Yesterday, I woke up with the need to do some test-driving. I decided to finally see what all the Porsche fuss was about. I went to one of Denver’s two Porsche dealers (the one that does not generally rob people blind) and tried a 2007 Cayman. I have some spinal cord damage that makes manual shifting an exercise in pain endurance, so I drove the only automatic (Tiptronic) they had in stock. I came away still wondering - What all the fuss is about…?
The first thing I noticed was a rumbling, rough idle. No, not a cold, new engine roughness, but a mis-firing Subaru kind of roughness. It did not dissipate as the engine warmed up. That idle really made me appreciate the “is it running?” smoothness of my 3.0. That idle would drive me insane.
Now for that Tiptronic device. My 5-speed BMW Steptronic is brilliant in my obviously biased opinion. It snaps off shifts quicker than any real automatic I’ve driven. The only rival is Audi’s DSG which, unfortunately, only comes with an Audi (or VW). But the DSG is not a true automatic, so I don’t think it is a fair comparison. SMG vs DSG is a better comparison there – but I’m not an SMG fan, though I can appreciate its engineering. The Porsche Tiptronic transmission felt like something in a Buick LaCrosse rental car. According to Porsche’s brochure, it kills about 1.5 seconds on a 0-60 time. It has to kill more than that. My Z4 3.0 could run circles around that Cayman. Oh – and the Tiptronic starts in the 2nd of its 5 gears unless you floor it or override it manually. Why?
Now for the interior. This one had the base interior, with leather seating surfaces. Or at least the price sticker said it was leather. It felt like dry rubber. Not a pleasant look or feel. I have the extended leather package on my Z4, so again, I’m a bit biased. But even the leatherette from BMW looks and feels better than this stuff. It felt like a textured garden hose to me. And when I asked if I could get something as now-common as Bluetooth, the answer was, “NO.” The closest thing was ordering the $3,000-plus navigation system, then getting a dedicated phone / SIM card to work with the system. The dash material was excellent – very nice. The gauges were what I understand to be typical Porsche. The speedometer was useless due to its small size and ridiculous numbering, but saved by a redundant digital speedo. The standard audio system readouts looked like something from 10 years ago. Didn’t this car just go through a major redo?
Ok, the handling. Unbelievable. On curves, I felt invincible. And this was the standard suspension setup. My Z can’t compare here. Yes, the Z4 has about equal grip, but this Cayman just felt so effortless and “at my command” as I went from on-ramp to off-ramp and over and over again. Surely that has a lot to do with the mid-engine layout. I hadn’t driven a mid-engine car since I drove a friend’s old Ferrari 328 years ago (loved that car, but it took him almost $10K a year to keep it running). And, of course, the steering was far superior to the Z4’s electric system. I have grown to like my Z4’s steering when I keep it in sport mode.
Maintenance? That’s your pocketbook’s problem if you buy the Cayman. Recommended oil changes have gone down from every 20K to 15K, and they are your financial responsibility – along with all other maintenance items. Pretty unacceptable when even Audi has kept its maintenance program, though they’ve cut out things like brakes, etc.
Looks? I’ve never been a fan of the Boxster, but the Cayman is certainly a head-turner. But I have been a huge fan of the Z4’s design from day one – I think it will go down in history as Bangle’s best. After three years of ownership, I still notice new ways the light bends over the curves and creases. Brilliant.
In short, at almost $60K for a “base” Cayman with virtually no options, I drove away thinking that I will probably keep my Z4 for a LONG time. Sometimes it’s good to test out the competition. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Finally, in my day of test driving, I decided to drive the new Volvo C30 – just because I love its looks. I had a 1969 P1800S, so that body style is one of my favorites. Again, I like distinctive cars. Appreciating the C30 for what it is and is not meant to be (i.e., a full fledged sports car), I came away thinking, “what a great, little car!” If not for the horrible exchange rate right now, I think we’d buy one as an addition to our fleet. Good job, Volvo.
Ok, enough rambling. Hopefully everyone is having a great, holiday weekend (US holiday).
The first thing I noticed was a rumbling, rough idle. No, not a cold, new engine roughness, but a mis-firing Subaru kind of roughness. It did not dissipate as the engine warmed up. That idle really made me appreciate the “is it running?” smoothness of my 3.0. That idle would drive me insane.
Now for that Tiptronic device. My 5-speed BMW Steptronic is brilliant in my obviously biased opinion. It snaps off shifts quicker than any real automatic I’ve driven. The only rival is Audi’s DSG which, unfortunately, only comes with an Audi (or VW). But the DSG is not a true automatic, so I don’t think it is a fair comparison. SMG vs DSG is a better comparison there – but I’m not an SMG fan, though I can appreciate its engineering. The Porsche Tiptronic transmission felt like something in a Buick LaCrosse rental car. According to Porsche’s brochure, it kills about 1.5 seconds on a 0-60 time. It has to kill more than that. My Z4 3.0 could run circles around that Cayman. Oh – and the Tiptronic starts in the 2nd of its 5 gears unless you floor it or override it manually. Why?
Now for the interior. This one had the base interior, with leather seating surfaces. Or at least the price sticker said it was leather. It felt like dry rubber. Not a pleasant look or feel. I have the extended leather package on my Z4, so again, I’m a bit biased. But even the leatherette from BMW looks and feels better than this stuff. It felt like a textured garden hose to me. And when I asked if I could get something as now-common as Bluetooth, the answer was, “NO.” The closest thing was ordering the $3,000-plus navigation system, then getting a dedicated phone / SIM card to work with the system. The dash material was excellent – very nice. The gauges were what I understand to be typical Porsche. The speedometer was useless due to its small size and ridiculous numbering, but saved by a redundant digital speedo. The standard audio system readouts looked like something from 10 years ago. Didn’t this car just go through a major redo?
Ok, the handling. Unbelievable. On curves, I felt invincible. And this was the standard suspension setup. My Z can’t compare here. Yes, the Z4 has about equal grip, but this Cayman just felt so effortless and “at my command” as I went from on-ramp to off-ramp and over and over again. Surely that has a lot to do with the mid-engine layout. I hadn’t driven a mid-engine car since I drove a friend’s old Ferrari 328 years ago (loved that car, but it took him almost $10K a year to keep it running). And, of course, the steering was far superior to the Z4’s electric system. I have grown to like my Z4’s steering when I keep it in sport mode.
Maintenance? That’s your pocketbook’s problem if you buy the Cayman. Recommended oil changes have gone down from every 20K to 15K, and they are your financial responsibility – along with all other maintenance items. Pretty unacceptable when even Audi has kept its maintenance program, though they’ve cut out things like brakes, etc.
Looks? I’ve never been a fan of the Boxster, but the Cayman is certainly a head-turner. But I have been a huge fan of the Z4’s design from day one – I think it will go down in history as Bangle’s best. After three years of ownership, I still notice new ways the light bends over the curves and creases. Brilliant.
In short, at almost $60K for a “base” Cayman with virtually no options, I drove away thinking that I will probably keep my Z4 for a LONG time. Sometimes it’s good to test out the competition. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Finally, in my day of test driving, I decided to drive the new Volvo C30 – just because I love its looks. I had a 1969 P1800S, so that body style is one of my favorites. Again, I like distinctive cars. Appreciating the C30 for what it is and is not meant to be (i.e., a full fledged sports car), I came away thinking, “what a great, little car!” If not for the horrible exchange rate right now, I think we’d buy one as an addition to our fleet. Good job, Volvo.
Ok, enough rambling. Hopefully everyone is having a great, holiday weekend (US holiday).
