I just picked up a new 718 S model about a week ago and have been driving it everyday. I must say it is a joy to drive, but wanted to give my own 2 cents to share with the forum...Let me preface this by saying my car has PDK, navigation module, connect plus, 14 way sport seats, sport exhaust and sport chrono to name a few of the options.

1) This car is wicked fast...wow..when you have sport plus mode engaged on the sport chrono and press the now available "boost" button for extra power..you better hold on because this car is amazing. I used to have a turbo panamera, and this car is just as fast, if not faster. I believe it when the articles say that the PDK cayman S is faster than the base 911. I have not timed it, but most reviews are clocking this car with sport chrono at 3.6-3.7 secs in the 0-60 times, and I believe it.

2) The handling...this is my first cayman, and I heard and read how amazing these cars handle, and I will say I am very impressed. I have the optional PASM plus as well, and it is awesome. My turbo panny handled great, but was a bit chunky..not this car.

3) The sport seats take some time to get used to. I am 6 foot 2 inches tall, and medium build. I can fit fine in this car, but the leather is so new, it is a bit stiff and it can take some time to find my confortable spot. These are not luxury seats....

4) The sound is amazing...I have the sport exhaust. I have heard and read from previous gen owners that the sound of the car is different. I can tell you honestly this car is plenty loud for me and sounds amazing. I always have the sport exhaust button open and love the sound. My wife thinks its too loud and sounds like a helicopter when I am in the garage .. a loud helicopter that is.

5) Storage space is much better than I expected. The front storage is excellent and deep...but no chance of putting golf clubs in this car.

6) I have the jet black metallic...I was torn between this and the regular black, but can say the metallic looks amazing and very happy with it.

7) Connect plus....Lots of apps.. still trying to figure them all out..even my flight info, gas prices, twitter feed, etc...

8) Navigation.. this may be the coolest nav system I have ever seen. Google earth and street view are so amazing. It will give a real 3d pic of your destination with street view. Need porsche connect for this...it comes with 1 year free and then $150 per year after..not bad.

9) WiFi hot spot... this car has the connect plus which gives me many things, including a 4G wifi hot spot. This is free for 3 months and then $20 per month after...you need this to operate Google street and Google earth.

10) I have owned 2 panameras, and have driven some of the 911's and I feel like this car is more like the old 911's.. you feel the car more, you feel more connected to the car. The new 911's have been tamed some, and with the cayman I feel like its more of a true raw sports coupe. Just my thoughts..that may change.

Overall, I'm loving this car and would love to hear the opinions of others.

 

Congrats! Glad you're enjoying it. The only thing I missed when I went from a 997 S to my first 981 ('14 Cayman S) was the engine grunt. I didn't miss the understeer followed by oversteer in every corner. My only complaint of the 718 and it's not the 718 itself, but the fact Porsche doesn't offer sport suspension as an option as they did with the 987 and 981. I've had sport suspension in 2 987s and 1 981, and it's much better than PASM, which I had in 1 987 and both 997s. It wasn't near as popular I imagine, but when you've driven the difference the choice is clear. Sport suspension also included larger ARBs. But I digress. Keep on pumping it up. I want to see the 718 successful in the marketplace.

 

Excellent review! Thanks for posting!

 

Congrats and great write-up!

I have a 718 Boxster base due in in a week or so - 6MT, Jet Black, Black/Luxor - and I look forward to comparing notes once I've logged some extended miles in the car.

As to selecting the base, I test drove the base and S models back to back twice (Boxster then Cayman), separated by a few months, with consistent impressions. All handled beautifully. Both base and S have plenty of power, at least for how I'll drive the car as an around-town and mountain canyon cruiser. I love the low and mid-range torque on tap from the 4 cylinder turbo engines. By the seat-of-the-pants, the S felt a little quicker than the base, but not by a huge margin, and the 2 liter engine to me seemed to run more smoothly than the 2.5. I love the subtle styling changes of the mid-model refresh.

Enjoy, and look forward to some pics!

 

Dave,

I also was able to drive the base and S models, but in addition was able to drive an S with the sport chrono and PDK. I will say that I found a huge difference in speed and performance in a car with both sport chrono and PDK. The PDK shifts at the blink of an eye and the sport chrono now has a new "boost" button to give you additional power now matter what mode your in. I have found this "boost" button quite fun and entertaining.

On another note, I have had more time to spend with this car and continue to really enjoy it! This may be one of the best handling cars I have ever owned.

My only frustration with this car is the fact that I still haven't been able to activate Porsche Car connect. This whole process surprises me that Porsche would make it more difficult than it needs to be. First off, after you buy the car, the buyer has to go online and register and get a "code". Once you get a code, you then have to call your dealer and set up a time for a service appointment for them to activate this feature and link your car to your cell phone. It surprises me that this could not of all been set up at the time of delivery.....

 

From my admittedly cursory skim through the Porsche Car Connect FAQ getting this set up at delivery is doable but still requires some preliminary work to have all that is required at the time the car is being prepped for delivery.

