Climate control not optioned - conscious choice? - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Of all the 718 GT4s currently advertised on AT, 50% don't have the dual zone climate control option. For the 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, 40% are lacking. I know it's shocking that this isn't standard on these cars but it's a must-have for me. I'm pretty staggered that 40-50% of the original owners who specced these cars new seemed to be happy without this and stuck with the standard spec basic (no climate) aircon. Given many of the cars without it are otherwise very well specced, I wonder how many original owners didn't realise how crude the basic setup is and simply thought they didn't need the dual zone aspect, which I can much more easily relate to?

When I have played with the configurator I have never clicked dual zone climate as see no need for the dual zone function. I did not realise that (single zone) climate is not standard.

To be honest on my 981GTS I had it and on my 718GT4 I don't. Do I notice no, it's a 2 seat car with a small cabin and 99% of the time it's literally me in the car. Yes, it feels like a nice to have option but I never really noticed it within my 981.

I used to think it was extra for dual zone rather than climate, and couldn't see much point in separating temps in a small 2 seater, and specified accordingly. My GT4 (used) has regular AC and I soon got over it, I think it suits its character as mine's buckets/clubsport/fire extinguisher etc.

I consciously didn't spec it on my car (718 GT4), as I didn't think I would need it. My car is used as an occasional 'fun' dry-day and high-day weekend car. 2.5 years on (mixture of road and track in all climates), I have no regrets not speccing it, the standard A/C is fine. I genuinely don't understand what all the fuss is about 'needing' it. On a daily used GTS, yes, but not on an occasional use fun car GT4. Edited by kmpowell on Monday 10th February 14:49

Not having it always seems like a bit of an oversight, as even basic cars now have fully automatic climate control. The dual-zone bit isnt the important part as such. It’s not the end of the world but it is a convenience that a car of this level should have as standard tbh.

TDT said: a car of this level should have as standard tbh. That I totally agree with. Same with (when I was speccing) cruise, folding mirrors, rear camera, auto wipers etc, were all £options. I played a couple of the Porsche tax game options (Cruise and folding mirrors) because I use/need them, but I declined to play the climate Porsche tax game as I didn't think I'd need climate, which I haven't.

I had a 718 Boxster S that only had manual A/C and I found it to be a pain. Obviously not such a big issue with the roof down, but I found it hard to get the temperature and fan just right when the roof was up. My 981 Boxster S has auto climate and it is a big improvement in my view and I would not be without it.

Totally agree with the OP. My belief is many of the original owners didn't realise how basic the non-dual zone system is (in essence manual heating controls with air-con) when specifying their cars. Edited by Techno9000 on Friday 14th February 09:01

I don’t have it, I played around with the settings years ago when I first got the car and have not touched it since. I certainly wouldn’t let not having it put me off an otherwise perfect car and I didn’t. One thing I think they should have thought of is to automatically disable air con when the roof is down.

DRH986 said: Of all the 718 GT4s currently advertised on AT, 50% don't have the dual zone climate control option. For the 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, 40% are lacking. I know it's shocking that this isn't standard on these cars but it's a must-have for me. I'm pretty staggered that 40-50% of the original owners who specced these cars new seemed to be happy without this and stuck with the standard spec basic (no climate) aircon. Given many of the cars without it are otherwise very well specced, I wonder how many original owners didn't realise how crude the basic setup is and simply thought they didn't need the dual zone aspect, which I can much more easily relate to? In a small car I don't have any interest in climate control and have previously specced cars without - saloon or SUV I'd have a different view but that's more front/back.

To be honest, the totally amazing thing to me is that climate control is not standard ...

It's not about the dual bit but the 'set and forget' function. I had a demo without dual zone and I was constantly turning the ac on and off, adjusting the heatine etc. Total PITA. for on both my 718s I specced it. Set to the temp you like and let the system do the rest. Too hot inside and it cools, to cold and it warms without me having to do a thing. It should really be standard on a car at this price point but Porsche make money on their options so, as they say, Vorsprung Durch Optional Extra!!

scrounger73 said: Too hot inside and it cools, to cold and it warms without me having to do a thing. That should be our biggest worry in life and the single biggest reason I don't own a 250GTO

kmpowell said: I genuinely don't understand what all the fuss is about 'needing' it. On a daily used GTS, yes, but not on an occasional use fun car This. A nice to have but definitely not needed.

I’m pretty sure, if someone did a poll on here, the verdict in favour of Climate over A/C, as a ‘must have’ on a Porsche, would be pretty overwhelming.

I think the dual zone element is a bit OTT, unnecessary, however the climate part is useful in that you can pretty much just leave it set on say 21 degrees and forget it. I only have AC and will often bump the temp up to high when I first get in the car and then drop down to a lower level once the car has properly warmed up. Hardly the end of the world, but just a little more effort and yes it should have been standard equipment.

