Cayman test drive
Discussion
Here’s my review
The car didn’t have the options I’d like to test, which are PASM and the sport Chrono package, the demo Cayman rode on standard 18’ and normal suspension.
Dealer waiting for me and we set straight off without much messing about, he takes the wheel. This Demo Cayman only has 300 miles on the Speedo, but he’s giving it plenty of beans from the lights. A good sign as I plan to do the same given the chance.
The dealer knows the roads and it's clear he’s been on this route hundreds of times as he whips the Cayman through bends on fast sweeping country roads that have me slightly worried, we go round one bend at least 60 and there’s road works which has caused stationary traffic just after a blind bend, OH Shit goes through my mind as I didn’t think we were going to stop in time and are going to crash into the back of the stationary car, but we didn’t, stopped with a few feet to spare. At least I know the brakes work well now anyway.
Change over after 10 minutes and readjust the seat and mirrors, the driving position prefect for me, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get comfortable in the Cayman, the Boxster is a bit on the small side for me, I like a straight legged and arm driving position and this presents no problem in the Cayman, I’m 6’1, so taller guys will struggle.
It’s damp and a bit busy on the roads to start with, the first thing I notice is the steering, and it’s very direct and accurate. Not quite as much feed back as my 996, but still better than any other car I’ve driven, the Cayman follows your inputs better though and there’s no slack or delay, but it’s not edgy either. Turn-in is sharpe, I couldn’t really test the lateral grip to much due to the conditions, it seemed pretty good in the wet, and the car feels very planted and secure, but not dull. It manages to pull off the trick of feeling secure, but not numb at the same time, it feels light and chuckable (sp?).The ride is firm and compliant without much in the way of body roll, not overly stiff. You do notice the bigger bumps, but it doesn’t affect the line of the car, you only hear them. I wouldn’t want the standard ride to be any firmer for daily use though, it's well judged as it is and definitely feels sporty. It reminds me of my old classic Impreza turbo, maybe a bit stiffer. Overall is feels solid, stiff and any inputs to brakes and steering are acted upon with no delay or slackness.
The engine feels different to the Boxster, it’s more willing to rev, has more Torque and pep. It also has a point about 4500 revs where it starts to take on a different sound and heads towards the red line with more vigour as if it would go past 8k revs no problem, instead of the 7200 rev limiter that Porsche has imposed on the Cayman. Power wise it feels like the 996C2 3.4 I’ve recently sold. I get the chance to test this out coming off a round-about in second gear. Exiting the round-about the road opens up to a very straight wide road with nothing in front of me for at least a mile. Foot to the floor and I’m changing gear as fast I can muster, as if I’m in my own car, just short of the red line. 3rd, 4th, are over quickly, into 5th and I’m doing 120+ like it’s nothing. High speed stability is excellent, better than the 996. The variable rate steer works well and I feel like I could drive at that speed for hours. I’d only been in the car 10 minutes and it just felt like the thing to do, the gearbox is sharp and gears are selected with a firm short positive action. You can make full use of the power you’ve got and it’s very addictive experience.
It’s like been in a mini race car and felt great, at speed the Cayman a good buzz and lends it’s self very well to be driven hard, it’s more hardcore than the Boxster and my previous 996, a real drivers car
The noise from the engine is fairly guff at lower revs and you can cruise round in the lower part of the rev range without a load of noise from behind you. As the revs rise the noise changes to quite a hard metallic sound at the top end, it adds to the experience.
The only negative thing was a noise from the tail gate it seemed to creak and rattle over some of the bumps.
I didn’t want to take the car back to the dealers at the end of the test drive, I liked it that much.
I'll try to answer any questions
Regards
>> Edited by bumcrack on Saturday 3rd December 18:02
The car didn’t have the options I’d like to test, which are PASM and the sport Chrono package, the demo Cayman rode on standard 18’ and normal suspension.
Dealer waiting for me and we set straight off without much messing about, he takes the wheel. This Demo Cayman only has 300 miles on the Speedo, but he’s giving it plenty of beans from the lights. A good sign as I plan to do the same given the chance.
The dealer knows the roads and it's clear he’s been on this route hundreds of times as he whips the Cayman through bends on fast sweeping country roads that have me slightly worried, we go round one bend at least 60 and there’s road works which has caused stationary traffic just after a blind bend, OH Shit goes through my mind as I didn’t think we were going to stop in time and are going to crash into the back of the stationary car, but we didn’t, stopped with a few feet to spare. At least I know the brakes work well now anyway.
Change over after 10 minutes and readjust the seat and mirrors, the driving position prefect for me, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get comfortable in the Cayman, the Boxster is a bit on the small side for me, I like a straight legged and arm driving position and this presents no problem in the Cayman, I’m 6’1, so taller guys will struggle.
