Which 911 as long distance cruiser?

I've been hanging around on the 981 forum since I bought my Boxster . I love this car but being my first Porsche , it makes me wonder what other Porsche 's would I like? If I were to desire a 911 as a comfortable cruiser, IE not set up for performance but rather more geared toward comfort for long distance drives, which 911 , and what options, should I consider? Thanks for any suggestions. This neophyte needs all the help I can get.

My boxster base is my daily driving cruiser. Convertibles are good for all my backcountry roads and you don't need a big engine since you are on cruise control a lot mostly. Boxster is said to be the more comfortable agile ride. 911 would be more rock solid and powerful in straights. Buying a 125k+ 911 for cruising would seem wrong, but a base 911 for 85k might be a wise choice instead of a 981 gts . Think it would boil down to which car you like better. Personal opinion, going from a boxster s to 911 is going to cost you a lot, but doubt you'll get much benefit out of it...unless you went all out and got the turbo s. Might be better of putting a 3.8l carrera s engine into the boxster for 25k.

1. Get an S or add PASM to the base model (which might be better as it comes with 19" wheels) 2. Get 18-way adaptive sport seats or the 14-way power seats 3. Get seat ventilation (especially since you live in a hot climate) 4. See if you can get Michelin Pilot Sports ... in my experience, the Michelins provide a better ride than the Bridgestones ... (no experience with the Continentals or Pirellis on the 991)

Agree, a base Carrera with PASM , adaptive seats, PDK if you want would be a good long distance cruiser.

Agree with everything you said, coming from a Boxster S , you will probably want the S model, base isn't that much faster. PASM is great to have, standard on S models I have 14 way power seats on my 997 and it's very comfortable, similar to my 18 way adaptive seats in the 981 . Never had ventilated seats so I don't miss it, doesn't stop me from enjoying my seats w/o it. Michellin's are ideal, it's quiet compared to the Contis, Pirelli 's, Nitto's, etc. My PS2 are comfortable and quite on my 911 . 997/991 are very comfortable sports cars, they can easily be driven everyday. It doesn't matter if you get C2S or the C4S, the AWD version will inspire more confidence going fast b/c it feels really grips, the C2S to some is more fun b/c you can let the back hang out. You can't go wrong with either.

The added power in an S is especially useful for passing PASM absolutely NOT required for highway cruising (I think it's of questionable value anywhere but on a track) Standard or multi-function wheel is more comfortable than Sport Design wheel Get a coupe, or a targa if you must have the open air experience. The 911 Cab is the ugliest, most ungainly looking vehicle Porsche makes (including Panameras and Cayennes) Buy the seats that fit you. Do 100 miles in each version before deciding. Bose stereo at a minimum, Burmester if you want decent sound at higher speed on your cruises. Cabin noise kills the Bose sound above 70 mph. Smallest wheels possible I like my manual in urban driving, my PDK is nice on road trips PSE unnecessary PTV may be appreciated if your cruising is on curvy, secondary roads

I'll disagree with everyone so far and say do not buy any 991. You asked "it makes me wonder what other Porsche's would I like?" If I truly wanted a "comfortable" long distance cruiser it would not be a 911. Not enough luggage space. Ride can be harsh and noisy, interior space can be small, etc. I would buy a Macan Turbo (or S depending upon resources). Why? Far more luggage space. No worries about where driving it. On road, Off road, snow, etc. none of it matter Real donut, in other words you have a spare albeit not full size. All the usual PAG options, whatever you want. Put the rear seats down for more cargo space or up for humans. And the best part? For the kind of driving most people do, straight line acceleration, a Macan Turbo is just as fast as Cayman GTS. Get the air suspension and 19" tires and you are good to go. Fast, luxurious, CUV that can go anywhere, no worries about snow, etc. What more do you want? It's the future Oh, and Porsche can't build them fast enough. Get in line, money in hand, or you won't get one for 6 months. OTH, you can get a 981 or 991 on any lot. Yes, any of the sports car will go quicker around corners but you didn't ask that. You asked for a comfortable long distance cruiser.

