2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray Z51 vs. 2014 Porsche Cayman S Comparison Test

Edmunds.com

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kyolml

i guess that different author has different feeling toward the cars. While the GT-R comparison saying the vette is satisfying to drive and exciting, here is sort pretty much all negative. I understand those are different subject to try to clarify the points. Maybe a comparison bet ween the Caymen and GT-R will be good.

sharpend

Too bad you pay all that money for the Cayman S knowing that if they only put the 911 engine in it - which they easily could - it would be that much better. Instead, they dumb it down intentionally and still make you pay an incredible amount of money for it.

06sti

I want the Cayman, but I'd hate myself for spending that much money for one. I need to see a shrink to sort out how to rationalize it.

My wife might hate me too Maybe I'll bribe her with a mink coat (an equally logical purchase)...

fordson1

I agree - pretty negative on the Corvette. The engine is within the wheelbase as in the Cayman, BUT it's not behind the driver - ? Huh? I get that the Porsche is superior in lots of subjective ways and that is a genuine consideration, but the 'Vette is superior in many objective ways and costs a lot less, and that has not been given genuine consideration. 2.4 seconds on a 1.6-mile handling-type track is forever. The fact that you're looking at tail lights from the Cayman S HAS to be accounted for in any assessment of these cars. And it's not being done.

ses184

I think the best way to understand this is to think of a big 1 pound burger from some greasy burger joint vs. a gourmet sandwich from a high priced restaurant. The big, cheap burger will fill you up more, cost you less, and still taste really good, but there are certain characteristics that the expensive place's meal is going to offer that you just don't get at a greasy spoon diner.
At the end of the day, it would come down to how much you're willing to spend on a sports car and what you're personally looking for out of it. Either way, I think any car guy would be extremely thrilled to have either set of keys thrown his way with someone saying "go have fun and drive it like you stole it!"

cbrandi_

I don't see these two as comparable. They appeal to two very different kinds of enthusiast. The writer is correct numbers are relative to the overall enjoyment of the car. With full throttle acceleration nearly impossible to do in todays congested roads, performance numbers don't mean much. These are both great cars in their respective spheres.

noburgers

Ultimately it does come down to price and exclusivity. If you threw the ten to twenty grand more into every Corvette the interior would be just as nice, the car might be more refined, but you would lose the target market. Hurray for choices, and for the fact that the Corvette can now compete very well against so many capable sports cars.

golfer38

The tester seemed that he made his decision before the test, and just slanted his subjective view towards the Cayman regardless of the numbers and cost difference. When are these testers going to put more weight on capability and less on their seat of the pants feel. Both are very impressive cars, but to achieve the level of performance Chevy has accomplished with the new Corvette is groundbreaking.

cotak

It sounds a bit like the Cayman is for people who don't want to drive at the limit. Which is fine that's 99% of the drivers on the road and I'd like 90% of drivers are incompetent or nearly so anyhow. This is the same arguments between much cheaper cars in the hot hatch segment. You can buy something like a Mazdaspeed 3 or a Focus ST or a GTI. And as it stand before the new GTI came out it pretty much goes that same order in terms of driver focus vs refinement. You pick what you like. For me I know the stingray wins, but my wife she would prefer the more refined car.

davisdvm

One of the best overviews of the porsche vs corvette comparison I have ever read, thank you for making the effort to get well past the numbers. The difference in cost is often mitigated if one shops the certified used market, where a lightly touched Caymen is readily available in the 40-45k range.

quadricycle

I really think that all of these comparison articles would be a lot more enjoyable if we just pretty much ignored the last paragraph that declares the winner. These decisions always come down to a weighting of objective numbers and subjective impressions, and that weighing tends to be different for just about everybody. So instead of trying to prove to everyone else that x is better than y, let's just find the winner for ourselves and accept that someone might choose differently, because at the end of the day both x and y are both seriously phenomenal cars!

shriker66

Good test...finally someone puts reality into the picture.....NO ONE cross shops a $65K Corvette with a 911 that is nearly double that (for an equivalently equipped car) ......

I have to say I am very surprised at just how much Edmunds seemed to dislike the new Corvette in this test. I understand everything is reletive, but it seems like you guys would choose this Cayman S over the new 911 S as well. Impressive for the Cayman S, it remains a SUPERB sports car...guess the writing is on the wall for the 911. All the Cayman needs now is the better engines. Why would anyone buy a 911 given this new Cayman OTHER than power (excluding the special models like the GT2/3, turbo etc.) and pay WAY more?

