Porsche Driving Experience: New Cayman and Cayman S
04-19-2013, 07:12 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
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Porsche Driving Experience: New Cayman and Cayman S
Another RL'r (9six4) and I had the pleasure of participating in the Canadian launch of the new Caymans at a local race track this morning.
Here's a quick review of my take-aways:
Styling: Stunning to look at. Muscular and wide in all the right place. Corrected most of the awkward bits in the previous generation.
Interior: High quality materials in and around the cabin. Clear informative gauges, but the centre stack is a bit button-festooned. HVAC buttons are hidden in front of the shifter. Small and difficult to reach. Especially if you have Fred Flintstone fingers. Minor gripe, really. Overall, feels much more expensive than the price would suggest.
Suspension: PASM and PSM are so unobtrusive that I barely knew when they kicked in. Which was likely very often since it was raining heavily with standing water at apexes. The care is very neutral and well balanced. No bad habits. Frighteningly easy to drive fast. There isn't much between the S and non-S in the handling department. At least not that I could tell in 90 odd minutes on the track.
Engine: The non-S is a powerful car but the engine note can get a bit thrashy when you're really on the loud pedal. However, the S? It's a materially different beast. Its proper quick. Shove-you-into-the-seatback-quick. The power delivery is smooth and quite honestly, relentless. You reach a ton and a half (kmph) with such ease, frequency, and pace - I'm afraid I would get into a great deal of trouble on the street. I would have a hard time controlling the urge to dip into the power band over and over. The exhaust note on the S is also supremely more acoustically appealing.
Transmission: I saved the best for last. All the cars were PDK equipped. Now I'm a staunch believer in 3 pedals. My crappy little daily driver has a 5 speed box and my wife was required to learn to drive a manual before she walked down the aisle. It's the law in my house. I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed or at the very most, mildly amused by the toy, flappy paddles. Well folks, the PDK rendered me speechless. Absolutely and utterly. The speed, ferocity, and down-right cleverness of the box is staggering. I was prepared to write it off as a gimmick. But I've seen the future, and it's called PDK. Upshifts can be as gentle (comfort mode) or as staccato crack-crack-crack (sport or sport plus) as you like. All depends on your mood. Each blip is accompanied by the requisite rev match, farting, and brapping on the over-run. It's so addictive. And I no longer buy into the clap-trap about "its too video-gamey and not involving". I call bollocks on that front. Its as involving as you want to make it. Some days my 5-speed isn't involving when I'm on "autopilot" and just taking a leisurely drive around. Same thing with this.
Overall conclusion: This is where the Cayman is a bit of a dichotomy. Like many of you, I'm and enthusiast with a modest budget. I don't have FU-Lottery money to spend on toys. So as a pragmatic person, with a slant on efficient use of limited capital - the Cayman is so much, maybe too much car for the street. In fact, I'm terrified of getting into the wrong kind of trouble with it between stop lights. Yes, that is hooligan behaviour, but let he who has not sinned, etc, etc. The only way to truly appreciate and extract value out of this car is on the track. And frankly, at Canadian prices, a decent one will likely spec out on the thick end of $90k when you're done ticking the boxes. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to drive that at the track either.
So where does that leave me? Loving my 964 for all it's quirks and foibles, useable power, and think-carefully-before-you-brake/accelerate/turn driving style. Oh and waiting 4 years for this generation of Cayman S's to come off lease!
Cheers for the weekend.
Here's a quick review of my take-aways:
Styling: Stunning to look at. Muscular and wide in all the right place. Corrected most of the awkward bits in the previous generation.
Interior: High quality materials in and around the cabin. Clear informative gauges, but the centre stack is a bit button-festooned. HVAC buttons are hidden in front of the shifter. Small and difficult to reach. Especially if you have Fred Flintstone fingers. Minor gripe, really. Overall, feels much more expensive than the price would suggest.
Suspension: PASM and PSM are so unobtrusive that I barely knew when they kicked in. Which was likely very often since it was raining heavily with standing water at apexes. The care is very neutral and well balanced. No bad habits. Frighteningly easy to drive fast. There isn't much between the S and non-S in the handling department. At least not that I could tell in 90 odd minutes on the track.
Engine: The non-S is a powerful car but the engine note can get a bit thrashy when you're really on the loud pedal. However, the S? It's a materially different beast. Its proper quick. Shove-you-into-the-seatback-quick. The power delivery is smooth and quite honestly, relentless. You reach a ton and a half (kmph) with such ease, frequency, and pace - I'm afraid I would get into a great deal of trouble on the street. I would have a hard time controlling the urge to dip into the power band over and over. The exhaust note on the S is also supremely more acoustically appealing.
