Porsche Experience Centre - 718 Boxster, Cayman and S
Discussion
Hello!
I was lucky enough to be invited to a Driving Event at Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone to try out the relatively recently released 718 Boxster, Boxster S, Cayman and Cayman S last week.
I thought I’d record the Experience Day before I forget, as well as give a verdict on the cars. My first time writing about cars so apologies if I miss some important details, and apologies if this is too long. Any feedback is welcome and I can always edit this post. The purpose of this post is to give you some insider knowledge of Porsche’s Experience Days (which can be bought separately or comped if you’re buying car from an OPC), as well as give some high-level feedback on the cars.
Just to clarify if you didn't already know (I certainly didn’t before I received the invitation), Porsche have an area next to Silverstone Circuit – but within the Silverstone grounds – so all the driving takes place not on, but next to, the famous track. The plan for the day was to drive each of the four cars on 3x dry courses and 3x wet/skid control areas. I ended up trying out 5 of the 6 areas as one of them is just a high-speed straight which I wasn’t too interested in. The format of the afternoon was to spend 20-25 minutes in each car, trying out the various courses in each. All were accompanied by a professional driver who gave tips and feedback throughout the afternoon.
The Event started with a short presentation about how good the new 718s are, and also how similar they are to the original 718(!). The cynic in me wasn’t buying the marketing line. However, they did go on to explain why this car was better than the 981 (which I agree it is, on paper) and addressed the point about exhaust noise (which was described as “subjective”). Then we were onto the track to be introduced to our accompanying instructors for the afternoon. Nice to meet you, Simon. I tried out the Boxster, Boxster S and Cayman. We didn’t quite get to try the Cayman S as planned which I’ll explain below.
Dry tracks
The two dry tracks were a little narrow (only around two lanes wide) so you didn’t have much flexibility for speed/angle. Had to go quite slow throughout the track and it didn’t really get the adrenaline pumping (except for the first corner which I took too quickly and ended up tail-sliding on the way out due to heavy braking part-way through the turn). One track had a longer straight but you were still forced to brake early for the subsequent tight turn. Max speed that I could get to on the track was probably around 60-70mph… I got the sense you could hit some B-roads harder if you had good visibility and line of sight for oncoming traffic.
Wet/skid sections
The three skid control areas were much more interesting. One was a “kick plate” – literally a metal plate that you drove through which would suddenly shift the rear of the car left or right (at random) and you had to counter-steer on the following wet surface to control the car again. That was a good test of skill and I was surprised by how quickly I picked it up (which built my confidence).
Another was a slippery hill (using water pumps and a glossy surface) which you had to slalom uphill and control the car on. The idea of this one was that you were forced to keep your foot down in order to carry on up the slope, so you were forced to powerslide through the slip. Again good fun but I did spin the car once traction control was fully off – just so hard to find the balancing point!
The last skid control element was a dry, short track with around 6 or 7 corners which had been diamond cut for smoothness. It was good fun drifting through the turns, however, I was caught out when the smooth surface ran out (and I was still going sideways) and I spun out and was propelled into the grass on the side (no barriers on this track for obvious reasons!). We then got stuck in the grass and had to be towed out by a Cayenne, which mean losing the car-swap slot and missing out on driving the Cayman S.
The cars
All in all a great afternoon of driving.
The 718 Boxster and Cayman (and respective Ss) are very nice cars. I think the issue is the lack of pitch in the engine (the sound gets louder but not higher, and can sound a little flat or “droney”). Acceleration certainly feels rapid for a mid-range sports car, and low-down in the rev range there is a good push – like a turbo-diesel which is what I’m used toI’m used to Mercedes, so the steering in the 718s was a lot heavier than what I’m used to (which in turn is way too light to begin with).
There was great steering feel and I knew exactly where the wheels were (even if I did spin the car a couple of times). One of the cars I drove had ceramic brakes. Afterwards when we switched back to a car without them, the braking feel felt unnaturally soft, almost like I’d overheated the brakes (which may have been the case, but the instructor said it’s probably just the drop down from ceramic to steel). So I think in terms of braking confidence I would spec the ceramics.
In terms of “normal” vs “S” models, I have to say I’d go for the S. You do get enough power with the normal models for everyday use, but who wants “enough”? The S models put the “S” in exESS, and I like that.
Verdict
If I had the money, I think I would still save c20%-25% and go for a 981 for the drama of the exhaust noise. Knowing me, I would then probably kick myself every time I saw a 718 driving past and wish I had bought the latest model.
Any questions, please let me know.
