718 Positive Vibes Thread...

718 Positive Vibes Thread...

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Discussion

Tim bo

1,956 posts

140 months

Wednesday 23rd November 2016
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Completely and utterly pointless vid published by Porsche yesterday, with 6 Hunter Drones chasing a 718 Cayman S round a cargo terminal in Sheerness.

For your bewildering viewing pleasure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6dwnPid490

And a description by Autoevolution here about what the vid is all about.

JAhmed

41 posts

89 months

Monday 28th November 2016
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Haven't had a chance to take a drive in a 718 yet, but got a ride in a 718S press car at 311RS over the summer. Even from the passenger seat, it felt incredibly quick...certainly quicker than my Cayman GTS. The launch control was particularly violent and impressive. Looking forward to taking an extended drive in one.

LiamH66

680 posts

91 months

Monday 28th November 2016
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JAhmed said:
...The launch control was particularly violent and impressive. Looking forward to taking an extended drive in one.
From the driver's seat it actually feels surprisingly smooth on take-off. Feels a bit strange having to plant left foot on the brake and mash the throttle with right foot at standstill too. Definitely quick though! Must have done 4 or 5 launches in a PDK Cayman S at PEC - but I still wanted a manual car after trying it. Instructor seemed a little surprised, so I guess I was very gleeful when trying out launch control!

Liam

JAhmed

41 posts

89 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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LiamH66 said:
From the driver's seat it actually feels surprisingly smooth on take-off.

Liam
Apologies, what I meant to say was that it was violent in how hard it accelerates...it was definitely smooth in its power delivery (if that makes sense).

ikonic

403 posts

198 months

Tuesday 29th November 2016
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FourPotPorsche said:
The base 718 PDK Cayman putting up some impressive figures in Car and Driver's instrumented test:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-porsche-7...

Outstanding quote:

"At just 3.9 seconds from rest to 60 mph, this car is only the second Cayman we’ve tested to break the four-second barrier, 0.3 second behind the PDK-equipped 718 Cayman S while besting the stick-shift Cayman by 0.4 second. That’s also 0.2 second quicker than the 2016 Cayman GT4, with its 385-hp 3.8-liter flat-six derived from the 2016 911 Carrera’s"
Holy sheet! Surely that must be a typo?! Wow.

Base Cayman hitting 60 in less than 4 seconds? Not long ago, numbers like that would put you into the rarified air of the most exotic machinery.

And all from a bloody 4-pot! wink


nickfrog

21,174 posts

217 months

Wednesday 7th December 2016
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I would call it a draw ;-). Not that one would choose the Porsche for that exercise. Difference in price is about £15k when spec equalised and respective discounts applied.

bcr5784

7,115 posts

145 months

Wednesday 7th December 2016
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Let's all agree that even the base 718 is a genuinely quick car (which its predecessor wasn't) - but I do think that it's a bit sad if Porsche (as all the hot hatch manufacturers seem to be doing) is focus on bar bragging rights - whether it be Nordschleifer times, standing quarter times etc etc. In the real world the figures are becoming increasingly meaningless.

dreamcar

1,067 posts

111 months

Wednesday 7th December 2016
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FourPotPorsche said:
The base 718 Cayman seeing off the BMW M240i in a drag race:

http://www.bmwblog.com/2016/12/05/drag-race-bmw-m2...
But in this week's Autocar the Audi TT RS managed 0 - 60 mph in an amazing average acceleration of 3.6 seconds
with a one way best of 3.46 seconds. The Audi may not have the pin sharp handling of the Cayman but has a far superior engine for a very similar list price.

dreamcar

1,067 posts

111 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
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If I was in the market for replacing our BGTS I would look quite hard at both. Great engine v. Pin sharp handling. I've not driven an Audi RS3 or the TT RS. I did drive the Audi S3 and frankly hated it, dreadful turbo lag and engine drone and not in any way comparable to any Porsche for handling - hot hatch v. thoroughbred sports car so probably not an entirely fair comparison. Despite my previous views on the flat four engine I think 718 would win out overall, there is something about Porsche's minute attention to detail that no other seems to rival.

JayK12

2,324 posts

202 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
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dreamcar said:
If I was in the market for replacing our BGTS I would look quite hard at both. Great engine v. Pin sharp handling. I've not driven an Audi RS3 or the TT RS. I did drive the Audi S3 and frankly hated it, dreadful turbo lag and engine drone and not in any way comparable to any Porsche for handling - hot hatch v. thoroughbred sports car so probably not an entirely fair comparison. Despite my previous views on the flat four engine I think 718 would win out overall, there is something about Porsche's minute attention to detail that no other seems to rival.
Would this not make you go 911 if you do not enjoy the 4 pot?

dreamcar

1,067 posts

111 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
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JayK12 said:
dreamcar said:
If I was in the market for replacing our BGTS I would look quite hard at both. Great engine v. Pin sharp handling. I've not driven an Audi RS3 or the TT RS. I did drive the Audi S3 and frankly hated it, dreadful turbo lag and engine drone and not in any way comparable to any Porsche for handling - hot hatch v. thoroughbred sports car so probably not an entirely fair comparison. Despite my previous views on the flat four engine I think 718 would win out overall, there is something about Porsche's minute attention to detail that no other seems to rival.
Would this not make you go 911 if you do not enjoy the 4 pot?
It might well indeed. Probably my ideal Porsche right now would be a 991 GTS but probably couldn't justify the £90k + asking price for one - for that money I could pretty much run to a brand new 991/2 Carrera S with a close to ideal specification. Prior to the BGTS we had a 997/2 Carrera S pre owned but it was not an ideal spec. When BGTS was introduced Porsche made my ideal car so was a complete no brainer.

