lestippp

As the title suggests I've just bought the above car

Although the weather has been crap since I purchased the car, in the good weather it is just awesome. The handling is sublime and it is seriously quick Although quoted figures are similar to that of the STi PPP that I just sold, I am fairly sure it is quicker once rolling

As well as the speed and handling the quality of the build and finish is just fantastic

Has anyone on here owned one of these cars for a while, as I would like to know how you have found it? I'm not worried about costs but would like to know what to expect.

First thing I have noticed is that it does 25 - 26mpg on mixed driving which is a massive improvement over the scooby even tho it has similar power... nice one The insurance is cheaper as well Servicing will be at least £650 on the next one which is not due for 15k yet, as 20k service intervals Now if you think about it the scoob would have needed to be serviced twice in that time costing around £600 if no big issues so the porsche is cheaper to run day to day!

And before you say that I am kidding myself... don't worry, I am budgeting for new discs and pads at the next service so will cost about £2k all in possibly, although they look in good nick after 19k so far.

P1Fanatic

Nice motor fella - got any pics?

Must admit I have a hotspot for Boxsters and Caymans. Would love to own one. Didnt realise the Cayman S is now same 295bhp as the Boxster S - always thought they had a bit more.

I love the look of the current shape (987 is it?) - especially the side and rear 3/4 profile - schweeet!

Simon

Fabioso

Nice cars but I doubt its much faster than an Sti. It may feel quicker but I would have the thought the average driver would go faster in an Sti especially with the kind of damp, greasy roads we have here 7 months of the year.

If you factor in the cost of buying a Cayman, depreciation, insurance, servicing then I don't think its going to be any cheaper to run day to day than an Sti.

I would have thought the real point of the purchase was the Porsche driving experience/fun factor rather than cheaper running costs

lestippp

Thanks for the replies chaps, I was only kidding about cheaper to run, my point was more one of "not as dear as you would think" to be honest, although the purchase price is significantly more and on everyday costs such as fuel, insurance and servicing there is little in it. On depreciation the scooby will drop 50% in two years where the Porsche drops about 25 - 30% from a higher price obviously but that equates to about £13 - 15k on each of these cars... surprising isn't it Owning a Porsche is an experience, I just wanted to share some stats that some may find interesting is all.

The Cayman S was first to have the 3.4 flat six with 295bhp, Porsche then put it in the Boxster S as the chassis could easily handle it. My guess is that the Cayman will soon get the 3.6 as an upgrade but we'll wait and see.

Fabioso on the performance side of the car, I'm pretty sure on dry roads the Cayman S is faster and that includes through the twisties, having spent 10 months driving my STi PPP (05) I also appreciate the difference weather makes and in the rain the scooby would have the advantage but then I never got near to the scooby's limits in this kind of weather, preferring to live a little longer instead If you get a chance to drive the Cayman go for it, I guarantee you would be astounded by its levels of grip, traction and handling. I had one for a day last year and that was when I decided I wanted one, I had the scooby at this time so could make good comparisons. I wasn't sure that it was as good as everyone was claiming but it is and more

Stig took the WR1 (quicker than a STi PPP) round the track in 1,29.4 and the Cayman in 1,26.2 so a huge difference I think you'll agree. I never really read much into how a car is driven on public roads as some people drive their corsa's round corners faster than I would but this doesn't make the car faster, just the driver more dangerous / mental really If you pass a 911 turbo, in a WRX because it is being driven by a more cautious driver, the WRX still isn't the fastest car, is it? These comparisons only work where the cars are driven in the same conditions by the same driver, in turn, otherwise it's like comparing Michael Schumacher with your granny

I like to think that I am always unbiased in my opinion on cars and the scooby is still one of my favourites and is a hell of a car for the money so I am not criticising it, just stating that the Cayman IS a faster car when driven well, in good conditions is all.

Simon they are cracking cars and I wish you luck to have one some day.

