algiorda

I actually disagree with your assessment of never being able to use the limits of the vehicle on the streets. I drive in and around the City of Tampa Florida which is sometimes equivalent to a "Mad Max" movie. More and more drivers are insanely aggressive. I was on a trip to Alabama from Florida and was passing a Maxima doing 35 in a 55. He thought it would be cute to floor it and not let me pass. Meanwhile, another car suddenly appeared in the left lane. Had I not had the Porsche, I would not have been able to get out of that situation. I have the base Boxster and it is immensely satisfying taking on/exit ramps at 77 mph!

kiznarsh

100% this.

While not being able to use all of a 981's power on the street is valid, it's also true for many other cars out there in the same price point (M3/M4/RS5/C63, etc.) A Cayman is not at home on a long stretch of straight highway where you can ring it out...it's in the canyons and twisty roads so if those are at your disposal, you'll get much more use of out it.

I just sold my NB Miata last night and went WOT one last time...I'll miss that feeling but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it either.

Hamstonian

Interesting dilemma. Sounds like there are many folks who like both. I daily drove a Miata for many years and loved the damn thing. It was almost all city driving and it was perfect for wringing it out and trying to hold momentum. I would jump in and no matter how ****ty my day was it would bring a smile to my face. Loved the quick manual roof. It was also nice not fretting over it too much. Street parking. Tight garages. Nothing made me worry about it. Carefree fun. I sold it and regretted it immediately.

Switched to a 981 BS a few years later. I worried about it more. Tight garages and street parking weren't as worry free anymore. It wasn't quite as fun on the city grid. It did however make me search for new routes and I found them. I had more fun driving the long way to my destination and found the precision and balance intoxicating - not even getting into the additional power. I sold it and regretted it immediately.

Have a 981 Spyder coming in a week or two. I plan on keeping the damn thing.

I think doing a couple of more Turo rentals will do you some good. Knowing what you really prefer is key.

CaymanSinAR

My Miata has been in storage the last four months (since I bought the 911). I took it out weekend before last and after an hour of driving my face hurt from smiling.

Anyone that disparages a Miata either:

A. Hasn't driven one.

or

B. Isn't someone you need in your life.

ekam

It's the same for Boxster - hairdresser car, not a real Porsche, etc etc.

Kayman

You should never push a car to its limit, I say you are putting yourself at risk by driving your car at its limit. If you think you are able to push the Miata to it's limits, then I would say you are ready for a Cayman. Yeah, you will not use the power all the time but it's ether when you need it just like having better brake, you may not need a 100% of the braking power all the time, but it's there when you need it.

Marine Blue

There is something else to consider also, the Cayman is a closed cockpit and the sensation of speed will be considerably less than the Boxster. Having the top off and windows down changes things dramatically. Perhaps look at a Boxster instead of the Cayman.....

Schroedinger

Bought a 981 Cayman S in October with plans to sell my turbo NA Miata. 4 months later and I can’t bring myself to do it, looks like I’m keeping both. The Cayman is a nicer place to spend time and the better all-purpose car, the Miata is pretty spartan and noisy. I could never daily the Miata. At the track they’re both a blast and the Cayman is obviously faster, but the Miata running costs are 1/3 of the Cayman and the lap times aren’t as different as you would think. I’ve decided I need both in my life so I can”t really help you! IMO two of the best sports cars of all time

Schroedinger

double post

ClassJ

My 981CS was the most composed, best handling car I have ever owned.

My only complaint? It was almost too composed at times. It really needed shorter gears and another 100-150 horsepower to feel more spicy and exciting. Even the first gen GT4 has some of this over composed feel.

The 991.2, while in my opinion does not handle as well, is a more exciting car to drive on the street.

NWOBHM

I could not agree more. I drove several varietals (987.1, 987.2, 981, 718) when trying to figure out what I really wanted.

Ended up with an exceptionally well cared for 987.1 Boxter S with sport chrono package, which was not at all where I expected to land. It was relatively inexpensive and by far provided me with the most enjoyable street experience - I have zero interest in tracking the car.

Absolutely love it. Best driving machine I’ve ever owned.

thirdageknight

So far I have owned my Porsche Cayman S for roughly a month now (put about 300+ miles). This car is not my daily driver (I drive it 1-2 times a week) and most of the miles are done on twisty roads. So far my average mpg is 18 mpg.

