Cayman GTS

[SkinnyP]

Goofnik said:

RBT0 said:

What a horrible old steering wheel? Don't think it is available for normal customers, isn't it?

That's the multifunction leather steering wheel.

It is an uggo. That's why we're seeing the 918 Spyder wheel being rolled out in model refreshes and in the Macan -- it's a multifunction wheel AND it's pretty.

Edited by Goofnik on Wednesday 3rd September 01:51

I like it tbh, if I were speccing a new Porsche I think I'd go for the multifunction wheel too.

[Budweiser]

isuk said:

We collected ours yesterday and I'm really pleased I spec'ed Carmine red. There was a Guards red Cayman with the black painted wheels at the dealer so it gave a great comparison. It was sad to see the 987 R go off to a new home this morning but I got some photo's of it alongside it's replacement last night.

Looks great, enjoy. Like others I will be interested to hear your views on the R and GTS. I decided on Guards having seen Carmine on a GTS Cayenne which I didn't like but it's all down to your own taste. Also couldn't, and still don't, understand how they can justify charging £1500 (approx) for it?

Was there a particular reason for not specifying the carbon brakes? I my case it was money...

Such a great looking car...

[isuk]

It's my other half who drove the R and who will mainly use the GTS. She loved it, as did I, and we we were both a bit sad to see it depart this morning. I haven't driven the new car yet myself so can't comment on it for now. I'm expecting it to be a great car but not as focused as the R. I'm keenly awaiting the next Cayman variant already discussed in another thread which looks like it will be the new R model. The 987R was a fantastic package and I had thought about keeping it long term as I think they are destined to become classics of the future but had my head turned by the little Italian car below which is a huge amount of fun but not in the same league dynamically as the Porsche though strangely that just adds to it's appeal. It's a lot less polished in the handling department but exceptionally quick and very reminiscent of the Scuderia I had.

[Lox]

Nice fleet!

[Budweiser]

Guards Red, no cost colour...

[isuk]

Carmine red from a similar angle. You can see how much darker it is than Guards red by the way the tail lights contrast on the lighter red. Carmine is like Ferrari's Rosso Corsa while Guards is like Rosso Scuderia with more of an orange tone to it. I've had previous Porsches in Guards red and agree they are taking the proverbial by charging Carmine as a special cost paint but it will doubtless be rare as a result so I'm happy

[Zyp]

isuk said:

It's my other half who drove the R and who will mainly use the GTS. She loved it, as did I, and we we were both a bit sad to see it depart this morning. I haven't driven the new car yet myself so can't comment on it for now. I'm expecting it to be a great car but not as focused as the R. I'm keenly awaiting the next Cayman variant already discussed in another thread which looks like it will be the new R model. The 987R was a fantastic package and I had thought about keeping it long term as I think they are destined to become classics of the future but had my head turned by the little Italian car below which is a huge amount of fun but not in the same league dynamically as the Porsche though strangely that just adds to it's appeal. It's a lot less polished in the handling department but exceptionally quick and very reminiscent of the Scuderia I had.

Right then.... This here 4C you have...

Would I be mad to swap my Spyder for one?
My local dealer keeps ringing me... and it's getting tempting for the new year.

As the Spyder, it'll just be a weekender as a new M3 is on its way shortly.

Your thoughts much appreciated.

[Budweiser]

isuk said:

Carmine red from a similar angle. You can see how much darker it is than Guards red by the way the tail lights contrast on the lighter red. Carmine is like Ferrari's Rosso Corsa while Guards is like Rosso Scuderia with more of an orange tone to it. I've had previous Porsches in Guards red and agree they are taking the proverbial by charging Carmine as a special cost paint but it will doubtless be rare as a result so I'm happy

It does look fantastic on the Cayman I must say...

[av185]

Zyp said:

isuk said:

It's my other half who drove the R and who will mainly use the GTS. She loved it, as did I, and we we were both a bit sad to see it depart this morning. I haven't driven the new car yet myself so can't comment on it for now. I'm expecting it to be a great car but not as focused as the R. I'm keenly awaiting the next Cayman variant already discussed in another thread which looks like it will be the new R model. The 987R was a fantastic package and I had thought about keeping it long term as I think they are destined to become classics of the future but had my head turned by the little Italian car below which is a huge amount of fun but not in the same league dynamically as the Porsche though strangely that just adds to it's appeal. It's a lot less polished in the handling department but exceptionally quick and very reminiscent of the Scuderia I had.

