I was asking because if you are close to me, you are welcome to drive mine and you wouldn't have to worry about a salesperson sitting next to you. I pulled my moderator card out and did a trace on your IP and you appear to be 5-6 hours from me, so that may not be feasible.

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Gator Bite
(View My Articles : Blogs : Car : Profile)

What's to worry about, drive it then make up your mind.

I think you will be surprised, power to weight is pretty decent, when you get her going she can close down a space very quickly and then there's the cornering.

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3 lions

I was seriously considering an M coupe while I was shopping for a new car (I ended up with the CS). Having driven both I will say that the M coupe seemed to have about the same get up and go as the CS. Take a look at their respective power/weight ratio and you can see that they're nearly identical. If someone made me choose which one was faster in a straight line I'd probably pick the M coupe, but it's really not very noticeable. I will say that the M coupe can make you feel like you're going faster, but I think part of that comes from the anxiety of poor visibility combined with a less predictable car.

Don't get me wrong. I really, really liked the M coupe. The steering feel was very solid (especially compared to the **** steering in a standard Z4). And despite my saying that the visibility was poor, I really like the coziness of the cockpit; sports cars never really have great visibility, anyhow. Infact, there were a lot of things that BMW got right on that car.

However, I did find it wanting in a few areas in comparison to the CS. The glaring area was handling. The CS is very easy to drive fast and rotates extremely well. Every time you come up to a corner you blast through it with no worries, and in the back of your mind think, "next time I'm going to run that thing 5-10mph faster". The CS is to driving, as Viagra is to sex. I'll admit right now that I am not a first-rate driver, but in the CS even I have a big 'S' on my chest. Even a moron like me could see that the CS was superior vehicle (if a sports car with everyday drivability is what your looking for).

In the end, for all the great things that the M coupe was, it drove like what it was. A nose heavy car with shoddy tires. In the end the CS drove like was. A mid-engine Porsche.

I guess I the point of this rant was to let you know that you won't miss the HP because they run about the same speed as far as acceleration goes, but you will gain a world of improvements over the M coupe. All that being said, it really matters what you're looking for. If you want a sports car, Porsche isn't a bad place to look. If by saying 'upgrade' you meant a car that'll rocket your butt down that 1/4 mile faster you might want to consider some other vehicles. That new M3 looks real nice and is in the same price range of a CS with a couple of options. Z06 is nice too and you won't be able to beat the bang for the buck when it comes to hp. I don't think you're going to get the same curb appeal though, and I think that may be a part of your considerations as well. What ever you choose, good luck. Half the fun of getting a new car is shopping for one

I think that you will enjoy the CS very much although it is a totally different animal then the raodster that you are used to. They both handle very well but differently. The CS while similarly powered handles differently than anyother car you have ever driven. Find a dealer who will let you have one for a day. This should not be too hard considering the way the economy is going right now.

I had a nicely stripped down E36 M3, stock E46 M3 and if you do a quick test drive of the Cayman S it's not impressive at all. The cayman is however extremely tactile. You do get a lot of feedback through the chassis and steering. I agree the engine needs more urgency. An upgraded plenum/throttle body/softronics software package brings the oomph to the Porsche engine. A good exhaust can help too.

On the track the MZCoupe does about the same laptimes. Roughly.

So whats more powerful and can handle well.

A Z06 (Yesterday there was one I couldnt catch - it went like stink: 3000Ibs and 500hp and it handles too).

A GT3.

Beyond that teh 997S is supposed to be more raw (according to a British magazine I read) than the Cayman on a daily drive plus you can get a Porsche mechanical limited slip diff for it).

I would say: take out the Cayman again. Spend a bit of time with it. If it doesnt click for you then dont buy it.

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AFRIDI
Cayman S 2007

I am a fairly new owner of a CS, sold my 400HP Corvette to buy the CS. In a nut shell: raw power in a straight line = Corvette / M Coupe... yada yada yada. Pure driving pleasure and true sport car feeling plus great curb appeal= CS.

REALLY?? When I drove the 997S, I was utterly un-inspired. I was ready to choose the new Evo X over the 997S. The 997S felt like a very nice, fast, well planted luxury coupe, not a sports car. The Cayman S felt way, way more "raw" to me. I am only comparing from driving on one backroad... about 10 miles total.

But just surprised to see anybody call a 997S more raw than a cayman. Faster, yeah, but more raw? hmmmmm

The day I bought my Cayman (not a S), I drove a Carrera 4 and 4s. On the same test route, drove the Cayman last. Bought it.

The 911's are very nice, but the Cayman felt the best to me. A little raw, perfectly balanced, and maybe slightly underpowered. I actually like a little underpowered. I know, I know... sounds crazy.
But what turns me on in a sports car is late braking into a corner, and STANDING ON IT on the way out. I like to be at redline, using every bit of the car, everything it's got. The Cayman does that better than any car I've ever driven.

Just drive one...

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Be careful... the car/boat/girl you just bashed is someone's pride & joy...
2007 Cayman
36' Pace Sportfish Yanmar 370 Turbos
1970 Donzi 18 2+3 351W Holman Moody

May be this will help convice you

Porsche Cayman S | Greatest Drives | Car Reviews | Auto Express

(-:

LOL!

As for the 'I'm afraid I might miss the HP' part: get all the cars you want to consider lined up at the various dealerships, ie. take a Saturday and drive them all one after another. You might have to forewarn a few dealers to get the timing down. I've done this a few times and at the end of the day the one which gave me the most smiles got the nod. Last time I did this I took a C6 Vette, a 911 and a Boxster. Boxster was the best imo because of the balance. Then the Cayman came out and it was soon enough after that I knew I liked it better than the Boxster, and therefore the C6 and 911. (The time before that it was the 996, 986 and WRX - the WRX won that time - it was just the most fun car - driver enjoyment was the primary criteria)

If I had the money, there would be a CS, a C6 (doesn't need to be a Z06...), and a Mitsubishi Evo in the garage. One for whatever mood I'm in. Oh, and a sprinkling of motorcycles! And one of those Bombardier three wheeled thingies would be neat, and........

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GT Silver CS
1980 Honda CBX
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