Evora or Cayman/Boxster?
Discussion
blueg33 said:
RobM77 said:
I've had decent length drives in two Evoras, two Caymans and one Boxster, although haven't owned any. From a driving point of view, I feel the weight distribution and balance of the Cayman and Boxster is better than the Evora, the Cayman brake pedal has better progression and feel, and the gearchange is better. I also think that the Porsche engine better suits a sports car (it was, after all, designed from scratch as a sports car engine). However, I felt that everything else related to driving pleasure was markedly better on the Evora: the road feel, steering feel, linearity of responses (the Porsches have a variable ratio steering rack, and it changes ratios right at the point you're turning into corners - urghh), and the way the car responds to driver input. I also felt the ride was better on the Evora (it's a Lotus!) and the whole package just feels much more like a sports car should in my opinion; I find the Cayman and Boxster too smooth and too Audi-like for my tastes. If I was in the market for a car like this then it would be a clear decision for me.
I have to disagree on the brake pedal! Evora was the easiest car to heel and toe I have ever driven. n/a weight balance is about perfect, but I agree that the S is slightly less well balanced and the Cayman a tad better.And then there is the look, I know which looks more special.
Pics pinched from this thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
[url]
I did find that the Evora had a good brake pedal and yes, it's good to heel and toe in (something I do in all cars, so I find it annoying if it's hard). However, the linearity and precision of the Cayman's pedal I found just that bit better.
With the balance, it's simply a matter of the Cayman have a flat engine down on the car's floor and truly mid-mounted, and all modern Lotuses having an engine that relatively is more rearward and much higher in the chassis, plus with a CofG within the engine that's a little higher. It's not really something that worried me on the road to be honest, but it makes itself felt a lot on track, and particularly in my 2-Eleven, which I think was an Elise S1 front end with a heavy supercharged Toyota rear end.
To drive though, in my humble opinion it's not even close; the Lotus is just in a different league. The above small things really are quite small compared to the stark difference in how each car drives down a typical British road. There is no type of driving or circumstance where I would choose the Porsche over the Lotus.
Edited to add: I've not driven the n/a Evora, just two S models (one manual and one IPS).
Edited by RobM77 on Friday 15th November 14:18
RobM77 said:
Beautiful photos
I did find that the Evora had a good brake pedal and yes, it's good to heel and toe in (something I do in all cars, so I find it annoying if it's hard). However, the linearity and precision of the Cayman's pedal I found just that bit better.
With the balance, it's simply a matter of the Cayman have a flat engine down on the car's floor and truly mid-mounted, and all modern Lotuses having an engine that relatively is more rearward and much higher in the chassis, plus with a CofG within the engine that's a little higher. It's not really something that worried me on the road to be honest, but it makes itself felt a lot on track, and particularly in my 2-Eleven, which I think was an Elise S1 front end with a heavy supercharged Toyota rear end.
To drive though, in my humble opinion it's not even close; the Lotus is just in a different league. The above small things really are quite small compared to the stark difference in how each car drives down a typical British road. There is no type of driving or circumstance where I would choose the Porsche over the Lotus.
Edited to add: I've not driven the n/a Evora, just two S models (one manual and one IPS).
I have an n/a and now have a S. The n/a is sweeter nin terms of balance and I think its because of the supercharger on top of the S. Overall though I prefer the S.I did find that the Evora had a good brake pedal and yes, it's good to heel and toe in (something I do in all cars, so I find it annoying if it's hard). However, the linearity and precision of the Cayman's pedal I found just that bit better.
With the balance, it's simply a matter of the Cayman have a flat engine down on the car's floor and truly mid-mounted, and all modern Lotuses having an engine that relatively is more rearward and much higher in the chassis, plus with a CofG within the engine that's a little higher. It's not really something that worried me on the road to be honest, but it makes itself felt a lot on track, and particularly in my 2-Eleven, which I think was an Elise S1 front end with a heavy supercharged Toyota rear end.
