Which one 2012-2016 Cayman(981) or 2017-current(718)?
 

I know the 981 has 6 cylinder engine.

i know the 718 has the 4 cylinder turbo.

Assume both would be slightly used.

Some questions:

1 Do both throw you back in the seat with a solid start?

2 Any known issues with the 981 or 718?

3 Are the turbos less reliable/more prone to failure on the 718?

4 Any concerns on reliability with either model?

5 Anyone own both and have any feedback?

6 Is one more fun to drive than the other?

151 views and no feedback? My local dealership has neither car in stock. Just a bunch of suvs, so any feedback would be helpful.

Drive both and see. There are plenty of threads elsewhere of people talking about flat6 vs turbo4. Beyond that cars are both still Porsche. If you prefer a little more torque and Apple CarPlay and don’t care about sound then 718 is a good car. If you want flat 6 sound and don’t mind previous gen steering ratio, etc etc also a good car. Personally sound is a big issue for me but everyone is different. Styling is subjective as well.

Best advice is test drive.

Recent 718 base owner. From experience ( 12 p-cars ) the base 718 is quicker in every way over the 981 S. To get to the power in non turbo , it takes 4000 rpm. Only 2000 with turbo. So around town the 4 cylinder puts you in the seat. On the track the 981 is more engaging with rpm and sound As a daily, you’ll find the 718 more spirited. Hasn’t been reliability issues within this generation thus far. I use my 718 as a 2nd car daily driver, if that makes sense , with no regrets that it isn’t an S .
It has all the power one can use on the street and still be a grown up. So my vote is to go with the latest generation. As for sound and 4 cylinders, if any armchair experts give you any sh.... , you can tell them that you have 4 more Porsche cylinders than they do.

For me, it comes down to finding the right car/deal...with the right condition/history/color/options/mileage/mods, etc.

In our case, we were searching for a very specific color combo for the wife.

I was going to go 718 but then found a 4k mile, 2013 Boxster S time capsule.

After driving both, the 718 certainly was a nice car with a bit more grunt but I did prefer the sound of the 981.

At the same time, I did really like the idea of being able to tune considerably more power out of the 718 (vs a 981).


In the end, the like-new 981 was $20k cheaper than the closest comparable 718. The 981 gave me everything we were looking for, at a better price.

We bought the 981 and couldn't be happier. It also had a nice $2300 aftermarket exhaust, aftermarket wheels, clear side markers...all stuff I would have done to the stock 718 (which ultimately "saved" me more money).

I would have been happy with either...likely happier with 718 tuned power...but ultimately quite satisfied with the 981 performance and glorious sound (while leaving more benjamins in the bank).

My 2018 base Cayman is definitely quicker than my 2016 Boxster S was. That really surprised me.

you really need to test drive both. preferably back to back to see which you prefer. in my case I got to test drive back to back to back to back lol. although I was sold on the first "back to back" I just needed to be completely sure. once you know which one you want (981 vs 718) you can now concentrate on whether you want the base, S, GTS or GT4.