After spending two-and-a-half years with my ’09
Cayman S
I traded her in this past Saturday for an ’11
Carrera
4S. My
Cayman
was by far my favorite car that I have ever owned. I really had no intention of buying a new car but I made the mistake of going by the dealership a couple of weeks ago to window shop. Needless to say, taking me anywhere near a
Porsche
dealership is like taking a drug addict to a crack house, but I digress.
I drove my
Cayman
for 22000 miles and have driven the
Carrera
for about 60, (and none of them spirited), but here’s my review, so far.
Things to know:
The specs for the ’09
Cayman S
were as follows: White with sand beige standard interior,
PCM
3 with extended nav,
lsd
,
PDK
, 19”
Carrera
S 11 wheel, bluetooth,
sport chrono
plus, xm, floor mats, and universal audio interface.
The specs the ’11
Carrera
4s are: Black with black standard interior, adaptive sport seats, infotainment package, sports
exhaust
,
PDK
, auto dimming interior, heated seats, 19” turbo II wheels, wheel center with color crest,
sports chrono package
plus, extended nav 3.0,
bose
, xm, 3 spoke sport steering wheel, with shift paddles, aerokit, illuminated door sills.
Looks:
Exterior: Subjective of course but I like the looks of both cars. I think from certain angles the
Cayman
was better and from other angles the
Carrera
is better. I will say this... my white
Cayman
was a cute looking car and the black
Carrera
looks mean. It’s probably due to the aero kit and the wide hips of the 4 but it just looks like it means business. I also like how the rims and
exhaust
tips match. I really like the brushed metal of the sports
exhaust
vs the chrome.
Interior:
Carrera
is much larger. There is much more head and leg room and the windshield and side windows are easier to see out of. I really like the look of the illuminated door sills. I appreciate the fact that they say
Carrera
4s, not just
Carrera
. Nice touch. As for the for the gauge cluster, the
Carrera
has 5, the
Cayman
3. The center console is essentially the same. I like having the additional buttons in the
Carrera
. In my case heated seats,
PASM
and sport
exhaust
buttons. I like buttons!
Power:
Ugh... No question. The
Carrera
would dominate. Nuff said.
Handling/Steering:
The
Cayman
was tossable. The
Carrera
4 is glued to the earth. And I mean glued. You could turn quickly in the
Cayman
and it would have a touch of body lean, maybe even skid the
tires
a bit and off you go. Maybe it’s because of the AWD but when you hit a turn in the
Carrera
4 it feels like you could do ANYTHING and get in zero trouble. There is no body roll and you just fire into the turn without a worry in the world. The
Carrera
4 feels like it was constructed from one solid piece of metal. It just feels like a more expensive car.
The steering on the
Cayman
was lighter. The
Carrera
4 has a heavy feeling. I’m not sure which I like better. The
Carrera
4 is much easier to drive in a straight line over rough patches in the road.
Also, the paddle shifters are far superior to the buttons for
PDK
.
Porsche
should just accept this as fact.
Amenities:
I figure that my Carerra has the following upgrades over my
Cayman
... More power, xenon,
bose
, sport
exhaust
, heated seats, adaptive seats,
PASM
, paddle shifters, and illuminated door sills.
More power- Always welcome.
Xenon- Much better than halogens. I was blind and now I can see.
Bose
- I have not like the
Bose
systems on previous cars. I thought that it was an abomination on an ’06 Vette that I had. But I must say that I like it on the
Carrera
. Definitely an upgrade over the base.
Sport
exhaust
- Sounds unbelievable. $2800 is a lot for sound alone but it is well worth it. Definitely changes the visceral experience with the car. Maybe skip the
bose
and opt for the sport
exhaust
if you had to choose.
Heated seats- Can’t go wrong
Adaptive seats- Greatest seats that man has ever invented. They are amazing. A must have.
PASM
- Like it on the
Carrera
. Never thought about it on the
Cayman
.
Paddle shifters- Much better than buttons.
