A quest to return a drivers car!
Discussion
m.barnes said:
Just reading your thread and your quest for a car reads quite like mine.
I currently have an M235i which is not as enthralling as I hoped (have owned it 3 years though) and am looking at a £35k budget Cayman or maybe a more "sensible" 911 to get the rear seats.
There is a cayman near me that looks lovely, although £35k for a "base" model car still upsets me slightly.
Its at Hilmoren, I was just wondering why your keenness to go for a Porsche OPC over any other dealers?
Let us know how you go.
Made the same decision of the Cayman base over an M235 2 years ago, Porsche dealer is nice but there are plenty of good independents.I currently have an M235i which is not as enthralling as I hoped (have owned it 3 years though) and am looking at a £35k budget Cayman or maybe a more "sensible" 911 to get the rear seats.
There is a cayman near me that looks lovely, although £35k for a "base" model car still upsets me slightly.
Its at Hilmoren, I was just wondering why your keenness to go for a Porsche OPC over any other dealers?
Let us know how you go.
KMCG1969 said:
I had the opportunity of a test drive today, not the best conditions considering temperatures where sitting around 5degC, the previous night being under 0degC and under every tree covered part of the road there threatened to be ice / slippery conditions.
The drive included a mix of A and B roads with the occasional dual carriageway and traffic was light for the majority of the time. The salesman was enthusiastic and keen for me to get the most out of the drive.
My takeaways from the drive are as follows:
1. The gear change was smooth, precise and didn't baulk when changed quickly (though I did select 4th when looking for 2nd on the change down on a few occasions but I put that down to familiarity). I kept blipping the throttle on change downs as it felt so natural - exactly what I was looking for!
2. I didn't push overly hard on the road in the bends due to a combination of the weather, respect for the traffic and the salesman within the car - however - there was an open (visibility) series of tight bends and I have to say it felt secure, stable and composed - exactly what I was looking for!
3. On the dual carriageway I was able to fully extend the rev range and I noticed a couple of things - at circa 5.5krpm there is a change in engine note that starts to lift the hairs on the neck and then above 6krpm the sound is intoxicating! - exactly what I was looking for!
4. The difference between the normally aspirated 2.7 and my usual daily of a 3 litre straight 6 with twin scroll turbo (little M135i) was noticeable in the lower half of the rev range. Judging purely on 'feel' I came away with the perception that my current steer would pull a gap on the Cayman 'in a straight line' and I did wonder if the Cayman S would address that? However my search is not for speed but a drivers car so this wasn't a key consideration.
5. I found the ride relatively compliant and certainly no harsher than my current steer, the 19" wheels 'feel' the right compromise
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the test drive and believe that the Cayman in 2.7 form with a manual gearchange really is an enjoyable drivers car. If the opportunity to drive a PDK arises I will take it but for the moment I'm awaiting a call from the dealer on what deal can be offered,....
. I'm not confident he'll be able to offer what I'm looking to pay, but, my original plan was to get into one within 12-18 months so I'm relaxed - well if I keep saying that I'll hopefully manage the crushing disappointment 
For information the car was Guards Red with black wheels, a 15 plate with circa 5k miles. Picture to follow once I've got it down to the forum size limit.
Cheers, Kevin.
Sounds like you are a fan!The drive included a mix of A and B roads with the occasional dual carriageway and traffic was light for the majority of the time. The salesman was enthusiastic and keen for me to get the most out of the drive.
My takeaways from the drive are as follows:
1. The gear change was smooth, precise and didn't baulk when changed quickly (though I did select 4th when looking for 2nd on the change down on a few occasions but I put that down to familiarity). I kept blipping the throttle on change downs as it felt so natural - exactly what I was looking for!
2. I didn't push overly hard on the road in the bends due to a combination of the weather, respect for the traffic and the salesman within the car - however - there was an open (visibility) series of tight bends and I have to say it felt secure, stable and composed - exactly what I was looking for!
3. On the dual carriageway I was able to fully extend the rev range and I noticed a couple of things - at circa 5.5krpm there is a change in engine note that starts to lift the hairs on the neck and then above 6krpm the sound is intoxicating! - exactly what I was looking for!
