RE: Driven: Porsche Cayman R
Discussion
Porscheplayer said:
Owned both and don't agree.
911 is still the better drive imo, you're right, it might not feel as nimble, but the 911 is more interactive, plus you have to drive the 911 a certain way to get the best out of it, the Cayman offers best of breed steering and handling (or used to until the Evora), but once you get use to it, it's a bit boring imo. I probably wouldn't buy another Cayman, but would buy a 911. My wife prefers the Cayman over the 911; I can see why, its sooo balanced and easy to drive fast.
I have also owned both. My opinion is that I never got bored with the balance and handling of the Cayman S, it is very nimble and adjustable on and over the limit. Lack of LSD was annoying for me on my gen1, and it wasn't loud or fast enough standard. I stuck a tubi on it and it transformed the car, sounded mad and got rid of the flat spot in the mid range. It still could've coped with another 100bhp n/a power easily, and I agree a GT3 motor would be perfect for it.911 is still the better drive imo, you're right, it might not feel as nimble, but the 911 is more interactive, plus you have to drive the 911 a certain way to get the best out of it, the Cayman offers best of breed steering and handling (or used to until the Evora), but once you get use to it, it's a bit boring imo. I probably wouldn't buy another Cayman, but would buy a 911. My wife prefers the Cayman over the 911; I can see why, its sooo balanced and easy to drive fast.
However, I now have a GT3, and although very different, overall as a road only car I still rate the cayman s. Track is completely different and the GT3 is king there, but it's a lot more serious, the limits are much higher, and you're travelling much faster. Defo takes more time and thiught to master the 911, whereas you get in a cayman S and it feels intuitive to drive quick. GT3 is just an angry bugger trying to kill you with the TCS off!
Edited by S1MMA on Wednesday 2nd March 17:07
S1MMA said:
I have also owned both. My opinion is that I never got bored with the balance and handling of the Cayman S, it is very nimble and adjustable on and over the limit. Lack of LSD was annoying for me on my gen1, and it wasn't loud or fast enough standard. I stuck a tubi on it and it transformed the car, sounded mad and got rid of the flat spot in the mid range. It still could've coped with another 100bhp n/a power easily, and I agree a GT3 motor would be perfect for it.
However, I now have a GT3, and although very different, overall as a road only car I still rate the cayman s. Track is completely different and the GT3 is king there, but it's a lot more serious, the limits are much higher, and you're travelling much faster. Defo takes more time and thiught to master the 911, whereas you get in a cayman S and it feels intuitive to drive quick. GT3 is just an angry bugger trying to kill you with the TCS off!
Slightly O/T - they look like slicks on your GT3! Are you allowed to run them in Dubai? I suppose the likelihood of rain is (Bernie's crazy plans aside) pretty low.However, I now have a GT3, and although very different, overall as a road only car I still rate the cayman s. Track is completely different and the GT3 is king there, but it's a lot more serious, the limits are much higher, and you're travelling much faster. Defo takes more time and thiught to master the 911, whereas you get in a cayman S and it feels intuitive to drive quick. GT3 is just an angry bugger trying to kill you with the TCS off!
Kong said:
I am by no means a huge Porsche fan. But this by some distance best all-round sports car you can buy.
Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
We will have to see how quick this car is around the 'ring but it should be the first production 987 to do it in under 8 minutes.Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
menguin said:
Slightly O/T - they look like slicks on your GT3! Are you allowed to run them in Dubai? I suppose the likelihood of rain is (Bernie's crazy plans aside) pretty low.
Hello. I'm running on Michelin Pilot Cup Sports, not slicks. There is a kind of MOT that cars have to go through here each year, where they check tread depths etc... mine failed on tyres. Quick chat with the head local guy and all clear. I think running slicks on the road here would be pushing it a bit, but plod and the like probably arent that bothered about it. Rarely get rain here, and when we do get a shower it's dry after a couple of hours especially in summer.450Nick said:
Why oh why can't they just give the Cayman the assets it deserves? IMHO the Cayman chassis has far more potential than the 911 and looks better too. Stick a proper twin turbo 3.8 in it from the 911 Turbo, give it some wide rubber, bigger brakes, a proper limited slip diff - maybe even 4 wheel drive and the Cayman would wipe the floor with any 911. Why must it always be kept as the 'second tier' model??
LOL. Even if 4wd was a good idea (which it isn't), there's the small matter of the gearbox being BEHIND the engine so you can't make it 4wd even if you want to.Kong said:
I am by no means a huge Porsche fan. But this by some distance best all-round sports car you can buy.
Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
I'm a new kid on this PH block, but completely agree with what you're saying. We all know the Cayman will always sit below the 911 in terms or power - you just need to enjoy it for what it is. A sweet handling/sounding/balanced/practical/pretty and reliable sports car that has all the power you'll really need for the road (and the capabilities to embarrass a lot of metal out there).Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
This thing gets a thumbs up from me!
