Final Cayman question
Discussion
Being new to Porsche, it being my intention to purchase a Cayman in the next couple of months, I have one final question to ask of those more familiar with this model.
Now that I am at the stage of looking through the classifieds to see what is out there, I have come to realise that I don't know if there is a preferred option between automatic or manual gearbox. I know with other marques that each type has had their yay or nay sayers, with it often coming down to personal preference, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a technical reason why either should be preferred or rejected.
If it makes a difference, I'm looking at a 2.9 Gen II
Now that I am at the stage of looking through the classifieds to see what is out there, I have come to realise that I don't know if there is a preferred option between automatic or manual gearbox. I know with other marques that each type has had their yay or nay sayers, with it often coming down to personal preference, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a technical reason why either should be preferred or rejected.
If it makes a difference, I'm looking at a 2.9 Gen II
Personal preference, I'd say. Given it will be a PDK as opposed to the earlier Tiptronic system, the gearbox will be pretty good if you like that sort of thing. Ideally you want a car with the paddles, rather than the buttons on the steering wheel which are apparently counterintuitive.
The manual gearboxes in the 987 and 981 are pretty good in my experience so you should have absolutely no worries there if you prefer a manual.
The manual gearboxes in the 987 and 981 are pretty good in my experience so you should have absolutely no worries there if you prefer a manual.
Stunters said:
Personal preference, I'd say. Given it will be a PDK as opposed to the earlier Tiptronic system, the gearbox will be pretty good if you like that sort of thing. Ideally you want a car with the paddles, rather than the buttons on the steering wheel which are apparently counterintuitive.
The manual gearboxes in the 987 and 981 are pretty good in my experience so you should have absolutely no worries there if you prefer a manual.
+1 Try both and make your own mind up. I'd definitely go for paddles if you decide PDK - you will need to do quite a bit of manual overriding to keep the smaller engine on the boil. Although there are no reliability issues with the PDK box (as far as I am aware) - any failure means a complete box replacement so it's VERY expensive (I don't have any definite figure, but I read £6k+ somewhere) so I'd have that in mind if you are going for a high mileage car.The manual gearboxes in the 987 and 981 are pretty good in my experience so you should have absolutely no worries there if you prefer a manual.
As the owner of a 2.9 Cayman PDK...
Depends what you're looking for. My 987.2 is my only car, so I picked one with 17-inch wheels for a smoother ride, and the PDK means I can shuffle through traffic/longer runs without a care, but can interact on more spirited drives.
If it was going to be a weekend toy, you'd get something focussed like the Cayman R IMO and have it manual.
Depends what you're looking for. My 987.2 is my only car, so I picked one with 17-inch wheels for a smoother ride, and the PDK means I can shuffle through traffic/longer runs without a care, but can interact on more spirited drives.
If it was going to be a weekend toy, you'd get something focussed like the Cayman R IMO and have it manual.
DIW35 said:
I'm not looking for excitement, just something that's comfortable to drive and is somewhat nicer than my current daily driver.
If you're not looking for excitement and want something comfortable and nice to drive regularly, the world is your oyster and there are probably far better options than a Cayman. Not trying to put you off a Cayman, it's a great car, but there are more comfortable cars that are nicer places to be, if excitement doesn't matter.
Porsche911R said:
DIW35 said:
I'm not looking for excitement, just something that's comfortable to drive and is somewhat nicer than my current daily driver.
Buy a GolfEdited by bcr5784 on Tuesday 18th April 09:15
My 2p is one option you should be worrying about most, is the seats. Standard seats in any Porsche feel bloody uncomfortable to me (broad-ish shoulders, but average height - Mr Medium) and I feel like I sit on the shoulder bolsters rather than between them.
As such, every time I went looking for or considering a car, if it didn't have at least Sports Seats Plus, I wouldn't entertain it.
If you are going for comfort, make sure you spend a good bit of time trying the seats!
As such, every time I went looking for or considering a car, if it didn't have at least Sports Seats Plus, I wouldn't entertain it.
If you are going for comfort, make sure you spend a good bit of time trying the seats!
When I said I wasn't looking for excitement, it was a relative term. My weekend toy is a Lamborghini, so a Cayman isn't going to set my world alight in the performance stakes, but I do want something that is going to put a smile on my face more often than the Seat Leon I currently have.
So I don't want another Eurobox, as I have lived with one of those for quite a few years, nor am I looking for an adrenaline rush that is difficult to live with 99% of the time, as I already have that. I'm looking for something in between, and thought the Cayman would fit that requirement.
So I don't want another Eurobox, as I have lived with one of those for quite a few years, nor am I looking for an adrenaline rush that is difficult to live with 99% of the time, as I already have that. I'm looking for something in between, and thought the Cayman would fit that requirement.
PhantomPH said:
My 2p is one option you should be worrying about most, is the seats. Standard seats in any Porsche feel bloody uncomfortable to me (broad-ish shoulders, but average height - Mr Medium) and I feel like I sit on the shoulder bolsters rather than between them.
As such, every time I went looking for or considering a car, if it didn't have at least Sports Seats Plus, I wouldn't entertain it.
If you are going for comfort, make sure you spend a good bit of time trying the seats!
Sounds like a Cayman would be a great choice imo (I have a 981S). Not sure I follow the comments above about the seats as the standard seats lack shoulder support, whereas the sports plus have additional support (all round), and were a must have when we looked around.As such, every time I went looking for or considering a car, if it didn't have at least Sports Seats Plus, I wouldn't entertain it.
If you are going for comfort, make sure you spend a good bit of time trying the seats!
DIW35 said:
Being new to Porsche, it being my intention to purchase a Cayman in the next couple of months, I have one final question to ask of those more familiar with this model.
Now that I am at the stage of looking through the classifieds to see what is out there, I have come to realise that I don't know if there is a preferred option between automatic or manual gearbox. I know with other marques that each type has had their yay or nay sayers, with it often coming down to personal preference, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a technical reason why either should be preferred or rejected.
If it makes a difference, I'm looking at a 2.9 Gen II
Porsche quote a slightly faster 0-60 on PDK. It also has slightly better fuel consumption. Now that I am at the stage of looking through the classifieds to see what is out there, I have come to realise that I don't know if there is a preferred option between automatic or manual gearbox. I know with other marques that each type has had their yay or nay sayers, with it often coming down to personal preference, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a technical reason why either should be preferred or rejected.
If it makes a difference, I'm looking at a 2.9 Gen II
So whilst there are a couple of technical reasons, consider visiting the dealership to get answers to some of the other questions like the 'feel' of PDK or manual + the seats.
SV_WDC said:
Porsche quote a slightly faster 0-60 on PDK. It also has slightly better fuel consumption.
So whilst there are a couple of technical reasons, consider visiting the dealership to get answers to some of the other questions like the 'feel' of PDK or manual + the seats.
In the real world the PDK has a bigger performance advantage over the manual than the odd tenth or so - no sensitive driver is going to be as brutal with the manual gearbox as roadtester would to get the manual figures - but can obviously match the specified PDK figures. That said, I doubt that the OP is So whilst there are a couple of technical reasons, consider visiting the dealership to get answers to some of the other questions like the 'feel' of PDK or manual + the seats.
really concerned - performance isn't going to be in the lambo league. As you say, it comes down to whether he likes PDK or not.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Yes good points and this isnt what I meant when stating that point. Was more that a computer can theoretically change gear at the best moment & quicker every time than most humans can. PDK in manual mode allows you to over-ride if you want, best of both worlds.Personally really like how you can just click up/down to go into manual mode temporarily, without having to switch into full manual mode
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