ericb44

It's a road car for me, and yes I absolutely do and will go grab a cup of coffee on a Saturday or Sunday morning, retract the top (Spyder), and go for a couple canyon drives by my house. I don't think anybody is going to shop for toilet plumbing in a 718...c'mon LOL. From purely a performance perspective, alcantara seats were designed in race cars for a very intended purpose to keep your body planted in the seat. If someone is pushing their street car to the limits on the street that would require alcantara, probably a bad idea for safety. From a purely aesthetic reason to each is there own as it's highly subjective but leather to me is nicer.

Leather quality is highly dependent on the manufacturer, quality they use and offer, and whether the leather is upgraded or not. Many of the German "luxury" auto maker's standard leather is not great (some not real even) compared to other manufacturers. Italian being the pinnacle of good leather quality of course. If

TRZ06

For me (at least on the steering wheel and shifter) it is a feel thing. I just do not like the feel of it on my skin. It gives me the ******* (kinda like a nail across a chalkboard).

From an aesthetics standpoint, and this is a matter of opinion, but it just doesn't look as premium as a nice smooth nappa leather interior.

REDCOMET

No matter you go for leather or alcantara, you absolutely don't want to put any drink on 718 useless cup holder. If you planning to have some coffee during driving, you better stay away from 718.

Jeff Jones

It's the same cup holder that we've had in the Porsche lineup for years. I think it is an elegant solution that doesn't force you to live with a big *** cup holder on a regular basis but I've found it works perfectly for the right sized container. Can't be too tall or too wide, but plenty of reusable insulated mugs work great. It is an exception, not the rule for me to drive with coffee but for an early morning drive or heading out to a cars and coffee, it works well.

TRZ06

Or, have your drink in a tumbler that has a good lid system that seals properly.

colnagoG60

I "slid under the lap belt", because the leather was slippery. This was in a used US based B6 S4, and this was a few years ago...leather was nowhere near 20+ years old, was in good shape, just shiny and slippery. This happened on the ride home from the dealer when we picked it up, just driving normally to listen for issues, etc...looking up at the ceiling with my back on the seat base, while still moving on the highway, was unnerving to say the least. Aside from that one off, the leather on the side/thigh bolsters on my CPO 981 is showing signs of age/wear, while Alcantara sections are new. Most all caused by PO...as always, YMMV.

As far as making the suspension more "tolerable", for some for daily use, aftermarket PASM controllers could be used to soften the dampers. Not sure about warranty, but if one is dead set on the platform, but forgo it because "it's too stiff for continued road-use", there are solutions available to mitigate. As far as springs, "Swift" makes alternate rate GT4 springs however I'm not sure if rates are lower than stock 250lbs front, 450lbs rear, but if need be, I guess the 250s could be used in the back for 250/250. I actually have a "firmer" set of springs I'm waiting to put on for my daily driven 981. Custom DSC controller settings making firmer springs possible/desired, and my car may never see the track.

colnagoG60

To keep it clean, there's always:

sanderabernathy

Ultrasuede - 51 years and still polarizing! LOL

ericb44

I was going to say, having owned Porsche's in the past the cup holders aren't new to the 718 they have been that way for many years.You are right, they work with the right drink size and a tumbler is always another solution but they aren't ideal IMO. Driving with a cup of coffee on a brisk sunny day with the top down is a must. Even in my prior boxsters I always figured it out but nonetheless, but remove the smokers package and put a decent cup holder option in its space...if you don't want it don't get that option. Even Ferrari's have an option for a good cup holder in some of their late models where the smokers package is...if they can do it, so can Porsche.

ericb44

Sounds like they put dreaded armor all on the seats at the dealer...the leather should not be slippery and shiny to that degree to cause you to slip under the lap belt. Some dealers put armor all on leather and makes me cringe every time; no professional detailer would recommend that but it isn't uncommon unfortunately. A high quality leather as I'm sure you are aware needs to be conditioned a couple times a year to keep it soft...takes about 20 minutes in a sports car and goes a long way. I have a 8 year old car and the leather looks brand new and not slippery or shiny. Have a 1 year old AMG and the alcantara looks fine (it's black) but there is definite wear on it where my hands are on the wheel if you look closely.

