Had a 718 CS loaner while my 981 BGTS was serviced. Some thoughts.
05-11-2018, 08:41 AM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Had a 718 CS loaner while my 981 BGTS was serviced. Some thoughts.
I was put in a brand new 718 Cayman S as a loaner the past couple days. It's not the first time as I've had a 718 BS loaner in the past that actually led to my current purchase of a 981, but this time it didn't spend the majority of the time I had it in a parking garage and I actually got a sense of what it's like to live with. I'm left... conflicted.
Any of the folks who frequent this board probably recognize my username as being an advocate for NOT hating on the 718 despite the fact that I drive a 981, so I'd like to consider myself at least close to unbiased. Also I'm relatively new to Porsche, having just picked up my 981 last November (I've had a Macan since 2015 but no one seems to care about that...). So as expected, I thoroughly enjoyed the car. This one was really well equipped too; PASM, Sport Chrono, PSE. But one thing I noticed after running a few errands, the problem with the sound goes a bit beyond the exhaust note or even the "artificial" sound inside the car (which I didn't even notice). The 981 is a noisy engine as well as far as lifter noise and general racket is concerned... but the 718's 4 produces a cacophony of ticking and rattling that at times had me wondering if I broke something. There was only 200 miles on the car when I got it, I was easy on it out of respect for whoever else may own the car at some point but the noise was so bad at at times I thought I somehow still screwed up the break in process. I guess I'd get used to it over time though.
I actually did enjoy the low baritone of the car at idle and slow speeds, very reminiscent of my STI, which to me is a very good thing, even though you could say it isn't necessarily "Porsche-like". The PSE feels like it is absolutely essential, and Porsche made a wise move making it standard for MY '18. And when you put your foot down the thing just takes off just like my M4 did (again, no racing or redlining but you don't need to get too far into the rev range to get a sense of the power this car has). The chassis just feels amazing too, any reasonable person can tell immediately that there are significant improvements over the 981. I have to concede that I almost felt like I wanted to keep the car an extra day, which I never thought would happen with my 981... which I think is what's beginning to happen at large is that the "soak time" is reaching that point for the 718 where the shock of the change to the flat 4 is beginning to wear off, and people can appreciate the car for what it is, rather than compare it to what came before it.
But I do have to say that as soon as I hopped back in my car and started it up, I was reminded of why I chose the 981 in the first place. Literal ear to ear grin, and might have been a little over enthusiastic with the revs leaving the dealer. It's not as fast, not as precise, but there is a degree of character that is absolutely missing that is what's driving all the criticism. It just sounds and even feels more "exotic".
(Also as an aside, I had the car detailed for the first time since I've owned it, and the alcantara feels like new again. Another thing that's frequently criticized but has a simple solution.)
TL;DR, the 718s are amazing cars and anyone who has one should be and will be delighted... just try to avoid driving a 981 back to back.
Any of the folks who frequent this board probably recognize my username as being an advocate for NOT hating on the 718 despite the fact that I drive a 981, so I'd like to consider myself at least close to unbiased. Also I'm relatively new to Porsche, having just picked up my 981 last November (I've had a Macan since 2015 but no one seems to care about that...). So as expected, I thoroughly enjoyed the car. This one was really well equipped too; PASM, Sport Chrono, PSE. But one thing I noticed after running a few errands, the problem with the sound goes a bit beyond the exhaust note or even the "artificial" sound inside the car (which I didn't even notice). The 981 is a noisy engine as well as far as lifter noise and general racket is concerned... but the 718's 4 produces a cacophony of ticking and rattling that at times had me wondering if I broke something. There was only 200 miles on the car when I got it, I was easy on it out of respect for whoever else may own the car at some point but the noise was so bad at at times I thought I somehow still screwed up the break in process. I guess I'd get used to it over time though.
I actually did enjoy the low baritone of the car at idle and slow speeds, very reminiscent of my STI, which to me is a very good thing, even though you could say it isn't necessarily "Porsche-like". The PSE feels like it is absolutely essential, and Porsche made a wise move making it standard for MY '18. And when you put your foot down the thing just takes off just like my M4 did (again, no racing or redlining but you don't need to get too far into the rev range to get a sense of the power this car has). The chassis just feels amazing too, any reasonable person can tell immediately that there are significant improvements over the 981. I have to concede that I almost felt like I wanted to keep the car an extra day, which I never thought would happen with my 981... which I think is what's beginning to happen at large is that the "soak time" is reaching that point for the 718 where the shock of the change to the flat 4 is beginning to wear off, and people can appreciate the car for what it is, rather than compare it to what came before it.
