Cayman vs Cayman S

[tcs0tm]

Keep wondering whether I should have gone Cayman S vs Cayman - once you've put a deposit down can models be changed too?

Did anyone do a price comparison between the two to see if there was a huge difference in PCP costs? Wondering whether much of that £10k extra mitigated through an increased GFV.

I should have checked - I'm pretty sure the Cayman is good enough but I'm sure we all crave that bit more

[The Mean Machine]

Whether you can change from 718 to 718S is something that you would need to discuss with dealer, depends on their allocation. From what others have posted the S slots are very hard to come by, so if you were to change to S then you may have to accept a much longer wait.
I have driven a Boxster S and a couple of Cayman 718's, both very good. I don' t think you will be disappointed with a Cayman 718 and objectively you are paying a large uplift for the additional performance. However Porsche cars are bought on how they drive and there is certainly a noticeable difference in performance and torque with the variable vane turbo on the S.The other differences are more minor and can be seen by doing a comparison on the configurator. I ordered the S to future proof the car as I will be keeping it for a number of years.
I can't comment on the PCP costs as I am a cash buyer.

[981UK]

As per MM, I think you'll be happy with the base cayman performance, there is a little lag but that can be remedied by being more active with gear selection, whether PDK or manual.

There should be no issues with changing to a S, but you will need to have a chat with your dealer to find out how it impacts your lead time. I think it might be shorter, the Base version seems very popular.

Re PCP costs per month, there isn't much between them and the GFV is higher, from what I can remember not by 10k but a good amount.

[tcs0tm]

Thanks both - I didnt realise you could compare pricing online which I have and the difference isnt huge. I'll ask the dealer , either way playing with the configurator last night cost a fair bit of money

[Tim bo]

Porsche Counfounderator is an expensive toy.

After I'd locked down my 718 CS I realised I'd spent more on options alone than I'd paid for an entire nearly new Cooper S a good few years back.

[DJMC]

tcs0tm said:

I'm pretty sure the Cayman is good enough but I'm sure we all crave that bit more

Go for a 918 then?

I think it's down to what you're used to. If you've had a faster car than the base Cayman before it would seem a backward step perhaps?

Taking it to extremes, a car which did 0-60 in 2 seconds may be a bit of a liability! Why not ask your dealer if you can drive base and S back to back to check? I drove base 981 and 981S and chose the base over the S for more thrills at license keeping speeds.

[981UK]

tcs0tm said:

Thanks both - I didnt realise you could compare pricing online which I have and the difference isnt huge. I'll ask the dealer , either way playing with the configurator last night cost a fair bit of money

I found that due to certain options either being standard or costing less the difference in list price wasn't as big, for instance alloys and interior options are cheaper on the S.

[dreamcar]

If it was me I'd always regret not getting the S - even if I didn't need the extra performance!!

[Jambalaya]

I originally ordered a Cayman then switched to an S, cost wasn't that much more given extras / options. This was done 3 months ahead of delivery. Now that was back in 2007 and I still have the car and that was part of the logic, I knew it would be a keeper so extra cost felt small.

[tcs0tm]

I swapped so all good -dealer was fine with it

[LiamH66]

I considered a swap, so made sure I drove both at the PEC earlier in the year. For what I do (mainly A-roads, a few B-roads, bit of motorway, occasional long motorway jaunt) the base model is probably more engaging - you have to drive it to make it go anywhere swiftly. I like that in a car.

On the track, the Cayman S is noticeably quicker. It has less lag below 3500rpm, and has a slightly more brutal power delivery that a lot will enjoy. On balance, I decided to stick with the base model (and the mid-range performance of the base model will embarrass a few 981 S owners once they get over it not being 6-cylinder), but they are both pretty benign to drive on the limit. The only reason I'm not going for the extra power and torque is that I can't see I'll ever use it on the road. There is no real downside to the Cayman S beyond a slightly more thunderous exhaust note. For most I'm guessing that's not a downside.

Liam