Thanks
Chris
I was lucky enough to be invited to a Driving Event at Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone to try out the relatively recently released 718 Boxster, Boxster S, Cayman and Cayman S last week.
I thought I’d record the Experience Day before I forget, as well as give a verdict on the cars. My first time writing about cars so apologies if I miss some important details, and apologies if this is too long. Any feedback is welcome and I can always edit this post. The purpose of this post is to give you some insider knowledge of Porsche’s Experience Days (which can be bought separately or comped if you’re buying car from an OPC), as well as give some high-level feedback on the cars.
Just to clarify if you didn't already know (I certainly didn’t before I received the invitation), Porsche have an area next to Silverstone Circuit – but within the Silverstone grounds – so all the driving takes place not on, but next to, the famous track. The plan for the day was to drive each of the four cars on 3x dry courses and 3x wet/skid control areas. I ended up trying out 5 of the 6 areas as one of them is just a high-speed straight which I wasn’t too interested in. The format of the afternoon was to spend 20-25 minutes in each car, trying out the various courses in each. All were accompanied by a professional driver who gave tips and feedback throughout the afternoon.
The Event started with a short presentation about how good the new 718s are, and also how similar they are to the original 718(!). The cynic in me wasn’t buying the marketing line. However, they did go on to explain why this car was better than the 981 (which I agree it is, on paper) and addressed the point about exhaust noise (which was described as “subjective”). Then we were onto the track to be introduced to our accompanying instructors for the afternoon. Nice to meet you, Simon. I tried out the Boxster, Boxster S and Cayman. We didn’t quite get to try the Cayman S as planned which I’ll explain below.
Dry tracks
The two dry tracks were a little narrow (only around two lanes wide) so you didn’t have much flexibility for speed/angle. Had to go quite slow throughout the track and it didn’t really get the adrenaline pumping (except for the first corner which I took too quickly and ended up tail-sliding on the way out due to heavy braking part-way through the turn). One track had a longer straight but you were still forced to brake early for the subsequent tight turn. Max speed that I could get to on the track was probably around 60-70mph… I got the sense you could hit some B-roads harder if you had good visibility and line of sight for oncoming traffic.
Wet/skid sections
The three skid control areas were much more interesting. One was a “kick plate” – literally a metal plate that you drove through which would suddenly shift the rear of the car left or right (at random) and you had to counter-steer on the following wet surface to control the car again. That was a good test of skill and I was surprised by how quickly I picked it up (which built my confidence).
Another was a slippery hill (using water pumps and a glossy surface) which you had to slalom uphill and control the car on. The idea of this one was that you were forced to keep your foot down in order to carry on up the slope, so you were forced to powerslide through the slip. Again good fun but I did spin the car once traction control was fully off – just so hard to find the balancing point!
The last skid control element was a dry, short track with around 6 or 7 corners which had been diamond cut for smoothness. It was good fun drifting through the turns, however, I was caught out when the smooth surface ran out (and I was still going sideways) and I spun out and was propelled into the grass on the side (no barriers on this track for obvious reasons!). We then got stuck in the grass and had to be towed out by a Cayenne, which mean losing the car-swap slot and missing out on driving the Cayman S.
The cars
All in all a great afternoon of driving.
The 718 Boxster and Cayman (and respective Ss) are very nice cars. I think the issue is the lack of pitch in the engine (the sound gets louder but not higher, and can sound a little flat or “droney”). Acceleration certainly feels rapid for a mid-range sports car, and low-down in the rev range there is a good push – like a turbo-diesel which is what I’m used toI’m used to Mercedes, so the steering in the 718s was a lot heavier than what I’m used to (which in turn is way too light to begin with).
There was great steering feel and I knew exactly where the wheels were (even if I did spin the car a couple of times). One of the cars I drove had ceramic brakes. Afterwards when we switched back to a car without them, the braking feel felt unnaturally soft, almost like I’d overheated the brakes (which may have been the case, but the instructor said it’s probably just the drop down from ceramic to steel). So I think in terms of braking confidence I would spec the ceramics.
In terms of “normal” vs “S” models, I have to say I’d go for the S. You do get enough power with the normal models for everyday use, but who wants “enough”? The S models put the “S” in exESS, and I like that.
Verdict
If I had the money, I think I would still save c20%-25% and go for a 981 for the drama of the exhaust noise. Knowing me, I would then probably kick myself every time I saw a 718 driving past and wish I had bought the latest model.
Any questions, please let me know.
