Oh definitely, I will not even consider a tiptronic 996 no matter how cheap nor what mods it has. I think with a few cosmetic changes, the 996 can be brought up to look very nice. Most of that includes a GT2 front bumper and fixed rear wing as well as some new wheels.
You are right about road feel, I always felt like Porsches have a unique feel over any other car out there and I love that.
Here are some GT2s, the turbo would look exactly the same with the GT2 bumper and wing. Definitely looks more up to date than the stock turbo body (but I still love it)