Hello, Raf here, with greetings from the Sonoma Wine Country!!! Let me tell you, fall is here and harvest is in the air. I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by it. if you haven't been here at this time of year, I highly suggest that you bring yourselves and your Caymans for a visit!

Now, the reason that I am here. I have always been a car nut, all be it with somewhat limited means. My first car was an '84 Audi Coupe GT, a bit of a rare bird for a high school student, but for $3000, a hell of a deal. This was followed by a '91 BMW 318iS, which was sooooo much fun. My next two choices were neither fun or smart. The Cactus (Green) Conundrum as I called it, was an "Audi Approved" '97 A4 1.8T Quattro, surely the Audi LeMans cars are more reliable than that. This was followed by the worst vehicle ever, an '02 Land Rover Freelander....no laughing please, I have suffered enough. After I was done bleeding, I upgraded to an '06 Scion tC, quite easy to own, somewhat fun to drive but kinda sterile and isolated. I think I am ready for a fun car. My part of healthcare being somewhat recession proof, I figure I'd better get back into something fun now, before there's no money left anywhere and I am driving a Korean car fueled by corn husks (or taking the bus).

I am pretty much convinced that I want a base Cayman. This would be my daily driver, but I am single with few obligations, so I don't need a rear seat. What I am looking for here is advice and feedback from Cayman owners, both base and S. Tell me what you love and don't love about your cars and how you use them. Are you happy with your choice? Would you buy the other model if you had to do it over? FYI, my ideal spec is 2007 base, Certified Pre-owned, 5 speed, 18" wheels and little else. Based on your feedback, I would be open to a more expensive '06 or '07 S. Let me know what you all think and thanks in advance!

Welcome to the board!

I just got my new 08 cayman (cobalt blue, 18' wheels, comfort package) and I absolutely love the car!

I constantly find a reason to drive it....

For me the base cayman is powerful enough, and I came from a 08 335xi coupe, which is quite a torque monster (300hp, twin turbo).

I haven't looked back, the handling, the sound, everything is unmatched. I use it as my daily driver as well, so it will see it's fair share of "abuse", since I'll be driving it throughout the winter.

My 5 year old daughter is loving it as well; i bought the porsche plus child seat for her, and she loves to sit up front with me. We might be the only porsche on the road who "rock out" to high school musical.

Anyway, the base cayman is amazing, and I can only imagine how incredible the "S" version must be. Either way you can't go wrong with porsche.

I am enjoying my Base Cayman both on the road and on the track at DE events. There is plenty of power. handles great, and with all the gas and economy issues I like the gas milage I am getting from the 2.7L.

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2007 Porsche Cayman
2002 Audi S6
2002 Audi S4
1983 Mercedes 240D

Completely agree, thus the quoting everything. My 5yr old and 3yr old love driving in it to the point I drive each to school separately some mornings when they need more motivation. When the e36 m3 and e39 were kings, I wanted one badly. Now that there's always a quicker v8m3, c55, rs4 always coming out they just don't appeal to me as much. I don't track and drive on pretty heavily patrolled highways so the base cayman is plenty quick. However, from a stop, it never feels fast. My old e46 330i felt quicker from a stop. Even when I first test drove my cayman after a year in a civic hybrid, there was no immediate sense of power. But that sound in the cabin even tooling around in 1st and 2nd gear is heaven.

Can't really comment on the base Cayman since I own an '07 "S" but I've yet to hear anyone complain about a base model. I think at this level most buyers are educated and are not pulling the trigger on impulse. The result is they know what they want, what they expect and (most importantly) what they can afford.Having said that - I've always subscribed to the "buy as much, or maybe a little more than, you can afford" school of thought. I drive my car ALOT and track it when I can. Personally, I thought the extra $ was worth it for the more powerful motor but that's just me.I'll repeat. I've never heard anyone complain about owning a base as opposed to an S.One thing's for sure...whichever you get you WILL love it!!!

I got my 2008 base Cayman in early January this year and I am perfectly satisfactory to his performance. Full leather package makes the cockpit elegant and the "soft" electrical seat absorbs most bumps from the 18' wheel. Power from base model is good enough for daily use and help to keep my license valid in Hong Kong as most city limit is 50KM only. Uphill is not a problem because the horsepower is more than enough unless you go for the track. Only unlike is the A pillar with the side mirror block a lot of sight on the driver side when you are sitting really backwards and low. I drove the Mercedes CLK and E class in the last 5 year.

Please post in correct forum, thanks.

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K-Man S

Welcome to the Cayman Club. Very good questions.

I'd urge you to review our Cayman vs. Cayman S FAQ. I'd also like to share my personal comparison between the two.

The Cayman is a fantastic car, and based on your automotive ownership history, I think you'll be blown away with the 2.7.

