F22g

Interior is much better in the Porsche. The fit and materials are unrivaled to the C7. I will agree that the C7 is the best bang for the buck and has a much improved interior. I have owned Porsche since I was 18 years old. I also had my first Corvette at 16 years old. I love them both for very different reasons. They both have pros and cons.While looks are a personal prederence, I can understand why some may not like Porsche looks and while others love it. I have three Porsches currently and two corvettes. I do not have a C7 currently but hopefully mine is on the truck and in transit.

C7_Z06

w/ F22g

For me, I can afford a 911 but I did the 81k decision... a Z06 w/ PDR.

But.... I'm a Porsche fan (I do have a new Macan S) and still have an itch for a 991 GT3 or a TTS. Heck the new GT3 RS would be the top choice for under 200k but that's an unobtanium. Although I'd rather just keep the Z06 and eventually add the new Cayman GT4 except I can't find an allocation!

As for Porsche's build quality? Definitely IMO still a solid 10 yards ahead of the C7... it narrowed the gap though in fairness to GM. But the C7's tech features are a bit better IMO.... and the versatile (Gen3) MagRide is certainly better then Porsche's PASM. Whether a Z51 w/ Mag or a Z06, I think it's a good wise choice over a 991 Carrera or Carrera S yet in the end, you can't go wrong with either really. A good dilemma to have.

Peterbigblock

I'm a Porsche nut. Wife drives a Cayenne S. Her fun car is a 911. My race car is a Porsche Boxster S (modified within an inch of its life).

For driving around every day, though, I'll take my C7 over a 911S any and every day. The C7 is strikingly beautiful, the sound really is wonderful, the interior design and infotainment flexibility are superior to Porsche, and I absolutely love being able to tinker with modifications without paying crazy P-car prices. The C7 drives beautifully around town or on the highway.

I can afford another 911, but the C7 is just more fun!

Vetteman Jack

For some reason, I have never had the desire to own a Porsche. I would definitely take the C7.

NiteriderFRC

JerryU

I know some think a 911 has a "classic style" and when they tried to get into the "modern world" with the 928, Porsche lovers rejected the change. But every time I see a 911 I am reminded of what my Pop said about my first car, a '41 Ford Opera Coupe, "Looks like an Upside-Down Wheelbarrow!" He could care less about that Olds engine I managed to stuff into it! Maybe he was right!




Pop said my 1st Car Looked Like and Upside-Down Wheelbarrow! Maybe He was Right!

LIStingray

My neighbor and good friend has both a 2015 Ferrari F12 and a 2014 911 Turbo - I have ridden in and driven both several times. I have also been in and driven several other 911's. I don't really care for the 911, so for me, even though I can afford a 911, the C7 was a better choice.
On the other hand, that F12 is really sweet, but there is no way I can justify spending $340k on a weekend car.

rstone_97

Better built my . . . I leased a Porsche in late 2013 (a 2014 model) because of some advice that said not to buy the first year of the C7. I have had that thing in the shop every other month. From electrical problems to dead intake fans. In November I ordered a 15 Corvette. Now the Porsche is a lawn ornament until next month when the POS gets to go back to momma. I definitely would not EVER recommend a Porsche.

billythekid310

Only Porsche I would consider (excluding the Panamera) is a 993 Turbo.

C8Jake

C7 with a power targa would sell!

macdaddy548

So I am the original owner of my 84 911 targa. It is a wonderful car, a classic these days, air cooled, simple by today's standards and has been mechanically trouble free. And values are now escalating.
But when it came time to add another car to the stable, the 15 C7, Z51 was a slam dunk. It's all about price, value and style.
I'm fortunate to own both a classic 911 and a state of the art C7. I
enjoy them differently and for what they are.

Crabbers

To name a few:
Viper
Aston Martin GT
Jaguar F-Type (any model, but the R most specifically)
Porsche Cayman S
Mercedes C63 AMG
BMW M5
Audi RS5
Alfa 4C

If you expand that list to include used cars then the list gets bigger. I'd be happy to list some of those if you cared

Patman

I guess it depends on the area, as I spent 4 days in the Miami area this February and I easily saw 50+ C7s during that time but I don't recall more than maybe one or two Porsches. I think I would fit in much better in Miami

thegame

C7 is heavy enough as it is

TennisFreak

After owning my Vette I can say NO I would get the Porsche.