Every individual would have to make the choice.....what is more important to you ? With such a chasm between this Corvette and the Cayman S (the Vette doesn't just edge it out by a hair , it POWERSLAPS it back into the middle of last week.....2.5 seconds around a track SPECIFICALLY favoring handling - the Caymans forte -....your grandma could drive the Vette in reverse with one arm tied behind her back and lap the Cayman S in a decent length race).

It takes a LOT to overcome such lazy performance for significantly more money (though still pretty close). The Cayman's mix of great quality with excellent manners closes that gap for some apparently.

What would YOU rather have ?

themandarin

Corvette already looks dated

lions208487

The Vette wins across the board on the numbers, and over a second better in the slalom is not just slightly better when it comes to vehicles, that's quite a bit better. I prefer the interior of the Porsche over the Vette, but not enough to justify selecting it over the Stingray. "The Cayman S is a masterfully executed sports car that makes the numbers virtually irrelevant." @ Mark T.- are you serious? Numbers are the predominant justification for the comparison to begin with.

haris3

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marcos9

The mere fact that the 2014 Corvette is being compared to the 2014 Cayman S is a significant compliment to Corvette as a brand. Kudos!

tknn

The 986 was crappier than a 1980s Tercel in the interior. Glad to hear that it has improved.

agentorange

Putting the raw figures aside (no apologies lions208487) I see what the author is getting at. The Cayman is a better sports car because it has a fundamentally better chassis that allows the DRIVER to get nearer the limit in comfort. The Corvette stability program knows darned well that things go South quickly when you get to the limit and intervenes hard and fast as you get there. That feature does not make for a satisfying sports car. Watching Fifth Gear on the Velocity channel the other night and both testers were bemoaning the nannies on the original MP4-12C and the Mercedes SL AMG. They said the electronics prevented them from driving the car at the limit, something they felt they should be allowed to do. Blame it on CYA or fundamentally flawed handling, your choice. Porsche have shown it can be done.

pommah

At this performance and price point its about how each car makes you feel because you're not going to be able to use the performance either one offers very often if at all. My tastes tend to the Porsche vs. the Vette but completely understand if somebody wants to go the other way, I wouldn't look down on somebody who made that pick now like I would on previous Vette generations. Even so, if I were going to spend that kind of coin on a car I'd do it on some cherry classic sports car instead. They make you feel even better than a shiny new Porsche

cliffsr

What a biased load of crap! First you slam the Vette,"Disable the 'Vette's advanced stability control and you're left with a car that wants to powerslide" for how it handles if you turn OFF the electronics and then praise the Cayman,"With Sport Plus driving mode engaged, the Cayman S is a mind reader". turned ON! Really, why did you even bother to do the comparison? Your obvious favoritism for the Cayman does a disservice to journalists everywhere who try to report objectively. I have driven both cars and there is no way I would say a Cayman S drives better than the Corvette. On top of that the price (+20k) and higher maintenance costs make the Porsche prohibitively expensive. You should resign from Edmunds and go put an application in at Porsche.

vikasdesai

the cayman is so dialed back from what it should be that it is pretty annoying, worse yet porsche not only didn't put more power but it make it somewhat skittish at the limit. The car is always being held back by 911. the cayman really should have 350Hp like the base 911. At least the vette is a full on balls to the wall job by GM. Its an amazing job to get these insane laptimes at a price under 60K(obviously giant tires has to with this), still ill take the cayman because it and the boxster are truly exotic looking with everyday livability and reliability, and will probably be a nicer place to be when you are slogging thru traffic at 45mph

ddnohn

Amazing...good car..I like it.

Obat Herbal

tbone85

I'm sorry, but for at least 8k more and losing every single performance category, this story comes across as an exercise in excuse desperation. The car that "handles better", but is only slightly slower, gets "smoked" on the track? Methinks thou doest protest too much.

vantageman

This is a very odd review for so many reasons, Ill ignore the far negative opinion of this article for the corvette that seems a bit like a bias against it but how did they rule that the Corvette was better than the 911 Carerra S but somehow its not as good as the Cayman S. Are they saying the Cayman S is a better car than the 911??? Not to mention I think the fact they chose the Cayman to compare it to instead of the 911 kinda shows they were trying to engineer a result as the corvette was built to compete with the 911....

jimstar

I'm sorry but why is this worded like the Corvette is some kind of GT-R clone, when others paint a stark contrast? I mean even if PTM was ever doing the driving for you, which is a way I've never ever heard it described, you do know you can just turn it off...right?
And why do I feel like you're trying to oversell the Cayman's interior? I've only been in one for a few minutes, but it didn't seem THAT nice...
And the Cayman isn't relying on driver aids? Didn't you mention Sport Plus? Rev matching? I'll bet my house that this test car also has PSM, PASM, and whatever other electronics are available on a Cayman.
So yeah, I'm sure the Cayman is a better feeling car...but this write-up seems questionable at best to me.