The cars are both fantastic, and the differences between the two are different than you might expect. The 2.7 is simply an amazing car that delivers 90% of the S car's fun factor.

If you're into driving, planning on going with a manual shift and don't mind working the transmission, you will be blown away with the Cayman 2.7. If you're planning on going with an automatic shift and are not interested in watching the revs, the S may be a better choice.

Many people think that the S would be better for the track. I disagree. Horsepower is a band aid for poor driving. When you have less of it, you must learn to carry speed and master technique. I believe the added HP of the S is best appreciated on the street where you are not working the gear box as much and when you want those hard bursts of acceleration.

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Gator Bite
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I have an 07 base and I love it. A funny thing is, my dealer talked me into the base over the S! He had both in stock but he said why pay 10 grand more for such little improvement overall. I never driven an S to compare but I am happy to say the base feels fast enough for my driving situation. Maybe there is an honest salesman out there!!!

Either way you go, it is a Porsche!!!!!!!

My current daily driver is an Acura RSX Type-S, which is sharing a garage with an 08 Cayman. Love the car. I try and drive it every chance I get and will take it on the highway for a 40 mile round trip to nowhere just to drive.


The reason I mention my Acura is that the base Cayman and Acura are very similar. Both cars have less torque then other cars in the low rpms and don't "feel fast" until you get higher up the rpms. In the Acura you have to go through the gears and let it rev high to get the full power of the car. It's exciting even though your going slower because you can feel a lot more of the noise, engine, etc...

In the base Cayman, you'll have to go through the gears and get to rev the engine high and hear it scream. Much more fun to drive for me. I agree with GatorBite, if you like driving and shifting gears in a manual, the 2.7 is great. If I was in an S and had to shift less it'd feel too much like an automatic to me. There is enough power in the S that you don't need to downshift and can just step on the gas.

If you plan to track the car, either car I think will work well. The car is very fast compared to 90% of the other cars out there and the handling is great. With the 2.7 you won't have to worry too much about the rear tires slipping and can help you focus on your driving and techniques first. Once your in a car with more HP you'll have to be more careful with the throttle and can use it to compensate for bad driving.

Finally, I saved about 8K but not going with an S which put me in the range to purchase a new cayman. Only regrets I have is that I might have wanted xenon head lights or a leather interior, but the stock interior is very nice indeed and no worries about leather cracking in the long term. Anytime I think I might want more power, I realize that I never use it. Even in my 200 hp Acura, I'll floor it maybe once a week and that is more than enough power to handle anything on the street. The base cayman is even more powerful and far exceeds my daily needs.

Also for my driving style, I get left in the dust by minivans in my cayman. I accelerate the car into gear very slowly and build up momentum and I find the cayman to accelerate too fast if that is possible. I drive very smooth and the 2.7 Cayman is perfect when wanting to take someone downtown to dinner or on a long trip. Quiet and smooth with power on reserve when you need it.

Welcome,
I wish I had know about this website before I bought my Cayman, but I don't think it would have changed my mind.
I test drove the Base Cayman and the S and then I started searching for my new car. I liked the S with the extra power, but wasn't convinced it was worth the extra money. I ended up buying a 2008 Base Cayman with a few options, in spite of another dealer trying to get me to buy a 2007 S for only slightly more. It is my daily driver, but I walk to work, so I don't actually drive it every day. If I haven't used it for a day or two, I find an excuse to go for a drive. I love the car, it is everything I expected it to be. Base vs. S model? I have read all the threads on the comparisons, and occasionally when I am being lazy and I get caught in the wrong gear, I think about the extra HP in the S, but I don't need it. For me, it wasn't worth the difference in sticker price for similarly equiped cars, and it wasn't worth compromising on the few options I did want versus an S model in a different color without them, and I can say I get better gas mileage, which is good.

2008 Cayman, Meteor Gray, Sand interior, 18" wheels, BI-Xenon lights, climate control, sport wheel, sound package plus, self dimming mirrors and rain sensor, Chrome exhaust pipe and Rear window wiper.

It's a very personal choice & depends on your intended use, driving style and budget. I have a CS and I wanted the extra grunt to feel the acceleration on the street. The funny thing is that since I started driving the car on the track I have nothing to prove on the street and rarely if ever run through the gears hard.

On the track it's all amout driving the line smoothly so the CS doesn't get you much over a base car with the same tires. The extra HP of the CS is very helpful in passing the dicks in the higher HP cars that slow you down in the corners & then give you the passing signal on the straight & don't lift off! lol

I have no regrets spending the extra $$ for the CS & PASM. Keeping up with & passing Carreras & Turbos on the track always brings a smile to my face.

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Midnight Blue CS...A couple of little tweaks here and there