e92 m3 or cayman S

[caymanred]

practicality aside....what would you choose?

[fatboy b]

caymanred said:

practicality aside....

add looks into that too!

Neither for me - but that's my opinion.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

Of all the "What car..?" threads I've seen, I think that is the only one I really could go either way.

A tough decsion indeed!


I'd proberly go with the Porsche. No, wait, the BMW. No definatley the Porsche.. It think.

[kambites]

Practicality aside, the Cayman by a very large margin.

But then if practicality wasn't an issue, I'd buy a Caterham.

[Ben Jk]

Cayman S

[BRMMA]

If the budget could stretch to a gen 2 Cayman I'd go for that, if not then I'd take the M3

[simonej]

kambites said:

Practicality aside, the Cayman by a very large margin.

Out of interest, why?

I'm considering the same choice, but with a third option of keeping the Chimaera and getting a Monaro VXR to go with it. (All three options work out about the same in cost.)

[will_]

I just can't get over the potential for the Cayman engine to go bang. Were that not a consideration, Cayman every time.

[DoubleSix]

Been here, went for the Cayman S and paired with a wee 130i for about 16k.....

Best pairing I've had yet.

The e92 is just too thirsty and I've done the 'jack of all trades' thing which it certainly is, the realisation being that nothing touches a machine that is dedicated to one task.

[nagra]

I would go for the Cayman.

As nice as the M3 is (especially that V8) I would prefer the Cayman as I would feel it's more of a sports car and not a really nice car which is based on a 'generic' chassis.

[BRMMA]

will_ said:

I just can't get over the potential for the Cayman engine to go bang. Were that not a consideration, Cayman every time.

That's why it'd have to be a Gen 2 car, the DFI engine is proving very reliable

[stewy68]

Cayman, driven both and will have a Cayman before Christmas.

[Marf]

Cayman

[DoubleSix]

BRMMA said:

That's why it'd have to be a Gen 2 car, the DFI engine is proving very reliable

But you sacrifice alot of aural pleasure. Took a test drive in Gen 2 and it sounded so muted compared to my gen 1. Both had PSE. I'm not a fan of the rear light treatment on the gen 2 either but that's a minor thang...

Just go approved used and ask for a detailed over-rev report.

[kambites]

simonej said:

kambites said:

Practicality aside, the Cayman by a very large margin.

Out of interest, why?

I'm considering the same choice, but with a third option of keeping the Chimaera and getting a Monaro VXR to go with it. (All three options work out about the same in cost.)

Well one is a sports car, designed from the ground up as such; the other is a saloon car with a big engine stuck in it and some suspension tweaks. The M3 (all versions of it) is very, very good at what it does, but it's utterly out-classed by any number of proper sports cars in dynamic terms, IMO.

I suppose I'd argue that the M3 is a "better car" overall because it blends practicality and dynamics so well, but take practicality out of the equation and it can't get close.

[will_]

DoubleSix said:

BRMMA said:

That's why it'd have to be a Gen 2 car, the DFI engine is proving very reliable

But you sacrifice alot of aural pleasure. Took a test drive in Gen 2 and it sounded so muted compared to my gen 1. Both had PSE. I'm not a fan of the rear light treatment on the gen 2 either but that's a minor thang...

Just go approved used and ask for detailed over-rev report.

I dipped a toe into looking at the Cayman market and was just put off by the whole engine thing! What year did the Gen 2 come out?

[Gruber]

Faced with a similar decision, I chose the M3. But practicality was a material consideration. And the V8 put the decision beyond doubt.

What do you want the car to do?

[SWoll]

If we are talking new and practicality isn't a consideration then I would go for the Cayman R.

[DoubleSix]

will_ said:

DoubleSix said:

BRMMA said:

That's why it'd have to be a Gen 2 car, the DFI engine is proving very reliable

But you sacrifice alot of aural pleasure. Took a test drive in Gen 2 and it sounded so muted compared to my gen 1. Both had PSE. I'm not a fan of the rear light treatment on the gen 2 either but that's a minor thang...

Just go approved used and ask for detailed over-rev report.

I dipped a toe into looking at the Cayman market and was just put off by the whole engine thing! What year did the Gen 2 come out?

Early 2009 I recall....

Of course you know this; but for every engine failure there a loads of happy motorists not telling you how happy they are online.

I even ditched the warranty this year as my confidence grows in the machine.

[will_]

DoubleSix said:

will_ said:

DoubleSix said:

BRMMA said:

That's why it'd have to be a Gen 2 car, the DFI engine is proving very reliable

But you sacrifice alot of aural pleasure. Took a test drive in Gen 2 and it sounded so muted compared to my gen 1. Both had PSE. I'm not a fan of the rear light treatment on the gen 2 either but that's a minor thang...

Just go approved used and ask for detailed over-rev report.

I dipped a toe into looking at the Cayman market and was just put off by the whole engine thing! What year did the Gen 2 come out?

Early 2009 I recall....

Of course you know this; but for every engine failure there a loads of happy motorists not telling you how happy they are online.

I even ditched the warranty this year as my confidence grows in the machine.

You are of course, completely right and I'm concious of that. But I just can't put it out of my mind!