718 Cayman - first 6 weeks

[LiamH66]

To cut a long story short - have finished running it in, like it, think I will own it for a while.

My first few weeks using the car were mainly commuting, a 200 mile round trip to North Wales, a 300 mile round trip to Birmingham. And it was all OK, but driving sensibly at under 4000 rpm, and not really exploiting the grip available so much for the first 1000 miles. I hit 1000 miles just over a week ago, and had excuses to use the car, so decided it was going to be 5000rpm limit up to 1300 miles, 6000rpm up to 1600 miles, and then progressively more revs and load as opportunity arose up to the 1800 miles of officially "run in".

The first "post-1000 miles" journey was Preston to the Llyn Peninsula, and obviously had to take the more interesting but slower route of Ruthin - Bala - Porthmadog to see what the car felt like. It's pretty refined for a sports car, but pleasantly unrefined as a GT car, with a fair bit of transmission noise in the lower gears. Out of the other side of Ruthin the roads cleared (or at least a 5000rpm limit gave me some more confidence in overtaking), and top gear cruising at around the legal limit was amazingly smooth and quiet. Out the other side of Bala the road surfaces improve a fair bit, so set the PASM to firm, and enjoyed a spirited A-road drive that eventually led to following a Mazda 6 that was making good enough progress to enjoy following, but acted as my "conscience" to save me racking up any more Welsh speeding points. Definitely a car I can live with on my favourite roads - glad I chose 18" wheels - still wasn't sure my old GT86 wasn't a little bit more fun in the corners, but the torque made it a really enjoyable journey. Parked up on the peninsula for a week, and enjoyed carting dogs about in a Volvo for the duration of a stay.

A week later set out from the Llyn to deepest Kent. It was really wet, and the traffic wasn't great through Snowdonia. Out the other side Porsche Nav took over and made what seemed to me to be a very poor job of routing me through Wrexham bypasses I never knew existed, followed by endless recently resurfaced (complete with loose chippings) Cheshire A-roads before I hit the M6. Plain sailing from there, and I felt like I was getting to know the car a bit better.

Final leg was Kent back up to Preston on the Motorways, and I was reminded why I can live without the 981 soundtrack. 50-80 mph is nice in top gear, but then there's a choice of a few more gears depending on how swiftly you want to get there. Yes, the turbo lag is noticeable below 3000rpm, but slot things down a gear (or 2, or 3) and it picks up and goes pretty smartly. I re-fueled at Keele, and was pretty cheerful about the distance covered on a tank full. Can a 981 achieve that kind of fuel consumption at similar average speeds? Not sure it's too much worse than the old GT86.



Shortly after I was amazed that Porsche Nav took a full 1/2 hour to notice I was stuck in a 45 minute tailback due to an accident. Google Maps had it well before things got bad, so I'm guessing I'll end up with a mobile phone cradle and not bothering with the nav I paid for when I bought the car. I wish they could find a way of embracing Android.

On arrival home I got to thinking that I'm pretty happy with the overall package. I like the torque of the turbo 4, and I actually like the noise it makes too. It's quick enough for me, and the ride, handling and general drivability are a delight. As a practical road car that I can enjoy on a daily basis it really does seem to tick every box, and I'm struggling to work out what it might lack as a sports car. I honestly think that while so many are bemoaning the loss of the NA 6 cylinder soundtrack, this might actually end up being a model that is looked back on very fondly in a few years.

Liam

[LiamH66]

overunder12g said:

Thanks for that Liam.
<snip>So, what about this engine? Well, certainly delivers more power than the previous car. Low down torque is really good. I have found very little turbo lag as long as you keep the revs above 2k.
I find a significant difference in engine braking with the 718 offering much less than the 981. Both PDK by the way.
So to the noise! No contest here. The 981 is a nicer sound through most parts of the rev range. 718 has the sports exhaust which offers some compensation. Still adhering to the 4k rev limit so yet to experience what it sounds like in the upper reaches. Certainly not a deal breaker for me as the other advantages of the 718 over the previous model more than compensate.<snip>

Will update once I have started to really exploit the performance.

Since finishing running in, I've been driving a bit harder and using a few more revs. It's an impressively quick car from rest to 60, but choosing gears wisely, pretty amazing for road driving in everyday traffic. I absolutely love the manual gearbox.

I chose PTV, and have to say the limited slip diff is far from the best I have ever come across, but the "fiddle braking" into corners is unobtrusive and so far seems to be well programmed.

I'll update when I have done some more swift road driving, but I think you're going to like it. Engine and vehicle dynamics work really well together - and I am rapidly losing any romantic visions of how much better it might be with a 6 cylinder NA soundtrack. It's just so torquey!

Liam

[LiamH66]

Mine has DAB radio, and seems to be as good as any modern car DAB. Might be worth asking your OPC to check it out and see if it's behaving as expected.

Liam

[LiamH66]

Thanks for the very useful post. I've snipped it down a bit for comments, but I really did enjoy every word!

Bubbledragon said:

Mine also base 718 (pdk) just hit 1 month on Sunday & done around 1200miles.
1st time Porsche, never sat in / drove / owned / Porsches previously.
Just to add a few comments for those who never drove cayman & considering:
<snip>
2. Inside the car:
a) Seat (2 way manual sport) - perfect compact size & ride height (10/10) (additional feel good points given to being able to admire the front bonnet / headlights / wide rear archs whilst driving!)

Absolutely. I was so relieved that the standard 2 way sport seats turned out to be, at least for me, more comfortable than Sports Seats Plus. I like leather, but I prefer Alcantara, even if the side bolsters are plastic.