CharlesW

I have now owned my Cayman S for 11 months. I do not regret for one moment taking the decision to get one. It is a superb driving experience. It is involving and very capable. On the limit it is quite benign. It doesn't suddenly let go like an Elise. As for wet handling I have been pleasantly surprised by how much grip it has. Today I have been out in the snow and not once has the PSM (Porsche Stability Management) come on. I am on 19" wheels with Bridgestone RE050 tyres and PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management).

As a long distance tourer it is also superb. It is very comfortable and the suspension is very compliant. Fuel economy is OK. I usually get 24-26 mpg. On a long motorway run I get 28-30 mpg. I have so far driven 10500 miles. It has used no oil and the tyres are still ok. They did get a bit of a drubbing at Knockhill the other day. Most people seem to get 15-18k out their tyres.

Build quality is superb. Being in the drivers seat really does feel like a special place. As to the cost of ownership, so far it seems alright. OK the initial price seems like a lot of money. But really the cost of owning a car is the depreciation you suffer. I reckon the depreciation over 3 years is likely to be around 15k. There are a lot of less accomplished and less desirable cars that will depreciate that amount in 3 years. Service intervals are every 20k, so that shouldn't be an issue. Insurance is less than my WRX was. The only proviso I have is that the Warranty only lasts 2 years, so you should budget for extending the warranty. Porsche will extend it upto 10 years and 100k miles at a cost of £895 per year. Bear in mind that a new engine is going to cost 16 grand. I know it is very unlikely to happen, but it would be a bit of a blow if it did.

The question of disks and pads does crop up now and again. After 10500 miles I have seen hardly any wear on the brakes, which by the way are very good. Rust seems to be the problem. Never leave the car unused after a wash without first drying the brakes thoroughly. That means getting some heat into them. Also when washing the car wash out the brake dust from inside the discs. With drilled discs a lot of dust ends up inside the rotors. If you leave it there and it gets wet corrosion is bound to result.

I think a lot of the problems that you hear about on Porsche forums result from not driving them enough. They are high performance machines and are designed to be driven on the open road.

I found at Knockhill that it was only the seriously modded cars that were significantly quicker. And most of those were on track tyres rather than road tyres. Compared to a standard STI, I would expect the STI to be quicker off the mark, but once the Cayman is rolling it should be significantly quicker especially once aerodynamics come into it. The power outputs are similar, but the transmission losses of the Cayman are significantly lower and there is a serious amount of rubber on the rear wheels.
And being mid engined much of the weight is over the driving wheels.

Lastly a couple of snaps.







SIDC Track afternoon at Knockhill 15-03-08 - 15-03-08 321

P1Fanatic

lestipp - I heard before people saying they got a 24hr test drive of a Cayman. How did you get one may I ask - was it through previous interest in a dealership?

Cheers,
Simon

Hanky

Congrats on purchase, and nice photos CharlesW.

I had the opportunity to drive a Cayman (not S) for the first time the other day, and was pleasantly surprised. As a package it was much better than the Boxster S I drove a couple of years ago, more of an event, and overall felt like a grown-up Elise. Engine was very tight having only done a 1000 miles, and gearbox particularly second was a bit notchy. Rest of the build was rock solid. Once run-in I don't think that it would be as fast as my current PPP Spec. D or previous Exige, but suspect that the S version is a fair bit more responsive. Overall fantastic package, you don't see many about, and the looks have really grown on me.

Cheers Hanky.

Jerome

I recently drove the Cayman S of a guy at work.

It was much better than my standard WRX in every aspect apart from the brakes. Was I just driving a bad example, or do you need to get a brake upgrade to get decent braking performance?

I would be put off by the brakes alone from buying one, despite the rest of the car being fantastic.

Jer

I love the look of these. There is a red one where I live that looks the dogs. I don't think they will put the 3.6 in the caymen as it would be faster than the flagship 911.

