JeRKy 8 Owner

And guess who got a chance to drive it tonight?

He was a little apprehensive and told me to take it easy since he was still breaking it in (and it was brand new), so I obeyed and didn't deliberately take it over 5k, but he forgot to mention anything about fast turns.

I knew this was going to be one of the few times I'd ever get to drive the damn thing, so as I was taking it down an empty street in 4th gear while he was in the passenger seat, I act like I'm going straight down the road, ignoring all the side streets I can turn into. After 10 seconds or so of that nonsense I suddenly drop it into 2nd and take an extremely sharp right turn onto another street. The car was unphased. Whenever I've tried to do similar maneuvers with my car, somehow the 8 usually manages to pull it off, but it's a struggle, and the 8 feels like it might spin out at any second. With the Cayman S, it was like there was a friggin magnet attached to the road. Just unreal.

While I was taking the turn, his face went like this: (That's after he realized how beautifully his car ripped through the turn.) Simply put, I have never ridden in a better handling car my entire life. When you take turns in this baby, your *** cheeks DON'T EVEN MOVE A CENTIMETER.

It's just amazing suspension, and perfect balance. You glide through the road in this thing, and don't even feel the bumps, which is amazing considering how low the thing sits. Also the gearbox and clutch are smooth as silk. Then again, it is a Porsche.

I'm going to go as far as saying that if someone stated, "the RX-8 handles like **** compared to this thing," I wouldn't be able to argue with them at all. Not that a $60,000 vehicle vs a $30,000 vehicle is a fair comparison or anything, but the Cayman was one of the first cars I've driven in 3 years that made me feel like **** when I got back inside my 8. I got to drive his former M3 plenty of times, and not once did I feel bad about going back into my little rotary afterwards. His M3 was a beast of power, but the RX-8 still felt sleeker, seemed to handle better, and was overall a more enjoyable ride. Definitely cannot say the same about the 8 when it comes to the Cayman though.

Of course there were a couple negatives here, one being that his M3 was faster than the Cayman, which you can blame Porsche for since they didn't want to mate the Cayman to an engine that would compete with their flagship. They also didn't put a limited slip differential on it, again thanks to the Carerra. Lastly, his car costs as much as a Z06 (if you could find one that isn't marked up), which probably has comparable handling as far as I know and blows the Cayman away in acceleration. I will say that I think it's better looking than any other Porsche currently available right now.

Other than its somewhat lacking acceleration vs price factor, it's simply a solid automobile. This is coming from someone who has learned to appreciate the way a car rides and handles. I'm sure other people with STIs, Evos, Mustang GTs, and so on would bitch about how it's just not fast enough. But that's just their tough ****. The fact that my friend ditched a straight line monster for a handling marvel proves that he has finally seen the light.

It's too bad that there's probably going to be hundreds of them driving around here by summer time.

momo

I remember reading about the Cayman in motortrend, they basically said that if should handle better than the 911. So, I'm not surprised that it would feel like chit when you got back into the 8.

I'm not accusing you, but some other forums members here think the the RX8 handling is the best thing since slice bread. I found that out when we traded in our Miata for the 8.

RX Renesis

remember that porsches also have their engines mounted on the back so that should help with cornering...

Backup7

You mean mid

Tirminyl

No, I believe Porches are rear mounted not mid mounted.

rodrigo67

I have read in several mags that although Porsche is trying to hush it up, that little underpowered cayman ran the nurnberg. track with a faster time then it's bigger carerra brothers.

Something Porsche doesn't want the driving public to know about thier more powerfull and expensive offering. If the limited slip were offered on the cayman, there wouldn't be a reason to buy a carerra...

RichardK

That's kinda like saying "Cars are grey". Porsche make and made more than one type of car.

Cayman, Boxster, 914/6, Carrera GT - mid engined, Rear Wheel Drive (maybe the GT is all wheel drive - I'm not really into 'supercars').
356, 911 and variants thereof including 959 - rear engined, Rear or All Wheel Drive
924, 944, 968, 928, Cayenne - front engined Rear Wheel Drive except Cayenne 4x4.