To drive though, in my humble opinion it's not even close; the Lotus is just in a different league. The above small things really are quite small compared to the stark difference in how each car drives down a typical British road. There is no type of driving or circumstance where I would choose the Porsche over the Lotus.
Edited to add: I've not driven the n/a Evora, just two S models (one manual and one IPS).
Edited by RobM77 on Friday 15th November 14:18
Lee Jones Jnr said:
It must be around 10 or 11 years ago now but I also narrowed down my choice to Cayman or Evora.
I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
Faster where? 0-60? Bumpy twisty roads? Spa? The ring?I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
The evora ride is unbelievable and so are the brakes. It covers ground very very well indeed. The engine and box let it down a touch but an amazing car. People are much more complimentary about it than porsches in my experience plus you don't see them everywhere you look.
fastraxx said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
It must be around 10 or 11 years ago now but I also narrowed down my choice to Cayman or Evora.
I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
Faster where? 0-60? Bumpy twisty roads? Spa? The ring?I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
The evora ride is unbelievable and so are the brakes. It covers ground very very well indeed. The engine and box let it down a touch but an amazing car. People are much more complimentary about it than porsches in my experience plus you don't see them everywhere you look.
The Evora and Cayman may occupy the same sector, but they're quite distinctly different cars and I can understand people making a definite choice for either. As you say, the Evora wins over with its ride, controls, feedback, and poise. The Cayman has a more refined classy air to it, a better feeling of quality, like a good German saloon (5 series, A6 etc), it has a bespoke engine designed for a sports car, and a lower CofG and polar moment. For me it's the Evora every time, for others, the Cayman. RobM77 said:
We all like cars for different reasons The Evora and Cayman may occupy the same sector, but they're quite distinctly different cars and I can understand people making a definite choice for either. As you say, the Evora wins over with its ride, controls, feedback, and poise. The Cayman has a more refined classy air to it, a better feeling of quality, like a good German saloon (5 series, A6 etc), it has a bespoke engine designed for a sports car, and a lower CofG and polar moment. For me it's the Evora every time, for others, the Cayman.
Usually because they want to say they own a Porsche rather than any though if chassis stiffness, ride, balance / steering feel The Evora and Cayman may occupy the same sector, but they're quite distinctly different cars and I can understand people making a definite choice for either. As you say, the Evora wins over with its ride, controls, feedback, and poise. The Cayman has a more refined classy air to it, a better feeling of quality, like a good German saloon (5 series, A6 etc), it has a bespoke engine designed for a sports car, and a lower CofG and polar moment. For me it's the Evora every time, for others, the Cayman. 
(I jest...)fastraxx said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
It must be around 10 or 11 years ago now but I also narrowed down my choice to Cayman or Evora.
I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
Faster where? 0-60? Bumpy twisty roads? Spa? The ring?I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
The evora ride is unbelievable and so are the brakes. It covers ground very very well indeed. The engine and box let it down a touch but an amazing car. People are much more complimentary about it than porsches in my experience plus you don't see them everywhere you look.
I’d probably have preferred to have wanted an Evora as kit carish or not, the exterior looks nicer than the car I bought (a first generation Cayman S which was an ugly frog like car). If choosing a current Evora v Cayman I think the current Cayman looks nicer anyway.
I borrowed an Evora for a weekend from a friend and actually drove it to an OPC to test drive a Cayman. The moment I sat in the Cayman and heard the solid thud as the door closed the difference in build quality was very apparent and very large. The interior also looked and felt far superior and properly bolted together.
What other people think isn’t a factor to me when I buy a car but I didn’t really have any problems with the Cayman, it’s essentially invisible to most people, I don’t recall if anyone noticed or spoke to me about the Evora but I only had it for two days and a morning.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
fastraxx said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
It must be around 10 or 11 years ago now but I also narrowed down my choice to Cayman or Evora.