I don't think it's bad value at all at £51k considering its got £800s worth of diff, the tasty buckets and std 19in rims. You can put the radio back in for free and £1000 reclaims the air con, which any sane buyer would do - the weight saving is neither here nor there, this is a road car not a race car, and I bet you'd be crucified at resale time without.
I've driven this thing in Germany and it's great, best standard Boxster/Cayman I've tried, but the ride is going to feel very firm on UK roads. It's certainly no cut price GT3 but it makes a boggo 911 Carrera look dubious value
I've driven this thing in Germany and it's great, best standard Boxster/Cayman I've tried, but the ride is going to feel very firm on UK roads. It's certainly no cut price GT3 but it makes a boggo 911 Carrera look dubious value
salmonface said:
Kong said:
I am by no means a huge Porsche fan. But this by some distance best all-round sports car you can buy.
Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
I'm a new kid on this PH block, but completely agree with what you're saying. We all know the Cayman will always sit below the 911 in terms or power - you just need to enjoy it for what it is. A sweet handling/sounding/balanced/practical/pretty and reliable sports car that has all the power you'll really need for the road (and the capabilities to embarrass a lot of metal out there).Before people with their 1996 lotus elises start moaning about the weight, i think 1,295kg is light. For a modern car, with all the luxuries, safety equipment, solid build quality and not to mention a 6 cylinder engine - i don't think that's bad at all.
330bhp in a 1295kg sports car is plenty, this thing would destroy an E46 M3 in a straight line and waste it even more round the bends.
This is a car which you can use every day, has a high quality interior, will be reliable, get 30mpg, goes like stink and stick a sports exhaust to make it sound superb. Plus its a Porsche (if that's your thing!)
This thing gets a thumbs up from me!
RobM77 said:
That's more or less what I thought from reading about the Cayman, which is why a few years ago I put aside £50k and went and test drove a standard Cayman S. I was very dissapointed at the lack of feedback the car gave me; I was too much of a passenger for my tastes. At the recommendation of someone from PH I then tried another Cayman S at another dealership, but found the same result. Sure, the controls were accurate, and the ride and handling fantastic, but I wasn't involved with any feedback as such. Also, the variable ratio steering and laggy throttle were really starting to annoy me by the second test drive - I thought I'd just get used to them. I spent the money on a better house in the end, but if I was in that position again I'd be going straight to Lotus to buy an Evora. In my opinion, the Evora is uglier, isn't built as well, doesn't have as good a layout from an engineering dynamics point of view (V6 vs F6), doesn't sound as good and and it's obviously a bit slower, but in my opinion a sports car simply has to offer feedback and linear responses otherwise it's a complete waste of time. I respect the Cayman for what it is, but ultimately it's not my sort of car and making it lighter and louder won't make any difference to my opinion!
Hi Rob, don't disagree with this post at all. The Evora is in my opinion a nicer car to drive overall, and I think it will still be better than this version of the Cayman.I have though read your comments about the non linear steering on the Cayman before and am continually surprised by this. The Evora may offer more feedback, which is nice if thats your thing but I cannot say I noticed any difference at all in accuracy or linearity of the racks.
I got out of one straight into another so I'm not saying that from having driven one and then the other seperated by some time.
Mikeyboy said:
RobM77 said:
That's more or less what I thought from reading about the Cayman, which is why a few years ago I put aside £50k and went and test drove a standard Cayman S. I was very dissapointed at the lack of feedback the car gave me; I was too much of a passenger for my tastes. At the recommendation of someone from PH I then tried another Cayman S at another dealership, but found the same result. Sure, the controls were accurate, and the ride and handling fantastic, but I wasn't involved with any feedback as such. Also, the variable ratio steering and laggy throttle were really starting to annoy me by the second test drive - I thought I'd just get used to them. I spent the money on a better house in the end, but if I was in that position again I'd be going straight to Lotus to buy an Evora. In my opinion, the Evora is uglier, isn't built as well, doesn't have as good a layout from an engineering dynamics point of view (V6 vs F6), doesn't sound as good and and it's obviously a bit slower, but in my opinion a sports car simply has to offer feedback and linear responses otherwise it's a complete waste of time. I respect the Cayman for what it is, but ultimately it's not my sort of car and making it lighter and louder won't make any difference to my opinion!
Hi Rob, don't disagree with this post at all. The Evora is in my opinion a nicer car to drive overall, and I think it will still be better than this version of the Cayman.I have though read your comments about the non linear steering on the Cayman before and am continually surprised by this. The Evora may offer more feedback, which is nice if thats your thing but I cannot say I noticed any difference at all in accuracy or linearity of the racks.
I got out of one straight into another so I'm not saying that from having driven one and then the other seperated by some time.
I guess the thing for me is that £50k is a lot of money, so I want a car costing that high proportion of my salary to be near perfect. For many Cayman owners it's just another car, like as if I was going to spend £20k on a new MX5 (not that I would, but you see my point). The truth is I probably wouldn't buy an Evora, because again it's not perfect. I'm expecting the new line of Lotuses will improve further, so have my eye on one of those instead, and in the meantime I will be keeping my eye on Porsche - I'd dearly love to own one one day as I respect the company so much.
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