RichardK

Remember on Top Gear where they tested the Gallardo and Murcielago?

Normally they really go on about a wet track being worth 4 seconds. I could double check and haven't, so I might be wrong - but as I remember it, the Gallardo on a wet track was as near as dammit as fast as the Murcielago on a dry track.

rodrigo67

Yes, I remember that one...but the Murcielago has prettier lights to justify that price...

JeRKy 8 Owner

For your information people, the engine on the Cayman S is in the MIDDLE, not the back. It sits literally right behind the seats. The hatch in the back opens and provides some storage space. No engine or anything back there.

BlueEyes

In a RWD car they go on about that, yes.

DARKMAZ8

yep, I'm ditching the 8 quick for a slightly used caymen s in a year or 2. I'm sure it has more then enough power for every day driving and the platform is perfect for a future turbo/lsd swap.......

dmorales

Well I bet if you spent 30k on your RX-8 (to even the price) It would be faster in every way, including handling...but then again it wouldn't be a porsche!

I wouldn't expect anything less from one of the greatest auto manufacturers ever. I only hope I'll have the opportunity to drive one someday.
________
EroticQueen

zaglo6204

the cayman is my favorite car (for the moment). i just rode in one, no driving (darn...), but it was such an incredible experience. absolute rush... i know i will never be buying a carrera now, whether i would ever have the opportunity or not.

G8rboy

Agreed- I love my RX8, but my eight year old Miata with 8-way adustable shocks was a far better performer in the handling department. I'm hoping the market for the RX8 opens up with more options for suspension mods eventually.

And back to the topic... I've been sold on the Cayman S- I've got my eye on one in a few years. Looks great, handles great, plenty of power... the total package.

brillo

I'd put a lsd in the car and go to a few porsche track days and *&$% humiliate the 911 folks
I love the cayman, screw the *** heavy 911

Rhawb

My dad's been drooling over them lately, but he's not sure he wants to lose his Vette convertible. Maybe I should ship him over this way to sway his opinion

Christianv

Beware of oil starvation while cornering on wet-sump Porsches. That basically means any non-turbo H-6 car.

Check the Rennlist forums and read the owners' experiences.

RichardK

Suzuki Liana is FWD.

Lack of grip is lack of grip, AWD or not.

Ike

I still can't think of a really good reason to buy one over a Boxster S, prettymuch the same driving experience but you get the fun of a vert.

JeRKy 8 Owner

The Cayman S is slightly faster, handles tighter, and looks a helluva lot better. Though I wouldn't expect those last two points to mean much for someone like you Ike.

Cooder

Isn't the fact it doesn't have LSD totally unacceptable? That's a sham.

BTW, the Murcielago and Gallardo both already look dated, especially when side by side with an Enzo or Carrera GT. Isn't the Enzo older than the Murcielago? I think Lamborghini knows this and that's why they put out the topless versions, which is such an old school copy cat move that it bores me.

bascho

I must be in the minority in thinking the Carrera is a much better looking car. I like the Cayman.....just like I like any Porsche......but the Carrera 4S Cabrio is the car of my dreams. If I had the money for the Cayman S right now....I would save another 2 years and walk to work until I could afford the Carrera.

BlueEyes

Why did you stop at the 4S and not the turbo cab?

NomisR

The Porsche Cayman should be a really great car but there would be a few problems with it that would prevent me from getting it. Basically, it's a great car that is greatly limited by the entire Porsche lineup. You have the Boxster, Caymen and 911, they basically puts the Caymen smack dab in the middle of the entire lineup and that's it. It could certainly exceed the 911 in every way but they didn't! And then you have the image of, I couldn't afford a 911 so that's why I have a Caymen thing. That's what you get when you drive that car..

And plus, there's so many friggin options on those things that I priced out a car with all the neat things that I would like to have and it came out to 100k!!! :O ridiculous!

All that being said, I would rather spend that money on a Lotus Exige and it would be faster, handle better and actually looks exotic. It won't be purpose built but who cares!! It'll be even more fun than the Caymen and I would save 10k which I can buy a POS Kia Rio and use that as a daily drive and still have change left over!