996 Daily Driver - potential downside

So - after 7 years driving the 996's daily year round in all weather, today I became aware of a potentially dangerous downside. I guess like anything that one does routinely; one tends to take things for granted and have automatic expectations. Put aside the tendency to attempt to insert the ignition key to the left of the steering wheel or if driving an automatic, depressing the phantom clutch pedal before starting the engine. More serious and potentially dangerous expectations are: Expecting that when behind the wheel that merging into freeway traffic is as simple as a generous nudge on the gas pedal. Slowing to take a sudden and unexpected turn is as simple as applying firm pressure to the brake pedal and turning the steering wheel in the direction you want the car to go. Exiting the freeway via the designated ramp is as simple as rolling off the throttle and easily steering through the radius of the curve. Cruising down a two lane rural road the car stays planted over dips and rises in the road. But WAIT - should one find oneself behind the wheel of a rarely driven back- up ride - rarely driven because the 996's rarely need a back up ride - all of the above is suddenly revealed as dangerous assumptive thinking. I say this because yesterday my son asked me to pick him AND his friend up from basketball camp. No problem I say as my son reminds me that neither he nor his friend can possibly squeeze in the back of the 996. We have that cherry Olds Aurora with the Northstar 4.0 V-8 - complete with leather interior, rear air suspension that actually works, AND four doors. Well I have to tell you that during that drive, as the kids vacillated between hollering things like "J*S*S - we are going to die" followed by guttural laughter - and of course reminding me from time to time that this "ain't no Porsche", I was often honestly scared. Merging onto the freeway - OMG - sure that old American V-8 sounded powerful and throaty but I just couldn't pedal it fast enough. And even though I have good OEM tires at all four corners the squealing rubber and the steering wheel that seemed to be fighting me as if to say uh uh, no way will I turn this car. And when the friend of my son tells me that if I take THIS right turn it's a short cut - well the car doesn't seem to slow and I have no choice but to miss the turn, and to hear the kid say "hey, that was the turn back there". And most exhilarating, at least for the kids, was the way that lead sled literally became airborne as I hit a rise in the two lane rural road, a road that I drive frequently and at faster speeds with zero issue. So - I drop off the kid's friend and head back home and put the Olds in the driveway. I open the garage door, look at the back ends of those two incredible machines called Porsche 996 - and immediately do an about face and park the olds in the street under a tree and hoping that there never has to be a next time. This morning it was my turn to drive to the basketball camp and I was certain to clarify that I will only have one passenger, my son, because I simply don't have a means to transport any of his friends. It was a much safer and stress free drive.

Very cleverly written...and so True. I have a fully restored 1967 Shelby GT350. When I roll out with my kids in that sucker, I have the same thoughts as you...well done

Funny, I have said same to my friends. My 996 DD will be a tough act to follow.

Heh. I regularly forget to adjust my driving when I have to take my wife's Murano anywhere. Thankfully, it handles OK for a SUV, so other than some serious body roll and some squeaky tires, the consequences are generally limited to reminders from the passenger seat that I'm not driving my car.

My wife drives a Toyota Tacoma pickup. On the rare occasions where I drive it, I have trouble adjusting from the way I drive my cars. This often leads to corrective remarks or looks from Susan.

Every once in a while, I search around for a turbo kit for the Murano - it handles OK, but man I wish it had another 100HP.

I drive mostly my 996 and my Boxsters, so it's a seamless switch. On the days I drive my 3/4 ton truck I catch myself reaching to the console for the window switches everytime.

I am not having this issue so far. My Acura is on par with 996 power wise, and brakes and suspension are hi-performance aftermarket parts. Surprisingly, everyone who rode in the Acura and Porsche says that Acura is a faster car. I attribute that to the much more peaky VTEC power band and CAI. Even I find the VTEC growl of the Acura superior to the way my 996 sounds at full throttle. I know I can stick the CAI and exhaust on the 996, but I want to keep it 100% stock. Compare the engine sounds of both cars, you can see how people pick Acura as the faster one. A lot more drama and anger in that engine. 2003 Acura TL Type-S Acceleration. - YouTube 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera Acceleration - YouTube

I recently bought an Audi S8 V10 to address as much of this as possible when carrying more than one other person (particularly on weekends) or in the case of really bad weather.

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Murano with even better handling and lots more HP = Porsche Macan I happened to have use of a Macan S for a weekend recently. Not exactly my cup of tea, as I like my *** closer to the ground, and I very rarely have need for more than two passengers. However, it was pretty amazing for what it is.

I purchased my 2000 996 C4 in 2009 with 107K on the odo. It now has 143K and no major problems Oil change every 3-4K miles and replace rear tires are the most expensive so far . The best DD I have ever owned and the most fun

Silo2... I know exactly what you mean. Many times (too) I have exited the freeway in my wife's automatic only to depress what memory tells me is the pedal that will free the engine from it's duty and allow it to settle to the bottom of it's RPM pool ... causing us to drift to a soft controlled perch at the limit line of the intersection. In reality, what happens is my foot finds the pedal that increases forward Gs and they continue to grow as my weight moves toward the pedal with the same, increasing force. All the while, my wife's eyes burn holes in me and mock my "driving prowess".

I switch off between my Impala (which actually has more HP than my Porsche) and the 996 without too much difficulty, but my SO goes back and forth between a Land Rover and an X5 Sport (E70). They weigh about the same, but the absolute lack of body roll on the X5 makes her swear she's in a sports car compared to the lethargic Rover, which always feels a bit tipsy.

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E70 with _no_ body roll? I call bs. 3 tons of car rolls in the corners, unless BMW did some magic between 2011 (my X5) and today.

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LOL - I told the wife about the ride and told her I think the time has come to trade-in the Olds on another Porsche - the glare from her almost hurt (I know she wants a red convertible and not a Porsche as she turned down my offer to buy her a 986 a while back) - but the positive was her remark of "maybe if you go back to work" - sort of permission to consider it. I did try to explain the Macan but I would guess she wasn't much into hearing about it since she quickly walked out of ear range. And cars aside, I am taking her "back to work remark" as also positive, I've been purposely avoiding that to spend more time with her during her illness. So maybe she has had enough of me now. Nice morning here and I'm all prepped to shine up the C2 so off to play I go.

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No body roll, or at least significantly less body roll than I see in my 996. I'm guessing your 2011 X5 (mine's an '07) doesn't have the Adaptive Drive/Active Steering/air suspension (most do not). Part of the three tons of my car is an incredibly complicated system of hydraulics, roll bars, and computers designed to keep the vehicle level at all times. Here's a couple of videos showing the system in action. First video is a description of the system, and the second video shows a tech testing the system.