Looking to migrate from BMW to Porsche after 26 years ownership

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Z4gadgetman
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:29 pm
Location: Bedford, England, UK

Post by Z4gadgetman »

MCDK wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 8:40 am Many of us have moved on from BMW to Porsche via Audi in my case.

I really tired of the BMWs as the interiors are all the same with exactly the same buttons in the same places. Hence a new car really didn’t feel new inside. Moving to a new brand is a breath of fresh air.
I like that way of thinking! and in a lot of ways you're right. I do find myself looking at the BMW range and nothing sets me on fire. nothing other than the forthcoming new Z4 does anything for me :(

Z4gadgetman
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:29 pm
Location: Bedford, England, UK

Post by Z4gadgetman »

MCDK wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 8:44 am And as above, test a GTS , job done, place order.

The option list isn’t that confusing especially if you go GTS as it includes a lot of the attractive stuff that is needed. Depends on your budget but just add full leather interior or GTS interior if you can justify the cost which I couldn’t. Heated seats, 21” wheels, pano roof, interior light pack, LED headlight upgrade all come to mind as option boxes to tick.

And Sapphire Blue of course!!!
I like the Sapphire blue but my wife says its too......... she like dull colour. the carmine Red is growing on me, except for the price tag £1000 over the blue! and its all mounting up.
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VanB
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Post by VanB »

By the time you've taken everyone's advice on here you can probably add a minimum of £5k to your initial budget!

And welcome
Current - 991.2 GTS C4 GT Silver
Previous: Macan GTS Night Blue
Previous: 981 Cayman S Agate
Z4gadgetman
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:29 pm
Location: Bedford, England, UK

Post by Z4gadgetman »

VanB wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:26 am By the time you've taken everyone's advice on here you can probably add a minimum of £5k to your initial budget!

And welcome
I did have an imaginary budget! But it’s being moved from pillar to post by all of the options I want.

Last thing I want to do is have buyers regret for a metaphoric ha'p'orth of tar!

It’s probably my last signature car so I’d like it to be the best it can be without the regrets.

Dario
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VanB
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Post by VanB »

If it's a keeper spec it for you, if you are likely to move it on spec it lightly with only desirable options like sunroof. It's not unusual for people to spend £10-15k on options with the average being around £8k I think.

If you're coming from 35i BMW I would suggest you look at GTS or Turbo
Current - 991.2 GTS C4 GT Silver
Previous: Macan GTS Night Blue
Previous: 981 Cayman S Agate
happy days
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Location: Warrenpoint, N Ireland

Post by happy days »

Ha! You will find that most of us on here will be happy to help you spend your money. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Spec it for you and nobody else, and remember that everyone has their opinion which, to them, is right. (Me included). I haven't looked at a GTS standard list, but on our Macan, I wouldn't be without the following options.

Bi-Xenon headlights - I think these come as standard; I haven't tried LEDs yet
14 way seats
Surround cameras
Heated steering wheel - don't miss this option!!!
Heated seats
Spare wheel
Dimming mirrors
Cruise Control

Mrs H loves the privacy glass; I think it looks better too. If I dared to look at a GTS on the configurator I would be tempted to lodge £3k with Belfast!
Macan S D
718 S
Tall Phil
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Post by Tall Phil »

Z4gadgetman wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 8:25 pm It looks like the time has come to find a vehicle that will suite my needs and give me a different ride. .
I really like the Sapphire Blue, She prefers a duller colour!

road test booked for next week in a carmine red GTS.

I'm very interested to see what this thing goes like, or should it be a petrol S, or should it be a Diesel S.
I've had my latest car 5 Series GT 35dM sport for 3 years and i love the big torque factor, but I'm tired of how huge the bloody thing is.

I wonder what the final spec and car will be?
Dario, welcome to the fold.

I had a BMW 5GT prior to my GTS. I can give you a view of how I found comparing the two but please remember it will only be my opinion.

Firstly, you need to see what the spec of the GTS is that you will be testing. Does it have air suspension, sport chrono and which seats are fitted. I will stick to these areas of the comparison.

Steering: Luxurious though the 5GT was, I always felt the steering was light and lacked that "feel" about exactly what the front tyres were doing. The car would do what was asked of it but going round corners, for instance, it would be a case that the 5GT needed pushing around the corner rather than being guided around the corner. I think most big BMWs fit in this category, the X5 as well. Now, if you have been driving them for a while, the steering will seem good (you are used to it).