Right then.... This here 4C you have...

Would I be mad to swap my Spyder for one?
My local dealer keeps ringing me... and it's getting tempting for the new year.

As the Spyder, it'll just be a weekender as a new M3 is on its way shortly.

Your thoughts much appreciated.

Didn't Evo have some fairly 'controversial' thoughts on the 4C included in their Ecoty 2013.......just their unbiased subjective views of course........

[Budweiser]

But still loving the Guards Red ;-))

[isuk]

Without a doubt the Porsche is a much better engineered car than the 4C. The decision on which best suits depends on how you use the car really. The 4C is a huge amount of fun but much rawer and nowhere near as polished a performer as the spyder. It is surprisingly rapid up to 3 figure speeds and with the race exhaust sounds far better than a blown 4 cylinder lump has any right to. The cabin is pretty noisy due the combination of a carbon tub and minimal sound deadening material which are both required to keep the weight in check. It can sound quite boomy at average motorway speeds as the racing exhaust can drone from around 2.5 to 3k revs but above or below this it's fine. Rear vision isn't a strong point due to the angle of the rear window and Alfa's decision to fit tinted glass to it. This combination results in a dark tinted letterbox sized slot in the rear view mirror but you can at least see the roof of cars behind you in it The large door mirrors help to compensate. The dual clutch gearbox is pretty good but not up to the slickness of the current generation of PDK. In Dynamic mode if will give you thump in the back during upshifts if you keep the throttle pinned. Lift off whilst the shift takes place and you smooth the change. It's very like the F1 box in the 430 Scuderia in that regard.

The front end can be a bit of a handful at times as a result of the lack of power assisted steering and will follow cambers and ruts in the road that you just wouldn't feel in the Porsche. That can either be a big plus or a big negative depending upon your preferences. It also means you have to concentrate on poorly surfaced roads or it will wander off centre. That can be tiring if you are not in the mood but then would you drive a car like this if your intention was to cruise to a destination on auto pilot as most modern cars will let you do.

There is no real turbo lag to speak of and a fairly meaty lump of torque from low down that is aided by the lack of weight. That is something you really notice in the car, the feeling that it is light and agile compared to a lot of other sports cars.

I love it and enjoy every drive. The build quality and panel fit is very good considering it's a low volume car made from composite materials. The doors shut with a pleasing thunk and there are no rattles or bits falling off. Being built in Modena by Maserati has paid dividends in that regard. I've had a couple of Gran Turismos and the build quality on those was also very good. The quality of the plastics in the cabin is way down on those used by Porsche but who seriously cares about that in this type of car. You have a whole carbon tub to look at that is very well finished and proper aluminium pedals. It is functional but nowhere near as spartan as a Lotus Elise/Exige and has a very good TFT display that has a junior Ferrari/Lambo look to it. It looks very low and wide on the road from either the front or rear but is actually very short. The front is low but I've not yet had any problems over speed humps etc.

If you can get a test drive in one (likely difficult as I don't think dealers have demos) it's well worth trying but make sure you get to drive it for at least half an hour so you can recalibrate your own driving style and get the best from the car. It is wide but I've never found it difficult to thread through some narrow roads in the Cotswolds etc. Styling is always subjective but for me it wins that particular contest hands down with it's junior Ferrari styling. It's the closest thing I think we'll ever see to a modern day Dino. For me the car is a keeper.

This review by Chris Harris is very fair and well worth a watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwawx4zaMg

[Zyp]

Thanks for that great comprehensive reply - much appreciated.

I've read most of the road tests and reports, and understand it's no Porsche, but much better to get an owners pov.
I've had an Exige before and almost bought another earlier this year, but the passing of time and creaky joints (mine, not the cars) means ingress/egress on the Exige makes it an almost certain no go.

I've had a sit in the 4C and didn't find it a problem, but I guess I'm going to need a drive to be sure I can live with it.

[isuk]

I think the 4C is a much easier car to live with daily than the Lotus and is somewhere in between the Exige and the Cayman in that regard. It's relatively easy to get into and the ride quality is not too far off the Cayman R.

[Zyp]

And with the ride quality of the Spyder on par with the CR, I can live with that.

Your front number plate (or lack of), no problems from the BiB so far?
My dealer has had very small stick on ones made for a few customers - like they said, seems a shame to fit the ugly backing plate!

[mrdemon]

There was one at lei OPC sat Zyp, the guy wanted to swap it for a cayman.