I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
Faster where? 0-60? Bumpy twisty roads? Spa? The ring?I chose a Cayman S in the end. The build quality is far superior, it felt like a faster car and for me the Evora had an air of kit car about it, especially the interior.
The evora ride is unbelievable and so are the brakes. It covers ground very very well indeed. The engine and box let it down a touch but an amazing car. People are much more complimentary about it than porsches in my experience plus you don't see them everywhere you look.
I’d probably have preferred to have wanted an Evora as kit carish or not, the exterior looks nicer than the car I bought (a first generation Cayman S which was an ugly frog like car). If choosing a current Evora v Cayman I think the current Cayman looks nicer anyway.
I borrowed an Evora for a weekend from a friend and actually drove it to an OPC to test drive a Cayman. The moment I sat in the Cayman and heard the solid thud as the door closed the difference in build quality was very apparent and very large. The interior also looked and felt far superior and properly bolted together.
What other people think isn’t a factor to me when I buy a car but I didn’t really have any problems with the Cayman, it’s essentially invisible to most people, I don’t recall if anyone noticed or spoke to me about the Evora but I only had it for two days and a morning.
That's a good sign. If a car's right for you then there's always an immediate feeling of it being right from the second you drive off. I get that feeling with Lotuses, others with Porsches. Everyone looks for different things.The difference in apparent pace may be the throttle maps. Lotus try hard to get all their controls linear, like a racing car would be; whereas Porsches, BMWs, Audis and many other performance cars I've driven give you a lot more torque initially in the throttle pedal travel. Porsche for example deliberately have a non-linear steering rack. Non-linear controls give most drivers a sense that a car is more powerful (throttle), more darty with less understeer (steering), or to have better brakes (brake pedal) than a car with more linear responses like a Lotus, Caterham, or any racing car.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
I’m perfectly happy to believe that it wasn’t faster by any measure you care to use, I’d also easily believe it is should anyone care enough to do the research. When I say it felt like a faster car, I mean daily driving and just living my life the Cayman S felt like it was a faster car and even around town at 30mph it gave me the sensation that there was much more power available than in an Evora.
I’d probably have preferred to have wanted an Evora as kit carish or not, the exterior looks nicer than the car I bought (a first generation Cayman S which was an ugly frog like car). If choosing a current Evora v Cayman I think the current Cayman looks nicer anyway.
I borrowed an Evora for a weekend from a friend and actually drove it to an OPC to test drive a Cayman. The moment I sat in the Cayman and heard the solid thud as the door closed the difference in build quality was very apparent and very large. The interior also looked and felt far superior and properly bolted together.
What other people think isn’t a factor to me when I buy a car but I didn’t really have any problems with the Cayman, it’s essentially invisible to most people, I don’t recall if anyone noticed or spoke to me about the Evora but I only had it for two days and a morning.
Shows how subjective this stuff is. I had a Cayman on test for 3 days from the Porsche experience centre, when leaving I noticed Lotus Silverstone and an Evora on the forecourt, i dropped in, had a test drive and it was sold to me within the first mile - the difference between the two cars in terms of feel was night and day, the Evora has telepathic steering, the Cayman was anodyne, sort of like a 2 door sportier version of my A6. For me its the things like the highish sill, slightly weird button locations and the linear controls that make the Evora a sense of occasion every when sitting in it engine off. It also has much more comfy seats than the CaymanI’d probably have preferred to have wanted an Evora as kit carish or not, the exterior looks nicer than the car I bought (a first generation Cayman S which was an ugly frog like car). If choosing a current Evora v Cayman I think the current Cayman looks nicer anyway.
I borrowed an Evora for a weekend from a friend and actually drove it to an OPC to test drive a Cayman. The moment I sat in the Cayman and heard the solid thud as the door closed the difference in build quality was very apparent and very large. The interior also looked and felt far superior and properly bolted together.
What other people think isn’t a factor to me when I buy a car but I didn’t really have any problems with the Cayman, it’s essentially invisible to most people, I don’t recall if anyone noticed or spoke to me about the Evora but I only had it for two days and a morning.