The dealer was I guess remiss in not making you aware of this so you could have elected to have this done as part of the pre-delivery preparation rather than have to have it done afterwards.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying the new car, Dpm! The S models that I test drove were equipped with PDK and I agree, it’s an awesome gearbox. Shifts are lightning-fast, smooth, and the control electronics are uncannily intuitive in anticipating driver inputs. I'm one of those hold-outs, though, that won't let go of the manual transmission. I enjoy the additional involvement, despite the fact that it is slower. I will add that my wife and I also have a Macan that is equipped with PDK, and it is really growing on me, at least in that vehicle.

I'm a little concerned to hear about your frustrations with getting Porsche Car Connect set up. One of the objectives for my base Boxster build was to configure a lightly optioned car at a price point of $60-something-k. I actually skipped the Nav system and selected Porsche Car Connect with the intent of using PCC as something of a "poor man's Nav system". We'll see how that goes!

 

Hmm. Sounds like an app with $400 in annual in-app purchases.

 

The 718 is an extremely impressive car, congrats on the purchase!

I was skeptical at first of some of the design elements and of course the sound, but after having one in and out of our shop I am a convert! Seriously impressive piece of machinery with a very unique sound.

 

Update after 2 months of ownership:

1) I do believe that the 718 S is the best handling car I have ever owned. I have had a couple of 911's, Panameras, Acura NSX, Corvette, and others, but must say this car is amazing. It handles as if it is on rails. I believe the optional PASM Plus helps too.

2) Finally got my Porsche Car Connect hooked up and active. It took all of 15 mins at the dealership after I had the code that I had to obtain from Porsche. It's sort of cool to use. It does give you a lot of info on your car, and gives you immediate GPS google earth location of your car.

3) As if it really matters, but the gas mileage is in my opinion very good. I'm getting in the mid- to low 20's routinely even with spirited driving.

4) The seats took some getting used to, but now my body has adjusted and they are great.

5) This car is crazy fast. I have read some of the magazine reviews as mentioned before and do agree that this 0-60 time is definitely below 4 secs. Depending on what magazine you read, 0-60 has been reported as 3.6-3.9 secs in the S model.

6) I personally love the sound of the engine with the sport exhaust open and in sport or sport plus mode.

Just my 2 cents......

 

Thanks for the follow up. Im not a flat 6 groupie per say, although it does sound good. But you cant argue with the performance of the new car.

So far im not a huge fan of the front facia and rear "porsche" lettering area but im excited to see what they do with the gts and gt4??

I do need to experience the handling though since EVERYONE says its noticeably better than the 981. You mention its better than other cars youve had. Have you ever driven a 981 cayman, i would be interested in your comparo.

 

Suspension, ride quality, cornering, steering--is all very subjective. New cars have new tires and that alone can make an appreciable difference, especially depending on the tire Porsche fitted. Most OEM tires are already falling off at 5,000 miles. Even less if abused. Certainly with much life left, but noticeably less grippy than when new. Noticeably is a keyword in all this.

I'll have to give the 718 a go some time. I would expect it to be as good as a 981 w/PASM all things being equal. The cars aren't radically different so I'm guessing the noticeably better applies much to tire quality. I'll try not to compare to 987s and 981s equipped with sport suspension--versus PASM. Not a fair fight--sport suspension wins. So I don't expect a 718 to corner or handle better than the more exclusive/top performing 987s/981s. Again, not a fair fight. Certainly the 987 and its mechanical steering wins in that department. It's sublime and both 981s I've had fall short although the Spyder has a shorter ratio which is neat.

 

Yogi,

I drove a previous body style cayman years ago, but don't remember enough to compare it to the 718. I'm sure it was awesome, as most Porsche's are.

Steve,

In regards to your comments...I watched a video about the new 718 some time ago, and it indicated that the new 718 has the 911 brakes/calipers, the GT4 control arms, and the 911 steering wheel system to name a few in upgrades. Most of the reviews feel the 718 is an upgrade in all catagories except the sound of the exhaust. Many reviews state how they thought the sound of the previous generation was better/louder. I personally think it sounds great and is plenty loud enough for me with the sport exhaust open, but thats just my 2 cents.

 

Which 911 brakes? Mine has 991 S brakes (6 piston) and are stronger than the ceramics I had on my Cayman R. Normal 981 S brakes weren't anywhere close to as good as my Cayman R ceramics, or 981 Spyder for that matter. I would expect the 718 to improve as every new iteration has. I'm not sold on the motor as I prefer NA to turbo. My Focus RS has a 2.3 liter turbo producing 350 hp/350 torque. My Spyder will eat it alive. Mainly because all the power is lower in the rpm range (RS). When you really get on it, it suffers. Although the car will go 166 mph bone stock. Not bad for a grocery hauler.

To me the VERY best thing about the 718 is the color palette, so if you buy white, black, silver or gray you failed!

I also believe that the market prefers turbos as most people do like having usable power at low rpms, whether linear or not.

 

Yea this is what im curious about. How these upgrades transfer to better handling. I think the steering rack is 911 turbo. I would appreciate that rack and the brakes on my 981.