I was left very much with the impression that the 992 interior felt way more plastic, squeaks, and just felt of lower quality. I'm not sure if its related to miles or just how they are built. The grey plastic trim that lines the door and runs across the dash just looks cheap to my eyes compared to the lovely brush metal in the 991. I've already owned a 991.2 S a while back so I'm keen for something different and I thought the 992 would be a great daily. I actually liked the drive - I thought the turn in was better and it really hooked up in the corners and the ride comfort was good (GTS to firm unfortunately for the usage I would like). I did sit in a newer 992 carrera that had the brushed alu trim, which did help to lift the cabin a bit, but the doors still feel hollow and boxy compared to the 991. I'm worried that the 992 would just be a creak-fest after putting on 10K a year on Norfolks bumpy B read I mostly drive. The only other option would be a 991.x turbo but my nearest petrol station is quite some way and averaging 21mpg might get annoying from short range vs 27 on the 992. Just wondering what other folks thoughts are, and interested in high milage 992 owners experience especially if you do a lot of B roads! thanks

Yep, 992 interior is a cheap plastic creaky mess, not as good quality as my previous 03 and 05 Boxsters. I was actually shocked how cheap the door trims, door handles, air vents all looked and felt first time I sat in it. You can apply that to all of the VAG group though, Audi used to have amazing feeling interiors, but the more recent ones are a huge step backward. It was a brand new 992 T for 6 months, I couldn’t stand it, it drove me mad and I had to get rid. Creaks from both doors, behind the dash, heater vents, centre console, b pillars and roof. Was in dealer multiple times and whilst they acknowledged them initially, when they realised they weren’t able to get rid of them they moved into the it’s just a characteristic of a sports car and it was my expectations that were unrealistic. The T had the -10 sport’s suspension standard which is so stiff it felt like the transport blocks had been left in, so that didn’t help the situation, so I would avoid that too, a C4S won’t have that unless it’s been optioned, avoid. All just my opinion of course, others are available.

I have just collected my 992 C2 from its 60,000 mile service and inspection from Porsche. I have owned it for nearly 5 years as a daily driver. It has the in-laid aluminium panels, leather dash, deviated stitching and 4 way seats with sharks-tooth cloth panels. In other words poverty spec. The car is still mint inside, no wear on the seat bolster or any squeals and rattles at all. The back seats have been used quite a bit for short journeys by those under 5'11. The front frunk is very useful for shopping. On other issues of driving a 992 every day for 5 years (whilst I wait for a taxi)-sorry I am bored. It is quite a noisy car compared my brothers Range Rover and our E300 Mercedes Estate hydrid, however what do you expect? Its all tyre roar. The standard 19/20 inch wheels are huge things too. I dont care a bit about that though -(Unruly pube argument). The inspection sheet from Porsche declared it had no issues. I certainly haven't noticed anything. Drives like the day it was new. The brakes are the original pads and discs and they have 40% left. Tyre changes have averaged £850 for all 4 proper ones every 16-20,000 miles. The Michelins make it a bit quieter. Apparently it has still retained 80% of its value, which I find incredible, making it worth something like £60k, the cheapest one in the country (excluding Copart) If I were to sell. Oil changes have started at £350 from the main dealer. The latest one included a PDK oil change, accessory belt and tensioner, oils, filters, brake fluid and other bits and bobs with 2 recalls and reprogramming of the center screen for some reason. That cost £2k incl. Vat. The previous service included coils and plugs as a service item and was another big one at £1,400- 45,000 miles. The service is around 15- 18,000 miles or once a year. depending. I will probably step this up a bit as dirty old oil kills turbos and mine are lovely. Oil consumption was about .5 liters every 10,000 miles when it was new, now it is zero. I have been around a few tracks including Silverstone (of course) Le Mans and Cadwell (not too seriously) where I have seen 2g in the corners on road tires. 0-60 is recorded at 3.6 seconds without Sports Chrono. The standard exhaust sounds very nice loud to my ears. I cannot detect any turbo lag, I dont know what people are talking about. That is after 140,000 miles in my Model S. I have never wanted to go quicker on the road. The fastest I saw was 178mph at Le Mans. It felt like it had a bit left. The average range has been 420 miles on 60 liters, which does me for a week or 2, around 30-32mpg. The paint and exterior is also mint. I did use a ceramic coating when it was new but that is it. Unlike the Tesla Model S that it replaced, when its time was up I decided to keep it. The 911 is much more fun to climb into everyday. Please dont get me started on Electric cars, I had so many experiences from 2014 to 2020. I had a Portofino for a couple of months earlier this year and found it a bit of a PIA for everyday use, more of a toy over 1,500 miles. I couldn't really get the power down in it. The 992 shows every sign of managing 200,000 miles OK, so why not? The old ones are still cool, even 10-20 years later. Annoyances are that I cannot permanently disable start stop, I absolutely hate it. I have a small collection of "classics" and I am pretty fussy as to what makes a great car. I even took 2 years out of a degree to become a professional car restorer in my 20's doing a full time City and Guilds. That was much harder work than Business Studies BSc I tell you. My collection of car magazines and books runs into around 3 tonnes and I have read it all! In my opinion the 992 in all flavors is just that, a great car. but I especially like the road friendly nature if the C2.