But I do have to say that as soon as I hopped back in my car and started it up, I was reminded of why I chose the 981 in the first place. Literal ear to ear grin, and might have been a little over enthusiastic with the revs leaving the dealer. It's not as fast, not as precise, but there is a degree of character that is absolutely missing that is what's driving all the criticism. It just sounds and even feels more "exotic".
(Also as an aside, I had the car detailed for the first time since I've owned it, and the alcantara feels like new again. Another thing that's frequently criticized but has a simple solution.)
TL;DR, the 718s are amazing cars and anyone who has one should be and will be delighted... just try to avoid driving a 981 back to back.
05-11-2018, 12:42 PM
#2
I'm new to Porsche. I like to believe I'm unbiased. I love power and I love noise so I'm not completely unbiased. I've never owned a Porsche and only ridden in a few but I have driven multiple models back to back. When I was looking at Boxsters I drove a 718 Base and hated it (turbo lag was God awful). Then jumped in a 981 Base and loved it. Then jumped in a 718 S and loved it MORE (turbo lag was not noticeable unless I REALLY tried to trip up the engine). Then jumped in a 981 S and it didn't seem much better or worse (just slightly different) than the 718 S. I made up my mind that day that either would do me as long as it was an S or better. I searched for a used Boxster for a year being picky about a couple hard-to-find options (manual, interior/exterior colors and sports chrono) and finally got tired because none came up. I finally placed an order for a new 718 GTS this week. Maybe I missed something being new to Porsche but I'm confident I'll love my car!
05-11-2018, 11:57 PM
#3
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
I'm new to Porsche. I like to believe I'm unbiased. I love power and I love noise so I'm not completely unbiased. I've never owned a Porsche and only ridden in a few but I have driven multiple models back to back. When I was looking at Boxsters I drove a 718 Base and hated it (turbo lag was God awful). Then jumped in a 981 Base and loved it. Then jumped in a 718 S and loved it MORE (turbo lag was not noticeable unless I REALLY tried to trip up the engine). Then jumped in a 981 S and it didn't seem much better or worse (just slightly different) than the 718 S. I made up my mind that day that either would do me as long as it was an S or better. I searched for a used Boxster for a year being picky about a couple hard-to-find options (manual, interior/exterior colors and sports chrono) and finally got tired because none came up. I finally placed an order for a new 718 GTS this week. Maybe I missed something being new to Porsche but I'm confident I'll love my car!
Most of the time on the open road and I'm sure all the time on the track, the acceleration is so intoxicating you won't notice the noise.
05-12-2018, 12:18 AM
#4
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I test drove three Caymans before settling on my GTS. The first was a base and I don't know if they are all the same or if the example I test drove was in need of break in. It was very noisy with tappet noise. I tried an S next and it too was noisy albeit more powerful and responsive. I then test drove a GTS they had and it was much, much quieter. I fell for the GTS and took it home the next day. After about 600 miles and sitting idle for a week I started it up in the garage and it sounded terrible. A lot of tappet noise. It actually sounded worse than the first base I drove. I let it run for a few minutes and shut it down and let it sit for a minute before restarting. It still sounded noisy as heck. Shut it down again and restarted it and then it got quiet again. I was worried something had gone wrong with it but have since been advised by others that it's normal and that they do it from time to time. Maybe something to do with the oil reservoir draining down after sitting.
05-19-2018, 11:48 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
My wife and I bought our first Porsche in January 2017 a 718 Boxster. The car is a daily driver for my wife and she drove several 981 and 982’s before settling for the new Boxster. At first I really did not like the sound either. Although neither one of us had any Porsche experience or a reference to the turbo four’s sound. We have had it almost a year and a half now with 8200 miles. The sound and performance grew on me to the point that I purchased a new Cayman GTS for myself. The sounds really do grow on you with time and at a steady cruise it completely disappears. It will never have the smoothness of a flat 6 but in my opinion the rest of the cars attributes make up for this.