4. The difference between the normally aspirated 2.7 and my usual daily of a 3 litre straight 6 with twin scroll turbo (little M135i) was noticeable in the lower half of the rev range. Judging purely on 'feel' I came away with the perception that my current steer would pull a gap on the Cayman 'in a straight line' and I did wonder if the Cayman S would address that? However my search is not for speed but a drivers car so this wasn't a key consideration.
5. I found the ride relatively compliant and certainly no harsher than my current steer, the 19" wheels 'feel' the right compromise
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the test drive and believe that the Cayman in 2.7 form with a manual gearchange really is an enjoyable drivers car. If the opportunity to drive a PDK arises I will take it but for the moment I'm awaiting a call from the dealer on what deal can be offered,....
. I'm not confident he'll be able to offer what I'm looking to pay, but, my original plan was to get into one within 12-18 months so I'm relaxed - well if I keep saying that I'll hopefully manage the crushing disappointment For information the car was Guards Red with black wheels, a 15 plate with circa 5k miles. Picture to follow once I've got it down to the forum size limit.
Cheers, Kevin.
My 2 cents. For everyday road driving the instantly available torque would make the M135i feel marginally quicker than even the Cayman S and TBH most of the more powerful hot hatches like the Golf R or Focus RS would keep a Cayman S or even a GT4 honest, unless you are in the business of taking huge liberties on the public roads. With the Cayman though you do need to adjust the way you drive the car to make best use of the top part of the rev range and the gearing, which is no hardship because the engine is a joy (2.7 or 3.4). I find the gearbox takes some warming up which might explain the missed shift. The car remains really well balanced up to and beyond the limit on track, where it's not the mid-engined handful you might expect (compared to say a Lotus Elise S2/S3 which is also a cracking car but very spikey on the limit). The 981 is also quite tyre sensitive, the P-Zeros in particular not finding too many fans in these parts.
Possibly still would try a 987.2 if you can. The narrower track makes for a more exploitable and sports car like experience, whilst the 981 is nudging into GT territory in some respects. That can be a pro or a con depending on your view.
First of all many thanks for the various opinions expressed by all, it really is interesting to read the different takes. So, where am I now?
As I mentioned in my post test drive response the big takeaways for me were the 'feel' of the handling, the noise of the engine, the gearchange and dare I say it, the look of the car!
Yes it does need to be revved and reminds me of my old Honda engines, not in noise, but in the way it sounds 'unstressed' when taken all the way round the rev range. I no doubt will need to change my driving style as the massive levels of low down torque in my little M135i make you 'lazy' as it'll pick up and go whatever the gear / revs - relatively speaking. It is that need to 're-awaken' my concentration that I'm looking forward to if that makes sense.
Whilst I was really interested in the particular vehicle I test drove I wanted to see the 'deal' on paper but, with hindsight, stupidly didn't leave a deposit and decided to wait until the New Year had passed. Unfortunately that very weekend another individual came to see the car, test drove it, bought and drove it home on the same day! I can't argue with the level of decisiveness if I'm honest.
So what next? I'm keen to follow up on the advice on here and try a PDK equipped variant and a 3.4s model though I don't want to overly annoy the dealer - they are there to sell cars - so I need to figure out the best approach. At the moment however if the right deal came up and it was similar to the 2.7 manual I test drove I think I'd go for it and to heck with it - life is too short
Reference the question as to why I'm looking at buying from an OPC, this will be my first foray in to Porsche ownership and I wanted to have the 'belt and braces' protection of their used warranty etc even if that means paying a premium. I could change this view as I learn more about the specialist sellers out there but I'm not there at the time of writing.
Right back to surfing forums and watching youtube to increase my Cayman knowledge!
cheers, Kevin
As I mentioned in my post test drive response the big takeaways for me were the 'feel' of the handling, the noise of the engine, the gearchange and dare I say it, the look of the car!
Yes it does need to be revved and reminds me of my old Honda engines, not in noise, but in the way it sounds 'unstressed' when taken all the way round the rev range. I no doubt will need to change my driving style as the massive levels of low down torque in my little M135i make you 'lazy' as it'll pick up and go whatever the gear / revs - relatively speaking. It is that need to 're-awaken' my concentration that I'm looking forward to if that makes sense.