I'm happy with my Vette but there are just small fit and finish type of things that really annoy me, typical GM stuff, that I know would not exist with the Porsche.

Creaky roof (have to constantly adjust and fiddle with it to stay quiet), cheap clear coat that scratches easy, the padding on the doors and arm rest is cheap and indents do not come out, some of the interior trim pieces on my doors are already loose in less than 2500 miles.

Right now I'd rate my happiness with the Vette at 8/10. If it were not for these small issues I'd be at a 10/10.

C7_Z06

That's really what sets them apart... the fit & finish and build quality of current Porsches are still yards ahead of the C7, IMO. I see it everyday when/if I compare my 67K Porsche to my 81K C7. The C7 has improved greatly over the previous gens but it has not surpassed yet the Porsche in terms of these aspects. As for power and performance, the C7 is surely ahead the 911 overall... although the special edition Porsches (GT3 and Turbo variants) are either on par or arguably maybe even a step ahead of the C7.

Corgidog1

To me the Porsche 911 is a super car and has been described as the "quintesential sports car", with super handling, power, and a quality build. However, I find it too boring to look at, the C7 has more of a "soul" for lack of a better words. One sees a 911 and it is just another nice car, one sees a C7 and their head turns.

baege

Here’s a bit of a different perspective from a lot of those shared here.
I don’t post this here to offend or stir the pot, but just to offer a viewpoint that might assist those cross shopping the C7 and p-cars.
I ended up owning a 2015 Corvette C7 for about 3 weeks. I contemplated that car for quite some time. Even though I was absolutely in love with my cayman 981 when I first got it, once it became the new normal, my propensity to change cars much too frequently set in and I was on the hunt.
I had a brief test drive back of the c7 in November 2013, and while the car was impressive in some respects, I certainly wasn't left with the sense that I had to have one and make the change from my 981. But as time went on and the luster of my 981 dulled, my affliction to get something new and shiny grew worse and so in January of this year I ordered a 2015 C7 specced as follows:
Lt1 with Zf1 package (z51 wheels, tires, spoiler)
artic white on black, 7 speed, performance exhaust, carbon flash painted mirrors and rear spoiler.

I picked the C7 up early June, about 3 weeks after I sold the CS. I enjoyed the first drive home, the novelty of the v8 sound and power brought me back to my youth and my days of 5.0 mustangs. But soon the differences between the CS and the C7 began to creep into my consciousness and I was beginning to realize that I wasn't enjoying the C7 as much as I enjoyed the CS. Here’s a detailed comparison from my perspective:

I put about 300 km on it in 3 weeks. I completely respected the break in period and so never floored it and never took it over 4000 rpm.

exterior aesthetics: Obviously very subjective, but I found the looks of the car in artic white with black wheels appealing enough to look back at the car when walking away. The car certainly gets loads of attention. Much more so than the cayman, and I had the 981 when it first came out. People take pictures of the C7 and slow down or catch up to get a better look. People are also much friendlier to you in the C7, people talk to you and engage you much more so than the cayman.

interior: I don't focus much on a car's interior, but there is no question in my mind that I preferred the cayman's interior look and feel and ergonomics

ride: the C7 with base suspension is actually very impressive in its suppleness and composure over bumps, definitely superior to my CS with 20 inch wheels and the stock suspension

body control and movement: the base C7's body control is not as composed as the cayman's. Its nose dives much more noticeably. But I suspect the Z51 would be quite different in this regard.

size: the C7 is noticeably bigger than the cayman in feel, even though parked side by side it doesn't look all that much bigger (aside from the large rear). I found the width of the car and its large back took away from my enjoyment of the car. I probably would have got more used to it, but somehow that big hood in front of me took away from my feeling of being connected to the road.

engine sound: The v8 sounds good with the performance exhaust. But it doesn't sound as good to me as the howl of a flat six. I found myself thinking, really this v8 doesn't sound much different than the v8 in a truck, which is enjoyable in its own right, but not as enjoyable to my ears as a flat six.

