K-A

AGREED. Glad to see someone else say this. The 718 is otherwise beautiful (naturally, as the 918 basis is perfect imo) and even though I'm not as crazy as most about the flashy raised rear emblem, I HATE the front of the 718 (the bumper itself, all else is fine). They made it look so generic and lacking in elegance, no flow to it. Just so clunky, boxy and basic. The SportDesign bumper made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. First time I've ever seen Porsche flub a SD bumper. To me, the 981.1 in any trim at the front is far more beautiful.

K-A

This is just my theory, but I think the Macan is the reason of Porsche sales decline on other cars. Reason being that they made it so good, and at such a good value relative to the rest of the lineup. Now bringing in the VW powered snail 4 pot Macan, it's even worse. I can attest personally that when you want to buy your first Porsche, many are open to options. I wanted a 911, but new ones were too rich for my budget, and it was a little cramped for my height, and options I had to pay $$$$ for were free or cheaper in the Macan. The Macan became such a compelling value that I decided to get one over the Porsche sports cars I wanted (and now I sold it, loved it, but want to get a sports car). Certain customers who just want the badge may have gotten sports cars prior (you know, the buyers who get them and never take them over 4K RPM's), but now will get into a Macan, and be happy that they saved money.

It's a slippery slope for Porsche. Especially considering they accomplished a margin feat that no car company could ever dream of (one that will especially start being sacrificed by the Base joke of a Macan).

Marine Blue

The Macan's popularity really isn't surprising and I think Porsche can very easily take it a step further. It's a perfectly sized DD for a small family and yet it offers performance of a sports car. It's not a sports car but it fills the void until you can either afford a 3rd vehicle or no longer need the space.

ajw45

Supposedly 718 sales are down in the USA over 981 sales but up 4% internationally in Q1...

http://www.thedrive.com/flat-six-soc...ompany-history

PorscheStrong

Spent a lot of time in the 718 at the Porsche Experience Center and separately at the Porsche Sport Driving School. Performance is solid, but the car is plain ugly and the 4-pot is a turn-off. My old lawn-mower had more displacement. "Porscha" buyers will continue to buy them, but enthusiasts won't. It's really that simple.

BTW - sticking with my NA 981 Spyder, thanks...

K-A

Not that it matters much to most shoppers now, but imo there's no doubt the N/A 981 Flat Sixes will be selling for more than '17 718's, in 10+ years.

One thing consistent when it comes to Porsche future classics, is that purist, driver engagement matters, rarely does full out performance.

pc4ever

I find it quite hilarious that you think an "enthusiast" wouldn't buy a 718 - a car that for all its "faults" ( 4 pot, sound) has been universally praised for its performance improvement over the 98x. And to make your point even more hilarious, you opine that only "Porsha" types (which I assume you mean unknowing dilettantes, i.e., not like you, an "enthusiast") would own the car.

Well enjoy your "spyda", and hopefully you are a good driver because if you meet a 718S on the track, you might find that it is a car that an "enthusiast" can enjoy.

Plimpington2

Well . . . I have a fairly new 991.2 C4 (manualtransmission), which I picked up new about 6 months ago. This was myfirst Porsche. About two weeks ago, when the sun finally broke throughhere in Cleveland I began to lament not buying a soft top to begin with. So I went to my local dealer last week and test drove a 718 Boxster in manual -this was the base model, though it had sport chrono and, PSE and few othergoodies, but nothing outrageous. I was DAMNED impressed with it andbelieve as a package it more than holds its own against my 911 (andremember, this was the base model).

For one, it just felt more nimble overall. It seems to turn corners better, and struck me as more responsive. My 911 feels heavy by comparison (it IS much heavier, I guess). And Ihave no doubt it gives up a few tenths of second to 60 miles an hour to the base Carrera, but it didn't feel the least bit slower in my hands, particularly around town and in a manual. I get this business aboutturbo lag, but I have trouble getting worked up about it when the alternative is a NA engine that can't find any meaningful torque below 4000rpm. Doesn't it take just as long to wind out the engine on one of these than wait the half second for the turbo to kick in? But, more to the point, the 718 base seemed more useable "around town". The low-end torque really helps it scoot around between traffic lights andaround corners. I thought it was great! The irony of this is that I sometimes wish my 911 had more power. I think it’s because I’m getting bored with it overall – who knows.

