i find it helpful. with the 986 2.5L, i never (thought that i) needed it, because you HAVE to be in the right gear, else you have no umph. i find it easy to know which gear you're in just based on the feel and sounds of the car. with the GTS 3.4L and Spyder 4.0L, both with 6 speed, there is such a huge overlap in gearing and enough torque that you can often be in 2nd, 3rd or 4th and get away with most casual intentions without shifting. in this case, i do find myself glancing at the gear indicator in the dash just to confirm where i'm at.
as for the congrats comment. thank you. i had several nice interactions on the car while in yosemite. one especially friendly and enthusiastic porsche owner wrapped up with "congratulations." i initially felt a little strange about the comment, but realize that we're in strange times and the car is hard to get. i do feel very lucky (in many ways) to be driving this car.
as for driving impressions, it's like dr. jekyll and mr. hyde. sorry to say this, but it's comfortable, within reason. the spyder is on PS4S, comfort pressure, and 2 way sofa seats, and it's certainly as comfortable and quiet as the similarly configured '16 GTS. i drove >400 miles in 2 days and feel great. great cruiser! but when the time is right and you want to be a bit more spirited - BOOM! if you're familiar with old priest grade, zip zip zip and we're on top. effortless. fun. i was keeping an extra eye out for big rocks in the road, which i regularly come across on this route. and i found one in the middle of my lane, with short notice. pretty certain that it would have ruined my day if i went over it...zip, zip...the car just danced around it. amazing. i did goose it in the long tunnel and it wasn't as obnoxious as the GTS, but i find the sound on the Spyder to be good (it's also dr. j/mr. h). stupid expensive stereo - i got it, and i'm happy that i did. you can listen loud and you can listen quiet...sounds good either way and the car and wind don't drown it out, or vice versa. top - also fine. the manual intervention is no real difference from doing the chop on the plastic window of the 986. i don't currently plan to take the spyder to the track, so i can only comment further on cruising, but feel free to ask me anything.
if you're bored: [
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