I totally agree that linear controls make a car feel very different, friends with Porsches and BMW's who have driven the Evora think the brakes are no good, but its because they are used to instant vicious bite whereas linearity makes it easier to modulate the brake and with out wanting to sound like a driving god (because I am not) it makes heel and toe and trail braking easier and smoother.
When I cam to change from my first Evora, I tried everything I could think of in the price bracket that was a sports car. Turned out that most are GT's, they Cayman or 911 still didn't grab me, the R8 nearly did but I just ended up with a faster Evora.
I will be changing again shortly, the only cars in the £60k bracket that tempt me are Evora 410, R8 V10 and Ferrari 360 - the latter is currently winning despite being the slowest as I need to scratch the Ferrari itch, but if head wins the debate it will be the Evora.
But don't misunderstand me - all the cars in this bracket are dream cars for most people and all do the job differently, they are all excellent bits of kit and you choose the one that suits you for the reasons you choose.
Missing my Evora - currently locked down in a body shop
Edited by blueg33 on Wednesday 13th May 17:40
blueg33 said:
Shows how subjective this stuff is. I had a Cayman on test for 3 days from the Porsche experience centre, when leaving I noticed Lotus Silverstone and an Evora on the forecourt, i dropped in, had a test drive and it was sold to me within the first mile - the difference between the two cars in terms of feel was night and day, the Evora has telepathic steering, the Cayman was anodyne, sort of like a 2 door sportier version of my A6. For me its the things like the highish sill, slightly weird button locations and the linear controls that make the Evora a sense of occasion every when sitting in it engine off. It also has much more comfy seats than the Cayman
I totally agree that linear controls make a car feel very different, friends with Porsches and BMW's who have driven the Evora think the brakes are no good, but its because they are used to instant vicious bite whereas linearity makes it easier to modulate the brake and with out wanting to sound like a driving god (because I am not) it makes heel and toe and trail braking easier and smoother.
When I cam to change from my first Evora, I tried everything I could think of in the price bracket that was a sports car. Turned out that most are GT's, they Cayman or 911 still didn't grab me, the R8 nearly did but I just ended up with a faster Evora.
I will be changing again shortly, the only cars in the £60k bracket that tempt me are Evora 410, R8 V10 and Ferrari 360 - the latter is currently winning despite being the slowest as I need to scratch the Ferrari itch, but if head wins the debate it will be the Evora.
But don't misunderstand me - all the cars in this bracket are dream cars for most people and all do the job differently, they are all excellent bits of kit and you choose the one that suits you for the reasons you choose.
Missing my Evora - currently locked down in a body shop
Meh, opinions vary. I bought the Cayman and felt that it was a better handling car and was built well enough to have confidence driving it fast.I totally agree that linear controls make a car feel very different, friends with Porsches and BMW's who have driven the Evora think the brakes are no good, but its because they are used to instant vicious bite whereas linearity makes it easier to modulate the brake and with out wanting to sound like a driving god (because I am not) it makes heel and toe and trail braking easier and smoother.
When I cam to change from my first Evora, I tried everything I could think of in the price bracket that was a sports car. Turned out that most are GT's, they Cayman or 911 still didn't grab me, the R8 nearly did but I just ended up with a faster Evora.
I will be changing again shortly, the only cars in the £60k bracket that tempt me are Evora 410, R8 V10 and Ferrari 360 - the latter is currently winning despite being the slowest as I need to scratch the Ferrari itch, but if head wins the debate it will be the Evora.
But don't misunderstand me - all the cars in this bracket are dream cars for most people and all do the job differently, they are all excellent bits of kit and you choose the one that suits you for the reasons you choose.
Missing my Evora - currently locked down in a body shop
Edited by blueg33 on Wednesday 13th May 17:40
Its a shame that the 2010 5 car lineup never made it to fruition, I would have bought the proposed new Esprit no matter how it drove.
