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I’ve just bought a 981 Cayman and thought I’d put down a few random thoughts. Some of my observations might not have come out in road tests and might be of interest to other potential buyers or might provoke discussion.
I didn’t really intend buying one at all. I fancied building another Caterham for my second mid-life crisis. But my wife wouldn’t get in it (she didn’t in the last), so something more “sensible” , which wouldn’t turn into a track day car, was called for. I’d previously tried a couple of 911s and decided they weren’t for me, but the Cayman’s rave reviews prompted a test drive. Though my head says double clutch gearboxes are best, a number of (VW group) double clutch ones left me cold in the past, so I decided a 2.7 manual was what would suit.
However, the local dealer only had PDK demonstrators, so I tried one of those. It had 20” wheels too, which I had assumed would spoil the ride too much. Well, the ride was a bit jiggly but not that harsh, but I was blown away by the PDK box – which I drove manually for almost the whole test. The key fact for me is that there is no way I can make gear changes as smooth or anything like as fast I therefore decided I wanted a secondhand 2.7PDK with 18 or 19” wheels and a light colour. Or so I thought…
While looking, I (foolishly?) tried a Cayman S.. It depends what you are used to, but the 2.7 is fast enough for me, but it is hampered by very high gears, and needs to be worked hard for it to feel quick. It feels merely brisk if you try to breeze along. The S pulls those gears so much better so… an S it had to be.
Finding the right spec at a reasonable price was the difficult bit. With so many expensive options it’s difficult to get the ones you really want without, in effect, paying for ones you don’t. In the end I got a 14 reg car with only 720 miles on the clock, with PCM, PASM, Telephone preparation (can you really believe it’s an extra!), 19” wheels, Dual climate control, Parking sensors all round and rear wiper, all of which I was keen to have. It also has some things I wasn’t fussed about, but might appeal to future buyers - Bose, partial leather, heated seats, Sports tailpipe, and Sports wheel (flappy paddles are great on the track, but less so on the road). Would have liked PTV, but for some reason isn’t that popular an option. The car is Basalt metallic Black, which is popular, but certainly not my preferred colour (and personally I prefer the non-metallic black). But I concluded that if you are having a mid life crisis a sober colour wouldn’t make it so obvious.
First impressions. Well, I’m still running in and keeping to about 4000 revs, just where the engine really starts of fly and make a delightful howl. Whether this is enhanced by sports tailpipe I’m not sure. But it breezes along effortlessly, and I’m surprised to find myself happy to let the PDK take the strain when I’m in no particular hurry – it’s quite responsive even when in its normal rather than Sport mode. I still prefer to change gears "manually" when driving quickly. The ride is impressive, and even with the dampers set in Sport is firm rather than harsh – and roads around about are very testing. I’m on P Zeros and foolishly I didn’t check what the other cars I drove were on. Bump thump is remarkably well suppressed, but tyre roar on some coarse surfaces can be very intrusive.
Overall I’m delighted. It is a fantastic car. That said, I can understand someone who had driven both a 987 and 981 felt the 987 demanded more of the driver, and therefore was more engaging. Some may prefer the 911 for the same reason. The 981 is just so good it makes anyone feel like a hero with no effort!
Niggles are few. If you’re short, and therefore have the seat forward and up, entry and (particularly) exit can be difficult if you cannot open the door fully. I sometimes have to resort to sliding the seat back to aid getting out – something Lotus Elise/Exige owners may be familiar with. If you are short it’s a very good reason for avoiding Sport Plus seats which will exacerbate the problem.
Much is made of the standard of finish of the car, and, by and large, this is true. However there are one or two things that jar. The overhead interior light and switches feel low rent, as do the stalks on the steering column which have a rather springy action.
PCM is ludicrously expensive but doesn’t support speed camera warnings and user defined POIs.
Am I the only one who finds the handbrake location, and its (digital) operation, unsatisfactory? It reminds of a road test of another car saying a switch was ideally located for someone with a 9 inch limb growing out of their kneecap. It doesn’t matter so much with the PDK box, but I’m sure I’d find it a real pain with a manual box.
Finally, I think Porsche have done a pretty good job in creating oddment space. But has anyone found a use for the quite spacious, but almost impossible to access, cubby holes behind the seats in the engine cover?
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