I see the title says: Which 911 as long distance cruiser? If you insist on a 911, then it won't make one wit of difference which model you buy "other" than the 991GT3 or the upcoming 991GT3RS. I would not buy either of those for comfortable cruising. The rest of the line and all variations, coupe, cabrio, targa, 2 or 4, from base to S to GTS to TT to TTS, they will all do. Rather than tell you which options to buy, I'll tell you which ones to NOT order. Do not order (depending upon model): SC SPASM PDDC X51 Base seats PCCB (won't really matter one way or the other) PSE PDK (but the TT and TTS comes with it) CL wheels (for GTS) Other than that, order whatever luxury options you want. Good luck

Some interesting posts to my question. Has me thinking. Thanks to all that responded.

One thing you didn't note - would the 911 be *in addition* to your 2013 BS or a *replacement* for your BS. Follow on - new or used (e.g., CPO). After having our 2013 CPO BS since April we absolutely love it. But looking down the road we realize that having a very capable car that leans more towards GT cruising is a better fit for retirement. So we're cancelling our plans to trade the BS for a BGTS with ED delivery and are now looking for a 2013/2014 CPO C4s cabrio. In our case - replacement not in addtion to and that then influences our "build" choices. Knowing we'll miss the tossablity of the BS, we'll miss it. I hope your situation is "both/and" instead of "either/or"! Other than the "ugly 911 cabrio" comment above, there's been a lot of excellent advice in the thread, advice that seems oriented to the "in addition to" context. Good luck in your quest!

This is actually a great question. And the unfortunate answer is instead of. I am not in a financial situation that allows me to own both. And you bring up my identical feelings about the tossability of the BS as well as my own feeling of it being probably the BEST all around sports car I have ever had the pleasure of owning. All this input has actually helped, and hindered the decision making progress, as confusing as that may sound. Thanks for a great post.

I'll chime in here. You have a Boxster so I assume you want the possibility of an open air experience in your 991. You are not looking for performance and your location says you live in Arizona. So, based upon this limited set of data I will recommend a GT setup for you. I am very qualified to do this because I own a 991 and I came to the 991 from a 987 CS. I will also claim to have slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night....but you already know that isn't likely to be true. First, the open air experience in a GT demands cruising comfort but you need the ability to escape the hot Arizona sun during the heat of summer. Thus, the Targa model is the obvious choice with an appropriate UV reducing tint placed on the generous 991 greenhouse (this will include the use of something like Air Blue for the windscreen). You will appreciate the better sight lines of the 911 as you drive up to Sedona and perhaps Flagstaff for the weekend. The 4 wheel drive setup, which is the only way the Targa can be purchased, is a bit of overkill for Arizona but it also means the car can be used with confidence (and some winter tires) when you want to travel to the Colorado or Utah champagne powder during ski season. Now the choice of base or S model is significant here and the base model will still accomplish all you really need.....but as a discriminating and snobby 911 buyer (this is Planet 9 and all late model 911 owners are viewed with suspicion ) you want the effortless power and torque of the Targa 4S model available to you in order to show your heels to the hoi polloi whenever the feeling strikes you. Now, for your GT cruiser, you have decided comfort is a must and this means the option list must be considered with an eye to both value and practicality. First, you already own a silver Boxster so I will assume you will go with a similar color for the 911 . That being said, the Targa model, with its distinctive roof and iconic bar setup might demand a somewhat contrasting color choice and so metallic black or blue should be considered. This choice will also accentuate the widebody red stripe at the rear and, with your selection of the S model, the rear of the car is all people will see most of the time. The choice of getriebe is very personal but for a cruiser PDK seems to be the logical choice. For a cruiser in a hot climate, the premium package plus (with the 14 way ventilated seats) is the correct choice but you'll skip the full leather as an extravagance. A good stereo in a cruiser is important but your eye for value means you will go with the Bose package. Depending upon your desires, the sport exhaust can be considered here but again the quest for value means this choice is sacrificed for upgraded wheels ( Carrera Classics ), a multifunction steering wheel, and the Sport Chrono option. Thus, your perfect 911 GT car is born! With an MSRP around $132K (with a thousand or two set aside for tinting and an Escort Max ), I have configured the perfect open air 911 GT Cruiser for you. Of course, I will expect to be invited to witness the event as you take European delivery sometime next year. :cheers:

If I wanted a long distance cruiser - and it had to be a 911 - then a standard 911 would do just fine. I personally think that a Macan would be the answer but that particular question wasn't asked. I have never felt the need for 18-way adaptive seats. I'm the only person who drives my car. I set it and forget it.