engine performance and power: the C7 really shines in this area. There is torque and power at any rpm level. You can pass at will. It's like the car is on a slingshot. It felt noticeably faster than the CS WHEN I REALLY LAYED INTO IT. As I said I never floored the car, but I did go 1/2 throttle and it moved really well with that throttle input. But at lesser throttle inputs, it actually didn't feel that much quicker than my CS. Apparently due to all the torque, GM has mapped the throttle (even in track mode), in such a way that it's not truly progressive, i.e. 25% of throttle input does not equate to 25% of engine power. This is noticeable and takes away from the engine's enjoyment. But when you lay into it, the car really does move, and that is a lot of fun.

handling/steering: in anything but sport or track mode, the steering feel and sense is pretty bad, but in track mode it is decent, and not something that is glaringly different from the cayman. The handling of the base c7 could not compare to my cayman, but I knew that going in. The base car feels more floaty, less planted. The z51 would I think offer a much better handling experience.

shift/clutch action: pretty decent actually, maybe not quite as fun as the caymans, but enjoyable and well done.

throttle response: the C7 definitely pales in comparison to the cayman in this area. I swear I could sense some lag, almost akin to a turbo (but not as evident obviously) when I hit the pedal on the C7, almost like the car's torque management system is deciding if its safe to release all that torque. The throttle was not nearly as crisp and precise as the caymans.

visibility: overall not too bad in the C7, definitely more of that sitting in a bathtub feeling than the cayman but not so bad that I would say it felt enclosed or annoying, you can't check your driver's side blind spot with a shoulder check, but I eventually got used to using the side mirror to do so.

fit and finish: I am not a great judge of things like body alignment etc, but I didn't notice anything glaring, aside from a horrible chemical smell inside the car that still existed after 3 weeks (not new car smell, but a toxic smell) and I did notice that the doors would often not close properly and had to be reshut.


Overall in the end all the little differences in the C7 added up to a noticeably less enjoyable experience than my Cayman S. When I first got my cayman, I could not get enough of the car. I literally had a grin on my face driving it and I had to talk myself out of driving it all the time. I started going for joy rides with no particular destination, which I hadn't done since I was a teenager.

None of that happened with the C7. There is no doubt it is still a very fun car to drive. But I have to say that in comparison to my cayman it still feels a little less refined, precise and buttoned down. It has a coarseness and gruffness to it. In the fine details, you feel this and you feel less connected to the car and the road. It just did not bring as much as driving joy and for me that's what a car is all about. So I’ve ordered another cayman S.

Hope this helps those considering the C7, YMMV. As you can tell from this thread, there are a lot of "euro car drivers" who seem to have a different experience with the C7 and say it doesn't offer less refinement, precision and quality than the European marques and they are quite impressed with it. For me it hasn't quite reached the levels of the Europeans and I could feel it in the finer details and subtleties, and that made it less enjoyable. For those considering the C7, if you are able to rent the car or take it for a LONG test drive do so. I didn’t notice a lot of what later didn’t work for me in the C7 in my short test drive.

cheapthrills

I'm really just not a Porsche person at all. I don't like the looks of the 911, I hate the sound and I don't want to be one of those "Porsche elite". Something about the corvette really strikes the hearts of regular Americans, it's the true dream car of so many regular people. Many hard working blue and white collar Americans seem to be good with the fact that you have achieved a Corvette. I think the Porsche gives off different vibrations which I prefer not to get into. I could have easily bought a 911, I didn't.

djpatrick35

I CAN afford a Porsche and still went with a Vette. It's just a better looking/sounding car and now with the improved interior, they can't hold that over our heads anymore. I'm just not a fan of the 911's looks.

Now, I'd also rather get a loaded Cayman GTS or GT4 over a 911, but still would choose the Vette. That GT4 tugged on my heart strings more than any 911 ever did before it and might consider it for the next round of purchases (if they ever make one again). I think I would have a harder time switching over from a Cayman than a 911. I like the looks of a Cayman much more than 911s. I'm also not a fan of the exhaust notes of Flat-6s. It's not that I'm a diehard V8 guy, either. I rather like the Inline-6 in my BMW, but I love my Corvette. That said, they really should have put a luxury package with some damn additional sound deadener in the C7.

C'mon guys. You're like 98% there!