Maybe a deal done if Leicester get it, you can part ex your Spyder for it.

The front lights are quite unpleasant , he said the euro cars how have he option for normal lights.

[edo]

isuk said:

Without a doubt the Porsche is a much better engineered car than the 4C. The decision on which best suits depends on how you use the car really. The 4C is a huge amount of fun but much rawer and nowhere near as polished a performer as the spyder. It is surprisingly rapid up to 3 figure speeds and with the race exhaust sounds far better than a blown 4 cylinder lump has any right to. The cabin is pretty noisy due the combination of a carbon tub and minimal sound deadening material which are both required to keep the weight in check. It can sound quite boomy at average motorway speeds as the racing exhaust can drone from around 2.5 to 3k revs but above or below this it's fine. Rear vision isn't a strong point due to the angle of the rear window and Alfa's decision to fit tinted glass to it. This combination results in a dark tinted letterbox sized slot in the rear view mirror but you can at least see the roof of cars behind you in it The large door mirrors help to compensate. The dual clutch gearbox is pretty good but not up to the slickness of the current generation of PDK. In Dynamic mode if will give you thump in the back during upshifts if you keep the throttle pinned. Lift off whilst the shift takes place and you smooth the change. It's very like the F1 box in the 430 Scuderia in that regard.

The front end can be a bit of a handful at times as a result of the lack of power assisted steering and will follow cambers and ruts in the road that you just wouldn't feel in the Porsche. That can either be a big plus or a big negative depending upon your preferences. It also means you have to concentrate on poorly surfaced roads or it will wander off centre. That can be tiring if you are not in the mood but then would you drive a car like this if your intention was to cruise to a destination on auto pilot as most modern cars will let you do.

There is no real turbo lag to speak of and a fairly meaty lump of torque from low down that is aided by the lack of weight. That is something you really notice in the car, the feeling that it is light and agile compared to a lot of other sports cars.

I love it and enjoy every drive. The build quality and panel fit is very good considering it's a low volume car made from composite materials. The doors shut with a pleasing thunk and there are no rattles or bits falling off. Being built in Modena by Maserati has paid dividends in that regard. I've had a couple of Gran Turismos and the build quality on those was also very good. The quality of the plastics in the cabin is way down on those used by Porsche but who seriously cares about that in this type of car. You have a whole carbon tub to look at that is very well finished and proper aluminium pedals. It is functional but nowhere near as spartan as a Lotus Elise/Exige and has a very good TFT display that has a junior Ferrari/Lambo look to it. It looks very low and wide on the road from either the front or rear but is actually very short. The front is low but I've not yet had any problems over speed humps etc.

If you can get a test drive in one (likely difficult as I don't think dealers have demos) it's well worth trying but make sure you get to drive it for at least half an hour so you can recalibrate your own driving style and get the best from the car. It is wide but I've never found it difficult to thread through some narrow roads in the Cotswolds etc. Styling is always subjective but for me it wins that particular contest hands down with it's junior Ferrari styling. It's the closest thing I think we'll ever see to a modern day Dino. For me the car is a keeper.

This review by Chris Harris is very fair and well worth a watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwawx4zaMg

No front plate?

[paralla]

mrdemon said:

There was one at lei OPC sat Zyp, the guy wanted to swap it for a cayman.

Maybe a deal done if Leicester get it, you can part ex your Spyder for it.

The front lights are quite unpleasant , he said the euro cars how have he option for normal lights.

He does make me laugh.

Comprehensive review from someone that has owned a Cayman R, 981 and a 4C and mrdemon zeroes in on the negative saying the lights are unpleasant. I wonder if the unassisted steering in the 4C is better that the holy grail of "analogue" steering in the R?

[mrdemon]

paralla said:

He does make me laugh.

Comprehensive review from someone that has owned a Cayman R, 981 and a 4C and mrdemon zeroes in on the negative saying the lights are unpleasant. I wonder if the unassisted steering in the 4C is better that the holy grail of "analogue" steering in the R?

I can say a lot more unpleasant things about the Alfa lol (but it is what it is) but the lights are rank, so much so Alfa HAD to change them due to demand.

Like the Evora so close to being a great car, but the Elise is better than the 4C imo, Like the Cayman is better than the Evora, roll on the new MX5 it looks great

I love the looks of the 4C as well.

I like the Evora and the 4C but would never buy either due to what else you can buy.

[SFO]

I thought the 4C was sold out for ages?

[Romo]

Well, I like mine, Sapphire Blue, also...........