6+ months Review - Cayman 718 2.0

[martindg123]

So... after collection on 1st Oct 2018, I have racked up a grand total of 4K miles - car has just ticked over 7k in total. Thought I would give a quick review of my fairly short ownership and my first Porsche!

Spec/Options

Guards Red: Was the only colour i was after. Have just had a paint correction completed and the car looks stunning IMO.

Sports Chrono: The clock is a nice touch and adds a bit of class to the cabin. First thing I do when I get in the car is flick the mode switch to ‘sport’, it never changes from here. Throttle blip downshifts are noticeable but certainly not a deal-breaker - perhaps this would be better with PDK. On to my next...

Manual: My first manual for some time, it is excellent and love the mechanical feel, if you like manuals, this is as good as it gets. Sometimes I wish I had PDK, sometimes I’m glad I have a manual, end of.

GT Sport steering wheel: Nice and chunky, feels good, can’t compare it to the standard wheel.

Carrera Sport 20’’ Silver - wasn’t sure about these at first and thought about having them sprayed black. Have certainly grown on me and really are a prominent feature of the car, they look huge!

PASM - The ride is excellent, have done some long journeys and feel refreshed at the end. Passengers have also commented about the ride being far better than they expected. NC500 later this year will no doubt test this!!

PSE - Was disappointed at first, just not loud enough and quite rugged. Had considered a PCW exhaust mod but held off. All I can say is, I’ve never experienced such an improvement in sound as I’ve put more miles on the car. Love the pops/bangs on the over-run. Wish it was slightly louder however. My previous car was a PCW modded M235i! Any thoughts/suggestions?

That’s all, not a huge spec and missing a few bits i’d haved liked; folding mirrors, Bose, heated seats, auto wipers, cruise control, dual climate control. But overall, happy with the spec.


So onto the good:

Handling/feel: Just sublime. The grip and feel is immense, admittedly, only once the huge Pirelli’s are up to temp. My first mid-engined car and first Porsche... I now completely undsrstand the hype.

Interior - whilst not the most exciting, it’s a nice place to be and the infotainment/apple car play, works excellently. The digital dial is also great.

Looks: Think it’s stunning, simple as. Gets lots of attention. Think Guards Red helps IMO

Economy: Whilst not hugely important, it is excellent on fuel. 4 cyl benefits I guess!

Performance - car feels plenty fast enough for me. Never wished for more power, would like to experience an ‘S’ however.


The not so good:

As mentioned previously, the sound has improved dramatically since putting some miles on it. However, wish it was a bit louder and the pops/bangs more pronounced.

Turbolag - Can feel a bit laggy at times. However, once up around 4.5k, it’s pulls hard to the redline.

Ackerman - whilst I appreciate this is normal, it’s so annoying. Will a change from Pirelli’s improve this?


Be interesting to see whether other owners share my thoughts or disagree. Hopefully this might help any prospective buyers!

Anyway, enough remarking...some pictures , just click on the pic and scroll through.

Edited by martindg123 on Tuesday 16th April 19:45

[Cheib]

Just regarding the “Ackerman”effect. I think this is misdiagnosis by many people....I think it’s purely something that happens in winter because of the spec of the rubber Porsche uses for the N spec tyres. Our Macan and Cayenne have it in winter until we change to winter tyres then it disappears...my wife’s Boxster and my GT3 don’t have winter tyres and do get it during winter.....they don’t get it when the weather warms up. See how your car behaves now the weather is getting warmer.

[bcr5784]

Cheib said:

Just regarding the “Ackerman”effect. I think this is misdiagnosis by many people....

I'd take a large bet that it isn't... Yes the large tread blocks and poor flexibility of summer tyre rubber in cold conditions exacerbates the problem enormously, but even in summer you get tyre scrub on full lock. On the Cayster It's almost certainly done to limit wheel arch intrusion which, on a mid engined car would seriously impact on foot room with true Ackermann geometry. It's not new - the Esprit was dreadful in that regard and had similar cramped footwell area (and a huge turning circle).

It's probably no coincidence that the Alpine doesn't suffer from it. Because there is no 3 pedal option much more wheel arch intrusion can be accommodated. A look at the Alpine footwell clearly confirms that there is no chance of sensibly accommodating a 3rd pedal..

Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 17th April 09:16

[Prestonese]

Porsche thread. Stop going off topic and bringing up the Alpine in your replies. Nobody is interested.

[bcr5784]

Prestonese said:

Porsche thread. Stop going off topic and bringing up the Alpine in your replies. Nobody is interested.

I'm sure Schmed is fascinated.... In any case it's a valid part of the explanation.

[Nickarcher82]

Thanks for the update, good read.

Looking forward to mine arriving more now!

[anonymous-user]

bcr5784 said:

Prestonese said:

Porsche thread. Stop going off topic and bringing up the Alpine in your replies. Nobody is interested.

I'm sure Schmed is fascinated.... In any case it's a valid part of the explanation.

For Renault Alpine aficionados you guys sure do spend a lot of your time reading Porsche threads.

OP, nice review by the way. Engine sound certainly evolves as the miles go on.

