911 Carrera GTS

The other day, my husband was able to borrow a 911 Carrera GTS from an acquaintance, and I got to drive it for a while. Today, I’m sharing my impressions from that experience.

I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to regularly drive various Porsches in this environment—it’s a rare and valuable experience. I’d like to take this chance to thank my husband’s acquaintances here (though I doubt they read this blog, haha).

As before, I’ll write this from the perspective of a wife who uses the car daily, and in a follow-up article, my husband will share his thoughts as a Porsche enthusiast.

The 911 Carrera GTS I borrowed this time is a late-model 991. The body color was GT Silver, and while it didn’t have many options, it featured the GT steering wheel with heating and the interior laser package. Being a GTS, it came standard with Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, and PASM.

911 Carrera GTS Test Drive

Ride Comfort

The ride comfort on the first day driving the 911 Carrera GTS wasn’t very good. While not quite like the GT3, there was quite a bit of side-to-side shaking. Especially since I’m currently pregnant, every time we hit rough patches on the road, my belly was shaken hard, making me tense up, and after about 30 minutes, I started feeling unwell… When I got home, I said,

No way, this is impossible for a pregnant woman, it’s just too tough (-_-)

and my husband replied,

You probably scared yourself and drove too slowly, haha. Once you get up to speed, the ride comfort is actually pretty good.

Indeed, we drove a bit on mountain roads that day, but there was road construction and rough surfaces, and I was driving very slowly, so that might have contributed… I thought I’d try again the next day.

I took the GTS to a nearby supermarket, driving at a more normal pace. This time, I hardly felt the side-to-side shaking I noticed the day before, and instead, I felt a strong sense of security from the solid chassis.

I guess I was pretty tense and stiff driving the 911 GTS the first day, thinking, “Wow, I’m driving a 911 GTS…!” haha.

That said, our 981 Boxster GTS (with 40,000 km on it) has a more supple ride, so personally, I find the Boxster easier and more comfortable for city driving.

Still, after about 20,000 km (it had around 7,000 km when I borrowed it), the 911 GTS’s ride might soften up more.

Engine Sound

The engine is quite loud. The startup sound was as loud as our Boxster GTS and Panamera Turbo, which are already pretty loud. The tone was a nice turbocharged sound.

However, maybe because it was a pleasant spring day and I kept the windows down the whole time, I found the idling noise at stoplights quite noticeable. It seemed louder than the Boxster, and I thought, “This idling volume at every stoplight in city driving might be a bit of a concern…”

I also tried switching to Sport and Sport Plus modes in town, but since I wasn’t going very fast, the gear suddenly dropped, revs spiked, and the engine noise became quite loud and high-pitched, which even made pedestrians walking nearby turn their heads.

Of course, I was surprised too and found myself muttering, “S-sorry…” haha.

But when driving on mountain roads in Sport Plus mode, the revs climbed nicely, the engine sound soared pleasantly, and it was a lot of fun. It made me think again, “This is how you really have to drive a GTS—on roads like this!”

Looking at it another way, you can drive normally in Normal mode around town, and then boldly let the GTS roar on mountain and winding roads, so having both driving styles in one car is truly wonderful.

That said, on public roads, you probably can’t fully unleash the 911 Carrera GTS’s power. Without opportunities like taking it to a circuit, you won’t really experience the true essence of the GTS’s performance.

Ease of Driving

I recently drove the 718 Cayman, which was very solid and easy to drive, but the 911 GTS felt even more solid and substantial. That’s the 911 and GTS for you.

Despite the solid and heavy feel, it was very light and smooth to get moving, and I was impressed thinking, “Modern 911s really are so easy to drive.”

I recently drove an air-cooled Porsche 964 and was reminded how heavy the steering is and how it takes skill to drive. But this 911 GTS lets someone like me drive comfortably and confidently without thinking too much.

Wow, the progress in car performance over the last 30 years is truly amazing.

Also, unlike the GT3, which has a low ride height requiring care over even small bumps to avoid scraping, the GTS doesn’t demand that level of caution, making it easier to drive and perfectly fine for everyday use.

Porsche 911 GTS – Conclusion

While writing this, I realized something: despite being lucky enough to test drive various cars, I always drive cautiously and slowly, so I never fully grasp the charm and greatness of the cars before finishing the test drive. My husband also said,

Just drive it like you do our cars. Why do you always drive so slowly? It’s such a waste, haha.

When it’s someone else’s car, especially a Porsche, I always get nervous and can’t drive normally… (-_-)

That said, if I get another chance to drive one, I won’t speed or push it, but I’ll try to drive normally and share my honest impressions.

With that in mind, I think the 911 GTS would be great for a household where the husband commutes on the highway and drives for fun on days off, while the wife uses it for everyday driving.

But if the family mostly uses the car for daily driving and rarely goes out for spirited drives, from a wife’s perspective, I’d prefer a model that’s a bit easier to drive without having to be so careful.

Thinking that way, the base 911 or the 718 Cayman I drove recently feel easier to live with. That said, if my husband actually bought a 911 GTS, I’d be super excited and thrilled, haha.

So, I’ll share my husband’s test drive impressions in a follow-up article soon.