With Caymans being delivered right and left and with the weather being warmer than usual I've been detailing my truck like there is no tomorrow just to keep the pangs of jealousy at bay. Confirmed a mid to late Feb. arrival depending on port back up so after an early Sept. order date this is amount of time is getting beyond my patience threshold.
SF,
Do all great minds think alike? My truck came right after my garage, detail and cleaning like crazy. I am even considering doing my wife's car this weekend as it should be my last Caymanless weekend.
LOL Russ
We need that early call others are getting - If I made a switch to Basalt black I would have a car. Not going to happen, but it does make you think.
Actually the dealer going to bring it by the house for me to take it for a little test spin in a few minutes - can't hardly wait!
RussR, feedback later then? I get my first test drive next Tuesday or Wed. The white/cocoa that is the Club's classifieds is tempting as well. No Bose though.
My deposit on my Cayman went in the day before my truck went into shop for some major engine work.
So now I'm driving aroundin a little Mazda6 loaner. Woo hoo. Actually hoping to sell truck (Land Rover) in spring and stick to Cayman year round...
Great to hear all you early adopters are getting your cars!
Bruce
Well, I'm back. It's just tons of fun to drive this car. The dealer said I was the first to drive the arctic silver one and now the first to drive this basalt black also.
I took it easy as the car is in the break in period, and the main thing I was looking at was the regular shocks with 19" tires vs. the PASM. Of course the biggest problem I had was that it has been way too long since I drove the other car with PASM to really make strong direct comparisons.
However I did go over the same roads and in general would give high marks to the regular suspension. To me it seemed smooth if the speed is slow, then perhaps the stiffest point is around 45-60 mph and then at speeds higher than that I would say that it smoothes out some again.
Again this is highly subjective with only city/freeway driving for about an hour.
Anyway, I used restraint on the gas as the car is so new, but I certainly did not think the ride was too rough on 19" tires.
Also this car had sport seats so I was able to give those an extended try. They fit like a glove, they are comfortable, but I was under the mistaken impression that you could adjust the way they hold you in the seat. That is for the much more expensive adaptive sport seats, and this seat had no more adjustments than the standard seats. After awhile they got kind of hot and they really don't fit my shoulders - So to my surprise, I don't want them.
Also to my surprise I asked my dealer to add PASM. I think it has a better shock profile over a variety of speeds, with the added advantage of being able to stiffen up when you need it too.
It's a blast to drive and this one is available in the $66K range and will certainly will make a great car for someone who wants one with few less options than I have talked myself into.
Oh RussR thanks for the feedback. How did you find the overall interior space and view out while driving? My last few years of driving a truck, and Lexus SUV and a BMW 545 made me feel a bit cramped when in the Cayman without driving it. Here in big auto land I was a bit worried about competing for road space. Any problems with vision while reversing?
Well, my opinions are...
The interior space is ok - not super roomy but better than a Lexus sc430 or a Mercedes SLK. Small compared to a truck but bigger than a toy car. So it would feel much smaller than say a Lexus GX. I have a two Ford trucks myself, so you could say it is a completely different game than that.
In general I think the Cayman is faster than the other cars, so you can get out of the way if they don't see you. But at times people seemed to be looking at the car and would crowd me, which I didn't particularly care for. If I owned the car I imagine I could fix that problem quickly with a bit of acceleration. But as I said I was taking it easy.
The blind spots some have mentioned is real. In addition I couldn't see the actual rear end of the car in the rear view mirror at all. Only using the side mirrors could I see it. So backing and parallel parking would require a judgement call that would take some practice to get used to. I am more than confident of my abilities to judge the rear end of the car, but a person wiser than me suggested that I get the rear sensors - which I have done.
They are staying as a option even though they seem goofy to me - nuff said.
RussR,
Thanks for your thoughts! When I returned from my drive my salesman asked me to back it in, I did and it was a little strange because I was not use to the car and that sticker in the side window took out a lot of my vision. I was too darned excited to pay much attention to the blind spots. I think I need to do it again to be sure of things!
Russ
Good thing you didn't hit anything. I drove past a wreck that had just happened, and one guy pulled towards me because he wasn't paying attention. Some people are just clueless drivers.
It's a nice day here, sunny and in the 60's, I think I'll go wash my truck...
