Hey folks, looking for some guidance/advice. Looking for opinions on maybe getting another Cayman S (which I have had prior) or a 911 (which is probably my dream car) as a 3rd option (last option, is another Cayenne Base, I had a base model, but if I did another, I know I would need a GTS or something with some kick)

As I am not as familiar with the 911 vs Cayman S. What is the groups thoughts on one vs the other? I remember the Cayman being super planted and that "on rails" feeling.

I think I want an NA car vs one of the new TT cars. I know that the TT's are not as bad as probably my older 335I. But, I haven't driven them back to back to see the feel of either.

I want a pretty well loaded car, Full leather, burm, etc. I think i would like a 4s, for occasional weather issues, but seems like that's not needed in TX.

I am not looking to do any track type stuff, just a normal daily driver with an occasional whirl on the North Dallas Tollway or on a back road in TX.

also, side note, how many cars did you test drive - I always feel funny about going in and testing cars out. I wish they had a place you can go and just drive cars and really get to know it, not just the around the parking lot drive.

I know its a bunch of info, but I had to get it out.. LOL

Budget is about 80-110k

 

991.1 is more on rails/planted. I miss off rails/slideability of the Boxster platform. That being said 991.1 has way more space and daily usability factor in addition to more power and pure speed.

 

Combine the two. You can do that and still stay in your price range if you'll take a few miles.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...AN%7CGT4&Log=0

(Ignore the first four "sponsored" ads for Caymans)

 

I faced the same choice last year, and ended up with a '15 991.1. The decision came down to being able to find a car with my desired specs, but the 991.1 had the slight advantage of being such an iconic bodystyle. Also, my wife wanted back seats for the little kids and she did a lot of the searching...and my kids *love* riding in daddy's P-car.

I do enjoy the power of the 991.1. I still scan rennlist for Caymans though...

 

Definitely go for the car you haven't owned. There are tons of awesome 991.1's in your price range.

 

Are you literally only allowed to drive around the parking lot when you test drive, locally? Because every dealership I've been to around here has let me take cars out for at least a half mile or so, and on the expressway if there's one handy. Worst in that regard locally was the downtown Herb Chambers, but that's not them, it's the downtown location with lots of traffic.

When I went shopping for my 911 last year, I was able to test drive quite a few cars. Heck, the salesman at Westwood was almost pushing me into cars, suggesting ones that I wouldn't have asked for because I knew I probably wouldn't be buying that particular one. Probably because we'd purchased two cars there in 2014, and he knew I was a buyer and not just looking.

We have a 981 S and a 991.1 4S cab. I was primarily looking for a C2S cab, but went 4S because it was the first car available locally that was in a color I truly liked, Amaranth Red. I had decided I could live with one of the gray or silver cars that make up the bulk of 911's, but I really wanted a metallic red or blue.

The 4S turns out to have some advantages beyond rain and snow driving. I've found that it's more planted and forgiving than RWD. It's been absolutely impossible to squeal the tires no matter how much power I've put down because the car uses the grip of all four wheels when you're at a standing start. And this is without launch control, since my car doesn't have Sport Chrono (sigh).

The 981 S is a great car. I honestly prefer the looks of the Cayman to my 911 - the slope of the roofline is more graceful than the 911's egg-shaped rear. That said, I always drive the 911 by preference, simply because of the increased power. I do feel that even on low-speed (35-40 MPH) roads.

A GT4 would undoubtedly be faster than 991.1 S or 4S. 3% less power and 15% less weight. I haven't test driven one, because they weren't all that common last year. I did sit in one that had the lightweight bucket seats, and those were rather uncomfortable because of the rigid shell.

It's true the 911 has a little more room. Basically, you're getting a child-sized rear seat compartment instead of the tiny Cayman trunk. A cabriolet has significantly more room, if the top is down. The rear fits two front tires when I'm switching between summer and winter wheels, where a Cayman's trunk isn't going fit one. That said, I'm a bit ambivalent about the cab otherwise because of reduced rear visibility when the top's up and because of aesthetics.

The 991.2's are fine, despite being turbocharged. The 991.2 S I test drove felt faster than the 991.1 GTS I drove immediately afterward. This may be my driving habits, since I only rarely rev the engine above 6000, and that's where the GTS has its power advantage.

 

I previously owned a 991.1 S, now drive a 991.2 S and have been to PSDS in Birmingham twice where I got to drive the Cayman S and Boxster S (newer turbo editions ) and various 991.2 911s on the track.

I would not feel bad one bit about going to a dealer and test driving a used 991.1 and then a Cayman back to back. Why should you? These are just cars. Worst experience I've ever had trying to test drive a sports car was when the GT500 Mustangs first came out and test driving a Corvette. Seriously, I got more grief from Ford and Chevy dealers trying to drive those turds. I sent an email to the local Porsche dealer and he said yeah come on down and lets go for a drive. If not then go find another Porsche dealer who is not a PITA.

My view on the 991.1 S. All fart and no turd until 4500 rpm until the torque band hits which is typical of the 3.8 L N/A engine. Yes it sounds nice but IMO it was very unresponsive driving around in normal mode. So I drove it around in Sports mode all the time. Only drawback is decreased mileage.

Since you did not mention 991.2 911s I won't say much other than low end T O R Q U E and great fuel mileage and performance.

991 vs Cayman/Boxster. More interior room in the 991 for people, groceries, etc. Cayman feels more cramped because there is nothing but engine behind you so less room. I could still drive it daily, upside is less to vacuum.

