Coming from an Elise... Which Cayman? - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi everyone, I've had my Elise for just over three years now and I've loved every minute of it. I love the high revving 2ZZ and i love the super charger whine, the agility, the driving dynamics and the whole philosophy of it. It's also pretty cheap to run all things considered. But... It isn't comfortable, you have to be a gymnast to get into it, the missis hates it, the dog doesn't fit in it, the air conditioning is temperamental at best and its very difficult to take on road trips anywhere. So, i'm looking at Porsche Caymans. Trouble is I have no idea which one to go for. I know coming out of the Elise it will be a very different car, perhaps more numb, but i don't want to lose any/ much of the performance that the Elise has I've a budget of around £35k, PDK/Manual i don't mind. If PDK I want paddles and not those strange buttons on the wheel. Aside from that, i'm pretty open. Which ones should I be looking at? Here are a few I've found that look pretty good? https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13400712 https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13753988 + any other cars/models that should be on the list, I am all ears. Thanks a lot

Evora

Recommend you look at the 987.2 generation Cayman. It feels smaller, lighter, less complicated and in my opinion gives more ‘simple’ driving pleasure than the 981 but still very useable. I had an Exige and the same issues you have with the Elise. Now in a Cayman R and absolutely love it. Very best of the 987 breed https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13805662

R

swanny71 said: Recommend you look at the 987.2 generation Cayman. It feels smaller, lighter, less complicated and in my opinion gives more ‘simple’ driving pleasure than the 981 but still very useable. I had an Exige and the same issues you have with the Elise. Now in a Cayman R and absolutely love it. Very best of the 987 breed https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13805662 I hadn't considered these, and love the look of the one you've posted. Thanks a lot, i'll check them out!

Luke-36 said: It isn't comfortable, you have to be a gymnast to get into it, the missis hates it, the dog doesn't fit in it, the air conditioning is temperamental at best and its very difficult to take on road trips anywhere. I wouldn’t guarantee the Cayman will fix #2, #3 or #4, maybe not #1 either depending on your definition of comfort

mikef said: Luke-36 said: It isn't comfortable, you have to be a gymnast to get into it, the missis hates it, the dog doesn't fit in it, the air conditioning is temperamental at best and its very difficult to take on road trips anywhere. I wouldn’t guarantee the Cayman will fix #2, #3 or #4, maybe not #1 either depending on your definition of comfort Caymans are wall to wall carpets, electric everything, aircon, the works. Not remotely hairshirt, easy to get in an out of, plenty of space for dogs (two up, you can get a mid sized one in the foot well and some small ones behind the seats on top of the engine. Practicality wise, they're on another level from an Elise. The driving experience is another matter. Much more remote than an Elise.

Hi Luke Interesting post! I had and thoroughly enjoyed both the mark 1 and mark 2 lotus Elise’s. I then moved to the dark side for a more practical and comfortable car. A Porsche in any form will be more expensive to run and maintain but several years ago I had a cayman gts as a courtesy car so it must have been circa 2019 plate. The car was incredible, the feel, speed and agility reminded so much of my old Elise’s and way more exciting than the basic versions. Try one…see what you think. Hope this helps.

Andyoz said: R This

Having had quite a few Elises (still have an S1), Cayman R, Boxsters and 911s (996, 997, 991) over the past 20+ years, I'd say that if you want to retain the performance and handling feel of the Elise but have a more civilised car then you want an Alpine A110. It's much closer in terms of feel to the Elise than any of the Porsche and if you value everything that light weight gives you, you'll love it.

swanny71 said: Very best of the 987 breed https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13805662 Buy that before I do. I went 987.1 Cayman to S2 exige to 987.2. Wouldn't go back to an Elise/exige now, you don't even give anything noticeable up in handling but gain the practicality and quality. 981's have electric power steering btw, some rate it some don't. Dunc.

If buying a Cayman, make sure you get one with PSE or else the Carnewal exhaust mod. The flat 6 has far more character than the 4 pot (even a SC one) in my opinion. Caymans don't rattle BTW. Having says that, I'd like an Elise/Exige one day but I couldn't have one as my only sports car. Also, don't discount a tricked up 911 as you may enjoy playing around with that rear end in corners...996 say

I have many Elise’s and still have an S1 which I’ll pick over my GT4 for a fun blast around the roads. As others have said the R would be the one to get if you want a Cayman. Evora NA would also be worth trying out - probably not quite as practical as a cayman but not far off and brilliant handling (I’ve had a couple). Can comment on the Alpine (out of budget?)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! worldwidewebs said: Having had quite a few Elises (still have an S1), Cayman R, Boxsters and 911s (996, 997, 991) over the past 20+ years, I'd say that if you want to retain the performance and handling feel of the Elise but have a more civilised car then you want an Alpine A110. It's much closer in terms of feel to the Elise than any of the Porsche and if you value everything that light weight gives you, you'll love it. I had an A110 for a month and it was this car that actually put me on the path to an Elise. Unfortunately 35k doesn’t get you an A110, otherwise this would be #1 on my shopping list

Crazy as it might sound, but if you're looking for the nearest experience to an Elise from a mid-engined Porsche, then a nice 986 S would be my recommendation. They have a mechanical rawness that isn't a million miles from an S1 or S2. Anything 987 onwards is a lot more civilised, which might be what you're after but I wouldn't discount the old one!