Thanks both, interesting and polar opposite views.

Agreee with the OP on build quality…I own a 991.2, had a test drive of a 992 when they were just launched and thought the interior quality was a definite step back. My daily is a 2017 Cayenne, 18 way seats in that are night and day better than the equivalent in the current cars.

991.2 interior with a minor modication from a local guy to lift it. It’s ok and similar quality to the 992 I think. None of the Porsche interiors are fantastic and certainly not worth wasting silly money on too many factory options as they’re all a rip off. The driving however is another story and Porsche still offer decent value on this aspect.

I’ve had my 992 C2S for a year now, bought new, and done 4,000 miles. It’s never had any interior rattles. The entire dashboard had to be removed and reinstalled to replace the heater box under warranty, and even since then there have been no squeaks or rattles. I find the interior lovely, mine’s black leather with crayon stitching and carbon inserts. I did think the interior would seem a bit bland without the lighter colour stitching. I was going to get the aluminium insert but after looking at a few cars in the dealership opted for carbon.

It all depends if its a Friday car, i have had a couple of 992's that rattled awfully, mostly rear bench and passenger top headlining along with door cards but then my current 992 is rattle free

MeisterH said: It all depends if its a Friday car, i have had a couple of 992's that rattled awfully, mostly rear bench and passenger top headlining along with door cards but then my current 992 is rattle free I’ve been in a few 991s and they’ve all had a silent cabin. By 981 GT4 from the same era is the same . Seems a gamble :-)

politeperson said: I have just collected my 992 C2 from its 60,000 mile service and…….. [goes on to write a brilliantly detailed and objective review] Amazing, thanks for providing a great bit of real world thoughts and feedback (even though this doesn’t in any way concern me!!).

992 is a significant step up from the 991 in terms of interior (and pretty much everything to be fair). My issue with it being is its too good in reality, and certainly too quick for the UK roads (or at least around here), and to have fun you find yourselves at speed which end up in lots of point or worse. Of the Porsches I've owned, I look back at the 997GTS I owned as the one I'd go back to now if I could pick.

The centre console on my 992C2S does squeak, tends to stop after a bit of driving though. By contrast my 718C never squeaked. Overall, I find the 992 interior a nicer place to be and I did have a full leather interior on my Cayman, which I think is a great upgrade. That said the overall functionality is the same on practice. You could even say the extra buttons in the 718/991 make it a bit more practical. Fortunately, Porsche did stop short of sticking everything on the screen and the most used options are still available by good old fashioned buttons. Never understood the fascination of manufacturers putting everything on a screen. Makes no sense ftom a practical or safety aspect imo.

Pinball said: Makes no sense ftom a practical or safety aspect imo. It doesn't make sense to anyone accept the accountants....much cheaper deleting the buttons and having everything on a touch screen. Think about a Porsche five years ago depending on your spec you'd have a different buttons for heated seats, sports exhaust etc etc Nightmare from a supply chain perspective as the centre console is specific for each car. Now there's the same one for every car and cheaper to make because less buttons. Probably saves them a few million EUR a year across the 300k cars they make...... Same with the wiring loom. All adds up.....