Regarding the sound, I will admit that I believe the PSE in my 911 is mandatory. I never used to believe this – (in fact, when I finally located my car, I didn’t care if ithad PSE at all) – but my views on this have changed. The base exhaust sounds too high pitched, and the turbo whine is more prominent. Ineeded the lower end grumble. That being said, I thought the exhaust note of the 718 was fine. Even better with PSE. I’m new to Porsche, and so I don’t have much invested in the sound of the NA 6’s. To me, I don’t see what sounds so bad about a WRX anyway. In any event, I was more than satisfied by the way the 718 sounded.

One other thing . .. I feel like my 911 has more rattles in it than the 718 Boxster did, which seems not right at all. Maybe just because the Boxster was brand new –I don’t know.

Finally, I’m not convinced the Boxster S is necessary over the base model. According to Car and Driver, in their hands the manual base was only 0.1 second slower to 60mph compared to the “S” model. That’s not meaningful – and I’m not at all convinced my 911 is very much faster either.

Anyway, I’m looking into getting out of my 911 early (which is going to cost me dearly) so I can get a 718 ragtop. I think, overall, I’m going to be happier. We’ll see. Given the declining sales numbers for the 718 models, I gather I should be able to drive the price of a new one down a bit.

Zeus993

Great viewpoint. And I suspect you may be "younger" or as you appear, this being your first Porsche, not have drunk the Kool-aid (at least not a full glass) on the debate against the flat-four. My observation, is that the 718 is an exceptional performing car and that owners love it and don't really mind the sound of the flat-four. The one I test drove, an "S", sounded great and I never once made the derogatory connections to other flat-fours that we've all heard. It appears that it's the old f@#ts that are having the trouble and probably still have trouble logging onto the "inner net" and typing on a keyboard.

This being said, I'm going to go and jump in my MT air-cooled 98 and go for a drive with some other old f@#ts.

josephvman

Very true. Look at current RS America pricing.

josephvman

I was checking new Cayman 718S inventory weekly on Autotrader and Cars.com months before I bought my GT4 in May, just on chance that I'd find my ideal spec. Just out of curiosity I checked them this evening, and quite a few of the cars I saw 5 months ago still appear to be unsold. Lots of oddly spec'd cars. Most don't have specs listed, or have legible pics of window stickers. Few have decent pictures or any real descriptions, and a good percentage of the PDK cars come up when you search for manuals. There are a few dealers who seem to get it, but most do not. The dealers who are part of big auto groups seem to be the worst.

If I could only have one car it would be a Macan GTS, which just does it all and still manages to be a lot of fun. I asked a local dealer who the buyers are for the Macan, and he said they were coming out of all kinds of cars, but particularly BMW 3's and 5's, and interestingly quite a few Cayenne owners.

John Elliot

I just traded in my 991 2016 GT3 RS and ordered a 2018 Boxster 718 S. I've owned a 09 Boxster, 12 Cayman R, 15 GT3 and the 16 GT3 RS, I tracked all of them about 16 Times a year.

I'm enthused about running the 718 in 2018 at Track Events as well as my new Ariel Atom Spec Racer.

I believe all cars have plus and minus things, however I've enjoyed all my Porsches.

y0ukz

Hello all, I am an owner of a 718 base Cayman, loving every peace of it. I bought this car because I have been an enthusiast of porsche since I was 12 years old and one of my best friends bought in 2016 a 981 Cayman S.

I did test drive a 718 S and base at the same time of my friend's 981 CS, and both of them were quicker, the S was clearly quicker. I know that the 981 sounds better, but apart from that I dont see anything better on the previous model. The interior looks better know, the exterior the same and the torque make it easier to use and more capable. It still a big punch in the 5000-7000 range and loves to rev.

As I said, apart from the glourious 981 CS sport exhaust sound, the 718 IMO is quite better. My friend drove the 718S and he was so impressed with the power and the better brakes. Additionally he liked the sound too.

guab

Man, I'm getting old (33). You guys must fit me into that old fart category now, because I can't stand the 718 sound . I'm sure it's fun to drive though if you aren't one of the sound-obsessed people like I am.

Fliz

I'm kinda sound obsessed too but went ahead and ordered a 718 because it so impressed me overall. That said, I'll likely be holding on to my V8 M3 for a while in case I need that particular aural fix :-)

Also... pushing 60 I think I'm a legitimate old-fart. Least my body feels that way these days, lol.