By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I had the very good fortune of sitting in a Cayenne Turbo, Boxter S, Carrera 4S and a Cayman. It was in blue and looked superb.
The interior of the Cayman is beyond comparison. High quality materials everywhere. The wood especially feels beautiful and I couldn't stop running my fingers on it. The leather feels rich and of high quality. The car had an automatic transmission. The wheel is large and comfortable to hold. Seat comfort is superb, and the gauges are easy to read.
My only comforts are that this vehicle is only for smaller people. I'm about 5"11, 175 pounds and the vehicle felt cramped. Not too much room to move around. Felt very different from my Camry. Then again, pretty much all cars in this category aren't known for interior room. My buddy who is 5"10, 210 pounds was especially uncomfortable. His head touched the roof and he couldnt move much.
The center stack looks very nice, however I'm not sure how simple it is to use. The storage space under the armrest is kinda shallow, I can imagine a few CDS and a cell phone filling it up fast. There is storage behind the seats, but only enough for maybe two duffel bags.
Still, a beautiful car. I'll post pictures of my Porsche experience later.
This car will be a success for sure. If I had the money, I'd get one despite the lack of interior room.
Now if only they had let me sit in the red Carrera GT there.....
You know I've driven the Boxster, 911 Carerra and I now own a Cayman S and I must say that I enjoy driving the Cayman much more, It's more fun and feels great.
I must say that I enjoyed driving the Boxster and 911 aswell, though the Cayman feels a lot more raw and energetic.
It also looks very agressive and the design and curves in my eyes add to this.
I must admit however my CaymanS is highly specified with the larger 19" Sport Design Alloys, Sports Chrono Plus, PCM, Sports Steering Wheel, PASM, BOSE etc etc
It's hard to explain until you've driven a CaymanS there's something about it that makes you come back for more and leaves a smile on your face when you park it up...
And you see I didn't need the 4 seats of the standard 911 and the 911 didnt feel as refined as the CaymanS. The Mid-engine sounds great and hey the Cayman should hold its value better too as its still new.
I think that the 911 is aimed at a different market and
as two seaters go the CaymanS is the benchmark.
For Four seaters its the 911.
And the likes of BMW, Mercedes will continue to compete but will never build cars the way Porsche brings them to us, Porsches have always been a joy to drive...
I will buy a Caymen S but do not want to take delivery (or close deal) until later in the year (fall or winter, possible Jan '07).
Should I take my chances and simply wait. I could order a 2007 in late '06. I think demand exceeds supply now but I suspect it will catch up (i.e. cool off)
Do I need to stand "in line" for a chance to order in a state (MI) for which I soon be moving OR simply take my chances with higher volume dealers in the CT/RI area.
Thanks in advance for your advice
When I test drove I was a bit concerned about the "great" engine note which I loved but wondered if the rather loud sound at cruising would become tiresome. How do you find that? Have you taken any long drives?
Beautiful car, nicest styled of the line to me.
I will admit that when I change off to my BMW 530i, I am more relaxed, the ride is smoother, and it is easier to go into auto-mode. But that's not the point of having a sports car, right? I think the Porsche isn't very good for my blood pressure, but it sure makes me smile each time I drive it. Last week I was going a bit over the speed limit and was followed by a highway patrol for about 3 miles on the freeway. As I exited, he followed, pulled up alongside, rolled down his window, got my attention and gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up. Whew! He like it too.">
Sure, it was more "together" than a Boxster, but you EXPECT that in a $70K coupe.
I personally prefer the Boxster [top down in CA *is* fun].
Bapcha
Chander
I've driven the Boxster S extensively and will be getting a chance to drive a Cayman S next week when I take my 911 in for service. From what my dealer has told me, the Cayman S is the best handling, most go-cart like Porsche in history. Slightly quicker than the Boxster S as well (but well short in that department of my 911 S). He (the dealer) claims that it is very different driving experience than the Boxster S.
However, there is also nothing like the roadster open air driving feeling. Driving my family around last night with the top down in our 911S is well worth the slight loss of performance the 911 Cab has relative to the 911 Coupe. At least according to my daughters.
You need to decide between performance and open air fun. And perhaps aesthetics. While the Boxster S looks great with it's top down, the Cayman S looks great all of the time. Both are great cars - if there was ever a personal & subjective decision, the Cayman vs. the Boxster is it.
I took a Cayman out a couple of weeks ago and drove it back-to-back with an equally specked 987S, that is, 19” wheels, no PASM. They felt virtually the same on the casual and, for the most part, sedate test drive with the salesman riding shotgun. It would be nice to have each for some quality time to fish for differences. No doubt the stiffness would become more apparent.
Congrats to all of you new Cayman owners. It’s a great driver.
Another thing. As we know 911 cabs sell considerably more than the coupes. Will the Boxster coupe reverse that trend? Doubt it.
FWIW, a friend of mine recently went Cayman browsing in northern NJ. He didn’t get a price from the dealer on a new car but the dealer offered him a Cayman with 400 miles on it for $52K. It stickered at ~$64K.
No matter what you pay this is a great car. I went to the dealer about 6 weeks ago fully expecting to buy a Boxster S at a very big discount. After driving the Cayman I had to buy it instead. The Boxster is also a wonderful car but the Cayman felt much more substantial in many regards plus I can fully track the Cayman. I also drove a Carrera as well and I chose the Cayman based upon driving enjoyment - the price differential was not an issue.
I hope you are able to get a Cayman at a great deal and you enjoy it as much as I do.
He wasn’t serious, just curious.
I hope you are able to get a Cayman at a great deal and you enjoy it as much as I do.
Well I have an 02 Boxster S and am not seriously shopping now, just being a fan, yapping away about Porsches. I’m not sure I can give up the ragtop anyway. Good luck with your car.
Although the Cayenne SUV consistently makes the list of most problematic new vehicles, it had no relationship to any previous Porsche model. Based upon my research and favorable experience with a 911, I would have no hesitation on buying a Cayman S. The owner of my hometown Acura/Mercedes dealer bought one of the first Caymans to arrive in the US as his personal car. That's a pretty stong competitive endorsement, given that the nearest Porsche dealership is 80+ miles away.
My first weekend experience: an awesome car! I had a 951 (944 turbo) with a rcaing chip and altered wastegate, which I drive 172 mph (at dawn on a Sunday morning). The turbo felt much larger and the turbo kept increasing power (like an afterburner), but the Cayman is smaller and quicker with an awesome feel (like being in rails). Although it is supposed to go 171, I doubt if I will try that again as I'm now older and wiser (I hope). There is a little more road noise that I expected, but it doesn't bother me (I drove a Boxster a few years back and I guess the open cockpit cut down on preceived noise). Also, it was a warm weekend and I noticed the back of the seat felt too warm (up against the engine) even with the climate control making other parts comfortable. You can get silver super insulation (about 1/4 inch thick) that could potentially be put between the engine and the cabin. I will have to ask my mechanic at Parktown Imports about this. All in all baby Cayman is a joy!
arctic silver
Stacy
Lillian
All three advised me that, in addition to following the owners manual recommendation of not exceeding 4,000 rpms and varying engine speed for the first 1,000 miles, to drive the car for at least 20 minutes every time you start it for the first 1,500 miles. Longer in colder weather. The objective is to fully warm up the oil and all engine parts, seals, etc. during the break in period. This allows them to fully expand and contract. Repeatedly driving the car for short hops during the break in period doesn't allow this to happen and can result in parts that don't "seat" as well. Oil leaks around seals may result, among other things.
My dealership is close to Johns Hopkins Hospital. The sales manager has to slap doctors to get them to listen to these instructions. Yet many will take their new 911 home and then commute about 3 miles/5 minutes to the hospital and back day after day during the break-in period. My dealer claims that about 80% of all of their "rear main seal" leaks can be traced to such bad break-in behavior.
Fortunately, Porsche's instruments include both a water/radiator temperature guage as well as an oil temperature guage. The water temperature reaches equilibrium in about 4-5 minutes. The oil doesn't reach equilibrium for 15-20+ minutes depending upon the ambiant temperature. That's the one you want to watch.
Hope this helps. I was religious about it, figuring I might want to keep the car for a long time.
Not sure what you mean. The additional break in recommendation I got for my 911 of avoiding short hops that don't get the engine oil fully warmed up had nothing to do with "new model blues". This is simply a good policy for any high performance engine (especially one that holds 9+ quarts of oil to heat up).
But hey, if you want to use your car to dirve to the mailbox at the end of your driveway and back, that's certainly your perogative. I didn't find refraining from short hops for the first 1,500 miles much of a "regimen".
I believe the boxster sytle engines may be even more sesitive to following this procedure, but it's certainly not new or unique to the Cayman S or even Porsche.
FWIW, I have found it more difficult to follow the "vary your engine speed" recommendations during break in than the "no/limit short trips". I managed to break in my M5 within two weeks of getting it, by taking a trip down to our vacation home in Hilton Head (from Pittsburgh). On the way down, I was stopped by a North Carolina trooper for going 90. I used the "breaking-in" excuse to get off with a warning. On the way back, in the dead of night with almost no other cars on the road, I was stopped by the same bloody trooper doing 100. He sent me on my way with another warning, laughing that he had actually been following me from a distance and noted that over 30 miles I varied between 70 and 100 in nice even 10 mph increments. He just wanted to make sure I didn't end up at 150 and he couldn't catch me.