From my experience, I did not enjoy driving the car on normal roads. My car has the sport suspension so the ride gets a little bumpy and you cannot floor the car without breaking the speed limit. The only way to get into the high revs is on the highway ramps were you can floor the car. I found the car to be a little annoying to drive on normal public roads and would rather drive my daily driver, which is a lot more comfortable. Now on twisty/mountain roads the car is fun. Hearing those down shifts when braking into a corner and hearing the engine roar comming out of a corner is very satisfying. However, I did find myself easing out of the gas to conform to the speed limit. Now I really want to track the car to unleash its full potential (something I thought I would not be doing before I purchased the car).

So far I have no regrets purchasing the car. I find it very fun to drive on twisty roads, even at legal limits. Since your considering a base cayman you should be able to hug the higher revs a little longer compared to the S (which in my opinion should make things more fun). I have not driven a miata so I cant compare the two. I did find the 981 porsche cayman S to be more fun then the e36 bmw m3 that I use to own.

If you have not, I recommend you to take the car on some good twisty roads before finalizing on your decision.

txbdan

Certainly a valid point as others have said. I've had my CS since November and while it has winter tires and is ready to go, its really not that fun to drive on my commute through the Boston metro area. It's too congested and there are way too many turns and stop signs/lights to barely get out of third gear. It's small and bumpy and doesn't even have carplay. heh It's honestly much easier to just drive my Golf to work. My Golf is in the body shop right now (see: city commuting) and i have a ****ty rental Nissan Versa. It's actually sort of fun to flog around the city.

The Cayman really shines on day trips and weekend cruises where there's less traffic and you hunt out good roads. And of course i plan to do 6-8 track weekends with time trials in it where it will completely kick ***.

I'm 6'4, but if i could fit there's a darn good chance i'd have a ND2 Miata instead.

professsorz

All hail 18*s! I wish Rosie had come with them. But the 19s are pretty ...

As someone else suggested, you might seek out a 987 (or 6). That's what I have and it's because it's such an old-school feel without actually being old school. I vastly prefer it to the ND. But some folks really love their Miatas and that's fine. For me it was unacceptably small, both for passenger and luggage, noise and slow. The newest one addresses the power but I've not tried one. The Porsche doesn't roll (much) - the ND does. Different feel. A big part of why I bought what I did is the sound of the 987s flat six with the additional of the PSE. That exhaust note is, as had been noted, intoxicating. The Miatas I've driven sound like noisy 4's (which is what they are, of course). A negative on the experience. Whereas the "music" of the Porsche is a good chunk of positive.

As for driving - depends what you have. I'm fortunate enough to have a dull high speed (except in rush hour - which is getting close to always - and then it's LOWWW speed) highway to get to work when I want it and a much longer (both in time and distance) route through the hills and dales with tight hairpins taken at 20 mph and long sweepers amidst the rolling hills where you can go 100+ if the desire strikes. With not other traffic around. So if I want to bring it near redline it's easy to do in 2nd and then a shift to 3rd changes the wail to a growl and ... yeah. It's nice. Real nice.

As for gas mileage. HA! Not going to brag on that one. I've become accustomed to high teens. On the plus side, I did a precise (two drivers following same course at same time) comparison of an '08 BMW 328 6 speed with my '08 RS 60. BMW 225 hp, Porsche 303 hp. And the RS 60 actually got better gas mileage by approximately 10%. Didn't have sport mode on so the hp was presumably 295. Anyway, it won the comparison, which surprised me as I've had lots of BMWs which got low 20's and so I figured the Porsche must just be bad on gas. But now I realize it's GOOD and it's just that my long highway percentage in the BMWs was skewing my perceptions. Bottom line is that engaging and powerful and wonderful NA 6 cylinders aren't going to win any gas mileage sweepstakes. The price you pay for all the rest that they provide.

Final note - I tried VERY hard to make myself love the ND. Because I know they're reliable, inexpensive to own, have a great fan base, etc. Got one for over 24 hours to evaluate and took it on the wonderful roads mentioned above, drove it in town, drove it top down and top up. And it just didn't do it for me. Whereas Rosie ...? Every excuse to jump in is a good one.

shus2006croc

Sounds like a scarcity complex.

The reality is there is no comparison and no substitute for a flat six in a Cayman.