For sure, there’s some definite bean counting going on. New Model 3 is a great example - drive and reverse on the touch screen, ditched indicator stalks too. Always struck me as odd that if you stick an iPhone on your dash you can’t touch it, but the iPad interface built into the car is fine to use (subjective distraction elements of the law aside). Given that we’re getting more tech added to cars from a safety point of view like speed limit alerts, seems strange to me that access to everyday driving functions aren’t considered. Maybe things will change with regard to that?

I’ve owned a 991.2S and am currently in a 992S. I had a rattle in the 992S door which they resolved, otherwise no rattles or squeaks. I much prefer the 992S overall in every way but there is a weight to the 991.S internal materials that brings a slightly higher sense of quality of materials and the doors don’t have the thud sound. However for me personally that’s nowhere near enough to make me want a 991 again. Find one with extended leather like mine, might make up difference for you.

I own Tourings of both generations. Whilst the 1.2 interior is mostly stock I added carbon and contrast stitching to the 2.1 to lift the looks of it. To my eyes it looks great but that came at a cost. The 2.1 generates at times some creaky noises from the dash that the OPC couldn't get rid of.

I’m in the 992.1 camp when it comes interior preferences. Having owned many different 911 versions since the 997 I would choose the 992 although how it’s specced makes a big difference As regards quality it depends on how you assess it. My last 992 did over 50k and showed no issues with regard to wear and tear of materials and didn’t rattle.

Sold my 992.1 GTS due to door rattles that they couldn't/wouldn't solve. Previous 991.2 GTS was much better in the rattles department.

My 992 C2S, bought at six months old with 3k miles on, had no rattles or squeaks or other quality issues for the six or so months I owned it. It was a noisy thing though in the wrong ways, road roar from the tyres and also anything going on in the wheel arches. Loose stone chips pinging in the driver's side arch sounded like there was a kid rattling stones around in a can in the back seat. Yet you needed a hearing aid to hear the engine unless you were thrashing it. Kept wondering if the engine had cut out when lifting off the gas. I was a fan of the 992 GTS I drove for a couple of weeks and a huge fan of the GT3 touring - fantastic car, though not for my use. No squeaks or rattles in any of them though to be fair in the touring I was too busy having fun to notice. I wonder what would happen if Porsche made the beautiful steering of the GT3 standard across all 911s. Would it hit sales? Increase sales? Reduce the halo of the GT3? They are definitely watering down the standard cars, fun wise. It used to be, let's build a fantastic 911 and then see what we can do to make it racier. Now it's more, let's not make this car too much fun, so we can sell lots of racier versions. Sadly most of those don't have back seats, which I need.

I have a 991.RS and a 992RS and I much prefer the interior of the 991. Just feels like a lot better quality and has some buttons too!....

992 has the worst 911 interior since 996. A fussy VW Touareg parts bin design with dials you can’t see, scratchy hard plastics and plastic ignition switch.

Mezgerking said: 992 has the worst 911 interior since 996. A fussy VW Touareg parts bin design with dials you can’t see, scratchy hard plastics and plastic ignition switch. It really does look awfully cheap. This middle section looks dreadful in my opinion. I bet it gets marked and prone to scratches very easily.

I don’t even like the 911 chunky font everywhere and the shiny gloss black surfaces are particularly unpleasant. And the Braun stubby switchgear. Why not just keep it simple? 996 interior isn’t very well regarded but compare its minimalism and usability with 992.

I love the Braun stubby switch gear and the black shiny center console. Having just sold a Gen 2 996, the 992 is light years ahead in many ways, not just the interior. I did like my 996 as well though.

It’s light years ahead technology wise that’s for sure. The 996 is wonderful though to get back into every now and then. It is sad that Porsche/EU seem to have ruined the 992.2 with the incessant speed warnings, lane assist, stop start functions that you have to switch off via touchscreen submenu every time you drive the car to avoid messages, bongs and vibrating steering wheels.

Reading this topic I’m so glad I bought a 992.1 with a manual box and no nanny systems!