It’s damp and a bit busy on the roads to start with, the first thing I notice is the steering, and it’s very direct and accurate. Not quite as much feed back as my 996, but still better than any other car I’ve driven, the Cayman follows your inputs better though and there’s no slack or delay, but it’s not edgy either. Turn-in is sharpe, I couldn’t really test the lateral grip to much due to the conditions, it seemed pretty good in the wet, and the car feels very planted and secure, but not dull. It manages to pull off the trick of feeling secure, but not numb at the same time, it feels light and chuckable (sp?).The ride is firm and compliant without much in the way of body roll, not overly stiff. You do notice the bigger bumps, but it doesn’t affect the line of the car, you only hear them. I wouldn’t want the standard ride to be any firmer for daily use though, it's well judged as it is and definitely feels sporty. It reminds me of my old classic Impreza turbo, maybe a bit stiffer. Overall is feels solid, stiff and any inputs to brakes and steering are acted upon with no delay or slackness.
The engine feels different to the Boxster, it’s more willing to rev, has more Torque and pep. It also has a point about 4500 revs where it starts to take on a different sound and heads towards the red line with more vigour as if it would go past 8k revs no problem, instead of the 7200 rev limiter that Porsche has imposed on the Cayman. Power wise it feels like the 996C2 3.4 I’ve recently sold. I get the chance to test this out coming off a round-about in second gear. Exiting the round-about the road opens up to a very straight wide road with nothing in front of me for at least a mile. Foot to the floor and I’m changing gear as fast I can muster, as if I’m in my own car, just short of the red line. 3rd, 4th, are over quickly, into 5th and I’m doing 120+ like it’s nothing. High speed stability is excellent, better than the 996. The variable rate steer works well and I feel like I could drive at that speed for hours. I’d only been in the car 10 minutes and it just felt like the thing to do, the gearbox is sharp and gears are selected with a firm short positive action. You can make full use of the power you’ve got and it’s very addictive experience.
It’s like been in a mini race car and felt great, at speed the Cayman a good buzz and lends it’s self very well to be driven hard, it’s more hardcore than the Boxster and my previous 996, a real drivers car
The noise from the engine is fairly guff at lower revs and you can cruise round in the lower part of the rev range without a load of noise from behind you. As the revs rise the noise changes to quite a hard metallic sound at the top end, it adds to the experience.
The only negative thing was a noise from the tail gate it seemed to creak and rattle over some of the bumps.
I didn’t want to take the car back to the dealers at the end of the test drive, I liked it that much.
I'll try to answer any questions
Regards
>> Edited by bumcrack on Saturday 3rd December 18:02
gonna have to disagree on this one.test drove one earlier today and came away from the experience very flat.It looks ok, but having seen the inviting press photography to me it came across as a weedy 911 in the flesh.Build quality was immediately a concern in that the demo car rattled continuously,particularly around the front over any bump or road imperfection,as did the passenger door.The car had only covered 1250 miles.
It's nice and pointy,agile like a Boxster and has a very neutral balance for obvious reasons so,yes,the chassis is easily exploited if you want to chuck it about.I personally like to 'learn' a car though over time and felt that the Cayman didn't have many hidden depths.The noise is nice but nothing special and whilst it's nippy and quite torqey it's not quick and felt significantly slower to me than,say, a 997 or 996 GT3.
I don't want to be too damning of it.It will do exactly what Porsche wants it to and attract a ton of new people to the brand.It's a great piece of marketing although I think the pricing strategy is a disgrace for a car that costs about 15% less to make than a Boxster.Spec one up to any reasonable extent to protect resale value and you'll not see any change from 50k.
As to the Cayman not being a 911 argument I hate to even go there.Plenty of people who can afford either or even both will have their reasons for choosing a Cayman and good luck to them,that's what it's all about;but as I've said before 50k all but buys you a GT3 mk 2 these days and I'd take that over a Cayman every day of the week.
My Mrs drove it after me.She loved it...
It's nice and pointy,agile like a Boxster and has a very neutral balance for obvious reasons so,yes,the chassis is easily exploited if you want to chuck it about.I personally like to 'learn' a car though over time and felt that the Cayman didn't have many hidden depths.The noise is nice but nothing special and whilst it's nippy and quite torqey it's not quick and felt significantly slower to me than,say, a 997 or 996 GT3.
I don't want to be too damning of it.It will do exactly what Porsche wants it to and attract a ton of new people to the brand.It's a great piece of marketing although I think the pricing strategy is a disgrace for a car that costs about 15% less to make than a Boxster.Spec one up to any reasonable extent to protect resale value and you'll not see any change from 50k.
