GT6ixer

(Ok. Let me try this again. Mods you can delete my closed thread with the same title)

Hello fellow water cooled Porsche enthusiasts!

So after 2 and half years of my first Porsche ownership (928), my wife now wants in on the action. Another 928 is not in the cards as she wants something more modern, i.e. reliable . She wants a hard top sports coupe and the Caymans have caught her eye. The 718s are out of the budget so it'll have to be a 987 or 981.

I am a complete noob on the cars. Bedsides knowing they are mid-engined, that's where the knowledge ends. I will take some time to read up on them and watch some reviews, but was curious what you guys would suggests for my wife's first Cayman. So here is her short criteria list so far.

• She can't drive a manual, so automatics only.
• She wants something that is more sporty and comfortable vs something that is more track focused.
• If she had to choose she would choose options that improve the driving experience over options that improve cabin comfort, i.e. adjustable suspension over 18-way adjustable seats (don't even know if that's a thing)

So my questions are what model years and trim levels should we consider? What ones should we stay away from? Are there any known IMS-like issues on Caymans that we should be aware of? What options are consider a must have? Which options are overrated?

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your input helping me find the perfect Cayman for the wife!

Cheers!

Pep!RRRR

bminingham

go for the newest car you can afford in the Cayman range. If you are on the fence between a base 981 and a 987.2 S, go with the base 981.

GT6ixer

Thanks. Good to know. And I also read something about cylinder bore scoring issues on the first gen 987s.

So what would you say are the benefits of the base 981 over a 987.2 S? Say for example same mileage and options. The base 981 would have less horsepower and don't the 981s have electric steering as opposed to hydraulic on the 987s?

Kayaknfly

Marine Blue

dabiesaur

My choice would be the 981 as it makes a big jump in interior. 987.2 for the pdk if on a smaller budget.

badabing

I have been searching Caymans myself and I'm pretty well versed in what's on the market.

IMO you should be considering 981's only (strictly based on exterior and interior styling) and then narrow it down from there.

after that you can have your pick of base 2.7L or 3.4L S

Most cars out there are PDK so that's in your favor.

I wouldn't get hung up on options like PASM (adjustable suspension) because in my opinion they don't do much. (Full disclosure, my brother and I have a combined 90 track days on a 987.2S running on stock non pasm springs/struts. It's plenty 'sporty'. )

I would try and find one with Sport exhaust if that tickles her fancy.

IMO, a 2014 981 S PDK is your sweet spot in terms of styling, performance, and price.

Kayaknfly

SpyderSenseOC

I like the painted interior console tunnel of the 987 over that of the 981 Spyder I have.

Marine Blue

vbb

The Base 981 has a 2.7L, not a 2.9L. That all said, I agree from a personal preference that the 981 is what I'd prefer over the 987. It really is subjective though. From a pure reliability standpoint, I'd at least suggest a 987.2 over a 987.1. Beyond that though, it really is subjective. We can argue lap times and driving dynamics all day, but the vast majority of people, and your wife probably fits in to this category, won't be pushing these cars to the limits. As someone who made the jump from a 997 Turbo to a 981 Base, I can say that having a ton of horsepower for street driving is overrated. I did love taking off from a light and hitting warp speed, but after a short while that gets rather old, and I wasn't wanting to constantly put my license in jeopardy. I am having a ton of fun driving a 981 base because it is a hoot driving a slow(er) car fast and around some backroad twisties. Plus, mid-engine is something to be experienced.

Zeus993

I agree 100% with vbb. It's WAY more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I too went from a 997 TT cab (and yes - I echo in sentiment that comment of wrap speed = your license in jeopardy) to a 987.2 Spyder, then for a brief stint into a 981 base Cayman, and then back to the 987.2 Spyder. Why the change? Other than the fact that the 987.2 Spyder has a top that comes off, is super sexy etc... it (and it's brother the 987.2 Cayman R) has a sublime steering setup with it's hydraulic steering and lowered X73 suspension. The 981 Cayman, while I LOVED the little 2.7 and the interior, back hatch etc... I didn't love the electric steering feel. The 987.2 with the X73 really nailed it. The X73 option did make it's way as an option into the 981 as well but again the steering lost a lot of it's feel.