Is your 981 a GT4 or Sypder and if so you want it stiffer for normal road use? You must have springs in your back! 981 Spyders and GT4s sound great...beautiful car.

colnagoG60

981 GT4...would have sold it after few days as it was too abrasive over some mild road imperfections, even under 10mph. Now looking at 450lbs front/~490lbs rear "for daily use". Took a ride in a CPO 718 GT4 and thought it was fine for daily...was actively seeking, and driving over every pothole and road imperfection I could find. Kind of upset I got the wheel/tire warranty...thought I'd need it having recently had all (4) of my GLI's wheels put back into round and refinished.

sin911

As you can see in my signature I went ahead with a Spyder instead of a Boxster GTS. Had a few reasons for my decision. First and foremost, the Spyder does look meaner and stirs some passion in me that I cannot explain with the aggressive front end, the rear deck humps and even the wheels look much better. If on the 718 the GTS front was as aggressive as the 981 GTS then I may have gone with the GTS. Porsche marketing team has come up with the best slogan: perfectly irrational. When spending 6 figures on a car, it should just make you smile when you see your car. I want to enjoy looking at my car when I open up my garage or after I park it and I’m walking away. Would have that itch, that regret if I had gotten a Boxster GTS and pay only about $7-8k less than a Spyder. So second point was the price difference. If it was about $20k, then the answer would have been much simpler. For the price difference you’re getting better brakes, better suspension, wider tires and aero. I unfortunately have not able to hit the track lately due to shifting my focus on my career and travel quite a bit to see my fiancé. When I will hit the track it is good that I have a slightly more capable car. It still feels good to not to have that ‘what if’ in my head and get exactly what I had wanted.

Still feel like we’re all blessed to be able to own a flat 6 with 4.0 liter displacement ICE cars these days! Enjoy whatever you have gentlemen

Greg_STL

Why did I get a GTS Cayman over a GT4?

1. I will drive it many more miles on the road than on the track. (It will start out as my daily driver).
2. I'm not a fan of huge wings. I like a more stealthy daily driver and since aero is a function of velocity squared it makes no difference at legal speeds.
3. I could get options on the GTS that I could not get on the GT4 that I did want - "Entry and Drive" being one.
4. I like the saturated Carmine Red for the gauges and stitching of the GTS package better than the Guards red available on the GT4.
5. I like Night Blue Metallic and like the GTS dark trim. I believe Night Blue Metallic is an underrated color. I've heard some say that is is a pedestrian color but it is a color tied to the current 992 Turbo. One of the nicest Singers I've ever seen (Sine Qua Non) is Midnight Blue that is a kissing cousin of Night Blue Metallic. Gentian is a brighter blue and not stealthy enough for me.
6. I could still get the carbon fiber seats still (I think they are comfortable - not all people agree).
7. The engine with a flash can be the same.
8. The suspension is not as nice at the track or autox but if I go aftermarket after I have had the car for 3-5 years and do aftermarket toe-links, LCAs, sways, and DSC tractive - it can be very close. I will likely have a different daily by then so it can be a good transition point. My point is that I could see the upgrade path easily on the suspension but was not sure I would tear the car apart to try to add something like Entry and Drive.

The final reason is because - I like I just like it better that way. Are not we all spoiled that Porsche allows so much customization that we can all set things up just how we like? Almost everything on my list was a personal preference that does not make my car better than anyone else's car but makes it more mine.

I'll leave it with this quote:

I wanted to build cars that were not something to everyone
but meant everything to some.
-Ferry Porsche

Tigers10

Was only between the GT4 and CGTS as I wanted a hard top.
- Never done a track event before so getting a GT4 seemed ambitious. Will probably try a PCA event sometime
- Wanted something a little more under the radar (no wing) for driving to work.
- Was worried about not making it up my driveway. I approach at an angle and have curb ramps and it's close with the CGTS. I could probably make it in a GT4 but didn't want to buy without ever being able to test this. Can only put so much trust in a yard stick and calculating approach angles and car height. Wife would have killed me if my 100k+ car couldn't make it into the garage.
- Make work calls pretty frequently while driving and it seemed that the GTS was a little quieter inside than the GT4
- Was upgrading from a VW GTI so didn't think I'd be disappointed with either.

UncleDude

A few things made the cGTS more appealing to me than the GT4:

• Wing - can’t do it (not just this car, I don’t like them on any road car)
• Price delta of $20k in my market - could swing the $20k, but it would mean waiting another year for it
• A bit more ground clearance - not a huge deal, but I did wonder if I’d scrape going off and on the ferries that we frequent regularly throughout the year

So the Cayman was a better fit. I think the GT4 front end is better though, and it looks better (except the wing!) and I think the wheels are amazing. I’ll only take it to the track a few times a year, so a 4L 718 will more than enough car for me. If I were to spend more, it would be the Sypder.