CharlesW

Jerome,

Porsche make a point of their brakes being more than 2x as powerful as their engines. By which they mean that, if the car accelerates to 100 mph in 10 seconds, it will stop in 5 seconds.

What I suspect is that you are used to cars with more servo assistance to the brakes. So the initial 'bite' might not feel as sharp. You do have to apply more pressure to Porsche brakes to get maximum effect. However this gives you more feel, in that there is a larger range of pressure from a little braking to a full on emergency stop. You only have to look at the brakes on the Cayman S - 318mm front discs and 299 mm rear discs with 4 pot calipers. That should stop a 1350 kg car.

Jerome

Thanks for that, I thought it was probably me.

Now, you mention it, the calipers are huge - the rear ones are bigger than the front ones on mine. Obviously just a different feel that I'd need to get used to.

NACRO

Great handling car. Was lucky enough to to test drive one for most of a day before I bought my 996. Really neutral handling albeit feeling somewhat underpowered.
Has to be a top ownership prospect though if you buy one at the right price with the right spec ie PASM+Xenons etc.
Got my test drive by dint of being a so called 'realistic porsche owner'. 1 day of Cayman S, 1 day of 997 S and 1 day of 996 Turbo.

lestippp

Thanks for all the comments folks, sorry for not replying sooner but off line at night.

CharlesW I agree with all your comments on the car, they really are something else, I've only had mine for a few weeks and love it Your car looks great bye the way

P1Fanatic I actually got the Cayman S for the day as a gift so no free 24hr test unfortunately, I heard of people getting these though. I will now be on their database so hopefully will get an invite for any future test drives... my only worry about that is I may want one after I drive it I think if you were to phone your local dealer and ask for a price for the extended warranty say, or something similar, then your details would be retained for the future so may be worth a try on that front

Jer on the 3.6 engine I think they might put it in at some point but if they do then the Carrera will start with the 3.8 for the reasons you state. The Cayman's mid-engine layout gives it better handling and balance than the 911 and I can see them doing a turbo version also, as there is no doubt that it can take the power We'll just need to wait and see what happens.

Jerome the brakes on the car are the best I have ever had the pleasure to use, CharlesW explains them well, the feel of the pedal is very progressive with a light touch giving very slight braking up to a heavy foot giving a "vice like" feeling as the car stops amazingly quickly I remember seeing some serious machinery at Knockhill one day, mainly porsches but also a merc SLK 350 and an Aston. The prosches, all 911's with a couple of Turbo's in there, were going out having a few laps and coming in without any problems.
The Aston blew it's engine and was spilling coolant all over the pit lane and the 350 came in with its brakes on fire
As someone said Porsche seem to make cars that thrive on being driven as well as being used every day. The brakes on my car have already covered 19k and are in great condition yet the same car that is not used very often will probably already have had its brakes renewed I say... Buy it, Drive it

Picture of my car below, it is Arctic Silver, and has the following options: 19" Sport Design Alloys, PASM, Sport Chrono pack, Bi-zenons, Sat Nav, Phone module and sport steering wheel

magicgreg

Nice motor mate, best choice of wheels also, suit the car very well.

G

MooseRacer

Superb looking car

StickyMicky

had one of these in for a clean the other day

in black with what looked like 18" alloys, first time i have ever seen one in the flesh, awesome, i have always liked the boxters but was put off a bit by the "poncy" image most other poeple think of them, the caymans look like the mans version IMO

have you seen the wide bodykits for them?





yellow is not the best colour, but i think that would look awesome all in black

Fabioso

I think the Stig getting 3 seconds quicker on a track bears no relationship to real world driving.....the guy is a very talented driver. I'm not trying to diss anyone's motor here, far from it. Given the choice between a WR1 and a Cayman, it would always be the Cayman. Its just from previous experience of driving high powered RWD sports cars, they can be a little 'tasty' when the surface gets a bit greasy and hence my point about average driver ability on the road and ability to make progress.

