Quote:
mateoche said:
would love to hear you elaborate on your back-to-back test drive "hatchback"... i'm sensing that you were unimpressed with the cayman? why?
thanks.
I approached the Cayman S test drive with high expectations. Midengined Porsche. Rave reviews. 911 Killer. This has got to be good!
First disappointment was the hatchback. I appreciate a good hatchback configuration for its storage capacity and flexibility. The Cayman rear shelf has two sections. The first section is immediately behind the seats, and is level with the driver's neck. It has a mesh cargo net on top, but I don't think the net could realistically fit anything bigger or heavier than a sweater, and anything you put there would decrease your rearward visibility. The second section is at the rear of the car, and it is slightly deeper. I didn't measure it, but it seemed roughly a foot deeper than the first section. My immediate thought was that anything stored in either section of the rear shelf would fly out and decapitate the driver and passenger in a frontal collision. (Did anyone else see the crash test on Fifth Gear a few seasons back?) There is no way I would store anything in the Cayman hatchback, the safety risk is considerable.
Next took it for a drive on highway and local roads. Temperature was below freezing, tires were cold, and the roads were covered with salt. Some sections still had some snow and ice, and others had standing water. Traffic was moderate. Passed one speed trap. I was asked to limit revs to 5k and the salesman rode with me, so this was more of a real-world drivability test than a joy ride or a hot lap.
Pedals are well positioned for heel-toe. As far as I could tell, the Cayman drives and handles fine. Suspension was comfortable over bad roads, no crashing. I could feel about 50% of the road -- big changes but not the little ones. It is noisy but not with the kind of car noise that I like to hear. Nothing about it made me smile or think this is a great or special car. It has big blind spots to the sides. The cabin has plenty of headroom, but I felt closed in and was relieved to exit the cabin when the test ride was over. During the drive, I couldn't help thinking, this would be more fun (but less comfortable) in an Elise.
Next was the 997S. Pedals were comparable, and rear sideways visibility was better. Cabin felt airier. Tires were colder and had less grip; this car definitely needs winter tires in colder climates. The dashboard creaked and groaned. Overall ergonomics were better. I felt more confident driving it in poor road conditions and on limited visibility roads. At the end of the drive, I felt relaxed and would have gladly driven it some more.
I felt more self-conscious in the Cayman than in the 911. The Cayman feels to me like a vanity piece, a self-indulgence, a car that you get for yourself alone. You can't carry much of anything in it, you can't run most errands in it, and I wouldn't want to take it on long-distance trip due to excess noise and insufficient storage. You can only take it to work if you don't have to drive your coworkers anywhere. Nor can you take your family with you in it. Among sports cars it offers more comfort and style than raw performance, so you are choosing solitary sporting comfort and style over the solitary sporting performance of the CGT/GT2/GT3/Z06/Elise or the shared comfort and performance of a 997S or even an M5.
That's my entirely personal reaction to the Cayman S. Your reaction will be different, and the best way to find out what you think of the Cayman S is to forget the reviews and drive the car yourself in a way that is realistic for you. I'm not a reviewer, just looking for a fun car, and yesterday I realized that the Cayman S isn't for me. I'd rather have the everyday usability of a 997, or the raw performance of a GT2/GT3/Z06, or the driving involvement of an Elise.