All this being said, the 981 is a striking looking car both inside and out. You won't go wrong with either one.

Good luck on your hunt!

scottw383

GT6ixer, I just happened across this, and your story is eerily familiar to what I just went through. Even more coincidental is that I think we know a mutual acquaintance -- I'll PM you later.

I too have a 928 -- '87 S4 5-speed... love it -- which has been my (mostly) daily driver for the last three years. It's a great car, but it's 31 years old and has 215K miles -- and 'things' sometimes happen. The latest is that I broke the shift linkage cup several weeks ago shifting hard from 2-3 and the car is at home awaiting repair. Anyway, it was time to find something newer as all of my cars have 200K+ miles on them.
My wife is an automatic-only person, and that factored into the final decision. If I got another manual, she wouldn't drive the car, if I got a PDK she could.

I looked at a bunch of cars that are all performance-oriented, but also quite different from each other:
GT350: 5.2L V, flat-plane crank, 526hp, 8300 rpm. Probably the ultimate NA Mustang. I have had Mustangs before and I like the newest body style (although like most modern cars, it gets bigger every generation.) It was a decent car, but didn't feel as quick as I expected. Not super torquey. But I did hit get up to <ahem, a rather rapid pace> on I-5 during a test drive, pretty quickly. It handles well but it's still heavy compared to something like a Cayman. It has a unique sound, still V8, but *different* due to the flat-plane crank. I like the sound of the 928 better, personally -- it's sublime.

Hellcat Challenger, 6 speed. Because 707hp can't be wrong. Yeah, it was real quick. Sounds cool with a nice sounding exhaust and prominent blower whine. Big car, but handles OK for it's mass. Obviously this is pretty much a one trick pony. Honestly it would be hard to really appreciate the power on the streets here since anything over a few seconds at full throttle will either get you arrested or physically embedded into the rear of the car that seemed like it was WAY ahead of you just a second ago. But the instant torque and power at any rpm was very cool. My wife didn't like it at all, and she didn't even go on the test drive.

Cayman. I first started thinking about looking at Caymans a few months ago at a Driver Skills event sponsored by the Porsche club. I had my 928 there and had a blast. (I must have heard "that's the best sounding car here" at least a dozen times...lots of love for the Shark from 911 / Cayman / Boxter owners.) When I was watching other people run through the slalom and autocross course, I liked how poised the Cayman looked. And I have always thought they were pretty nice looking cars in general.

I like the interior and exterior of the 981 better than the earlier models so that's all I looked at. Started with a base (2014?) Cayman with a 6 speed. I have to say that I was a little disappointed. The 2.7L is just a little too tepid for my taste. It doesn't have much low end at all, and even when it's wound up to redline it just didn't do it for me. My wife liked it though. We tried a Cayman S with PDK next. I didn't expect much of a difference, but I was very pleasantly surprised how much punchier the 3.4L Is than the 2.7L. It's still not as torquey as the 928 (well, go figure) but it is of course faster than the Shark in any meaningful contest. The 928 is not a bad handling car, but the Cayman has lower weight, a lower polar moment of intertia, about the same power, etc., so it handles tight, twisty roads very nicely in comparison.

We bought a 2016 Cayman S with PDK a few weeks ago. I'm still getting to know the car and it's capabilities. It's a nice car, quick, and handles great. My wife loves it too, and now she keeps saying that she wants one too. The PDK cracks off nice, snappy shifts which are also remarkably smooth. (In comparison, the conventional TH350 auto -- with shift kit -- in my '72 Camaro will just about knock your fillings out when it shifts at full throttle.) "Normal" mode is great for normal driving, and Sport mode has noticeably crisper throttle response and the PDK hangs onto gears longer. Sport mode really wakes the "feel" of the car up. Oh, and I get mileage in the mid 20s in town! I have never exceeded 18mpg in the 928, even on the highway. I suspect the Cayman S will knock down 30 mpg on the highway, if you keep the speed reasonable.

