911 Carrera GTS

The other day, my husband borrowed a 911 Carrera GTS from an acquaintance, and we had the chance to drive it for a little while. Today, I’m sharing my impressions.

I’m truly grateful that we get to experience so many different Porsches in our everyday lives. It’s a rare opportunity, and I’d like to take this chance to thank my husband’s friends for letting us enjoy their cars (though I doubt they read the blog, haha).

As before, I’ll be writing from the perspective of a wife who uses a car for everyday errands. In a follow-up article, my husband will share his thoughts as a Porsche enthusiast and driver.

The 911 Carrera GTS we borrowed was a 991.2, the facelifted version of the 991. It came in GT Silver and didn’t have a long list of options, but it did have the GT steering wheel with heating and the interior Leather Package. As a GTS, it also came with features such as Sport Chrono, the Sport Exhaust System and PASM.

Test-Driving the 911 Carrera GTS

Ride Comfort

The first time I drove the 911 Carrera GTS, I didn’t find the ride particularly comfortable. It wasn’t quite as firm as the GT3, but I felt quite a bit of side-to-side movement. I was pregnant at the time, so every time we crossed a rough patch of road, my belly got jostled, and I’d instinctively tense up. After about 30 minutes, I started to feel queasy. When I got home, I said:

Nope, this is too much for a pregnant woman. It’s just too uncomfortable (-_-)

My husband replied:

Maybe you were driving too slowly because you were nervous, haha. The ride is actually pretty good once you get up to speed.

He had a point. We’d driven along some mountain roads that day, but roadworks had left the surface in rough shape, and I’d been creeping along. Maybe that had something to do with it. So, the next day…

I took the GTS to a nearby supermarket and drove at a more normal pace. Sure enough, I barely noticed the side-to-side movement I’d felt the day before. What stood out instead was the confidence that came from the car’s solid, planted feel.

The day before, I’d probably been so nervous at the thought of getting to drive a 911 GTS that I was tense the whole time, haha.

Still, our 981 Boxster GTS (with 40,000 km on the clock) has a more supple ride, so for driving around town, I personally find the Boxster easier and more comfortable.

That said, the 911 GTS had only done about 7,000 km when we borrowed it. Perhaps its ride would become more supple after another 20,000 km or so.

Engine Sound

The engine is loud—quite a bit louder than I expected. The startup sound reminded me of our Boxster GTS and Panamera Turbo, both of which are pretty loud. The tone itself was appealing, with that unmistakably turbocharged character.

It was a lovely spring day, so I drove with the windows open the whole time. Maybe that’s why the volume of the engine at idle while waiting at traffic lights caught my attention. It seemed louder than the Boxster, and I found myself thinking, “I’d feel a little self-conscious about this much idle noise at every stoplight in town…”

I also tried Sport and Sport Plus in town. Since I wasn’t going very fast, the transmission suddenly downshifted, the revs climbed, and the engine note became surprisingly loud and high-pitched—loud enough to make a pedestrian walking beside me turn around.

I was startled too, and couldn’t help muttering, “S-sorry…”

But when I switched to Sport Plus on a mountain road, the revs rose just right, and the engine note climbed in a way that was genuinely thrilling. I had a blast driving it and thought, “This is the kind of road the GTS was made for!”

Looking at it another way, you can take it easy in Normal mode around town, then let the GTS sing on mountain roads and winding passes. Having both sides of the car in one package is pretty special.

Of course, there’s no way to fully explore the power of the 911 Carrera GTS on public roads. To really experience what it can do, you’d need the chance to take it to a track.

Ease of Driving

The 718 Cayman I drove recently also felt solid and was very easy to handle, but the 911 GTS took that sense of solidity and substance to another level. It’s a 911, after all—and a GTS.

Despite its substantial feel, it pulled away smoothly and lightly. I was impressed by just how easy a modern 911 is to drive.

I recently drove an air-cooled 964 and was reminded how heavy the steering can be and how much skill it takes to drive one well. With the 911 GTS, even someone like me can get behind the wheel and drive smoothly and confidently without having to think too hard about it.

It’s amazing how much cars have advanced over the past 30 years.

Another difference is ride height. In a GT3, the car sits low enough that you have to watch out for even small bumps and dips. The GTS doesn’t demand quite that much caution, which makes it easier to drive and, in my view, perfectly usable day to day.

The Verdict on the Porsche 911 GTS

While writing this article, I realized something: even though I’m lucky enough to get behind the wheel of so many different cars, I’m often so cautious that I just crawl along. As a result, I finish each test drive without really understanding what makes the car special or what it can do. My husband has told me:

Just drive it like you drive our own car. Why do you always creep along so slowly? You’re missing out, haha.

When it’s someone else’s car—and especially when it’s a Porsche—I get nervous every time and find it hard to drive naturally… (-_-)

If I get another chance, I’ll try to drive as I normally would. That doesn’t mean speeding or pushing the car to its limits; I just want to experience it in my usual driving routine and share what I think.

With that in mind, I could see the 911 GTS working well for a family where the husband commutes on the highway and enjoys going for drives on weekends, while his wife uses the car for everyday errands during the week.

But for a household that doesn’t often go out for spirited drives and mainly needs a car for everyday use, speaking as a wife, I’d be happier with a model I could drive without having to think about it so much.

That’s why I find a base 911—or the 718 Cayman I drove recently—easier to live with. Though if my husband actually came home with a 911 GTS, I’d be absolutely thrilled, of course!

That’s it for my review. I’ll be back with my husband’s impressions of the test drive in a later article.