[mr pg]

Cheib said:

Just regarding the “Ackerman”effect. I think this is misdiagnosis by many people....I think it’s purely something that happens in winter because of the spec of the rubber Porsche uses for the N spec tyres. Our Macan and Cayenne have it in winter until we change to winter tyres then it disappears...my wife’s Boxster and my GT3 don’t have winter tyres and do get it during winter.....they don’t get it when the weather warms up. See how your car behaves now the weather is getting warmer.

Happens all year round on 981's, more so with P zero's. Michelin PS4S are much improved, almost gone in summer, but still there to a lesser degree in winter.

[JayK12]

Prestonese said:

Porsche thread. Stop going off topic and bringing up the Alpine in your replies. Nobody is interested.

hahaha

[DJMC]

Schmed said:

For Renault Alpine aficionados you guys sure do spend a lot of your time reading Porsche threads.

Jealousy?
Regret?

[Miserablegit]

DJMC said:

Schmed said:

For Renault Alpine aficionados you guys sure do spend a lot of your time reading Porsche threads.

Jealousy?
Regret?

Yes, it’s all of the above ( except I think you meant envy...)
I wanted a slower, heavier car....Damn those Alpine guys...
Blame bcr as I follow his postings ....I don’t normally interfere in the Porsche-boys reach-around

[Prestonese]

DJMC said:

Jealousy?
Regret?

It would be a bit boring reading the Alpine threads all the time - there's only so much which can be read about a car which hasn't been written about already.

[bcr5784]

My post was about Ackermann not Alpine.

[Prestonese]

bcr5784 said:

My post was about Ackermann not Alpine.

Those Ackermanns - terrible residual values.

[martindg123]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Couldn’t agree more!

[martindg123]

Nickarcher82 said:

Thanks for the update, good read.

Looking forward to mine arriving more now!

Glad you enjoyed! When’s delivery and what spec have you gone for?

[Nickarcher82]

martindg123 said:

Glad you enjoyed! When’s delivery and what spec have you gone for?

Cayman
Agate Grey
Sports Seats Plus - Leather
PDK
PASM
Sports Chrono
Sports Tailpipes in Black
Power Steering Plus
20" Carrera S Wheels - Satin Black
PDLS
Light Design
Auto Dimming Mirrors
Folding Mirrors
Park Assist - With Cam
Sports Steering Wheel - Multi-Function/heated
Two-zone climate
Seat heating
Smoking pack
Seat belts in guards red

Delivery July. Cant wait.

The colour was to keep the other half happy. But would have been my second choice anyway. Coming from a Golf R 7.5 (the 315hp version, current model is back down to 300hp because of emissions) and cannot wait. First Porsche. Had a guards red 993 model as a kid and this is the first step!

[martindg123]

Nickarcher82 said:

martindg123 said:

Glad you enjoyed! When’s delivery and what spec have you gone for?

Cayman
Agate Grey
Sports Seats Plus - Leather
PDK
PASM
Sports Chrono
Sports Tailpipes in Black
Power Steering Plus
20" Carrera S Wheels - Satin Black
PDLS
Light Design
Auto Dimming Mirrors
Folding Mirrors
Park Assist - With Cam
Sports Steering Wheel - Multi-Function/heated
Two-zone climate
Seat heating
Smoking pack
Seat belts in guards red

Delivery July. Cant wait.

The colour was to keep the other half happy. But would have been my second choice anyway. Coming from a Golf R 7.5 (the 315hp version, current model is back down to 300hp because of emissions) and cannot wait. First Porsche. Had a guards red 993 model as a kid and this is the first step!

Great spec. Have seen your colour/wheel combo in the flesh, looks lovely!

I came from an M235i... you will not be disappointed. Look forward to some pictures

[Nickarcher82]

martindg123 said:

Great spec. Have seen your colour/wheel combo in the flesh, looks lovely!

I came from an M235i... you will not be disappointed. Look forward to some pictures

I’ll be honest, the M2 Comp ran it close.

There was a 2017 S in the showroom when we signed. Looked great.

[Cheib]

bcr5784 said:

Cheib said:

Just regarding the “Ackerman”effect. I think this is misdiagnosis by many people....

I'd take a large bet that it isn't... Yes the large tread blocks and poor flexibility of summer tyre rubber in cold conditions exacerbates the problem enormously, but even in summer you get tyre scrub on full lock. On the Cayster It's almost certainly done to limit wheel arch intrusion which, on a mid engined car would seriously impact on foot room with true Ackermann geometry. It's not new - the Esprit was dreadful in that regard and had similar cramped footwell area (and a huge turning circle).

Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 17th April 09:16

The Boxster front end is identical to the 911 which is rear engined....I don't think it's got anything to do with the design wheel arch intrusion at the front to be honest. And that theory wouldn't be relevant to our two Porsche SUV's. As I said it happens on all our cars in winter Cayenne, Macan, 991.2 GT3, 718 Boxster and 997 GTS. On the first two which we run winter tyres on it disappears as soon as the winter rubber goes on....and I don't notice it on any of the cars in summer at all. Now the warmer weather is here I'll see if it does but I suspect I don't do much manouvering at walking speed at full lock.