With the GTS (and any other Macan) the steering is so much better weighted. It is not as light and seems to give much more "feel" about what the car is doing on the road. Literally, the GTS will glide around corners rather than seem to have a battle to get around the corner. I much preferred the Porsche steering to the BMW. In fact, after my test drive (Macan SD), the BMW felt nowhere near as good, nice to drive or confidence inspiring. It is not to say the BMW was bad but the Macan was much better.

Suspension: I always felt (excuse the pun) the BMW M Sport set-up was far too firm and, when combined with run-flats, made the ride less than ideal. Again, it seems BMW's solution to "sporty" suspension is to firm it up to the extent that it compromises the ride. Something I got used to but was always found out on the UK roads.

With the GTS, with air suspension, the quality of the ride is greatly superior. I stress this is with air suspension, i don't know about the steel suspension. There are three settings, comfort, mildly sporty and very firm. I think the BMWs fall between the mildly sporty and very firm settings. Porsche body roll is minimal. Quite remarkable how good the suspension is, really.

Seats: The comfort seats in the BMW are some of the best seats I have ever sat in. Very hard to beat. Especially as I am v tall and built accordingly (ie not slim).

Porsche seats provide a totally different experience. They are very comfortable but different. The GTS standard seats are 8-way electric with big bolsters. If you are of a normal size, not like me, then you should fit. If you like being cocooned then these are good seats. It seems that you have to climb over the bolsters to get in and out. Given my size, I find they crimp my thighs and kidneys so I don't like them. The 14-way seats have smaller bolsters, much more to my liking. The 18-way seats are the same as the GTS standard ones (big bolsters) but with more adjustments. There is also some adjustment available for the bolsters. Non-GTS standard seats have even smaller bolsters.

Similar to the BMW, range of movement for seat adjustment is brilliant. You should easily be able to get very comfortable.

Remember, this is just my opinion on these important areas, others will have differing views.

It would be useful for you to share your opinion of these areas once you have test driven the GTS.

Good luck and enjoy the test drive.
Last edited by Tall Phil on Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
GTS \o/ - sold :(
Mike and his Macan
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Post by Mike and his Macan »

Still owning a 640d .. in my opinion compared to the Macan, even without air suspension, I’m sure you will find the ride superior to the Bmw. And totally agree with the steering wheel feedback. Good luck.
Macan GTS.Vol/ grey turbo 21s, Bose, Panroof, heated seats and steering wheel, 18 way , red belts, LEDs, light comf mem, privacy , compass, 18 spare wheel, aluminium inserts, auto dim mirrors, smoked,r/rails,p/assi. CAYMAN GTS now 😊
Col Lamb
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Location: Lancashire

Post by Col Lamb »

Welcome.

Good choice with the GTS as preferred variant.

Prior to the start of your test drive I suggest that you take images of everything and ask the SE to list precisely what extras are included. Make a note of these as it will come in handy later.

One thing for sure, you will be blown away by the ride quality and handling.

The GTS and Turbo models come with PASM as standard and this makes all the difference in the ride and handling to do your homework and check out the settings during the test drives.

I would agree with Happy Days recommended extras but would add that cruise Control is standard and I think that he means Adaptive Cruise Control which is brilliant.

Do test drive other variants and if your budget allows seriously consider a standard Turbo, OK is may not handle quite as well as a GTS or Turbo PP but in a straight line all the GTS will see is the Turbos tail lights. Check out my signature for how my £74k Turbo is configured, I am retired and my Turbo has everything I want. This cold morning the heated seat and especially the heated steering wheel were very welcome.

Do have a test drive of an SD but as you are used to a 35D then I am sure that you will then totally forget the SD, by comparison to the 35D the SD is gutless above 60mph, I have been saying for a couple of years now that the SD should have the same engine characteristics as the 35D. The SD is based on the old SQ5 Audi which in that car produced over 70 more horses than it does in the Macan SD. The SD is not bad, it just could be some much better, there is also the DPF issue that quite a significant number have suffered from, the car going into limp home mode cannot be fun.

Good look on your travels with the GTS and do report back with your thought.

Finally check out the post in the orders sectio for what to include in the spec
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Custard
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Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2017 12:49 pm

Post by Custard »

I've had my latest car 5 Series GT 35dM sport for 3 years...but I'm tired of how huge the bloody thing is.
Is a Macan any smaller?

Squeezing into BR station car parks, overtaking cyclists, or driving on narrow country roads, my Macan doesn't feel particularly svelte!
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