Can someone give me an idea of how much it costs to fill up a Cayman and how many miles you tend to get from it ?

spectrum48k

Charles, after seeing your car with those spec wheels I may be tempted. Due to change the M3 in next couple of months.

Never real thought about a Cayman before, but this thread's aroused my interest.

CharlesW

For a RWD mid engine car it feels very secure in the wet. When it does start to let go it is fairly gentle. Besides the PSM is very effective. Provided you aren't going hopelessly too quick into a corner it will generally sort things out. During the Porsche 'Driving Experience' at Millbrook they have you do an emergency stop with 2 wheels on a soaking wet track and 2 wheels on dry tarmac and it stops in a straight line.

The fuel tank holds 64 litres so a fill up usually involves buying 50 litres of Shell V-Power, so you can work it out how much that costs. 50 litres on the motorway will last 310-330 miles. On A roads it will last 270-290 miles. On track it lasts about 120 miles.

pippyrips

I had one on test drive a few months ago and have to be honest wasn't blown away with it.

A very big plus point was the handling as was the looks but i thought it would and should have been quicker in a straight line (i guess they wanted to keep it away from the 911?) I also thought the centre consol materials and overall feel inside let it down.

CharlesW

The interior of a Porsche is somewhat plain and 'retro' but functional. There is little difference between the 911 and the Cayman in this respect.

911 interior



Cayman interior



I suppose it is down to personal preferences. Do you want style or function?

51st state

have seen pictures of a cayman with wide body in white
cayman(aka cockster) looks a lot better than boxster, i'm not a fan of soft tops, sports cars should ALWAYS have a roof
mate had an elise then swapped it in for an EXIGE-S
the exige always felt faster sharper , i think much down to it feeling more of a race/mans car
i have a few friends in the porsche club, and they snub boxsters and caymans
saying they are not proper porsche cars , being made by valmet(i think) and engine supplied by porsche


lestippp that car of your looks a real eyefull, roll on the day when i get myself one

lucky_strike

Nice car, I sold my CS last October after 18 months of pure pleasure. Had to let it go for practical reasons (towing) but wow what a car. Handling wise as you say they are fantastic, just so communicative around corners, over bumps, stopping, starting, steering... awesome bit of kit. Although I've not owned an STI (yet... a week away) I've run an 02 WRX with PPP and an Evo VIII 300, both pretty capable car but I always felt the Cayman offered handling being delivered through chassis setup and expertise rather than 4wd grip and electronics and the drive is just so rewarding for it.

Think I averaged around the 26mpg over 16000 miles with much motorway driving and enough a/b road trips to make the ownership fun.

Having said I swapped for practical reasons it actually is amazing how much space you do get inside the 2 seater, very well thought out and finished.

Enjoy it.

lestippp

51st State... thanks, I really like the car and appreciate your comments.

Don't agree on the "proper Porsche cars" bit, that's just uninformed snobbery if you ask me. I know a guy at Rio Prestige (performance car hire company) and they have a Cayman S and a Carrera S (that I am taking out for a day next week) and he swears that the Cayman is the better car by far. Since I was a teenager I wanted a Porsche (a 911 of course) and this is my first one but for me it was the best choice as I could get a youngish car with low miles and 20k servicing. The thing people always say is "couldn't afford a 911" well I can assure you (and I'm sure CharlesW will agree) if you can afford a new or nearly new Cayman you can buy a decent 911 also.

The Cayman is a real porsche, not only that, it is the best handling car they have ever built... fact! I think Porsche will eventually get round to doing a turbo model and that car will be sublime, as the chassis can handle much more power. Let's not forget either that the Boxster is almost unanimously hailed as the best roadster in the world.