As to the Cayman not being a 911 argument I hate to even go there.Plenty of people who can afford either or even both will have their reasons for choosing a Cayman and good luck to them,that's what it's all about;but as I've said before 50k all but buys you a GT3 mk 2 these days and I'd take that over a Cayman every day of the week.
My Mrs drove it after me.She loved it...
Reading your post I don't think you're actually disagreeing with me on much, I cite the rattle in the tail gate and of course it’s down on power compared to the GT3, most things are. I never mentioned the looks as it’s a personal thing, never touched on the subject because it’s pointless to try and argue what an individual thinks looks good.
Regarding the cost, isn’t the current 911 cheaper to produce than the Boxster? With Porsche the cost is dictated by the BHP output and not the cost of building the car, probably the same with most manufactures
I’ve always loved the GT3 myself and I might sell the Cayman quickly and jump straight back into 911 ownership, but the down sides are its second hand, an old shape and interiors worse quality than the Cayman. It’s something I’ve thought of and think it would be easier to sell the Cayman and get the GT3, rather than doing it the other way round.
>> Edited by bumcrack on Saturday 3rd December 18:04
Regarding the cost, isn’t the current 911 cheaper to produce than the Boxster? With Porsche the cost is dictated by the BHP output and not the cost of building the car, probably the same with most manufactures
I’ve always loved the GT3 myself and I might sell the Cayman quickly and jump straight back into 911 ownership, but the down sides are its second hand, an old shape and interiors worse quality than the Cayman. It’s something I’ve thought of and think it would be easier to sell the Cayman and get the GT3, rather than doing it the other way round.
>> Edited by bumcrack on Saturday 3rd December 18:04
This is the first time I've waded into the 911 vs. Cayman debate.
It seems from what I've read, though, that the Cayman makes a perfect shopping trolley, and the 911 (pref a TT or GT<x> ) makes a great weekend car.
Why choose only one or the other?
>> Edited by magriggs on Saturday 3rd December 19:04
It seems from what I've read, though, that the Cayman makes a perfect shopping trolley, and the 911 (pref a TT or GT<x> ) makes a great weekend car.
Why choose only one or the other?
>> Edited by magriggs on Saturday 3rd December 19:04
my only other word of advice then is to be careful on residuals.I know this week it's the hottest thing and that the waiting lists at OPC's are said to be long but that will last 2 seconds.I was not on any wait list but I went to test the car because I had been offered a couple at list from various sources for immediate delivery and that made me curious.I have a good friend in the trade who has two launch cars available and,whilst he's not advertised them aggressively,tells me he's not had a sniff yet on either.If you think you might not hold it for long then I'd suggest either turning it very quickly,or waiting until feb/mar when the second hand market kicks in and you save decent money.IMO a GT3 holds its money better from here than a new Cayman.I know the writeups weren't THAT great but look at the AMV8.Weren't they supposed to be good for 20k over list or something?They are definitely available at list already I'm told.Outside of certain ferraris the speculators' market for new cars seems pretty much dead at the moment...
gunner said:
my only other word of advice then is to be careful on residuals.I know this week it's the hottest thing and that the waiting lists at OPC's are said to be long but that will last 2 seconds.I was not on any wait list but I went to test the car because I had been offered a couple at list from various sources for immediate delivery and that made me curious.I have a good friend in the trade who has two launch cars available and,whilst he's not advertised them aggressively,tells me he's not had a sniff yet on either.If you think you might not hold it for long then I'd suggest either turning it very quickly,or waiting until feb/mar when the second hand market kicks in and you save decent money.IMO a GT3 holds its money better from here than a new Cayman.I know the writeups weren't THAT great but look at the AMV8.Weren't they supposed to be good for 20k over list or something?They are definitely available at list already I'm told.Outside of certain ferraris the speculators' market for new cars seems pretty much dead at the moment...
I was quoted finance on a 997 and a Cayman last week and it's cheaper to finance a 997 due to the expected higher residuals. Having said all that...I saw the Cayman up close at the weekend and I love it's look more than a 911 so would pick the Cayman for that reason. You are absolutely correct about the "overs" market....definately seems to have vanished. For that reason a nearly new Cayman or an AMV8 seems a far better prospect than anything new!!
agreed.all I guess I'm really saying is that I would personally prefer to have my £50k in a lovely GT3 mk2 which has already suffered massive depreciation than a Cayman which has yet to take its inevitable hit.Even putting financial considerations aside I personally think the GT3 is a ton more car for the money but of course I appreciate it's horses for courses...
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