Whilst I was really interested in the particular vehicle I test drove I wanted to see the 'deal' on paper but, with hindsight, stupidly didn't leave a deposit and decided to wait until the New Year had passed. Unfortunately that very weekend another individual came to see the car, test drove it, bought and drove it home on the same day! I can't argue with the level of decisiveness if I'm honest.
So what next? I'm keen to follow up on the advice on here and try a PDK equipped variant and a 3.4s model though I don't want to overly annoy the dealer - they are there to sell cars - so I need to figure out the best approach. At the moment however if the right deal came up and it was similar to the 2.7 manual I test drove I think I'd go for it and to heck with it - life is too short
Reference the question as to why I'm looking at buying from an OPC, this will be my first foray in to Porsche ownership and I wanted to have the 'belt and braces' protection of their used warranty etc even if that means paying a premium. I could change this view as I learn more about the specialist sellers out there but I'm not there at the time of writing.
Right back to surfing forums and watching youtube to increase my Cayman knowledge!
cheers, Kevin
For a modern car they are surprisingly analogue. Decent passive chassis, very good diff and punchy engine with plenty of low down torque.
It’s no less a drivers car than the cayman, in many ways just as rewarding but where the cayman is delicate and precise tool the bmw is more old school hooligan. Both very good cars. I mention the M2 as it may suit the OP’s needs in terms of practicality a little better.
It’s no less a drivers car than the cayman, in many ways just as rewarding but where the cayman is delicate and precise tool the bmw is more old school hooligan. Both very good cars. I mention the M2 as it may suit the OP’s needs in terms of practicality a little better.
Hi Steve,
Funnily enough I have indeed considered an M2 but at the time the prices were a tad rich though I have noticed recently that they now seem to be falling with the announcement of the new variant later this year. My local dealer has a white one with the 'colgate stripes', performance exhaust and all the carbon accessories for £40k.
Having driven both I'd agree with your view and would characterise the Cayman as a scalpel and the M2 as a hammer. Either tool is effective and it all depends on your preference and the road ahead.
The M2 would be the 'safer' option in terms of practicality fall back position, but, I have this Cayman itch
Cheers, Kevin.
Funnily enough I have indeed considered an M2 but at the time the prices were a tad rich though I have noticed recently that they now seem to be falling with the announcement of the new variant later this year. My local dealer has a white one with the 'colgate stripes', performance exhaust and all the carbon accessories for £40k.
Having driven both I'd agree with your view and would characterise the Cayman as a scalpel and the M2 as a hammer. Either tool is effective and it all depends on your preference and the road ahead.
The M2 would be the 'safer' option in terms of practicality fall back position, but, I have this Cayman itch
Cheers, Kevin.
Steve Rance said:
A car that might suit you in terms of practicality performance and involvement is the M2. I’ve just picked one up as a DD. There are a couple about in the high 30’s.
I missed the manual white one at £37,500 from a BMW dealer 3 weeks ago and now I can't find one at anywhere that price of course...r1flyguy1 said:
nickfrog said:
I missed the manual white one at £37,500 from a BMW dealer 3 weeks ago and now I can't find one at anywhere that price of course...
Nickfrog!!! Is that one??? Previously of boxa.net fame you were mentioned on there the other day.Sorry for the thread drift.
Probably doing a Ring trip this summer with Mike and Dave if you fancy it ?
nickfrog said:
r1flyguy1 said:
nickfrog said:
I missed the manual white one at £37,500 from a BMW dealer 3 weeks ago and now I can't find one at anywhere that price of course...
Nickfrog!!! Is that one??? Previously of boxa.net fame you were mentioned on there the other day.Sorry for the thread drift.
Probably doing a Ring trip this summer with Mike and Dave if you fancy it ?
Still have fond memories of you turning green at the Ring
hope you & yours are all well.Oh hell yeah
albeit it will be a last minute joining if i can tag along as i need it to fit in with my work schedule. So please keep me updated with a date and on the 15th of the month prior i can give a yay or nay Gassing Station | Boxster/Cayman | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff