Molly

The published specs of course say 5.8 sec for 0-60. But published mfg specs are not always real world and I think are often quite conservative. So does anyone know if these base cars are actually faster than this?? Reason I asks is that I drove an 05 base Boxster and thought it felt great - and I have driven lots of Porsches extensively, from 993s to 996s to Box S to 911 Turbos. Trying to decide if a base box or croc is in my future. I don't want to pop for the S. Thanks for any insight.

Jim Michaels

You are right about Porsche's advertised performance figures being on the conservative side. Road & Track's Road Test Summary pages show a 0-60 time of 5.3 for the base Cayman, and 4.9 for the Cayman S. Quarter-mile times for the base and S versions are 13.9 and 13.4 respectively. The Road & Track Summary pages don't show Boxster figures currently, but earlier they posted a 0-60 time of 5.0 for the 280 hp '05 Boxster S. It's quarter-mile time was 13.4 (same as the Cayman S). More important than the numbers, however, is how you think each feels when you drive them.

Molly

That's the problem, I cannot come to a conclusion myself not matter how much I test drive. Sigh...

Thanks ; )

cviles

I don't mean to hijack this topic, but it brings to mind a small epiphany I had after I bought my Boxster (my first Porsche). I used to be all about horsepower figures, 0-60 times, etc. All the numbers the magazines posted about cars. There's nothing wrong with posting numbers; they can be quite useful sometimes.

But after buying the Boxster and going to the track I realized something. Porsches aren't about being quick (although they certainly are). Porsches are about being fast. It's not how quickly you get to speed -- its being able to maintain that speed once you get there. There are very few times where I really want more power or a faster 0-60 time.

And now back to our regularly scheduled conversation.

designman

I'm confused. In your first post you said the base Boxster felt great. Are you allowing yourself to be influenced by the numbers after all?

Molly

Sorry, it did feel great, clutch, shift, sound, handling, etc etc. It felt dismally slow though. But as is was a new car I did not really go past about 5K rpm so it was hard to tell. Test driving a BMW Z4, even staying way low in the rev range, would run like a scalded dog. As the spec'd numbers indicate a reasonably decent acceleration time (not great), I am assuming you get most of it above 5K rpm. That's sort of why I am asking about the times. And I am wondering if it is a car that just feel slow but you are actually really moving quickly.

Thanks

Jim Michaels

I think there is something to your feels-slow-but-moving-quickly comment. I'd call the Cayman's acceleration "soft" in feel, in comparison to the "harder" feel of the 997. Even my RSA with about 270 hp had a quicker feel, but took about 5.2 seconds for 0-60. There may be several reasons for this difference in feel; the mid-engine versus the rear-engine, and the taller gearing of the Cayman. The Cayman does have a very wide torque band, so acceleration feels very smooth from about 4000 to 7000 rpm.

designman

Well these cars are not acceleration monsters and they don't come alive until their torque peak which is around 4300 RPM at which point it almost feels like it has kicked into a downshift. This will all go back to your personal level of desire for acceleration and your tolerance for the anemic nature of all non-turbo Porsches in the low RPM range. Quite often I find myself begging the car to go when the revs are low but I would not make the tradeoff for more power with compromises in handling. As you know Porsche charges mightily for every morsel of power. If you are on a budget and need more power in a Porsche you may want to consider a used 996, 997 or 987S. Having driven a 996 Carrera for five days it took some getting used to the drop in power of my 986 S again. Depends what compromises you are willing to make.

Doug&Julie

Base Boxsters / Cayman definitely need to be reved to "feel" fast. Although, I would have thought you'd begin to feel that by 5k. Still, the power is more up top. You need to drive one in which you can let it rev.

Of course, if driving below 5k feels "dismally slow", you probably won't like the car as most people drive it "down there" in a regular basis.

RichP

I just picked up a base Cayman, its quick, but its not like a BMW motor with loads of low end torque. That being said, its doesnt need to be revv'ed out to drive it satisfactory in traffic (unlike an S2K or Mcoupe that are hard to drive slowly because they lack low end) When I brought my car up to NY from MD (where I purchased it) I kept it easy on the RPMs the whole trip up, and it never felt slow or bogged down at lower RPMs.

I think you will be satisfied with the base cayman, apart from the power and brakes, its pretty much like the S. Keep in mind the base cayman only weighs 2900 lbs, so its very nimble on its feet.

PaulStuart

I have an 05 Base (my first). The low end torque is different from the BMW. It took some time to get used to keeping the revs up, but now it feels great. When I added 18" wheels, I noticed a big improvement in grip largely due to the extra width of the tires.