People complain a bit around here about the 4 cylinder turbo in the Cayman S/Boxster but they do perform quite well on the autocross and track. I like the more neutral weight bias of the Cayman. Some people consider them "not a real Porsche". In the right hands the Cayman/Boxster will trash some other cars quite handily on the track.

When I got my 911 one of my neighbors said is that a Cayman or a real Porsche. Some folks will never get it I guess.

So go drive and decide for yourself. The new Cayman S is no slouch. If you are looking only at the older Cayman S with the n/a engines then you may be disappointed with the acceleration.

As to the 4s platform, I think it is waste of money in TX. It adds more weight but accelerates a bit quicker vs the rwd cars at the stoplight Gran Prix if that is your thing.

 

Similar here. Go for the 991.1.

 

Discounting a Cayman as "not a real Porsche" is a red flag that the speaker knows zip about cars.

It's easy to mock the stoplight drag race, but honestly, that's one of the few places a lot of us regularly get to have fun with our cars. When I'm fast off the start at a stoplight, I'm not actually racing anyone. I'm just taking my fun where I can get it. If I drove it like a Civic I might as well be driving a Civic and save myself the expense. (Not that Civics are bad cars, they're extremely functional, and get a fair bit out of a relatively tiny engine).

Other than that, it's freeway onramps. Or a windy road if you have one locally. Which not all of us do; I don't live off Mulholland Drive anymore.

 

Forgot to comment on that one.

This can vary not just by dealership, buy by who you're talking to at the dealership. I dropped by Westwood and they wouldn't let me test drive a Panamera Turbo because the car was "too expensive" and putting test miles on the car would hurt the sale value. So I went to Burlington, and they didn't hesitate for a moment. Later that week I went back to Westwood and interacted with a salesman who knew me, and he didn't hesitate to put me in cars that were just as expensive as the Panamera Turbo (though I didn't ask after that specific car, I'd decided I was getting a 911 and cargo space and practicality be damned).

I also looked at a BMW i8 that week. I knew the i8 was very much in-demand, so I asked for a test drive via email instead of just dropping in. No difficulties there at all, they were quite accommodating.

 

I've had both, a 987 Cayman and a 981 Cayman S and now i have a 991.2 911. I have enjoyed them all, miss my 987 Cayman the most, it was a perfect sports car (with a 6 speed), but I'll be all 911 from now on, the rear seats are great for my kids, but when they are not in the car, the extra space makes all the difference. the care is so much more comfortable as a result on long drives and more useful as a daily driver. there is a reason the 911 is the best all around sports car.

 

Get your dream car. You can get a very nicely equipped 991.1 S in that proce range with low miles and CPO warranty.

 

Search the forum, as it's been discussed a lot and there's a lot of good info and perspectives out there. I've owned both simultaneously, both great cars, both have pluses and minuses, and either one is very dependent upon the options on a given car, so keep that in mind. Without writing another tome on the subject, I would just say that I kept the 991 and sold the 981. IMO, the 981 is a great car, but the 991 is on another level in every respect.

 

Nice write-up. A few points of discussion:
I've not spent much time in a 991.1S in the past two years so I can't really comment on your comparison above. But I've had a PDK 991.1 GTS for those two years, and that car was noticeably faster in a straight line than the GT4. And I'm not even talking about the advantage of the PDK; even in a long interstate on-ramp spent entirely in 2nd gear (good for 84mph in the GT4), the sensation of speed is palpably less in the GT4 than the 911GTS. And that's with the Cayman having ALL the advantages that make you think it's faster: lower, smaller, redder, louder.

Totally agree. Great on the track or in the mountains, I'm sure. A deal killer for me, though, for a fun backroads car that also doubles as a half-time daily driver. I make all my cars pull their weight, even the fun ones, so "sofas", as the 18-way Sport Seats are derisively called, were a must have for me.

Hmmm... everybody's needs are different, but I've felt that my two mid-engine Porsches have been more useful haulers than any of my generations of 911s, including 991.1. That's because
a) the Cayman's frunk is bigger than the 991.1's, or at least is packaged enough differently that it gives that impression. Some standard things of mine that barely fit in the 911 fit with room to spare in the 981.

b) the Cayman's rear trunk, though losing to the 911's backseat in cubic feet, is so easily and readily accessible that I found when I went from my '04 Boxster S back to a 911, thinking I'd be picking up hauling space, I actually was losing it. That's because of the difficulty of getting cargo into the back seat of the 911. Take pizza; Boxster, Cayman, you open the trunk or hatch, set pizza box(es) in, close lid. With 911 you open the pax door, pull lever, pull seatback forward, discover pizza box won't fit between seatback and B-pillar, push button to slide pax seat forward enough to clear pizza box, set box in back seat, return seatback to locked and upright position.

So for things that won't easily fit in the frunk because of dimensions, I find the rear area to be a great solution. I'm not a golfer but I imagine such would be the case with a flagon of golf sticks as well.

 

I test drove a pdk cayman gts prior to getting my 991.

honestly, there wasn't really anything I liked more than the 911.1. The space inside, traction and feel were better to me in the 991.

And even with pdk the cayman gts felt really down on power to me and I'm not a power junkie. At the time I was coming from an e90 m3 6mt, which isn't exactly a drag strip king.

both awesome cars but to me the 991.1s is a cut above the cayman gts