lostcomma

One thing about the price, they are probably within $5000. The vette is now selling for msrp +++. "Let the gouging begin" as on blog reported. The pluses could be anywhere between what ever the market could bear and that could be as high as the price of the porsche. When the last vette was released there was no way you could walk into a showroom and pay just the cost of the sticker. Now with porsche, the price can be negotiated as per the experience of Edmonds staff that bought the current 911 cab with few options. Of course this would differ greatly between regions and the price will come down on the vette for sure but currently I would say the difference is probably not as profound as indicated.

stovt001_

"Are they saying the Cayman S is a better car than the 911???" In a way, yes. There have been articles here before making the argument (that I'm inclined to agree with) that the Cayman, especially with its mid-engine layout, is a more rewarding car than the 911, especially considering Porsche seems to severely handicap it. No surprise that while the numbers were better for the Corvette, the Cayman was more rewarding.

cargirl52

I own a 2010 Corvette and absolutely love it! Great value for the money. It puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel.

porsche1441

I have been a Corvette enthusiast my whole life and it is still one of my favorite cars. That being said and having owned both I can honestly state that when it comes to performance, ergonomics, and intuitiveness as well as quality, the Porsche Cayman is simply a finer automobile. The Corvette felt loose from door panels and overall interior, similar to most GMs after a few years of age. The Porsche simply did not feel that way. I recently traded in my 2006 and although it was very low mile vehicle, the precision inside and out was just tight. A 7 year Corvette with similar miles simply does not compare and I absolutely love the Corvette and owned a 6 year old Vette. The Corvette is the best value from a performance standpoint meaning horsepower, but from a long term investment that retains its value, precision and an overall better handling automobile, the Porsche wins hands down. Lastly, the Porsche offers significantly more advanced performance handling features which if you are a true performance person, it totally matters and you will pick up that second when you are in total control of your vehicle.

walterretlaw

In years past, I'd easily go with the Porsche over the Chevy, no question, but I'm not so sure about that this year. This new Vette is so slick, it makes Porsches look dumpy by comparison. Plus, the Cayman S is one thing, but for the same price, you're realistically looking at a regular Cayman with maybe one or two options (i.e. PDK & black wheels, or sport suspension and Bose stereo, or ceramic brakes and that's it, etc.). Clearly, the Vette isn't a Porsche. But on the other hand, the Cayman isn't really a Porsche either. They held back on it. It's basically the Camaro of Porsches.

Most of the time, when people are looking for a sports car, they're looking for power. And the Vette will dust the Cayman 100 out of 100 times. So there's that... And you simply can't deny it. But trust me, I've knocked American cars to no end over the years, yet I've always said, if they ever make a legit sports car, I'll buy it. And this new Stingray is legit.

tyedye

I actually moved from a Corvette to a Cayman S so I've spent a few years with each.

I think the Cayman's beauty is that everything is perfectly balanced. I think a 911 engine would actually be a detriment to how fun it is. It would become a skinny girl with disproportionately big boobs. The engine doesnt come in a surge like the vette but above 4500 it's a beast.

The corvette was more of a thrill but it was always scary to push to it's limits. Not surprisingly I eventually pushed it too far, spun it out and totaled it. Above about 2500 rpm it would just take off like a rocket. Different types of fun.

981driver

Just about the most misinformed review Edmunds has EVER done. Porsche implemented launch control in EVERY PDK car they had in 2009. Years before GM. There is not a 2014 981 Cayman S in the world that cannot pull a 4.2 MINIMUM 0 to 60 time. Heck, Car and Driver tested a 2014 981 Cayman S and pulled a 3.9 sec to 60 on its FIRST run! Porsche was one of the FIRST car companies to implement launch control in sports cars, 5 years ago! The Corvette is a great car, but please be honest, it barely beats the 981 Cayman S in only one or two categories, and it has 465 hp vs 325 hp for the Porsche. Get real Edmunds!

speedster1765

As an owner of both of these two amazing cars 2015 Red Corvette C7 Z51 and now 2016 Yellow Cayman S I must to say these two cars are different animals. However my experience with the C7 Corvette still feeling I was driving a hot road car vs a refine technology from the Cayman S. In reality the price difference is not as much as people think when you choose a nice package from the C7. All around I must say I love my Corvette very much but I am happier with my Cayman S.