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The wife and I are scheduled to drive to Phoenix from San Antonio in early May. I would love to take our 2016 Cayman (Base) and allow it to, as my German colleagues say, “breathe”, out on the open road. She says “it’s too loud” even though it’s stock. She’d rather take our 2019 RAM 1500 Limited or her Mercedes-Benz SUV. I’m looking for experience with long-distance trips with these cars to know if they’re not only comfortable, but enjoyable for road trips? TIA.
drove it back from the dealer 1300 miles in 16 hours with the wife - has LWCB as well and it was fine. my knee got a bit sore, but i think that would happen in any car. we are driving dc to halifax and back in the end of april. its about 1100 miles each way. plan to do it 2 days up and 2 days down. the car really is great on long drives.
literally just back from fourth east coast snowbird in x73 bgts. two nite's equals a 6 to 8 hour drive per day, one night stop is about 10 to 11 which might be a bit long for some folks.
it's a different experience from a big sedan for sure but well worth it in the joy of ripping on the roads.
look for scenic and fun driving roads off interstates.
I’ve taken many 6-8h trips in my cgts. It’s great, very comfortable, good headroom and legroom. Only downside is that it is fairly loud cruising at slower speeds at 2-3k rpm in a drony way, and it does wear on me sometimes. Of course it sounds wonderful when revving it, but can’t drive like that all the time.
Drove mine back from Atlanta to NOLA with an overnight in Birmingham. Surprisingly comfy. Not many different positions to move around and adjust to, but the seating position was so good that I never felt the need. Just do it. Life is too short to pass up the chance to do it.
I drove mine from Cincinnati, OH to Bennington, VT (~800 miles each way) last summer to visit family; no complaints on the comfort level (14-ways seats, PASM, 20" wheels with PS4s) and, as @KBell mentioned, MPG was excellent (~33 mpg).
My wife never would have agreed to go, though: the Cayman is too low, it's too stiff, it's too loud, it's hard to get in and out of, etc. (in fact, she's only ever ridden in my car once). As the old saying goes, "Happy wife, happy life." You might want to take the Benz and wait until you have a reason for a road trip that doesn't involve her to let the Cayman breathe...
Back in summer of 2016 when my Boxster S had about 5,500 miles on it and before I installed the X73 suspension I drove it from DFW Texas to the Porsche Parade in Jay Peak, Vermont, and back with my significant other along for the trip. I'm 6'2" 220lb and she is tiny compared to me. I went through Chicago on the way up to visit my daughter, then on to Niagra Falls, and up to Jay Peak. We took several long day trips out of Jay Peak during the week of the Parade including driving to the summit of Mount Washington in NH. Came back through VA and TN and visited my son in Nashville. Then back to DFW.
Total mileage and MPG shown in the image below. And while at Jay Peak I entered and won first place in the Street Preparation Concours, trophy photo shown below. There were 11 other 981 cars in my class including 2 Spyders, 2 GT4s, and other Caymans and Boxsters.
So, yes, these cars are very comfortable for long trips. It's a sports car, so it won't be as comfortable as say my F250 Super Duty is on long trips with its massaging seats, sound insulating windows, etc. But during the trip to Jay Peak I never found myself thinking why did I do this. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I do hours on end nonstop, fresh as a daisy. I think with the joy of driving my baby, my hr increases and I burn more calories. I will say, not so easy to have 2 large drinks…
Every non-enthusiast who rides in my car says it is too loud. If you have a passenger who is annoyed by it then it wont be pleasant for them. And I have a Box, which is significantly quieter top up vs a Cayman.
03-16-2023, 09:47 PM
Long Distant Comfort