In short, I like the Cayman a lot. It's a great overall car. The PDK is a great dual clutch trans, but I still prefer a proper manual -- it's just my preference. My wife loves the car too, for what it's worth. The Cayman S doesn't have the low-end punch of the 928, but it is without question the quicker car. I'll still drive my 928 quite a bit (when I get the time to fix the shift linkage) but I do enjoy the Cayman. I also think the S is a worthy upgrade over the base model, but others may not think it's worth it. It was a no-brainer for me. The Cayman GTS would be nice too, but they are not that common. And I think I'd love the performance of the GT4 but they are still ~$100K and I don't care for the big-*** wing on a street car that would be a daily driver. (Again, personal preference.)

Good luck. Let me know if you have specific questions.

Scott

GT6ixer

The initial budget is in the $35K-$40K range (of course like you said, I'm sure she'll end up liking one that's $50K+ haha). Looks like that would get us a good selection of lowish mileage 987.1 base and S even. But having read the comments and doing more research, a 987.1 will be unlikely. Looking at pictures of the interiors she doesn't have a preference between the 987 and 981 but I suspect after test driving a few she will like the 981 better. A 981 in the budget range is going to have be a base. But a 987.2 S looks doable. I know she'll like the added power of the S, so it'll be a tossup between the driving experience of a 987.2S vs the better interior of the 981 base.

Good advice. She also only wants one in white or grey, That will limit the selection a bit but not too bad. Those seem to be pretty popular colors.

Like I mentioned above, it'll be interesting to see if she prefers interior of a base 981 vs. the increased power of a 987.2 S. Of course a lot will depend also on the options between any two cars.

Yeah, I don't think she would miss no having adjustable suspension. Although she did mention wanting to do some track days with it, which surprised me because I don't think she's even race a go kart a round a track!

She doesn't seem to have a preference on the styling between two. I think that will change when we go see some in person though.

Hmm, never paid attention to that detail. I'll have to point it out to her.

She prefers the black interiors, which IMO further downplay the differences between the two.

Good points. My wife is definitely not going to push any car she drives to it's limit. She probably be at 2 tenths most of the time, but having good highway passing ability is what she'll appreciate. We used to have a 2011 Kia Optima Turbo (don't chuckle, it was actually a great car) and she thought it was rocket. It had 275 hp and a curb weight of around 3,400 lb, so I'm sure the Cayman at any trim will be just fine.

I do like the look of the Spyders and if she was into convertibles I would be pushing her in that direction.

Hey Scott. Haha, that is funny. I think I may know who it is that we both know. Cool that your wife likes the Cayman. From what I've read it looks like the love for these cars is pretty universal. I'm excited myself to drive one. Because of our budget range she wants to also look into a couple of other makes to compare and contrast. So a new BRZ and MX-5 is in the running along with a used first gen Audi TT (she likes the way they look. I think they look dated). My guess is that a used Cayman will out shine all of those. I also was throwing out the Mustang/Challenger option, but she wants a smaller "sportier" looking car. I like the new Mustangs. I mean I'd probably never buy one, but every time I drive one I enjoy it. Never been in a the new Dodge stuff, though I'd love to experience the Hellcat for about a 1/4 of a mile.

Coll to see that your S4 is running strong with over 200k on the clock. The 928 is a great car. I also have been into mine a little over 2 years now. I want an S4 also now. I'mm keeping my eye out for an '89-'91. Prices are getting steep fast though. 2 years ago $20K would have gotten you a great example. Now that seems to be over $30K.