Just curious if anyone has any opinions on this vehicle, especially in comparison to the Crossfire. The look of the Cayman is ok, it looks much better in person, but still from certain angles it doesn't look that balanced of a design. I test drove one last weekend, and it was fun. The car really defined what steering feedback is...very stable and laser-precise turn-in. The sound from the engine is much louder, much more intake sound then the Crossfire, which is a big turn-on for me. The acceleration is fine, I never got to go full throttle in 1st, but from a crawling speed in 2nd I gave it full throttle and it was good, not too impressive though. This is probably because I am used to Dad's CTS-V. The interior seemed a bit too cramped, and the many storage bins seemed unusable because of the lack of depth and width that they have. I didn't know where to put my hat and gloves! I don't even think I would be able to put a set of golf clubs in the back either, whereas in the Crossfire I can fit two sets of golf clubs! The good part about this car is the price is significantly reduced slightly used. You can easily find one for around $53,000 with less than 2,000 miles on the car.

 

Honestly I do not see anything in most porsche models and do not see a reason to choose cayman s over the SRT although it was one of the cars I considered before I purchased my srt. They way I see it is the is porsche hasn't significantly updated their styling... ever and the crossfire has a new interesting design which will get you more attention.. if that is what you are going for.

SRT is made by Mercedes and AMG. and porsche is made by...um... porsche In this case again to me the SRT wins again. And lastly is the price the SRT crossfire can be had for 27, 28 new, why pay twice for a car that has no advantages over it.

The only salvation here is.. Cayman comes with manual and if thats what you need and want that is a good reason to buy it over the crossfire.

 

I actually like the Cayman a lot. In fact, that's probably the only car I would take over the XF. But like you said; It's hard to pass the XF when you take the cost and value into consideration.

 

its a great car but extremely overpriced. if you drop 3-4 grand into a saturn redline you would spank it, and the interior on the cayman didn't wow me.
i'd personally get an m3 over a cayman.

 

I personally have always liked Porsches, and will probably always want a 911 turbo. However, when the Cayman first came out I had the opportunity to race a guy with one, and hands down the SRT put a hurtin' on the Cayman. Handling wise, the SRT probably wouldn't hang, but some nicer coilovers would probably do wonders.

- Josh

 

I think it is a good looking car and better looking than its Boxster sibling. One of the things that frightened me away from the Boxster was that you must access the engine from underneath. I know in the rear trunk of the Boxster there was a place to add engine oil and washer fluid, but that was it. Maybe you could remove some interior panels to get some limited access - I'm not sure.

Porsche service costs are a little high too. My neighbor has a 911 Carrera and when he takes it in for 'routine service,' it is an arm and a leg. He says he would never buy another Porsche.

I did read in a recent issue of Motor Trend that they think the Cayman will be collectible. Guess time will tell.

 

Indeed everyone has put some good comments. If the SRT-6 was stick, this thread would not have been started. It's cheaper, better looking, and faster in a straight line. Please everyone keep in mind with just a few miles on the Cayman S, the $70,000 shocker pricing turns into a more reasonable $53,000.

 

I've always been one of those people who thought "rear" engine Porsches (aka 911's) were nothing more than a glorified VW. The only Porsches I ever really gave any serious thought to actually buying when they came out, was the 914 back in 1970, and a 944 in 1983.
The Cayman, on the other hand, is one of my favorite Porsche designs of all times. I love the way it looks, and if they weren't so expensive to purchase, and maintain, I'd probably try to figure out a way to buy one.
That being said, in a head to head comparison between a Crossfire SRT, and the Cayman, I'd go for the XF hands down.
Now if I won the Mega Lottery, then I'd probably buy both.

 

53 is still unreasonable.. because as i said srt can be had for 27, 28 new. So far of all the cars you guys mentioned i see none that are better that the crossfire, except for the 911 turbo but then again it costs umm... more than 4 times what crossfire costs and for that price their are cars I would take over it as well.

Crossfire was never meant to be a 27k car it was meant to be a 50k car, but it just didn't work out... and yes it has the worth of a 50k car, but you are just getting it at a greatly reduced price...

Also it is funny how people sometimes compare the crossfire to cars like 350z, sky redline, g35, s2000, solstice gxp when all of them are nowhere near it's range... the cars that crossfire can and should be compared to are Z4 M, M3, SLK55 AMG (Yes it is better than crossfire ), the porsche, and other similar cars which i can't think of.


I see no reason at all to spend double the price to get something which isn't even better than the SRT...

 

some cayman pics to enjoy...

kinda has the rear-end characteristics of the crossfire...

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IMG_3940.jpg

 

I think the Crossfire directly competes with the 350Z, G35, and S2000, but it is more grand-touring than sporty. As for competing with the lesser priced cars, all you have to consider is the fact that with discounts, the Crossfire is very close to the Solstice and GX-P. Also, take a look at a recent Best Motoring International video. The Crossfire limited Convertible, automatic, got spanked by the 350Z, Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4 roadster, SLK55, and S2000 (all convertibles too).

 

One thing... When i say crossfire i refer to the srt and out of those cars you mentioned the only one that it will get spanked by is the slk55 and even in this case not spanked... just maybe slightly.

 

Why not buy my 11,000 mile SRT-6 with the 6 year 100,000 mile warranty for less than half the price of the Cayman? I'll even throw in the never-used SRT-6 luggage.
We have oodles of the little Porsches in stock (parkplacetexas.com) but I don't see any reason to do one of them over the SRT.
The Cayman S is slightly lighter but has no torque to speak of. It's a Porsche. It's got to scream through corners because it doesn't have the grunt to do the job.
As far as ultimate handling goes, the Cayman S will pull a little higher constant G but holds no tangible advantage when it comes to transitions between turns such as a slalom or twisty road. When things do straighten out, the SRT will walk right on by.
If you have got to own a manual transmission, do the Cayman S. If it's curb appeal you're looking for, the cars are pretty well even.
For performance, I'd go with the SRT-6 every time.

Just for a feather in the cap, I'll tell you that I haven't met a stock CTS-V or even XLR-V that can hang with the SRT. Some have tried. All have failed.

 

If memory serves, I believe the magazines of the day stated that the 914 was only considered, (or marketed) as a Porsche in the U.S. and to the rest of the world it was considered a VW.
The same is true about the 924. We were the only one's "duped" into thinking the 924 and the later 944 were actually Porsches, when the rest of the world knew it as an Audi.
I think it had something to do with those well-to-do Americans being willing to pay more for a "Name".

Fast forward to present day, and that's why we have Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti. After all, what person in there right mind is ever going to pay 60, 70, or even 80 grand for Honda, Toyota, or Nissan?

 

Nissan GTR is going to cost 80k.
And if I won the "mega lottery" I would buy an SLR.

 

Heck, we've been doing it with GM and Ford. Re-badging has been going on for a long time.