Originally Posted by mcomet

Here's my take, coming from a 986 Boxster S I had for about a year.

Decide if you really are a convertible person or not. How cold is too cold to put the top down? How hot is too hot not to roast? Do you care about wearing sunscreen a lot? How much do you like the noise? Do you care if you drive with your top up a lot of the time? Do you care about how the top will look after several years of exposure etc...

In my case while I definitely enjoyed my convertible time I switched to coupe. In the CA Bay area there are lots of great drives with the top down. That said I started getting a little tired of sunscreen, and hat all the time. The wife ended up NOT being a convertible person at all. It was either too hot, too cold, or will mess up the hair too much. I think there was a 2 degree setting on a good day where she might agree to top down.

I have the new Cayman...I love it. It looks great, and I don't worry about how to drive. Too cold out doesn't matter anymore. If I want I drop my windows. It's not the true convertible experience but I enjoy the car. Do I miss the drop top...maybe sometimes. I haven't gone thru a summer with the Cayman yet...but for me, I love the Coupe looks and fact that I don't have a top to worry about. I can be at freeway speeds and put the windows up...heh.

If you have time, rent a convertible for a week. Decide if you will run with the top down on your way to work and back etc... How does your significant other feel? For real? I also hated the way the 986 looked with top up. I think the 981 looks decent now both ways. Last thing is decide if you care about the Boxster name vs other Porsches. With any 981 you aren't getting a "911". With the Cayman it's a bit faster tho and I think a lot of people give it a little bit more respect than the Boxster (which is ridiculous all of them are great cars). I will say, women generally like the convertible more...so if you are single...convertible might be a good thing..heh.

Good luck deciding!