I actually traded the Cayman for a Ferrari 360 coincidentally.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Meh, opinions vary. I bought the Cayman and felt that it was a better handling car and was built well enough to have confidence driving it fast.
Its a shame that the 2010 5 car lineup never made it to fruition, I would have bought the proposed new Esprit no matter how it drove.
I actually traded the Cayman for a Ferrari 360 coincidentally.
That's great that you love your porsche and all did you get a chance to give the evora a good 100 mile spanking over some good roads. Takes a couple of hundred miles to really get it, in my view. Anyway, I am no fanboy of either, both clearly great cars. Some prefer the steering feel of the evora, some prefer to say they own a porsche and heavy doors Its a shame that the 2010 5 car lineup never made it to fruition, I would have bought the proposed new Esprit no matter how it drove.
I actually traded the Cayman for a Ferrari 360 coincidentally.
fastraxx said:
That's great that you love your porsche and all did you get a chance to give the evora a good 100 mile spanking over some good roads. Takes a couple of hundred miles to really get it, in my view. Anyway, I am no fanboy of either, both clearly great cars. Some prefer the steering feel of the evora, some prefer to say they own a porsche and heavy doors
I bout it when I was 25 or 26 and kept it around a year. I wouldn't say that I loved it but I certainly enjoyed driving it.
I haven't ever bothered looking at Lotus since, perhaps I would feel differently about them if I took another look.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Meh, opinions vary. I bought the Cayman and felt that it was a better handling car and was built well enough to have confidence driving it fast.
Its a shame that the 2010 5 car lineup never made it to fruition, I would have bought the proposed new Esprit no matter how it drove.
I actually traded the Cayman for a Ferrari 360 coincidentally.
How was the 360? Did it feel old? Any major costs?Its a shame that the 2010 5 car lineup never made it to fruition, I would have bought the proposed new Esprit no matter how it drove.
I actually traded the Cayman for a Ferrari 360 coincidentally.
blueg33 said:
How was the 360? Did it feel old? Any major costs?
Yeah it felt very old and basic.I had all the silver interior trim replaced with carbon fibre to spruce it up a bit.
I drove it every day for 14 months and did around 12'000 miles, no real massive costs just fuel which obviously it used quite a bit and a service. The service was £2976.26 which included an MOT and whatever it needed doing at the time, bits and bobs.
RobM77 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
The service was £2976.26 which included an MOT and whatever it needed doing at the time, bits and bobs.
I always remember being surprised how my Lotus services came out at £500-£1000, even if nothing was really wrong. £3k for nothing much being wrong is horrific!
That includes sending a truck from Exeter to Stafford to collect and return it and the car lost £0 in depreciation so ownership cost was low.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
RobM77 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
The service was £2976.26 which included an MOT and whatever it needed doing at the time, bits and bobs.
I always remember being surprised how my Lotus services came out at £500-£1000, even if nothing was really wrong. £3k for nothing much being wrong is horrific!
That includes sending a truck from Exeter to Stafford to collect and return it and the car lost £0 in depreciation so ownership cost was low.
Lee Jones Jnr said:
RobM77 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
The service was £2976.26 which included an MOT and whatever it needed doing at the time, bits and bobs.
I always remember being surprised how my Lotus services came out at £500-£1000, even if nothing was really wrong. £3k for nothing much being wrong is horrific!
That includes sending a truck from Exeter to Stafford to collect and return it and the car lost £0 in depreciation so ownership cost was low.
blueg33 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
RobM77 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
The service was £2976.26 which included an MOT and whatever it needed doing at the time, bits and bobs.
I always remember being surprised how my Lotus services came out at £500-£1000, even if nothing was really wrong. £3k for nothing much being wrong is horrific!
That includes sending a truck from Exeter to Stafford to collect and return it and the car lost £0 in depreciation so ownership cost was low.
Gassing Station | Evora | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff