Cayman GTS drive / Porsche Value for Money / Getting old
Discussion
So I went to the OPC West London day on Sat for a poke around and a drive of a Cayman GTS. It was a very interesting day (well, couple of hours) and provided me a lot of food for thought that I did not expect. I thought I'd do a bit of a mind dump here to see if any of my thoughts resonated with anyone else.
Before anything, as much as we bash some OPCs, this is the 3rd event or so I've been to at West London and they put on a very good show. Everyone is very helpful, polite and knowledgeable. Nothing is too much trouble and they generally appear to be very well organised. Special thanks to the Mk1 golf fanatic technician (and he even had a beard!) who took me out in the GTS, he was very helpful and great to talk to about the car and a myriad of other things - if you're reading this West London, please pass on my thanks and appreciation.
The Cayman GTS: as much as you can tell from a 30 min drive round the A4 and M4, it seems like a cracking piece of kit. I drove over in my 7.1 GT3 so I would have a decent reference point in my head before driving it.
Good things:
- lovely thing to look at in Carmine red (I thought white would be my colour), much better than in photos
- Engine feels very strong, definitely all 340 ponies there as far as I'm concerned, plenty enough oomph for the road.
- No stupidly long gearing, for some reason I was expecting (or had read?) that 2nd would take you to 84mph or so as in my GT3, but after double checking, the 7.4k rpm redline only had us at ~75 mph in 2nd with the PDK transmission, so very pleased about that (it's the only complaint I have about my GT3)
- Interior is a very nice place to be
- And finally, the one I drove was on passive sports dampers (-20mm) and as far as I was concerned rode like a limo compared to my GT3 and 993 on Bilsteins. I was very pleased about this as the lower look is fab
Less good things:
- the noise it makes is pretty damn good, but at the risk of regurgitating some journos' comments, it does sound quite contrived, although to be fair this was probably exacerbated by the fact that my GT3 engine sounds so good and I'd driven it 5 mins before
- I also missed the screamingly high redline, but again, that's a post-GT3 issue. Now a GT3-esque screamer engine in a GTS would be a thing of absolute beauty
- traction was a little disappointing....yes I know it was bl00dy cold on Sat morning, but I do miss the rear engined ability to just squat and go (within reason). We had a rather exciting moment about 10 mins into the drive (ironically just after the technician had told me he was glad I was giving it the loud pedal as other punters had been a bit coy) where I gave it the beans off some lights in Sport+ and the back let go to one side in a rather "exciting" way. I (or rather me and the PSM in combo most probably) caught it, but I was a tad disappointed as the same thing had happened to me in a 987 Boxster a few years ago
Overall a fab car, and I would have one in the blink of an eye. PDK or manual? Honestly I don't know. If I kept the GT3, it would be a PDK I suspect - while the auto/flappy paddle thing annoys me on a purist level, and also on a practical level (I f**king hate having the choice of eleventy driving modes/noises and associated gearbox changes, one sport button on my GT3 is probably already one too many), there is no doubting that it is a stonking piece of kit and if it was my daily drive, being based in London and having to fight traffic a lot, I can see a lot of appeal.
If I was to sell the GT3, I'd probably get a manual Cayman GTS. I'd have the passive dampers on either, can't see why you'd need yet another button to dick around with for PASM when it rides so well for a sports car anyway.
Final thought is that I think the Cayman GTS makes 991s look *astoundingly* expensive, whereas previously before driving one I thought Porsche were taking the piss only a little with 991 pricing. I guess I should probably have a crack in a boggo 991 before making final judgement though
After GTS test drive on the way home, I realised I might be getting a bit old: having had a couple of Ferraris now (355 and a 550 that's still with me), the shine is beginning to wear off a little. They're great, go well and sound fantastic, but with all the current prices jumps (£50k+ for an average 360, £55k+ for an average 355....really??!! Although 599s look excellent value at £85k to be fair) it all seems a bit much when you can have something like a GT3 for the same money (and that's *after* their big price rise!), that while not looking quite as flash, drives much better and costs much less to run. I'd love to try running a 430 and maybe one day I will, but I know that if I had the GT3 in the garage at the same time, I'd probably spontaneously combust as I tried to work out how the GT3 could do so much more (apart from that last bit of flash) for the same or less money, and that's even when I don't fit in the damn bucket seat properly as I'm more portly than normal at the mo.
To top it all, the Cayman GTS is looking like a very tempting prospect in the next 6 months/1 year if values hold similarly well to the 997 GTS, which I'd also like to drive and add to the hypothetical short list.
Now where did I put that firstworldproblem hashtag....
Before anything, as much as we bash some OPCs, this is the 3rd event or so I've been to at West London and they put on a very good show. Everyone is very helpful, polite and knowledgeable. Nothing is too much trouble and they generally appear to be very well organised. Special thanks to the Mk1 golf fanatic technician (and he even had a beard!) who took me out in the GTS, he was very helpful and great to talk to about the car and a myriad of other things - if you're reading this West London, please pass on my thanks and appreciation.
The Cayman GTS: as much as you can tell from a 30 min drive round the A4 and M4, it seems like a cracking piece of kit. I drove over in my 7.1 GT3 so I would have a decent reference point in my head before driving it.
Good things:
- lovely thing to look at in Carmine red (I thought white would be my colour), much better than in photos
- Engine feels very strong, definitely all 340 ponies there as far as I'm concerned, plenty enough oomph for the road.
- No stupidly long gearing, for some reason I was expecting (or had read?) that 2nd would take you to 84mph or so as in my GT3, but after double checking, the 7.4k rpm redline only had us at ~75 mph in 2nd with the PDK transmission, so very pleased about that (it's the only complaint I have about my GT3)
- Interior is a very nice place to be
- And finally, the one I drove was on passive sports dampers (-20mm) and as far as I was concerned rode like a limo compared to my GT3 and 993 on Bilsteins. I was very pleased about this as the lower look is fab
Less good things:
- the noise it makes is pretty damn good, but at the risk of regurgitating some journos' comments, it does sound quite contrived, although to be fair this was probably exacerbated by the fact that my GT3 engine sounds so good and I'd driven it 5 mins before
- I also missed the screamingly high redline, but again, that's a post-GT3 issue. Now a GT3-esque screamer engine in a GTS would be a thing of absolute beauty
- traction was a little disappointing....yes I know it was bl00dy cold on Sat morning, but I do miss the rear engined ability to just squat and go (within reason). We had a rather exciting moment about 10 mins into the drive (ironically just after the technician had told me he was glad I was giving it the loud pedal as other punters had been a bit coy) where I gave it the beans off some lights in Sport+ and the back let go to one side in a rather "exciting" way. I (or rather me and the PSM in combo most probably) caught it, but I was a tad disappointed as the same thing had happened to me in a 987 Boxster a few years ago
Overall a fab car, and I would have one in the blink of an eye. PDK or manual? Honestly I don't know. If I kept the GT3, it would be a PDK I suspect - while the auto/flappy paddle thing annoys me on a purist level, and also on a practical level (I f**king hate having the choice of eleventy driving modes/noises and associated gearbox changes, one sport button on my GT3 is probably already one too many), there is no doubting that it is a stonking piece of kit and if it was my daily drive, being based in London and having to fight traffic a lot, I can see a lot of appeal.
If I was to sell the GT3, I'd probably get a manual Cayman GTS. I'd have the passive dampers on either, can't see why you'd need yet another button to dick around with for PASM when it rides so well for a sports car anyway.
Final thought is that I think the Cayman GTS makes 991s look *astoundingly* expensive, whereas previously before driving one I thought Porsche were taking the piss only a little with 991 pricing. I guess I should probably have a crack in a boggo 991 before making final judgement though
After GTS test drive on the way home, I realised I might be getting a bit old: having had a couple of Ferraris now (355 and a 550 that's still with me), the shine is beginning to wear off a little. They're great, go well and sound fantastic, but with all the current prices jumps (£50k+ for an average 360, £55k+ for an average 355....really??!! Although 599s look excellent value at £85k to be fair) it all seems a bit much when you can have something like a GT3 for the same money (and that's *after* their big price rise!), that while not looking quite as flash, drives much better and costs much less to run. I'd love to try running a 430 and maybe one day I will, but I know that if I had the GT3 in the garage at the same time, I'd probably spontaneously combust as I tried to work out how the GT3 could do so much more (apart from that last bit of flash) for the same or less money, and that's even when I don't fit in the damn bucket seat properly as I'm more portly than normal at the mo.
To top it all, the Cayman GTS is looking like a very tempting prospect in the next 6 months/1 year if values hold similarly well to the 997 GTS, which I'd also like to drive and add to the hypothetical short list.
Now where did I put that firstworldproblem hashtag....
mrdemon said:
"No stupidly long gearing, for some reason I was expecting "
you drove a PDk which although long at 75mph in 2nd gear is far shorter than the manual gearing.
but you state you would buy Manual which does have the "stupidly long gearing"
Didn't realise manual gearing was longer you drove a PDk which although long at 75mph in 2nd gear is far shorter than the manual gearing.
but you state you would buy Manual which does have the "stupidly long gearing"
but, if I bought a manual, it'd be to replace my GT3, so it'd be specced to be more track focussed so I'd put up with the long gearing as I do on the GT3. Gearing wouldn't be a deal breaker overall, but like I said, I am pleased that shorter gearing is available in at least one formMario149 said:
mrdemon said:
"No stupidly long gearing, for some reason I was expecting "
you drove a PDk which although long at 75mph in 2nd gear is far shorter than the manual gearing.
but you state you would buy Manual which does have the "stupidly long gearing"
Didn't realise manual gearing was longer you drove a PDk which although long at 75mph in 2nd gear is far shorter than the manual gearing.
but you state you would buy Manual which does have the "stupidly long gearing"
but, if I bought a manual, it'd be to replace my GT3, so it'd be specced to be more track focussed so I'd put up with the long gearing as I do on the GT3. Gearing wouldn't be a deal breaker overall, but like I said, I am pleased that shorter gearing is available in at least one formMario149 said:
After mulling it over, I think the long gearing of the manual *would* actually be a deal breaker for me. I think if I did get one it would have to be a PDK, no matter how sweet the manual change is, it's a bit pointless if you can't really use it as you'd like. Plus given that there's so much tech on a 981 anyway, I don't think it'd be out of character of the car to have the PDK from a purist PoV, especially when the manual will rev match for you anyway. Plus, the longer gearing of the manual would blunt the acceleration performance slightly which I think would niggle me
This was my rationale for going with PDK. I did try a manual Boxster S - Same platform, Same Gearbox & Engine - and found i didn't get on with it. I love manual shifting but i just felt that this platform has been engineered around the PDK box - it shifts so quickly - up and down, and as you have the extra gear the ratios seem to really allow the car to perform at its best.Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff