I have just traded in my 2002 e46 M3 on a new yet to be delivered Cayman S. While looking at Cayman's and Boxsters I had a chance to drive the standard 2.7 Cayman. It is a fantastic car. Yes, it is a good bit slower in a straight line than the 2.7 will be, but I will tell you this, it is a superior car dynamically. I owned my M3 for only about 7 months, and as good a car as the M3 is, it really is not that "fun". I think my two biggest gripes with the car were its weight, and its numb steering. Steering feel is masivley important to me, and the M3 has very little. That always bothered me.

I would take the cayman. It is just more fun.

Michael