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718 Cayman S PDK review from 997.2 C4S manual owner
Hi guys, my 997.2 C4s was just in for service for 4 days and my dealer threw me the keys to a brand new 718s cayman pdk as a loaner. Figured you may be interested in my perspective:
1) Looks. The 718 looks absolutely awesome in person. It’s not a classic 911, but looks slightly more exotic to my eye - it could easily be a lotus or some other sports car brand.
2) power and engine. The flat 4 absolutely rips. Driving around in sports plus and manual mode feels as fast or faster than my C4s. The sports response button is also a really fun feature to hit when passing on the highway. If you floor it while above 4K rpm the rear tires will break loose easily in first or second.
3) sound. My C4s has the fister/sharkwerks exhaust setup, which I think is one of the best sounding 997 setups short of a gt3. The cayman had the sports exhaust and it certainly didn’t sound as good as the 911, but the burble and aggressiveness really grew on me over the 4 days. Definitely not a deal break to me.
4) handling. I’m used to an awd car - so it took some getting used to the rear end sliding around under heavy throttle, especially on corners. The car seemed to be struggling for traction below 40mph unless it was completely straight. That said, the steering definitely felt better than my cars, it was heavier and felt more direct and precise.
5) Pdk. I thought I would hate it. I loved it. It was way more involving and rewarding than I thought it would be. It was also really great how quickly it would shift from 2nd to 3rd in those onramp situations - it really increased the sensation of speed. I also think the pdk fits the turbo motor very well. It keeps it on boost and makes it very responsive.
6) misc. I enjoyed the electronics and modern Porsche details such as the radio interface. The key was also really cool and I liked the sound that it made when it locked (kind of a beep, not from the horn).
7) what I didn’t like. This is ridiculous, but I didn’t like the idea that I wasn’t in a 911 from an image perspective. It bothered me more than i thought it would that I was in a lesser model. I also daily drive a mk7 gti, and felt like the hvac, steering wheel and other touch points in the 718 were from the same corporate family as my gti. (Something i don’t feel in the 997)
Overall ll I really loved the car. I drove into the dealer to return it wondering whether i should trade my car in for it...but as soon as I sat in my car,, started it up, heard the flat 6 again and realized how much i liked the analog feel...I quickly realized I’m not trading it in anytime soon.
Sorry for the long post. Hope it was helpful and entertaining.
..... I drove into the dealer to return it wondering whether i should trade my car in for it....
I drive a C2S manual and after I test drove a 718 Cayman PDK, I had the same thought as you about trading in the C2S for maybe 10 minutes.... then I told myself I better get a Cayman for the wife so I can keep my 911
Thinking about it some more, I think what I really want is the older generation flat-6 Cayman with PDK... Now on the look out for a clean used one.....
4) handling. I’m used to an awd car - so it took some getting used to the rear end sliding around under heavy throttle, especially on corners. The car seemed to be struggling for traction below 40mph unless it was completely straight. That said, the steering definitely felt better than my cars, it was heavier and felt more direct and precise.
Something is off in both areas. The mid-engine Cayman has no traction issues on corners. And... your car's hydraulically assisted steering is better than the Cayman's (e-assisted) and the Cayman's steering is certainly lighter than yours (yours being AWD).
Something is off in both areas. The mid-engine Cayman has no traction issues on corners. And... your car's hydraulically assisted steering is better than the Cayman's (e-assisted) and the Cayman's steering is certainly lighter than yours (yours being AWD).
agree with you on paper... but having just spent 4 days straight driving the car, this was my subjective opinion on it - couple thoughts:
1) the turbo on the 718 results in less linear power delivery than the c4s, which caused the tires to lose grip when max boost came through when on sharp corners, or accelerating from a stop while turning. (I can assure you, this actually happened!) I would think that with it’s mid engine weight balance there is just less weight over the rear tires than even a c2s, for example. It also runs 265s on the rear vs 305s on my car. In sports plus, the traction control had to kick in quite often under heavy throttle when not in a straight line. It was also 30-40 degrees out and the cayman was running Michelin Sport 4s summer tires, so I’m sure in the summer some of these traction issues would abate.
I could have described this more fully in the op- sorry about that.
2) re: steering, also agree this wouldn’t make sense, but it’s entirely possible that an electric rack can feel heavier than hydraulic...whether it “feels better” is obviously up to the user. Also, as the cayman isn’t rear engined, I didn’t get any sensation of the front end getting slightly lighter under hard acceleration, like I do in my C4s - this may have contributed to the sensation i described in the op.
Last edited by Cfrankscid; 02-02-2018 at 05:03 AM.
Reason: Typo
Outside of the emotional dissonance we all feel with the “cayman” vs “ 911”, I think the 981/718 are more “911” than the new 991. They also look absolutely fantastic.
I am am not sure how Porsche will deal with this going forward. But it seems the 981/718 are their new sports cars. :flamesuit on:
Something is off in both areas. The mid-engine Cayman has no traction issues on corners.
Judging by the condition of the tarmac in the photos, it's completely plausible it was breaking the tires loose more so due to low grip. In ideal conditions I would think it would be much harder to do so.
+1 about the PDK. I've owned manuals my entire life (including past Porsches) until my 997.2 C2S. Would even remotely consider a non-manual sports car.....until I drove a PDK. I know it's blasphemy, but now I honestly wouldn't go back to a manual. The PDK is too good. It actually angers me that it is so good, and I no longer want a manual
Outside of the emotional dissonance we all feel with the “cayman” vs “ 911”, I think the 981/718 are more “911” than the new 991. They also look absolutely fantastic.
I am am not sure how Porsche will deal with this going forward. But it seems the 981/718 are their new sports cars. :flamesuit on:
I learned this back when I started tracking my 2000 Boxster S. The guys at the track, who drove both the Boxsters and 911s at the time admitted it. If I balled up my 2009 C2S, I would seriously consider going back to a Boxster S, last of the 6. I just enjoyed that model more. You all praise the 997.2 as the last of the analog cars..... but have you ever really driven the "lesser" cars? They are more sports car than a 911.
I drove a 2013 boxster S back to back with my 997.2 and while it was ok, it was hardly "sporty" and they took some of the edge away from the PDK, I know the early PDK is clunkier, but the later one is more BMW like with seamless shifts and an overall docile feel, I also didn't really feel sport mode did much except make the throttle twitchier.
02-01-2018 | 09:26 PM
718 Cayman S PDK review from 997.2 C4S manual owner