On the acceleration of the S model, I agree that it "feels" slower than a STi PPP but that is down to power delivery. My PPP always gave you a hard punch in the kidneys as you floored it in each gear, flaming brilliant
In the Cayman you get pushed back in the seat and the car just gets faster and faster. Think about this, in 6th gear the Cayman will sit happily at 35mph, floor it and it will, apparently, go all the way past 170mph!! Now try accelerating the same way in the PPP, it will just bog down. The cayman has been timed between 4.8 - 5.1s to 60 and 11.7 - 12.0s to 100, so no matter if you think it's slow it most definately isn't

As lucky_strike says, they are not as practical as most cars but they do still have good luggage space and on mixed driving average 25 - 26mpg, to answer your question Fabioso, drive it hard for a bit and that goes down to 20mpg.

spectrum48k you are right to at least consider a Cayman S, they are special cars, so at least check them out as a possible option If you decide to got for one, pick the spec' wisely for resale, try to get 19" alloys, PASM, Sat Nav with the phone module and Bi-zenons as a starter for 10, black or silver and should sell fairly easily later. The chap I bought mine from had 12 enquires in the first week (I phoned him the day he advertised it). Another I was interested in was gone the same day it was advertised!! People are always saying that they don't sell and aren't that popular well explain how a dealer, who is "struggling" to shift Caymans, is pricing them at £35 - £40k for the early cars with good spec and little negotiation? There is only 44 for sale on pistonheads right now, not a lot to choose from.

On the dry and wet handling thing, your right fabioso, the subarus will be quicker but as I have said before I won't push hard in the rain in any car for fear of going over it's limits but the Cayman works well in the wet and feels unstickable in the dry. I have had the rear go a couple of times on damp roads but a smidge of opposite lock brings it all back under control or is it the PSM that does that... let me see

NACRO

Agreed the Cayman S with PASM is a quicker car than the 997 S but is it 'better handling'? I'm not sure as I preferred the challenge and reward offered by the 911. I reckon the Cayman would be faster though given similar power.

Re: the 19" alloys while they look better the standard rims are more suited to UK roads. Again only IMO.

lestippp

On the 19" alloys NACRO, I think if you had them without PASM then the ride quality would be compromised but with PASM (as in my car) the ride is excellent as long as you don't engage sport mode. The active suspension seems to smooth out most of the bumps, it's very good
On the handling I think you can drive the cayman with more confidence as it tells you what's happening all the time, in the 993 I always felt I was just 500rpm away from spinning the car around but this was quite probably in my head
When fitted with the carbon ceramic brakes the Cayman S was 4s faster than a Carrera round the ring

The 911 is an awesome car, I have previously driven a 993 Carrera 2 and it was a cracking motor, better looking than the current one IMO.
Looking forward to driving the new version as they have stepped into the 21st century now, so should be very enjoyable

rickya

iTrader: (18)

Great car all round I had one for the day, loved it: build quality; materials;finish handling; power, just wasnt to keen on rear end. Would love owe but over my budget & I would also have to consider the Z4M also in that range.

ps Maybe not the Wr1, but my MY06 Spec C will give you a run for your money

GC8

Valmet certainly used to build 2500cc Boxsters, but far more were built in Stuttgart (Porsche regarded the Finnish-built cars to be of an "at least equal build standard" -which means better- btw). Theyre showing themselves up, really. The 944 Turbo SE was built in Neckarsulm, and so was its engine, but iit showed a clean pair of heels to the 3200cc 911 Carrera.....

RoShamBo

iTrader: (1)

Agree about brakes on Porsche's - I have had 3 911's and a Boxster S and the brakes do not feel that great until you have to use them in anger and then they are superb - they are just not over-servo'd like a lot of brakes so you dont get huge initial "bite" but boy do they scrub the speed off quickly. Just this weekend I had to really stamp on them and was amazed how quickly they pulled the car up (996 Turbo) with no fuss or drama.
Takes some getting used to but they are superb at stopping you when you do need it.

lucky_strike

Agree with the brake comments, when you combine them with the ability of the chassis and the performance from the engine you get amazing speed carried into , through and out of corners - easily makes up for any doubts over straight line/top end grunt. Awesome performers.