My 996 is in the shop getting some new aero bits installed. My dealer gave me a Cayman S loaner and I have been driving it since Friday.

One word..........WOW!! This car is the "real deal". Porsche really did a nice job with the car. The handling is awesome and the styling is beautiful.

I only have two gripes. One, Porsche really went cheap with the HVAC system. To not put an "automatic" system in this car as standard equipment is really a crime. Second is the sound. Both the Cayman and the 987 Boxsters just don't seem to make the nice engine/intake/exhaust noises that my 986 does (or my 996 for that matter). If I owned this car I'd install a new intake and possibly a new exhaust to free up the sound.

Great car!! Unfortunately I don't have room for three P cars at the moment!!

 

wind it up to 7k, you will love the sound ;-)

 

Hmmm... funny, I think the 987s sound much better than the stock 986 "sewing machines". Maybe your 986 has an Evo intake, etc.? Also, I absolutely hate the auto climate control in my 986. I would much rather just have 2 round ***** than incessantly pecking away at little chicklet buttons.

But, I will agree the Cayman S is a way fun car. It is so much torsionally stiffer than my 986. The taller gearing masks its power, and another 50HP would be perfect. What I really like about the Caymans/Boxsters is that they are cars you can drive every day, everywhere, and drive them hard and not feel guilty about it.

 

 

I got a regular Cayman as a loaner this week, and I agree the car is the real deal. Freaking fantstic. I thought the exhaust note was much better on the Cayman than on my 996. My only gripe about the Cayman was the shifter is incredibly sloppy. That and at 6'4 it is a bit cramped. Other than that I was totally blown away. I had the car 3 days and really didn't care when they finished with mine. I really enjoyed the Cayman.

 

Automatic Climate control. You don't like those???

 

Automatic climate control is an options. It should be standard.

Great car though!!!

 

while i would certainly not get a modern, new car without a working HVAC, i am not sure that HVAC should be a priority when picking out a porsche, or any sports car for that matter (IMO).

 

Since you brought it up, I absolutely despise auto climate controls on cars. One of the worst uses for technology yet. They all break, are very expensive to repair, and haven't increased the comfort/convenience of anything. WTH is wrong with 3 dials that last almost indefinitely?? I've had 3 cars with it. Still have a BMW with it. I don't want that stuff standard on anything.
David

 

AMEN to that ... keep it simple!

 

As long as the climate control works, that's the point. My '88 Carrera is a horrible design, as is my girlfriend's '02 BMW.

 

I couldn't disagree more. The systems in my 986 and 996 have performed flawlessly and they have certainly not been any major source of problems on these cars (that I have read about). If you don't like the "auto" mode you don't lose out because the auto system still allows you to control the system manually. The manual system (standard on the 987's) is cheap by comparison IMHO.

Since you indicate that "they all break and are expensive to repair" could you please cite your evidence that these systems "all break" in the 986's and 996's?

I could understand (and I'd probably agree with your objection) if the automatic systems detracted from the cars performance but it doesn't even add any weight over the manual systems.

I guess I'll just agree to disagree...

 

The last 2 yrs I owned my shop, I repaired about 20 '95 or newer BMW, Merc, Audi (along with dozens of domestic cars) cars per month for one customer, a high end used car lot. I replaced at least 5 failed auto control heads per month on these cars. The control heads are $200-$500, plus diagnostics and labor. All wiring and contacts corrode over time. I'm not saying there are quality problems with controls heads on any of these cars or Porsches. It's that when this stuff starts to corrode, you have to replace it for it to work. There is no clean the wire contacts/replace failed wire and go on your way.

Sure, you shouldn't have much of a problem for the first 5 yrs or so, maybe just display readout problems (audi/BMW). My concern is as the cars get 10-15 yrs and beyond, when the 3,4,5th owners/enthusiasts want these cars, they can't afford to keep them running due to all the electrocrap on the cars, ie 750IL.

If you buy new cars every few years, fine, no problem. Just don't expect these cars to be more than expensive paperweights 15-20 yrs from now, if you aren't ready to spend bucks not only on the normal mechanical wear items, but all of the computers, etc.

How many people are really happy with their automatic spoilers on 964 +? Same premiss that will never change. On cars that one wants to keep a LONG time, less is more.

No ill will intended. Just not sure why someone would want a more expensive, complicated system to do such a simple job as fan/flap/temp control.

Regards,
David

 

I am a guy that does digital temperature control systems for a living, and I personally could live w/o it in my car.

I have no beef with the automatic system in the 964 or my wife's 4-Runner, as they both work flawlessly, but I also never had a problem wit a fully manual system.

I like having the option of NOT paying for it if I don't want it.

To each his own, of course.

Brian