This came up on another thread recently. We've got a 981 Cayman with the standard system and a 718 Boxster with the duel system. While the standard system is capable it is very fiddly to use, especially on the move and difficult to set as the display is pretty poor. With the duel system you set the temperature you want and forget about it. So much easier. If you're driving through southern Italy in 40C heat there's a chance you'll want the best system available but appreciate not everyone drives their car that far. I think the description Porsche use on the configurator doesn't help, which is probably why a lot of people don't spec it. Personally I'd choose a car with the duel system every time. Edited by Voodoo Blue on Friday 14th February 15:50

I had it on my old 987.2 and wasn't that impressed with it. If I was speccing a car from new it wouldn't be a 'must have,' and would invest the money into something else.

I probably stand alone as someone who could not care either way. My std 981 GT4 works nicely as does my dual climate 4RS. 981 could be delivered sand air con….saving 10-12kg. A step too far for me. So my dual zone auto has a fan switch, fiddle it up Or down to make it huff more or less. So does my basic. My dual zone had a max aircon setting and clean tje screen option….so does the basic one. So the difference is just whether you dial a number for each side or press a hot/cold button and judge if you are toasty warm or not. So i get totally why 50% of the world saw it as pointless. BUT I also think placcy dashes are lovely and more GT. But i specced leather fir the 4RS as its non WP and already a niche spec car! Pause waiting for AV185 to tell me Im an idiot!!!! Snowy Edited by Snowy999 on Friday 14th February 16:27

So as the OP, I'm gutted! Just got off the phone with OPC Chester enquiring about another car when they told me half an hour ago they had taken in a Shark Blue 73 plate Cayman GTS 4.0 which appeared to tick all my boxes and more.... GTS interior, 18 ways, PDK, PASM Sport -20mm, Light Design Package, 1200 miles, PPF, etc etc. And also Burmeister and active cruise as icing on the cake. I was instantly making plans for an early drive up tomorrow but 5 minutes later the salesman rang me back to confirm it doesn't have dual zone climate! Even the salesman didn't understand that there is no climate control without this option. I simply can't bring myself to spend approaching £50K on top of the value of my lovely 981S for something that doesn't have options I take for granted on my current and previous Caymans. Back to the drawing board!

Does having to press a button/turn a knob now and again mean that much ? Bizarre. I just don’t get it !

DRH986 said: I simply can't bring myself to spend approaching £50K on top of the value of my lovely 981S for something that doesn't have options I take for granted on my current and previous Caymans. Back to the drawing board! This is a very common (irrational) behaviour caused by psychologial biases in humans (I'm guilty of it myself all the time). Specifically, loss aversion where a potential loss (the lack of climate control) is felt a more intensely than the joy of a potential gain (all the ways the GTS 4.0 would be better than the 981S). So I totally understand where DRH986 is coming from. I battled with this feeling myself when my GTS 4.0 had bi-xenon and not LEDs (while my 1/3 price BMW had adaptative LEDs with auto high-beam – much better system). In the same way, any future car I want to buy must have at least the spec of my current car. So loss aversion does cause some quite irrational decisions. Did the lack of LEDs make a difference to my enjoyment of the car? Not one bit, I must have driven in the night less than 5 times. Yet it still annoyed me until the day I sold it. I'd imagine, most likely, lack of climate won't make a big difference to the enjoyment experience - YMMV.

I would'nt pay for the light upgrades beyond the basic xenons but I would pay and expect climate control where I can set and forget. I'm waiting for someone on here to say they only use the AC in summer when it's hot

Armitage.Shanks said: I'm waiting for someone on here to say they only use the AC in summer when it's hot I always have AC on with the roof down to help with global warming

DRH986 said: So as the OP, I'm gutted! =============== Back to the drawing board! Pleased to say another Shark Blue car appeared last night with the all-important dual zone climate and enough of my other must-have options so deposit placed this morning.

It was a must have for me, but I find auto mode is pretty poor at managing moisture, particularly on the windscreen. The screen does mist up a lot and you need to manually select windscreen vents for a while (maybe that's expecting too much but thought auto climate in a porsche would be set and forget).

I have one with climate and one without and don't find either a major issue compared to the other. It is quite easy to set the temperature and fan speed so I wouldn't worry too much. Full leather and sports exhaust are more important. IMHO.

jeebsy said: It was a must have for me, but I find auto mode is pretty poor at managing moisture, particularly on the windscreen. The screen does mist up a lot and you need to manually select windscreen vents for a while (maybe that's expecting too much but thought auto climate in a porsche would be set and forget). It shouldn't mist up if you've got the AC 'On'. It does default to AC in 'Auto' but you can turn it off manually and the auto function will attempt to maintain temperature within limits. On the 'full leather', my GT4 had the full leather and then my 718 Boxster didn't. I didn't miss the leather option at all as the 'plastic' dash material is not actually that bad and din't give it a second thought.

my 997 RS does not have any aircon in it. I just drive with the windows open. I think it was a no-cost option to have it, but gave the option to delete it.

My 987.2 Cayman has option 573 Air Conditioner. The driver's manual describes it as the (optional) Automatic Air-Conditioning System, as opposed to what I assume was the standard Air-Conditioning System, as there is no mention of bog standard heater controls. So I suppose I have single zone climate control.