10 GT3

Porsche always underrates performance figures. Acceleration figures are alwasy a little conservative. With the 997 Carrera S, they quoted a 0-60 in 4.6 while all the magazines got 3.9-4.3. Motor Trend just tested the new base Boxster in their latest issue and got a 0-60 in 5.6 and a 1/4 in 14.1 @ 99.6. This was with the standard 5-sp, but a 6-sp is option. I don't think I would spend the expense for the 6-sp option as the 1st and 2nd gears are actually taller with the 6-sp than the 5-sp. Basically the new Boxster is very much on par with the performance of early 250 hp 986 Boxster S.

From having both 987 Boxsters and Coxsters (Caymans - aka Coupe-Boxsters) as service loaners, I agree on your assessment. I have driven a couple 986 Boxsters (including S models) in the past and they never felt quite complete. The engine was obnoxiously noise, the suspension feel was a little out of balance and they were a little lacking in quality (all the ones I drove had bad rattles).

My first experiences with the 987 were very different. The engines are nicely muted. The mechanical noises from the engine no longer penetrate into the cabin. In fact, the engine fan on the passenger side is lounder than the noise from the engine. The standard exhaust has a very nice tone, like a sports exhaust. The power with the base 2.7l feels very good with godd low end torque, so you don't have to peg the tach whenever you drive it. The midrange torque feels very smooth and flat. The chassis structure is a lot tighter and the top is significantly tighter. Best of all, the handling is greatly improved.

I actually prefer the handling of the 987 Boxster over the Cayman. The front suspension feels stiff and direct, while the back is firm; but not too firm. It makes the car a point-and-shoot type car. You can set the front and and control the back end nicely with your right foot. The Cayman is different in that they softened the front end some and stiffened the back end. I notice with the Cayman that the front end start getting light under power in turns above 50 mph. As a result, I have to start working steering input while in a Boxster it stays true. The back end of the Cayman is stiffer and has noticeably more grip. So much so, that I can never get the back end to lose grip and slide like I can in a Boxster. While the Boxster is so neutral, I find nothing but understeer at the limit with the Cayman.

On top of this, why does the Bose in the Boxster sound so much better than the Cayman? The Cayman only get 2 speakers behind you, but it is so poorly balanced. The sound is very noticeable as coming completely from the front. With the Bose in the Boxster, it fills nicely and surrounds you with noise. Other things I noticed are with the glass windblocker in place, top down and windows up that the Boxster is very pleasent to drive. You can hear the stereo at normal volumes and have a normal conversation top down at 90 mph. Considering that the Boxster cost less and handles better than the Coxster, I am still wondering what is the value of the fixed roof version other than a styling exercise?

I think the 987 Boxster is a fine car. I would even prefer a base 987 Boxster over a 986 Boxster S simply by how improved the chassis is.

Doug,

You need to test drive a 987. Your comments are right inline with the 986 2.5l, but you will be shocked at the improved low and mid-range response of the new 2.7l variocam engine. It actually feels a lot like the 3.0L in the Z4.

arenared

Conservative is a relative term. The magazines often get lower numbers because they beat the $#!+ out of them--they are not their cars. There is a huge amount of variance in the 0-60 times due to the launch. If you've tried to get a good launch out of your car, it is a delicate balance of how much you're willing to fry your clutch, roast your tires, break your axles/transmission, control the significant wheel hop and wheel spin. I believe the Porsche numbers are realistic to achieve "on a good day" without voiding your warranty (too much).

Also, my experience is that 0-60 has little to do with "feel". A car with a lot of low-end torque (but perhaps less HP) feels fast, but it's not. A car with high HP, but little torque will feel slow, but it's not. There are also variable such as transmission ratios and gearing. In general, though, similar HP will get similar numbers even though they may have completely different feels.

If the base Boxster/Croc does not feel fast enough for you, don't try to satisfy yourself with 0-60 times in your head. Just get the S version--last year's or used if you have to. Unless you are planning an engine swap, modding a base engine to improve HP is (IMHO) a hopeless waste because the cheapest $/HP is from the factory. With Porsches you pay absolutely dearly for HP. FWIW, I think these cars do have some more above 5K but not a huge amount. Only you can decide how much is enough and how much you're willing to pay.

Good luck!

Doug&Julie

I drove a base Cayman when I bought my last Boxster and felt the car was "fine" at normal RPMs but didn't feel "fast" until it was revved. Everything is relative, of course, and it certainly felt faster than any of my Boxsters at all levels. But my brother has a Cayman S, and that car feels "fast" to me, so maybe that spoiled the experience a little? Having said that, I wouldn't hessitate to buy a base Cayman (it's plenty "fast" for my driving needs) and, in fact, we really tried to find a way to buy the one we tested.

NYSpeedRacer84

I'm heading to the Bonneville Salt Flats next week, I'll try to get some 0-60, 0-100 and top speed times....