I had a '92 NSX I no longer own (wish I hadn't sold it). Yesterday I test drove a 993, 996 and two Boxsters at my local Porsche dealer. For the thousands of times I've admired a passing 993 or looked through brochures, I never thought I'd hear myself say, "This just isn't what I'm looking for". I had even driven one before buying my NSX and thought is was great. I guess times change what you expect. I was very disappointed in the 993 yesterday. First of all it didn't fit well. The seats were low and the cushioning didn't feel that great -- a little too soft. The unadjustable steering wheel was high. It was loud inside. Ride and handling felt OK. But the worst part was it's power delivery. To me it just felt slow. You could rev the hell out it in first but then the 1-2 shift wasn't smooth. It made me realize technology marches on and the 993 is an old car.
The Boxsters were '97 and '99 2.5s, not the new 2.7 or 3.2S. They handled OK but their shifter felt mediocre and the chassis flex, cowl shake and steering wheel shake was an unexpected surprise. Also these 2.5 had little power, subjectively. The '99 had a horrible clutch, difficult to drive smoothly. The '97 was more like I expected. Makes me concerned about the consistency of these cars.
Then I drove a 1999 996. Very nice car. Great shifter, as good as an NSX. Great A/C (here in 110 degree Dallas, that's important). Good seating position, semi adjustable steering wheel (in & out, better than nothing but not as good as tilt and in & out like NSX). Nice power delivery but not as much power I expected. Seats were the non-sport normal. They were tight on my middle and upper back (I'm normally built 5.8). I got used to it but I wanted to open them up a little. Not as good as the NSX seats in my opinion. Steering had sharper turn in than my NSX had, that was nice. A thoroughly refined contemporary sports/GT car. I would be happy owning one.
I thought my NSX didn't have enough power when I got on it and was disappointed. My surprise was these cars didn't blow me away either. I just expected more "push" from cars of this calibre. Maybe their real purpose is high speed, above the street and highway driving I did. My NSX was as good (damn!). Next I have to try a BMW M Roadster and see if it's power delivery is what I'm looking for.
My biggest surprise of the day came when I got back into my everyday '99 New Beetle Turbo (with Garrett chip). I pulled out onto the road and exclaimed, "My God, this car feels FAST!" Maybe it's the lighter weight, the chip, and power delivery characteristics with more low to midrange torque, but in comparison to the Porsches I drove, it felt like it wanted to go. Made me feel good.
Back to NSX's, I felt after my test drives that except for the 996 (where they're about equal), NSX's have it all over the Porsche's in terms of what I think it takes to be a fun driving car in the type of driving I do most. Maybe one is a little better than the other on the track but so what? The 996 is more versatile -- I could fit my two kids in the back and take the whole family to a Porsche club event. The NSX driving position with its Panoramic view of the road is just the best. It's a real sports car. I really screwed up when I sold mine.
Now my question is what does a 97+ NSX feel like with it's 6-speed and more power? Do NSX-T's have the chassis and cowl shake like the Boxsters (it wasn't a lot of shake but noticeable)? That would drive me nuts.