Transmission: I saved the best for last. All the cars were PDK equipped. Now I'm a staunch believer in 3 pedals. My crappy little daily driver has a 5 speed box and my wife was required to learn to drive a manual before she walked down the aisle. It's the law in my house. I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed or at the very most, mildly amused by the toy, flappy paddles. Well folks, the PDK rendered me speechless. Absolutely and utterly. The speed, ferocity, and down-right cleverness of the box is staggering. I was prepared to write it off as a gimmick. But I've seen the future, and it's called PDK. Upshifts can be as gentle (comfort mode) or as staccato crack-crack-crack (sport or sport plus) as you like. All depends on your mood. Each blip is accompanied by the requisite rev match, farting, and brapping on the over-run. It's so addictive. And I no longer buy into the clap-trap about "its too video-gamey and not involving". I call bollocks on that front. Its as involving as you want to make it. Some days my 5-speed isn't involving when I'm on "autopilot" and just taking a leisurely drive around. Same thing with this.
Overall conclusion: This is where the Cayman is a bit of a dichotomy. Like many of you, I'm and enthusiast with a modest budget. I don't have FU-Lottery money to spend on toys. So as a pragmatic person, with a slant on efficient use of limited capital - the Cayman is so much, maybe too much car for the street. In fact, I'm terrified of getting into the wrong kind of trouble with it between stop lights. Yes, that is hooligan behaviour, but let he who has not sinned, etc, etc. The only way to truly appreciate and extract value out of this car is on the track. And frankly, at Canadian prices, a decent one will likely spec out on the thick end of $90k when you're done ticking the boxes. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to drive that at the track either.
So where does that leave me? Loving my 964 for all it's quirks and foibles, useable power, and think-carefully-before-you-brake/accelerate/turn driving style. Oh and waiting 4 years for this generation of Cayman S's to come off lease!
Cheers for the weekend.
04-20-2013, 12:58 AM
#4
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Appreciate the write up - for some reason the Cayman seems to resonate with 964 owners - no problem with that! 981 has only just been released here in NZ. Not driven it yet but just been down to see it at the local Porsche Centre - man is it gorgeous to look at.
04-20-2013, 02:49 AM
#5
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I was as enthusiastic as you after driving it recently. I liked the PDK too , but not so much
With sport plus engaged.Just sounded wrong to me. I much prefer the sounds my 964 makes at high revs. The Cayman is a very tempting machine. I have thought about selling my Targa lately ! But come to the conclusion that i need to check out the Cayman R or wait a couple years till the new versions of Cayman have been out a while. I wouldnt buy a new one at low mileage R8 prices. Now that is also tempting having driven it on track recently , but maintainance costs seem very high.. Its good that we
Check out the competition to our 964s from time to time. Meanwhile , spring has arrived and the joys of our cars re-assert themselves...
With sport plus engaged.Just sounded wrong to me. I much prefer the sounds my 964 makes at high revs. The Cayman is a very tempting machine. I have thought about selling my Targa lately ! But come to the conclusion that i need to check out the Cayman R or wait a couple years till the new versions of Cayman have been out a while. I wouldnt buy a new one at low mileage R8 prices. Now that is also tempting having driven it on track recently , but maintainance costs seem very high.. Its good that we
Check out the competition to our 964s from time to time. Meanwhile , spring has arrived and the joys of our cars re-assert themselves...
Last edited by Turbo Jonny; 04-20-2013 at 04:53 AM.
04-20-2013, 11:47 AM
#7
The new Cayman S is a good looking car and I really like it. It was a blast to drive and I enjoyed the PDK in a track setting. The engine growl sounds aggressive and delivers with performance. It feels like it pulls in the mid-range better than the 964. It is a very nicely balanced car with lots of on board help to guide you along. It does have soul but not like the 964.
That being said, I'm an analog guy who grew up with cars that you could twist wires to fix things. This car is of a different era. (does the engine cover even open?) I feel that anyone could push the limit and beyond in a Cayman without worrying too much about scraping the paint. The 964 demands respect and finesse. It is a true drivers car that translates feel directly to the driver. If you mess things up, it is your fault. I'm not even close to driving mine really fast yet, but I'm willing to put in the time to learn it. I'm an enthusiast and love the brand and heritage.
I love my 964 even if I was left wondering if it would start when I went to leave the Cayman road show.
It is really apples and oranges.
That being said, I'm an analog guy who grew up with cars that you could twist wires to fix things. This car is of a different era. (does the engine cover even open?) I feel that anyone could push the limit and beyond in a Cayman without worrying too much about scraping the paint. The 964 demands respect and finesse. It is a true drivers car that translates feel directly to the driver. If you mess things up, it is your fault. I'm not even close to driving mine really fast yet, but I'm willing to put in the time to learn it. I'm an enthusiast and love the brand and heritage.
I love my 964 even if I was left wondering if it would start when I went to leave the Cayman road show.
It is really apples and oranges.
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04-20-2013, 12:15 PM
#8
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Nice write up, and a great day was had by all. The Cayman S really is a beast of a car, and had me doing things in the rain I would not thought of trying in my 964T. I would have loved to really have more time playing with the PDK, but was thankful for the intelligence of the system as I was threshold braking from 185 kph in blinding rain and standing water.. The car definitely made me look like a better driver than I am. I guess if I had to classify them, the 964 turbo is a hammer, while the Cayman is a scalpel. Both very good at what they do, but not even close to the same instrument.