Thanks
Chris
I was fortunate enough to be invited to the same experience day last week, and agree with most of your views. I have a 981 S Boxster at the moment and having driven the 718, would buy one if l had the money. I don't think the engine noise is worse, just different. Yes the flat six sounds great from 6000rpm and up, but how often does that happen with the ridiculous gearing they have. The extra low down torque more than makes up for it imho. I would say you missed out not doing the acceleration and braking runs. The launch control is impressive, but more impressive was the car's ability to change lanes whilst braking hard from 70mph. And on another run to brake hard from 70mph with both hands off the wheel. The PSM (I think it stands for, Please save me) is amazing and I'd spec it on my next car without hesitation. If any others on here receive a similar invite, do accept; even the food is good.
Good point re the gearing - you'd need to be doing around 50mph in 1st to get the nice sound out of it.
Also completely agree on the PSM - I was doing ok with it turned on, as soon as it was off I was spinning everywhere!
Interesting to hear such views from a current 981 owner - I always thought current owners would look down on the 718!
Also completely agree on the PSM - I was doing ok with it turned on, as soon as it was off I was spinning everywhere!
Interesting to hear such views from a current 981 owner - I always thought current owners would look down on the 718!
Good write up - thanks
Slightly OT, I have a voucher (Chrissie prezzy) for the "normal experience" and was thinking about trading it up (haven't asked yet, but I suspect you can) to the "GT experience"
http://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/p...
Bearing in mind what you say about the tracks, do you think they would make the GT cars really shine, or would they be so competent as to be relatively unexciting?
Slightly OT, I have a voucher (Chrissie prezzy
) for the "normal experience" and was thinking about trading it up (haven't asked yet, but I suspect you can) to the "GT experience"http://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/p...
Bearing in mind what you say about the tracks, do you think they would make the GT cars really shine, or would they be so competent as to be relatively unexciting?
OldChap said:
The launch control is impressive, but more impressive was the car's ability to change lanes whilst braking hard from 70mph. And on another run to brake hard from 70mph with both hands off the wheel. The PSM (I think it stands for, Please save me) is amazing and I'd spec it on my next car without hesitation. If any others on here receive a similar invite, do accept; even the food is good.
PSM is standard on both the 981 and 718 and I'm not aware of any significant differences. You can get away with swerving while standing on the anchors on the 981 just the same - indeed to say "get away with it" is misleading, it feels like a complete non-event. Good to know as I would never have risked it on the road or track had it not been shown it at the PEC.MM57 said:
Good write up - thanks
Slightly OT, I have a voucher (Chrissie prezzy) for the "normal experience" and was thinking about trading it up (haven't asked yet, but I suspect you can) to the "GT experience"
http://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/p...
Bearing in mind what you say about the tracks, do you think they would make the GT cars really shine, or would they be so competent as to be relatively unexciting?
IMHO you wouldn't get the most out of those cars on the two tracks that Porsche have at the Centre. Maybe worth giving them a call and asking the question to see how they respond. Slightly OT, I have a voucher (Chrissie prezzy
) for the "normal experience" and was thinking about trading it up (haven't asked yet, but I suspect you can) to the "GT experience"http://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/p...
Bearing in mind what you say about the tracks, do you think they would make the GT cars really shine, or would they be so competent as to be relatively unexciting?
Obviously it's always more fun in a more powerful car but I think you'll just be left frustrated by the lack of width and length on the track - you probably won't even need full throttle in those cars unless you're Lewis Hamilton.
Relatively speaking I don't think you'll get the value of the additional cost vs a Boxster or Cayman I think as they're competent enough for the track available. But that could be down to my limited ability, so worth asking the centre directly!
I was also at the 718 experience last week. I spent 90% of the time on the two main tracks with a bit of launch control and kick plate, I didn't go on the hill or low friction track. I loved the time on the two main tracks and there is a fair variety of different corners with a couple of particular tricky ones to get perfect. But I definitely improved, mainly through becoming more confident on where the limits were and realising that even if pushed too hard the oversteer (or understeer) could be easily accommodated.
The cars were great. I thought the base 718 was more than quick enough for road use (comparable to my 981S), the engine noise was not an issue at this event (too busy concertraiting on lines/brake points to notice).
Did this make me want to trade in my 981 for a 718 - No, it just made me appreciate how great these cars are, I'm more than happy with the 981.
The cars were great. I thought the base 718 was more than quick enough for road use (comparable to my 981S), the engine noise was not an issue at this event (too busy concertraiting on lines/brake points to notice).
Did this make me want to trade in my 981 for a 718 - No, it just made me appreciate how great these cars are, I'm more than happy with the 981.
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