While I wouldn't say the 986 is raw , it does have a certain mechanical purity or transparency that could be said to be Elise-like, where the 987 is a bit more filtered / contrived.

KPB1973 said: Crazy as it might sound, but if you're looking for the nearest experience to an Elise from a mid-engined Porsche, then a nice 986 S would be my recommendation. They have a mechanical rawness that isn't a million miles from an S1 or S2. Whilst I'd probably agree with your first sentence, the second is so wide of the mark that it doesn't even register! Edited by worldwidewebs on Sunday 28th August 16:49

esotericar said: While I wouldn't say the 986 is raw , it does have a certain mechanical purity or transparency that could be said to be Elise-like, where the 987 is a bit more filtered / contrived. I honestly don't think you'll find any Elise owner agreeing with that statement

worldwidewebs said: I honestly don't think you'll find any Elise owner agreeing with that statement Then they would have misunderstood what I am saying. Which may be my fault in terms of not communicating what I am getting at properly.

I went from an S1 Elise to a 987.2 2.9 Cayman, had the Elise for 2.5 years and had the Cayman for 6 years. Superb car.

worldwidewebs said: esotericar said: While I wouldn't say the 986 is raw , it does have a certain mechanical purity or transparency that could be said to be Elise-like, where the 987 is a bit more filtered / contrived. I honestly don't think you'll find any Elise owner agreeing with that statement I'm one, albeit former owner / driver of several of both. Esotericar got my point. The 986 is the rawest of the 98x cars and the only one IMHO that shares a bit of character with an Elise (steering, NVH, balance, brittle interior). I am of course not saying they are similar per se, just that they the 986 is the closest in character. I appreciate that saying they weren't a million miles apart might have implied otherwise.

Be interested to know how you got on op. I’m considering an Elise but think it’s just a bit too hardcore for the reasons you state.

I honestly prefer my 986 to the S1 Elise I had 20 years ago.

pattyg said: I honestly prefer my 986 to the S1 Elise I had 20 years ago. Likewise my 981. By miles.

I’ve thought about spending maybe £12k ish on an early Boxster as it will spend most of its life sat in a garage. Seem like a reasonable idea for a first timer?

I’ve had a few cars from Hethel and quite a few from Stuttgart… To answer the original question, I’d say the closest Porsche’s to the feel of an S1 Elise are the 987 Spyder and ‘R’…and by some margin. Might be some budget creep though Edited to add: After years of trying different cars, two of the ones that remain are an S1 Elise and a 987 Spyder. I don’t have any interest in trying to better these two now. Just perfect. Edited by MrVert on Monday 5th September 23:06

The second Porsche in history to wear the unique R badge. Nothing in its price range comes close.

'Second unique'. Quite a feat! On this: Belle427 said: I’ve thought about spending maybe £12k ish on an early Boxster as it will spend most of its life sat in a garage. Seem like a reasonable idea for a first timer? Would suggest right now the 987.1 3.2 Box is particularly stellar value. Hasn't gone up much, unlike a lot of other models recently, and would be within budget. The 3.2 lump doesn't really score, so is pretty reliable, and a well-specced 3.2 is still a very nice thing, it's a ridiculous amount of car for the money, especially in today's inflated market. Gives 90 percent of the experience of various 987 and 997 models that would cost three to four times as much. You could pay £45k for a nice low-mile 997.2 C2 and it's really barely any more car. The 986 is strictly speaking the purer driver's car. But as an overall ownership proposition, think a 987.1 3.2 is very tough to beat at current valuations.

esotericar said: 'Second unique'. Quite a feat! On this: Belle427 said: I’ve thought about spending maybe £12k ish on an early Boxster as it will spend most of its life sat in a garage. Seem like a reasonable idea for a first timer? Would suggest right now the 987.1 3.2 Box is particularly stellar value. Hasn't gone up much, unlike a lot of other models recently, and would be within budget. The 3.2 lump doesn't really score, so is pretty reliable, and a well-specced 3.2 is still a very nice thing, it's a ridiculous amount of car for the money, especially in today's inflated market. Gives 90 percent of the experience of various 987 and 997 models that would cost three to four times as much. You could pay £45k for a nice low-mile 997.2 C2 and it's really barely any more car. The 986 is strictly speaking the purer driver's car. But as an overall ownership proposition, think a 987.1 3.2 is very tough to beat at current valuations. Thanks, I'm off to do some research now as I assumed the 3.2 engine suffered the same issues.