JayK12

2,324 posts

202 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
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dreamcar said:
JayK12 said:
dreamcar said:
If I was in the market for replacing our BGTS I would look quite hard at both. Great engine v. Pin sharp handling. I've not driven an Audi RS3 or the TT RS. I did drive the Audi S3 and frankly hated it, dreadful turbo lag and engine drone and not in any way comparable to any Porsche for handling - hot hatch v. thoroughbred sports car so probably not an entirely fair comparison. Despite my previous views on the flat four engine I think 718 would win out overall, there is something about Porsche's minute attention to detail that no other seems to rival.
Would this not make you go 911 if you do not enjoy the 4 pot?
It might well indeed. Probably my ideal Porsche right now would be a 991 GTS but probably couldn't justify the £90k + asking price for one - for that money I could pretty much run to a brand new 991/2 Carrera S with a close to ideal specification. Prior to the BGTS we had a 997/2 Carrera S pre owned but it was not an ideal spec. When BGTS was introduced Porsche made my ideal car so was a complete no brainer.
Seems clever on Porsche's part. 991 GTS looks a great car, definitely a car I would look at in the future, if/when we need back seats lol.

Whaleblue

352 posts

88 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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Hello all.

Thought I'd contribute my thoughts to this thread, as I have a 718 Boxster on order. I've therefore nailed my colours to the mast, and the rest of this post is just my take, and no offence intended to anyone who takes an alternative point of view.

I won't just re-paste what I've said on the Boxa forum, but will summarise like this...

I test drove the 718/981 back-to-back.

The 718 has a notably better ride, handles a smidge better(1), and feel, both through the wheel, and through the right foot, is just several notches above the 981.

(1)On public roads this is a difficult one to call, and I'd accept the most gut-subjective aspect of my assessment.

The 718 is substantially quicker. That's both in simple stats, and in real world road usable terms.

They sound different. That's different, not better/worse. It's subjective, and I totally get it that long standing lovers of the Flat 6 will have strong attachments to that F1-esk howl. To me, the growl and bark of the four pot turbo have just as much appeal. The biggest weakness of the 718 is the sound at *cold* idle, where I agree it sounds less than impressive, and I suspect is what's sticking in many's minds - first impressions and all that. However, I did note that on a well run-in example (I drove one with a few hundred miles on it, and then one with 5000 miles under its belt, to check the ride on 19" vs. 20" wheels), that cold idle was more refined.

So, my longest paragraph is on the sound. That's because the sound of a car is its most important attribute, right? Well, no, not to this buyer, and regardless I like the growl of the 718. In fact, therefore, those that dismiss the 718 because it doesn't sound 'as it should' might be reducing the assessment to 'the most important attribute of a car is whether its sound fits a preconceived idea of the marquees heritage'. To me that's madness.

If you are interested in Boxsters, and have read all there has been to be said on what the 718 sounds like, now is the time to forget all of it and just go drive one.

It's a stunner.

Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 10:34


Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 10:35

brakedwell

1,229 posts

199 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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As I only picked up my 718 Boxster on Friday I can only give my first impressions. A customer in a 981 Boxster S drove off as we were getting into our car, with the hood down. It sounded very similar to ours as we left, raspy! However, I have no experience of the flat 6, so that was only subjective. The refinement and comfort has impressed me after the choppiness of a DB9. The pliant ride copes well with the very poor state of the local roads. Fit and finish is fantastic, as is the quality of the paintwork and interior. The positive vibes are really humming!






Whaleblue

352 posts

88 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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That looks gorgeous. Congratulations!

Mike Brown

585 posts

187 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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Superb looking motorcar

Sparkyhd

1,792 posts

95 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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@brakedwell

Looks great, same interior as mine.

Your drive looks nice too!

bcr5784

7,115 posts

145 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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Whaleblue said:
Hello all.



The 718 has a notably better ride, handles a smidge better(1), and feel, both through the wheel, and through the right foot, is just several notches above the 981.

(1)On public roads this is a difficult one to call, and I'd accept the most gut-subjective aspect of my assessment.

The 718 is substantially quicker. That's both in simple stats, and in real world road usable terms.



Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 10:34


Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 10:35
If you found the the 718 had a better ride I'd be inclined to think it's down to different tyres, tyre pressures, wheels or suspension option. I certainly found that on 20" wheels, standard suspension and Pirelli tyres (but N1 vs N0 on 981) that the 718 ride was harder. That isn't surprizing since the 718 setup is, according to Porsche, stiffer than the 981.

Whaleblue

352 posts

88 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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bcr5784 said:
If you found the the 718 had a better ride I'd be inclined to think it's down to different tyres, tyre pressures, wheels or suspension option. I certainly found that on 20" wheels, standard suspension and Pirelli tyres (but N1 vs N0 on 981) that the 718 ride was harder. That isn't surprizing since the 718 setup is, according to Porsche, stiffer than the 981.
Both 718 and 981 were compared on base suspension and 20" wheels.

Stiffer set up doesn't necessarily equate to a harder ride - we all know it's more complex than that.

There are major changes between the 981 and 718 in suspension set up, and an area Porsche worked hard on, so no surprise they made significant advances.

I have to restate that I've a 718 on order, but have no intention of selling for many years as I think the car is stunning. As I say, if you have doubts just go drive a 718 and find out the truth for yourself. I'd hate that a stunning car to be ignored due to internet gossip.

Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 20:30

Whaleblue

352 posts

88 months

Sunday 11th December 2016
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I should add, I accept that my own posts are no more than 'internet gossip', and of course bcr our findings are just our own subjective opinions.

So I reassert, drive one for yourself and then form an opinion.

Edited by Whaleblue on Sunday 11th December 20:39