Porsche Cayman

USMCram

She was surprisingly on board, but we also traded in her old 2 series for a Macan a while back.

Cayman vs Nismo..

Oh man.

It was weird driving something other than the Nismo, as it's been my daily for the last 9 years.

Just going to get it out of the way, but the sound of the engine is really different from what I'm used to. I've always really liked the sound of the VQ. It's got this great mechanical sound to it and the exhaust (Nismo stock) was quiet.

Cayman - Mechanical sounding, but more so than the VQ. It doesn't make me cringe, but there is a part of me that is like "aww". I like that sports exhaust makes it louder, but still.
I probably won't get over that, even if it faster.

Drive -
Nismo is fun. God it's fun to drive. It's raw, it's aggressive, and handles well.

Cayman, from the little test driving I got to do, was fun too. Handling is a lot better and it feels fast especially once boost kicks in. Its really comfortable too and I feel like I can see more of the world in front of me. Where the Nismo is raw, the Cayman is very very refined. I can't explain that too well, it just needs to be experienced.

The Nismo is like that hot girl/guy you dated back in the early years of college. Fun, smart, fast but a little..immature?

Where the Cayman is more like the hot girl/guy you dated after grad school that's like smart, fun, but way more mature and not as crazy...?

I still love that I can feel the road in both cars. Which was a big deal for me.

I love my Nismo. I really do. It was a car that I grew a deep sentimental attachment to, because I bought it as a reward to myself for living through my time in the 'stan. Not to mention the Z was my dream car all through HS and college.

That being said, I feel the same way you did. I've grown a lot. I'm different. I feel like I've sort of outgrown the car too, despite how much I still love it.

I'm still on the fence, because I know this Cayman wouldn't be my next sentimental car. I think it's going to be my rebound until I'm in a place to get the new GT4 RS that comes out this summer...rofl.

k.alexander

@USMCram Oh man, we're in the exact same boat. I know exactly how you feel, and I understand exactly what you're describing.

I'm still on the fence too. I mean just like you I've driven the Z as a DD for almost 11 years--there's a bond, man, a real bond there! I do get attached to my cars. My previous car was a last gen Honda Prelude which I drove for 9.5 years and had almost as much difficulty parting from as I am having right now just thinking about selling the Z.

I agree with everything you said except that I never found the engine/exhaust sound of the Z particularly pleasing (maybe it's better on the Nismo). I agree with literally everything else you wrote.

The dealer gave me a 718 Cayman S (PDK unfortunately) to drive around for the weekend. These (very nice) "geniuses" gave me a brand new car with not even 100 miles on it, for the weekend, with a full tank of gas (I had to get more) and told me to have fun. I put 300 miles on it going nowhere, but I did discovery some amazing back roads within 10 min of my new house, which also go nowhere, but are AMAZING!

I had fun! And man, I am going to get into sooooo much trouble if I end up getting the Porsche.

The power in the 718 just comes on so strong and so fast. It feels like the scenes in the Fast and Furious movies when they hit the Noz button And that power is there almost all the time, anything over about 2,200 Rpm, and the boost is just there, full on! It's almost difficult not to drive the thing hard.

I was very curious how I would feel after I dropped the 718 of Sunday night, and got into the Z. Up until that point, I was ready to start looking for a 718. Then I got into the Z, and although it feels bigger and (I wouldn't say slower, but would say) not as fast; I didn't feel like it was serious step down. It was just different.

So now a few days later, I am still banging my head against the wall deciding what to do. Sooner or later the writing is on the wall, the Z is almost 11 years old and although it is a reliable bulletproof beast, eventually I am going to have to get something new. Maybe I should look at it as a reward for working hard, or whatever.......not sure.

I'll post updates.

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USMCram

Dude, yes.
I've been beating myself up over the decision, and I've looked at everything else and nothing really strikes me like the Cayman. I looked at the Lexus RC 350, I've looked at a few Audis, and they just aren't my thing. The Cayman feels like a natural progression since GTR prices have gone up so high.

I did pull the trigger today though. It took me a bit to say goodbye to the Z, and I feel sad about it, but driving home in the Cayman, and hearing that engine and the sports exhaust, and just feeling how refined it felt taking turns and accelerating, I gotta say, it's not going to take me long to get over it. Plus, my synchros were crapping out, and I didn't feel like swapping the transmission. Lol

I opted for the PDK base model. Wife wants to learn to drive it, and I'm a bit of a tech geek, and I absolutely love the actual PDK and how it works. It's a genius piece of technology.

I dunno. I'm interested to see what you do too.