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Why does no-one on here rate the Cayman???


daveknott
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I adore the Cayman, it's one of the nicest coupe's on the road. If I had £45k to spend on a car right now, I would probably buy a Cayman. It meets all the requirements for me, looks good, sounds good, decent MPG, great build quality and ergonomics and fantastic handling - given it's the only mid-engined Porsche available!!

Some say it's the only proper Porsche Sports car, as it's the only mid engined Porsche you can buy! cool.gif

I do agree that it's way over priced, even the boggo Cayman starts at £36k! shocked.gif

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As hinted at above, Porsche are ripping off anyone that buys the Cayman.

Roadsters (Boxster) are more expensive to build than a hardtop, so why oh why does Porsche have the cheek to sell the Cayman for more ££'s than the Boxster.

Shame on them, I like the Cayman a lot- It's considered a near perfect handling RWB and everyone raves about the road holding and handling characteristics.

If only it's price was nearer parity with it's brother

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so why oh why does Porsche have the cheek to sell the Cayman for more ££'s than the Boxster.

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an analyst at my employer went to the launch presentation to market analysts / shareholders and he asked this question - answer was essentially "because we are Porsche we can get away with it, people will pay whatever we choose to charge"

some people are stupid or just don't care they are being ripped off but I certainly wouldn't buy one new

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I think the Cayman will develop into something of a cult car. It's alot closer to the orginal 911 than the current 911 is, and it's a proper little hard core driver's car like the 968 CS.

In terms of value for money, it'll be interesting to see how used prices hold up. It'd be even more interesting to read the impressions of an objective road tester of the Cayman against the Z4 coupe. The Porsche ought to win that particular battle, but I'm not sure it would.

Personally, given the choice of Cayman or Boxster I'd get the Boxster, but that doesn't mean I think the Cayman's a bad car.

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[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

it's the only mid engined Porsche you can buy! cool.gif

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Boxster? CGT?

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Well I wasn't counting the CGT. I didn't realise the Boxster was mid engined, I thought it was slightly further back.

I'm not a Porsche afficanado like you though fella, so I stand corrected! blush.gif

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[ QUOTE ]

I think the Cayman will develop into something of a cult car. It's alot closer to the orginal 911 than the current 911 is, and it's a proper little hard core driver's car like the 968 CS.

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You appear to have fallen for all the marketing hype hook, link and sinker. The thing that has always differentiated the 911 is rear-engined, the shape and the fact it was a usable 2+2. 997 continues all three and Cayman has none of them.

The Cayman is a Boxster with a hardtop rather than a soft top and a larger rear boot space due to the hatchback design. Have you driven either? It is in no way hardcore, it has the same suspension, wheels, handling as a Boxster. It is slightly lighter (50kg) and more rigid due to the hard top so if you are Rohrl or track regularly you may notice that but I doubt many Cayman drivers will.

The only justification Porsche had for charging a premium was the additional 15bhp of the 3.4 engine so they could argue it was between a 987S and the base 997 - this has now gone as Boxster S has the same powerplant.

A Cayman CS would be a cult car I reckon but not sure whether Porsche will do it as it would be better/quicker than the holy grail cash and profit cow the 911

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All true - but when you look at a market like Australia, you can buy a Cayman S with some extra bits (chrono, 19" wheels, PCCB) for about $160K. A 997 will cost you over $200K.

So in terms of a hardcore car - the Cayman S is a (much) cheaper alternative.

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Agree with all the comments re: "too expensive", however, lots of journos reckon its the sweetest handling porsche - better even than a 911. If it was suitably cheaper than the boxster, I reckon they'd have much more of a hit. As it is, I've only seen a couple on the roads......

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I was in lurve with the Boxster. Having read the autocar article a few months back which reviewed those 89 cars and the Cayman S came top - pushed me to go to a dealer and have a look.

I drove it around central london (A40) for an hour -through Regents Park and I loved it.

Sure a convertible has its moments (I had one for 4 years) but the handling and the open light cockpit (the boxster was darker and more closed in) I really liked it - in fact I loved it.

I have been umming and arring about if I could live with one and today the order went in.

Delivery in Feb sometime I hope - was going to get Speed Yellow but opted for Artic Silver as it looks the dogs in Silver especially around the city.

There seem to be so few of these around which I like!

For me it was superb - the Audi TT was on the list butit stood no chance unfortunately!

Tone

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  • 4 weeks later...

I picked up a 12 month old Cayman S on Monday which is going to be used by my girlfriend on a daily basis. I've got a 997 C2S and have to say that the Cayman is a huge amount of fun with superb handling and performance. In everday real world driving there isn't much difference between the two in terms of performance but the Cayman definately has the more forgiving handling and is far easier to drive swiftly on a twisting A or B road due to it's better weight distribution. The interior feels special and there is a lot of light compared to a roof-up Boxster. The extra rigidity of the fixed roof is also very noticeable over the Boxster.

The cost issue will not doubt be debated on Porsche forums until the cows come home but IMHO opinion the bottom line is that Porsche really couldn't risk making it cheaper than the Boxster as it would probably have seriously devalued the brand and badly affected residuals. To have priced it in Audi TT 3.2 territory and open up volume sales would not be good for a "prestige" brand. Similarly if they had bumped up the price of the Boxster to let the base Cayman start around £34k then they'd have upset their existing Boxster customers. As it is they have spun a niche vehicle off an existing platform and can afford to sit back and let the cars driving dynamics speak for themselves and build up a new customer base. Most motoring mags love the car after all due to its superb handling. Given time the car will establish itself in the range in the same way that the Boxster and Cayenne have, as did the 924/944/968/928 before them.

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  • 3 weeks later...

And also the boat of most prospective GT3RS drivers. In 20 words or less, complete the sentence "I spent an extra £40k to get a 997 GT3RS instead of a Cayman RS or a 996 GT3RS despite the fact that all have about the same performance because..." UHOH7.GIF

And, in fact, most prospective 911 drivers full stop. It's already hard enough to explain why you want a 997 not a Cayman. Imagine how you would explain it if there was a Cayman RS that would run rings round a 997!

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And, in fact, most prospective 911 drivers full stop. It's already hard enough to explain why you want a 997 not a Cayman. Imagine how you would explain it if there was a Cayman RS that would run rings round a 997!

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Under 300bhp for £55k does nothing for me. 400bhp for £70k does.

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  • 5 weeks later...

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It's already hard enough to explain why you want a 997 not a Cayman.

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Not sure that's really the case:

1) Firstly the 911 is stronger performer, may be not as much as the price differential suggests, but the extra power and torque can be appreciated during day to day driving, as well as full-out blasts.

2) The 911 has rear sears, and for occasional use for passengers (or for extra luggage storage) that may be important to some.

3) Rightly or wrongly, the 911 has 30+ years of heritage that the Cayman simply does not.

4) From a residiuals perspective, the cheaper Boxster won't help, particularly now if has the same power etc

5) Less important for many people, but there isn't a 4WD Cayman - in adverse weather, it would take a very special Cayman driver to keep up with a 911 C4S

beerchug.gif

Sidicks

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  • 1 year later...

5) Less important for many people, but there isn't a 4WD Cayman - in adverse weather, it would take a very special Cayman driver to keep up with a 911 C4S

Sidicks

Ha ha! That's what my R32 is for - monstering Porsche drivers in the wet. :eek:

Unfortunately we've not seen decent (as in real and not imagined) rain here for over 3 months now. :(

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I think like many the 911 is iconic and with a (new) price tag of £60k thats £24k more then the Cayman.

Of course when getting mine - I would have got a 2nd hand one but Yellow Caymans are like rocking horse (&IT so had to get a new one.

As for performance in a straight line its not going to stand up but the handling and performance for that sort of money £37k area its great! The noise of the engine and the sound of 7k revs is awsome - but its just the start for me.

Another thing for me - mines a year old and its stunning 21k miles on it and its not been anywhere near an OPC outside of its 1st service.

I have to say for me - this is the MOST reliable car I have ever owned - and the service wasnt OTT either! comparing that to 20 trips back with the dreadful Golf Mk5! Even our Audi's were not quite that bullet proof.

Comparing a Cayman to a 911 is like comparing two different fruits - I think going back to what I first said if I could buy a 911 the I would have but I can't spend £60k on a car at this point in my life, but I wish I could! But having a cheap mans Porsche (as I get it from people driving Hyundai's) is better then not driving one at all.

Tone

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