Armitage.Shanks said: It shouldn't mist up if you've got the AC 'On'. It does default to AC in 'Auto' but you can turn it off manually and the auto function will attempt to maintain temperature within limits. On the 'full leather', my GT4 had the full leather and then my 718 Boxster didn't. I didn't miss the leather option at all as the 'plastic' dash material is not actually that bad and din't give it a second thought. I keep my AC on all the time - when it's on auto the airflow out of the fans is always really conservative and sometimes just isn't enough to clear the windscreen. Maybe being in Scotland and having more of a differential between outside and inside makes it more of a problem - before getting the car I watched a review from a guy in Russia and he said he thought the auto air con was pretty poor and he was having to manually demist a lot.

I bought a Boxster GTS 4.0 in 2020 without opting for dual-zone climate control. Having previously owned a 2002 Boxster S with single-zone climate, I assumed it would be the same. I was a bit annoyed that the salesman didn’t clarify what I’d be missing. That said, my car is a manual, with the best headlights, 18-way heated seats and steering wheel, Bose, and more. It was always meant to be a retro, engaging experience—so in a way, manually adjusting the heat and fan controls just adds to the old-school charm!

jeebsy said: Armitage.Shanks said: It shouldn't mist up if you've got the AC 'On'. It does default to AC in 'Auto' but you can turn it off manually and the auto function will attempt to maintain temperature within limits. On the 'full leather', my GT4 had the full leather and then my 718 Boxster didn't. I didn't miss the leather option at all as the 'plastic' dash material is not actually that bad and din't give it a second thought. I keep my AC on all the time - when it's on auto the airflow out of the fans is always really conservative and sometimes just isn't enough to clear the windscreen. Maybe being in Scotland and having more of a differential between outside and inside makes it more of a problem - before getting the car I watched a review from a guy in Russia and he said he thought the auto air con was pretty poor and he was having to manually demist a lot. From memory (and this may be unique to the Cayenne) in settings (via PCM/dial binnacle) there was a facility where you could adjust the power/direction of airflow so that more came out of the top of the dash even when in Auto?

Armitage.Shanks said: From memory (and this may be unique to the Cayenne) in settings (via PCM/dial binnacle) there was a facility where you could adjust the power/direction of airflow so that more came out of the top of the dash even when in Auto? yeah there's an option in the menu for 'centre vent', which seems to determine if the vent on the top of the dash is active, but it's an on or off setting. will double check again in case there's anything else, but that's it (IIRC).

Edward-90nzn said: It was always meant to be a retro, engaging experience—so in a way, manually adjusting the heat and fan controls just adds to the old-school charm! There must be some analogy between PDK and manual gearboxes here

WG said: Does having to press a button/turn a knob now and again mean that much ? Bizarre. I just don’t get it ! Yes, there's far too many increments to push up/down. A knob would have been fine though. I assumed climate control was standard when I was looking for 981s as all my previous Porsches had it. Mine is a pretty well specced car but I only realised climate control was missing on the drive back after picking it up! It does annoy me, but it's not a daily so I'll live with it.

My Cayman has the climate control option and I'm glad it does. Not because the car needs it, but because I find the graphics on the standard AC display look crap. Maybe just me, but to to me it looks like they have gone out of their way to make this look cheap.

I found the reach to the temp a faff. The gear knob / pdk selector gets in the road and makes it an awkward reach. I think (like many euro cars) the central console controls / infotainment systems are ergonomically designed around a LHD car and sometimes the interface is less than ideal if you apply it to a RHD car.. Stuff that is most important / often adjusted is often closest to a LHD driver, and therefore a reach for a RHD driver I always had to fiddle with the temp quite frequently but rarely needed to adjust the fan speed.

Snowy999 said: I probably stand alone as someone who could not care either way. My std 981 GT4 works nicely as does my dual climate 4RS. 981 could be delivered sand air con….saving 10-12kg. A step too far for me. So my dual zone auto has a fan switch, fiddle it up Or down to make it huff more or less. So does my basic. My dual zone had a max aircon setting and clean tje screen option….so does the basic one. So the difference is just whether you dial a number for each side or press a hot/cold button and judge if you are toasty warm or not. So i get totally why 50% of the world saw it as pointless. BUT I also think placcy dashes are lovely and more GT. But i specced leather fir the 4RS as its non WP and already a niche spec car! Pause waiting for AV185 to tell me Im an idiot!!!! Snowy Edited by Snowy999 on Friday 14th February 16:27 Morning S just seen this thread! I am guilty and actually didn't spec climate either on both my new 981 GT4 and 981 Spyder and can confirm that the basic aircon works fine and if it works ok on a Spyder this is probably the ultimate test for sure. Placcy dashes would be a step too far though for most including myself. And as you know the option also gives you the 'delightful' placcy on the central console and doors too. Interestingly though a Porsche specced with the extended leather is actually lighter in weight than one with the basic plastic.

Totally agree with you. Thought i must admit the Burmeister speaker system is very tempting