Coming from an Elise....... get a Boxster

This car belong to anyone on here? https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13869516

Belle427 said: This car belong to anyone on here? https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13869516 Not mine, but that looks really nice to me.

esotericar said: plenty of space for dogs (two up, you can get a mid sized one in the foot well and some small ones behind the seats on top of the engine. Easy on the brakes there...!

Cayman R - But you would need to stretch the budget depending on the spec / mileage you are happy with. Failing that a 987.2 Cayman S.

Belle427 said: This car belong to anyone on here? https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/13869516 Nice, but doesn't have the extended leather interior, which personally I'd want, makes a huge difference to the cabin.

I've just taken the plunge and moved to the dark side as well - 2004 S2 Elise 111R to a 2014 981 Cayman 2.7 - quite a change after the last 10 years of small rattle-ly plastic car motoring! :-) Initial observations: the cayman wheel feels like driving a bus sizewise in comparison :-) the 'handbrake' is gonna get annoying :-( the sound of the PSE on a blast through 2nd gear is never gonna get old Edited by chrisr111r on Tuesday 6th September 14:02

I went from an Exige S2 NA to a cayman 2.9 manual on 17 inch wheels with a Carnewal exhaust, it was a brilliant road car and I preferred it to the exige 90% of the time. The 2.9 gearbox requires work to keep it moving quickly but sounds great and a joy to drive. I would consider a R if I went back to a Cayman, but with a kid I'll probably look at a 997.

I’ve had 6 Elise S1’s and an S2 (Sport 190), plus 4 other Lotuses (3 Evoras, and an Exige V6). Some say I have a problem…;-) Of the Lotuses, the S1’s are the most fun to drive, especially at sensible speeds, being the purest and lightest and offering the most direct feedback. I’ve also had 3 Porkers - a 986 Boxster, a 981 Cayman 2,7, and now a 3.4S. I’m very lucky to have both an S1 and Cayman at the moment, so I tend to pick the car I want to take depending on the occasion (and weather!). I’d say that your choice of Porsche depends entirely on your priorities - it sounds like the Elise is getting tiresome (I can relate) but you’re looking to give up as little of the ‘Eliseness’ as possible. The natural answer there is, as others have said, a well sorted 986, or a 987 Cayman R. However - if, like me, you were to go and drive a 981, you may be somewhat swayed by the overall sense of it being more modern/up to date, with better tech, a much quieter cabin in terms of noise isolation etc, and generally a ‘nicer place to be’ perhaps. This does make it feel less raw but the feedback is still all there. All you need to do is find one with the Porsche Sports Exhaust, or, like I did, add the Carnewal exhaust. There are one or two nicely specified 981S on Autotrader currently, which are in your budget, that’s where my money would go. With a 981 you’ll get 95% of the feel and feedback that a 987 offers, but with perhaps greater usability due to increased refinement etc. So you end up using it more, where perhaps a 987 R might stay in the garage. I’d say it’s more comparable to an Evora than an Elise/Exige really. Some will disagree here but I also find the looks of the 981 to be more cohesive than the 987. Mine is a PDK and I really rate it. I’ve recently bagged some lovely Sport Techno wheels for it too which have really changed the way it looks. Options wise, for me, PASM is a must, especially if on 20” wheels, BOSE really helps (the standard audio isn’t great), make sure it has heated seats, PCM with Nav, etc. F&R Park assist is useful, as is DAB etc etc. Some will tell you that Sport Chrono is a must for resale - but it comes with the Active engine/transmission mounts, which like to fail, at £1k per side. And driven properly, a non-SC car is plenty in terms of driver engagement. Hope this helps! Edited by daveb99 on Wednesday 7th September 00:20

I had an early, basic S2 Elise for a few years. It was such a great car. Nearly went to an S2 Exige but got a 987.1 Cayman S. I just got a bit fed up with something new appearing in rapid succession from Lotus that would rapidly out date your model. The Cayman was a lovely car, but I personally found it a bit boring and I never really gelled with it. I did also miss the convertible. The 987 Spyder came next and now had it 12 years. I certainly think of it as Porsches Elise which is a complement for both companies. The Spyder is just a bit more mature and comfortable. Anyone coming from an Elise to Porsche, I’d definitely recommend trying a 987 Spyder.