Illuminated door sills- Maybe my favorite feature. I talked about this previously.
Overall:
The
Carrera
4S feels like a more expensive car, and it is. Both are great cars. I’ll obviously need more seat time in the
Carrera
to have a more complete review. I definitely like all the goodies in the
Carrera
, but they could be optioned in the
Cayman
as well. (Of course, that would be one expensive
Cayman
)! These are certainly the best two cars that I have ever had and look forward to many years of enjoying the
Carrera
.
Btw. My wife wanted me to mention that she like the
Carrera
more than the
Cayman
. FWIW.
Congratulation on the beautiful car. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! I would love to hear what you think in a few weeks.
Congratulations....great car.
Great looking
Carrera
. Makes me want one. Keep us updated with your impressions as you put more miles on it.
Well done, congratulations
Congratulations!!
You say the
911
feels the more expensive car, but isn't a lot of that feel due to the difference in options, because inside apart from space there's not a lot different. The aerokit and wide body certainly add a big grin factor to the car :cheers:
Love those wheels - and, of course, the aerokit! Enjoy!
I also have a white
Cayman S
and would easily move to the black on black. Enjoy the new ride!
Congratulations! Although I do have to say that the thing I heard the loudest from your post (at least in my head) was that now there is a White 09 CS with
PDK
and
LSD
that is for sale on someone's lot. Where in Florida are you? I am in Tampa.
Welcome to the dark side! Have similar interior color combo. Good stuf!
Congrats. She looks great!
I installed illuminated sills on my 335i and I loved them as well. I thought about ticking that option box on my CS, but I was already way over budget.
It's at Reeves. In Tampa.
Congrats and thanks for the comparo...
I am moving this to general discussion because this doesn't have to do with
Cayman
and Boxsters.
Thanks.
Great comparison. I'd love to do the same upgrade, but I'd have to go '09 C4S. Love to hear what you think of it as time goes on too. Tell me a bit about the spoiler.
Great car! I think the wide body 997 is a real beauty that will stand the test of time. And the adaptive sport seats are superb.
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Awesomeness. I need pics of the rear though to see those wide hips and a better look at the spoiler!
icsplz:
GRATS!!!!
Did you buy it used? CPO? Or new? How many miles?
It is beautiful. You will love it, and let me tell you from experience <got my 09 C4S a month ago>, driving it around hairpins will make you feel like a superhero. I've never driven anything that stuck to the road as good as my C4.
Nice, Congrats!
Came from the same direction you did (CS to C4s) and can honestly say your comparisons are spot on.
chiroporsche:
Congrats on the new car. Just wondering if you ever considered the 991S...since it is the same price range as the 997.24S and if you test drove it.
Chiroporsche,
Congrats on your C4S, it's the
911
{of any generation} I would probably go for, beautiful car and I enjoyed your write-up very much too!
I agree the
Carrera
looks/feels the more expensive car, the
Cayman
does have that "little brother" image, but as a driving-machine is certainly no worse off for that.
Wanted a
911
since I was a kid, until the
Cayman
came along that is. It does come down to individual preferences, most people I know just recognise "
Porsche
" when they see one, and find it hard to differentiate amongst the 2-door sports-cars {the "real" Porsches?}......
My only dislike is the fat old business-men who drive
911s
far too slowly and only bought one to tell their friends what they have......:crazy:
Congratulations! I wish I had the adaptive sport seats ...
I didn't consider the 991. I was offered such a large discount on the 4s that the only way to set up a 991s was with
PDK
and that's it. I literally couldn't have gotten another option for the price that I paid for the 997.
Was travelling in Annapolis over the weekend and ended up behind a 4s. Love the wide body look of the car. As a golfer, still consider the
Cayman
the more practical car for my purposes. But a great looking car. Congrats!
Congrats! I love my '07 C4S with aerokit - it's like being married to a rock star - everyone takes pictures!
Still waiting on those rear pics
icsplz:
