like any Porsche, it depends on which Cayman and which 911. Generally speaking the 911 experience outweighs the Cayman experience. I would take a Cayman R, albeit a 987, over any base 911 sharing the same motor. You could say the 981 is to the 3.4 as is the 991 is to the 3.8. Both are very balanced packages with the 911 just being more powerful and quicker.

 

Seems like the cayman is for you. I started out looking for a cayman but changed immediately after I drove the 911 for the first time. I found the cayman boring by comparison (too neutral) and was intrigued by the 911 feel. Also liked the room and looks of it.

Trust your instincts

 

By way of context, I owned a 981 Cayman S, currently own a GT3 Touring, and have a Cayman GTS 4.0 on order. The 981 Cayman S was a great car, with impeccable balance, and was very satisfying to drive. However, I decided to get a 911 for 3 major reasons: I prefer the looks of the 911 to the 981 Cayman; I wanted interior storage space (backpack etc.) as I find this more convenient than the trunk and frunk in the Cayman; and the naturally aspirated 3.4 liter in the Cayman, while strong when revved out, was marginal in the low and midrange.

So why am I adding another Cayman to the fleet? It will be a more accommodating daily driver than the GT3, the 4.0 liter NA motor should have much more low and midrange than the 3.4 in the S, I can deal with the styling of the 718 better than that of the 981, and I miss the narrower, more agile driving experience of the Cayman.

The 2 cars are very different (although both great); it just depends on what is most important to you.

 

981S was a great car, I just liked the 911 better. More room, more comfortable ride, better looking and, when push came to shove, the better performer as well. The 981S felt very go karty and quick, but in reality the 991S was the better performer down a twisty road. Again though, my 991S was a performance build, SPASM/PDCC/PCCBs and Sport Technos with 305 rears. It performed a little different than a softer more luxo optioned 991 might. Spec is key and it's very hard to find a pure performance build like mine was.

Ride quality was fine in normal mode, but mine had PDCC which slightly softens the car when driving in a straight line due to it's ability to have softer sway bars.

 

I feel your pain. I got the idea into my head a few months ago that I would pick up a "cheap 981" to use as a track toy. Not happening...!

Before my T, I had a 981 Cayman S with X73, a 991.1 Carrera S and a GT4.

For my personal preferences, excluding my current car (a .2 T, which obviously is #1) I would rank them:
1. 981 GT4
2. 981 Cayman S X73
3. 991.1 Carerra S

All three cars are utterly fantastic and the #3 choice is by no means a distant 3rd. If you don't plan to track your car and the shifting and steering feel is less important, your personal order may be reversed.

I am excluding the .2's and the T because if you want to read about the subjective pros and cons of the .2 platform and the turbo motor you're very well served by many interesting threads here.


The T's shifting feel IMO is a big improvement over the .1 and almost as satisfying as the shift in the 981 platform. Close -- not the same or better...
I am sure there are kits that will improve the .1

 

Mid engine is a snooze, I think. Also, if you're a tall person the cayman is tight. Nothing feels like a 911 at the apex. Mastering trailing a 911 into a turn, balancing the chassis with maintenance throttle, and going whole hog at the apex while unwinding is not something one experiences in a Cayman. At least not to the same degree and with the same reward. It's a no brainer to get a 911. Especially a 991.2. That said, if you're talking a GT cayman or spyder versus a Carrera that's a different situation.

 

981 CS to 991.2 T... Drive a .2 car, any one, with PTV, SPASM, and RAS and you'll forget about the 981. Even with the bump in 981 prices of late, which I chalk up to the rising sea floating all sea worthy boats right now...
It's a purist/philosophical argument but with the above engineering bits, the rear bias has been effectively mitigated in the newer 911s and they will rotate like a top in the twisties. That, more than anything, convinced me to make the move. I was losing nothing by moving from my Cayman, which I loved, to something that I'd always wanted, THE 911.
Good luck!
ẞ

 

I have a 991.1S, Wifey has a 2012 CaymanR.... both manual transmissions.