Bubbledragon said:

c) Centre console (8/10)- Buttons feel solid & almost retro - analogy to an expensive hifi with heavy dials.The gear lever gets in the way as many reviews suggested. Touch screen - always on phone mode as always on the phone, using the touchscreen whilst driving is difficult for me, keep pressing the wrong number / icon due to the shakes (the car, not me) .

I had not thought about it, but you are absolutely right. I am tending to use the right hand instrument stalk in preference to the touch screen for most phone calls, etc. There seem to be about 3 ways of achieving most things with Nav and Comms, so it's maybe a question of figuring out preferences.

Bubbledragon said:

<snip>
3) Handling - being electric assisted, if I did not drive it back to back with a hydraulic steer sports car, I can't tell its electric. (9.5/10)

This was an old complaint about the 981 when it first came out, but not many are complaining now. Yes, ePAS generally feels cruder than hydraulic, but I would struggle to make this criticism in the case of Porsche. I don't know if I can tell, because I know it's electric already. But it's really, really good. Ride, handling and driving responses (engine included) are to my mind really hard to find fault with. Just exceptional.

Bubbledragon said:

4) Sport chrono - only use sport mode. Never bothered to launch. In Sport+ the active exhaust is less loud hence never use it anymore.

I don't have PDK or Sports Chrono, but you simply HAVE to try launching it. I tried it many, many times at the PEC and it is really great fun. Just be sure there is nothing in front of you the first time. You might be surprised how quickly and easily you reach high speeds. It isn't aggressive or savage, just surprisingly effective.

Bubbledragon said:

5) Engine sound- All said in the reviews & by others in this forum are true, utterly agree. But as a 1st time Porsche, this is what I have to say:-
-The sound is truly obnoxious, & painful to my ears
- You can't hear it under 2000 rev, which mean its a normal car when driving normally, & cruising (7th).
- This truly obnoxious sound when revving, together with the rest of the other factors, makes me feel I am driving a very very special "racing car", & this is a very special experience. I think this is what Porsche wants to give its new audience, and frankly, I can't imagine any new audience like me not impressed (understatement, more like overwhelmed!).

They don't sound like anything else I have ever heard. I quite like it (possibly not supposed to say that around here), but I don't have the noisy exhaust option on my one.

Bubbledragon said:

<snip>
7) Speed & power - some complained huge turbo lag whilst others said powers always present regardless of rev & took away the fun of the NA. This is what I found - from 2nd onwards between 2-3000 there is little power, so yea its a rather long lag, but just downshift 2 - 3 gears & all the power, noise, G-force are there. I am using 1st a lot when needing power below 30 mph, in my previous cars 1st is just for start stop! For me the base cayman is fast enough, & can't stop wondering if the S will take away the fun reaching speed limit too quickly. (10/10)

Agree completely. At 50mph it will accelerate in 5th gear, but put it in 3rd (or even better 2nd) and the progress is alarmingly faster. The torque is always there, but you can make much quicker progress in the right gear for the circumstances. This makes the car more fun from my perspective. I could maybe have loved the 3.4 NA6 more, but it's a moot point as I couldn't find a used car in a spec that I wanted last year, and Porsche only sell the turbo 4 now.

Bubbledragon said:

8) pdk vs manual thing. I considered almost a year before made up my mind. Now this is my view
a) with my average joe driving skills , this car is too fast & powerful for me to safely handle with manual. I even found it unsafe taking 1 hand off the steering wheel to push the pdk lever to change gear (? standard larger steering wheel better in this respect?).
b) Regarding the sequencing gears (eg 5th to 2nd) vs single move in a manual topic. I figured out you don't count 5-4-3-2- each time, which was very clumsy & I kept ending up in the wrong gear! You pre-programme your brain to know how many clicks you need at whatever circumstances in advance based on your experience with the car. I find this learning process fun. You can't really rapid sequence using the pdk lever, its too slow & the bus driver in the next lane would think you are a lunatic.
c) For me the gear lever is too high for manual box, as some reviews commented.

I get all of that! You get used to it, and it's a very nice car to drive with a manual gearbox once the oil is warm. But PDK is exceptional to say the least. The high gear lever is fashionable for sports and performance cars right now, and for me doesn't seem too much in the way, but I know having a manual box is a bit of an anachronism. I went for it firm in the knowledge that it might be my last one. PDK is ludicrously good in every way.

Bubbledragon said:

I suspect most points above are already known to current Porsche owners, but this is all new to me which I hope helpful to those considering.

Helpful thoughts to me, and I am a very long term Porsche driver, but very much new to owning one!

Bubbledragon said:

Final point about disappointment moving from previous to current cayman, I was disappointed moving from mk1 to 3 TT after 15 years. I think Audi expected me to have saved enough over the years to move to R8. Porsche probably hoped you guys move to 911 - worth starting a new thread on this? discussion, not argument

Lots of people are disappointed by new 911 models when they come out, but then it turns out the last model was really good when the next successor arrives. In the perfect world I would have been buying a brand new 964 Carrera 2 or Club Sport instead of a Cayman this year, but at the time they came out people were complaining they were no longer a "real" 911. Times change!

Thanks for the thought provoking post.

Liam

[LiamH66]

DJMC said:

That's only in the Boxster as women can never make just one call so it stays on the phone screen waiting for the next number to be dialled. In the Cayman, the screen reverts back to whatever it was before the call.

My Cayman seems to be stuck in a girly mode, even if I have parked up at the end of the phone call. Might be because my preference is to turn the screen off. How does that get to be 3-4 presses on the screen? Must figure out if there's a faster way to remove the distraction!

Liam