There’s a difference though between quality of materials and quality of assembly. You can have expensive materials which rattle and squeak and cheap ones which are well screwed together. For me 992 interior doesn’t feel cheap in the way 996 (though quite quirky and funky in design) did, but it does feel generic, could be a Panamera or Audi. 991 interior feels more sports car now by comparison

992 interior felt a big disappointment when it was launched 5 years ago. It seems dated then and hasn’t got any better with age. Its that tonka toy feel, the scratchy hard aluminium look plastic surfaces, VW Touareg opposing horizontal and vertical surfaces and ledges, the Braun shaver, the cheap plastic window buttons and starter, shiny piano black surfaces, the touchscreen graphics which are now old hat. Definitely a cost cutting VW and Audi feel in there. Despite its poor interior and its size, I don’t want to dislike 992 as it seems to be the last 911 without the nannying driver aids and hybrid technology and added weight.

I have a 2023 E class Mercedes that my wife drives. It sounds like an orchestra in full swing with warning buzzers. Drives Me nuts. EU directives? I think they are all like that now. I am keeping my 992.1 forever. We are being taken for cretins by politicians who force manufactures to add this stuff. Never tried a 991.1 or .2. They look lovely to me from the outside. We did have a 2016 Panamera for 4 years. The interior quality was good, however it had as many buttons as the cockpit of a 747. Fine if you like that sort of thing. My 992 gloss piano black console is still mint after 60,000 miles and many photo shoots, not a scratch on it, as it the rest in the inside.

I have a 992 GTS which I also plan to keep until either it or me gives up the ghost and IMO, after owning a 991.1 for 4 years, the 992 interior is a nicer place to be and the quality is as good. Technology wise, I use CarPlay for waze and Spotify which works well, I turn the stop start off as soon as I get in and didn’t tick any driver assistance features as I have a wife. I have had the “they all do that” squeak in the passenger door which I had rectified by having some additional sound deadening professionally installed around the car, this was something I had planned to do from day 1 to help reduce the rear tyre roar which plagues all 911s and I have been extremely happy with the results. Overall, IMO again, every iteration of the 911 has improved in terms of performance and quality but everyone has different opinions and let’s be honest, they’re all great.

Trufit 80 posts 187 months Friday I have a 992 GTS which I also plan to keep until either it or me gives up the ghost and IMO, after owning a 991.1 for 4 years, the 992 interior is a nicer place to be and the quality is as good. Technology wise, I use CarPlay for waze and Spotify which works well, I turn the stop start off as soon as I get in and didn’t tick any driver assistance features as I have a wife. I have had the “they all do that” squeak in the passenger door which I had rectified by having some additional sound deadening professionally installed around the car, this was something I had planned to do from day 1 to help reduce the rear tyre roar which plagues all 911s and I have been extremely happy with the results. Overall, IMO again, every iteration of the 911 has improved in terms of performance and quality but everyone has different opinions and let’s be honest, they’re all great. Hi Truefit Could you let me know which sound deadening you used and which company fitted it as I’m thinking of doing mine. How much difference did it make? It’s the tyre noise that frustrates me at times, especially when cruising.

FreedomDS said: Trufit 80 posts 187 months Friday I have a 992 GTS which I also plan to keep until either it or me gives up the ghost and IMO, after owning a 991.1 for 4 years, the 992 interior is a nicer place to be and the quality is as good. Technology wise, I use CarPlay for waze and Spotify which works well, I turn the stop start off as soon as I get in and didn’t tick any driver assistance features as I have a wife. I have had the “they all do that” squeak in the passenger door which I had rectified by having some additional sound deadening professionally installed around the car, this was something I had planned to do from day 1 to help reduce the rear tyre roar which plagues all 911s and I have been extremely happy with the results. Overall, IMO again, every iteration of the 911 has improved in terms of performance and quality but everyone has different opinions and let’s be honest, they’re all great. Hi Truefit Could you let me know which sound deadening you used and which company fitted it as I’m thinking of doing mine. How much difference did it make? It’s the tyre noise that frustrates me at times, especially when cruising. I used a company called Bassmechanix who are based in Cramlington (just north of Newcastle), they used Skinz sound deadening and it made a big difference, I would guess that road noise has been reduced by around 30 to 40% maybe more. The main thing for me is that the car does feel more solid, you can still hear the engine / intake noises (possibly more so due to the reduction in road noise) and conversations & listening to music on longer journeys is less of a strain. Don’t get me wrong, you’d need a lot more deadening than I had fitted to totally eliminate the rear tyre roar but you don’t need much to reduce it significantly- my car did not have any deadening installed with the exception of a couple of poorly installed square pieces on the inner rear arches.