991 is better as a general daily vehicle, more comfortable. Cayman with the bucket seats, not comfortable long trips and not adjustable as the 991's 18way vented/heated seats.

Cayman is more of a fun, go-cart type canyon racer or mash around car. Both are a little challenging to get in and out of, but definitely the CaymanR takes the cake for the challenge since it comes with carbon-fiber bucket seats. As for lugging stuff around, the nice thing with the Cayman is it actually has a trunk back that you can open to put stuff in due to being mid-engine. The 991 you have the frunk like the Cayman and only the back child seats really.

Having driven the CaymanR thought did push me to get rid of my Panamera 4S with PDK as I missed the manual aspect of driving.

 

We were in the same process 2 years ago. Started looking at Caymans, 981 and 718. Test drove a 718 manual and 991.2 C2 PDK. That's when we realized that having more room in the cabin was important to us. Me and the wife were shoulder to shoulder. I'm a big guy, large shoulders. I felt cramped. In the 911 we had more shoulder room. What I did like about the Cayman was the rear opening. But there's more rear room in the 911.
Also tested a 991.1 C4 GTS, and a 991.2 C4S.
Then the question was; .1 or .2. I like torque of the 3.0 twin turbo. The torque is way down, so much more usable in town.
We finally went with a 991.2 C4S. As others have said, you think Porsche, you think 911.

 

When people think Porsche, they think of one of the most iconic vehicles ever produced, the 911!

 

The shifting on the 981GTS was very smooth, second gear on the 981 was very tall. The gearbox on my T is like a hot knife going through butter when you go through the gears.

 

Heh...just posted this a few days ago. Seems like a popular question:

I owned and drove a used '14 981S for a year; then sold it to buy a used '17 CPO 991.2 last June. I am not a track guy. My car is used as a daily driver here in FL.

Reasons for buying the 981 S:

- Affordable
- Fun to drive and tossable
- Really enjoyed the flat six sound+6MT

Reasons for selling the 981 S:

- Got fed up with lack of interior space.
- Had to wind the nuts off the car in order to avoid getting left behind by Kias (kidding, but you did have to rev the NA 3.4)
- Lack of creature comforts in the '14, like a backup camera.

Reasons for buying the 991.2:

- Significant jump in interior space for trips
- Turbo engine develops power much lower in rev range, much better for a daily driver
- Huge increase in standard equipment level of a 911 vs a Cayman

To me the 911 feels like a grown up car. Obviously the price delta reflects that.

I find it really odd how unfussy it is; the visibility is good, the lights work, the wipers wipe, I don't scrape on speed bumps, etc. The 370 HP on my poverty spec car is plenty enough for me. I find the 7MT+SC hugely enjoyable to drive. It puts a smile on my face everytime.

I think Cayman/Boxter vs 911 really depends on what you want out of the experience.

 

You know what's better than both a Cayman and a 911?

Not caring about what others think about your choice in automobiles. At the end of the day the choice is yours and has to suit your sense of style, driving needs and back account. Buy what you like. This is a terrible first world problem to have.

 

I went from a 981 Spyder to a .2 Targa 4S to a GT4 for 1) I missed my 981 Spyder but wanted to try the GT4, and 2) because power delivery in the .2 is a snooze fest. My .2 had everything you list plus PDCC. Still I found it particularly boring at sedate city driving and the sound was artificial. Nice interior upgrades though. I kind of wanted a T after the Targa but at the time prices were peaking. In retrospect I think the T is a better alternative to a GT4 mainly because the gearing in the GT4 is a as bad as the T’s gearing is good. With the T’s gearing and smaller turbos you get NA like throttle response. Like, but not quite. RAS is a must as is no sunroof to bring down weight. Speaking of weight, my 991 weighs almost 100 pounds less than a T with much more power so it’s not like the T is the lightweight Porsche made it out to be.

 

Hell no!