Hello everyone -

Been a while since I poked my head in on this forum.

I've been tossing the idea of a new Cayman around for a while and I'm finding myself unusually torn between the base model and the S. I'm strangely fascinated with the base Cayman and the glowing reviews it's been receiving lately [Motor Trend goes far enough to call it the perfect Porsche], how it has over 100 hp/liter of displacement and the idea of the added involvement between the driver and machine and having to work the car to extract its available power.

The S naturally pulls its own weight with the higher power output and available shove, but I'm wondering what it really boils down to from owners who have either model. Seeing that more and more of our roads are speed-regulated/riddled with potholes or speed breakers, would it be a smart move to get a base Cayman and option it up or just go all out and get the Cayman S? [Or the Cayman GTS next April...]

I'd like to hear back from you.

Cheers!

khabah

 

I have the 2.7 six speed. It has plenty of power and performance for me as well as magical sounds, especially at 4K and above. I am very glad I went with the six speed. It shifts like a hot knife going through butter and is very flexible pulling from almost anywhere. Great fun factor in everyday driving

 

I have driven both the base Cayman and the S and IMO opinion there is no comparison. I would take the S model every time. You definitely feel the addition horsepower and toque and to me it worth the extra dollars for the difference. I am currently driving a 2011 Spyder which actually has more horsepower than the 2011 Boxster S model and I absolutely love it. Go for the S.

 

For me it comes down to your transmission choice. The base is super with a manual but IMHO not so much with with the PDK ie not as involving. The S is fantastic with either. I am a 6speed guy who owns a base car and have driven them all. My next car will be an S with manual.

 

I had a base 2010 Cayman with PDK and now I have a Cayman R with PDK. The 2010 Base had the 2.9L which had 265HP and my Cayman R has the 3.4L with 330HP. Both cars were used as daily drivers and I live right outside of Washington DC so there is a lot of traffic. I prefer the Cayman R over the Base Cayman because I was able to feel 65HP difference in acceleration. Handling was pretty much the same. Sorry about the long answer, in short get the S over the Base

 

Like my wife told me..."you'll always wonder 'should I have bought the S?' but any of us with an S never wonder "should I have bought the base?". There's no looking back for me and like they say...there's no replacement for displacement.

 

I owned an 08 Cayman S 6MT which I drove for 28,500 miles as a DD. I owned a Cayman R 6MT, and now own a 2014 Cayman 2.7L PDK. I would say that performance wise the 981 Base with PDK compares favorably with the 08 Cayman S 6MT. While there is a 20hp delta, the 981 is a bit lighter, has a tighter chassis and the PDK maximizes the engine. I was happy with the performance of the Cayman S and am equally happy with the 981 2.7L as configured. As a daily driver, I enjoy my 981 more than my Cayman R which was also my DD. Just my POV....

 

So true!

 

I had a 2003 986S Boxster that had similar specs to the 2.7. I currently own a 981 Cayman S. The difference in power is noticeable. I enjoy the extra power and feeling of getting pushed in my seat. That was lacking a bit for me in the 986. Especially at freeway speeds I feel like the Cayman can move better even without downshifting.

I actually already wish I had more torque in the Cayman..heheh... but that's just when having fun in a straight line. On a curvey country road, either will do pretty well. I'd still take the S tho. The only downside, I find myself shifting less .. not sure how much of that is the power vs. the new gearing ratios tho...

 

I can understand this logic with a Panamera or a Cayenne . If the purpose of that vehicle is to sit comfortably in traffic , offer decent fuel economy ,have safety features and offer space then performance might become less important .

A Cayman vs Cayman S on the other hand refers to a vehicle centered on performance . Giving up the added features in this type of car makes it a good performance vehicle rather than great one .

At 60-85K I realize every cent might count but IMO its almost worth it to simply wait a year and buy a CPO car .

 

Khabah---what criteria are you using for your decision? I think that is what is important. What works/matters for you. We are all obviously expressing our POVs aka biases. I offered up my experiences with three different Caymans, 987S, CR, 981 2.7L. For the type of driving I do in Florida using it as a DD, I have found that roughly a .5 to .6 delta between the base and S is not the differentiator. The handling, braking, acceleration and overall balance of the base fit my criteria best. I did test both S and base and made the conscience decision which was not price based........could have gotten either. In fact, I found that going with the PDK was a more imporant part of the decision than whether an S or base.

 

Here's my POV,

I could see myself getting into a base 6 speed with the sport options for less than 60-65k. With torque vectoring, sport suspension, 14 way sport seats, entertainment package, Carrera S wheels and a few other things it was less than 65k MSRP.
The packaging of this car is so complete. A perfectly balanced Porsche with all the credentials at a fair price.
People forget the base car gets 32mpg, is as fast as a 996 C2, rev it's over 100hp/liter to 7800rpm and comes in well under 3000lbs. Nothing improves a driving experience more than reducing weight, IMO.



I however, could never see myself paying 90k for a loaded up S. At that point i'd be looking at CPO 911's or other cars.

 

Everyone - thank you all for your meticulous [and emotionally-charged] responses!

Ottawaman: wise words; they're all I can think of now when I think of this issue!

Ronald: I enjoy driving at speed as much as anyone on this forum. The only issue I'm finding is, however, that my driving experience in Kuwait sees me in traffic a good 70 to 80 percent of my time and, with my Cayenne S at least, I wind up crawling along highways and city traffic and most of the 400 horses in my engine are left in the box. With all the speed regulation, average speed cameras, hidden cameras, road bumps and increased police presence amping up, the case for faster cars becomes less and less compelling.

Whatever I choose, I've decided to spec the PDK. I've never been an ace at shifting my own gears and I enjoy the smoothness and intelligence of the PDK so that's definitely on the list.

Any additional input, guys?

khabah

 

Shukran Gazelan........

 

I have the 2.7 5 speed, if you are a good driver you can fly with this little machine

P.S. Some extra bhp´s wouldn´t hurt