Couldn't buy my Cayman

I went to pick-up my Cayman at 9:00 am this morning only to find that I couldn't find a comfortable driving position, no matter how much I adjusted the seat. I'm 6 feet tall but I like to stretch my left leg until it's relatively straight when I drive because I have bad knees. When I put my foot on the clutch, my knee didn't clear the bottom of the steering wheel by much. The car was ordered with (Non-Sport) power heated seats but I couldn't find my 'normal' driving position.I adjusted the seat to it's lowest setting, slid it as far back as it could go on the rails, but the back-rest was too upright. The only way I could find a good angle on the back-rest was by moving the seat a couple of inches forward which put my knee too close to the wheel. My jeans are 34X32 so I don't think my legs are extremely long. The dealer tried everything he could to get my to accept the car but I couldn't do it - it was devastating for me because I loved the car when I took it for a test drive, I just couldn't get into a comfortable driving position.I asked if I could sit in a 911 Carrera Coupe to see if those seats could be adjusted to my personal preference, and sure enough there was much more play in the seat. It had to be one of the most disappointing mornings of my life. Needless to say I didn't buy the car and I wanted to know if anyone else feels a little cramped in the drivers seat or is it just me?

What a predicament! I am sure that you have explored every option for resolving the knee pain, because I am sure that this issue impacts your life in more places than in a car. If you love the car, you could explore getting some type of brace, cortisone shot, or acupuncture therapy to increase the flexibility in the knee while reducing the discomfort. This might allow you to drive the Cayman. Another [better ?] option might be to remove the left foot rest in the foot well of the Cayman to see if that would give you the added length that you need to stretch that left leg.

I'm 33X34 pants and the Cayman fits me great... I would imagine it is a matter of driving position preference... I would learn a new position if I were you !!!!! /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/regular_smile.gif Seriously, this car is way too much driving/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/teeth_smile.gif to give it up too easily. I like the seat up and forward, the wheel down and out.... if that didn't work, I'd find another position and get used to it... I think the popular position in days past was seat tilted back and arms stretched out..... so there can't be just one position that works.

The trick to making the seat go back farther is to raise it - not lower it, then move it back, then lean the seat back again and play around with that position a bit. I'm 6' and if completely back in this position I have to move it forward a bit to drive using a clutch. After the seat is good I adjust the steering wheel to a comfortable position but before that I don't even think about it.

Did you not sit in a Boxster prior to ordering the car? How did your dealer respond? What's next for you?

RussR that is very good advice. I'm 6' and going for my first drive in the Cayman next week and will try this out.

I am 6' and 175, the car I test drove had sport seats which felt snug, but I liked them. The only adjustment I made was to move the seat back as far as it would go. It felt fine to me and I am sure I could have even improved it with some steering wheel or other seat adjustments. I am sooo sorry to hear your story Scouser, that is a heartbreaker for sure./fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/sad_smile.gif Russ

Did you adjust the steering wheel? Maybe you just needed to raise the steering wheel up a little./fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/sad_smile.gif

I'm 6'3 and when I went to sit in the Cayman I kinda felt cramped. I could have lived with it but it wasn't ideal, I do have long legs though. I found the best position was to move the steering wheel to my chest then up, did you try this? it gives your knees a bit more room to breathe. There's much more room in a Carrera, no question.

I did sit in the Boxter when I ordered the car, but only to check which seat and steering wheel I was going to order. I just didn't think that fitting in the car would be difficult - chalk it up as a lesson learned!I know I could adjust my driving position for a 10 or 20 mile trip, I just couldn't imagine being comfortable on atwo hour business trip. The dealer never put pressure on me to accept the Cayman I ordered - they could probably see how disappointed I was!Of course, as this was the first time I had driven a Porsche, I had already fallen in love with the engine and handling so they could probably see they still had a chance at a sale I took a 911 Carrera Coupe out for a spin and found it to be more than enoughto meet my requirements.The dealer found me a car withalmost exactly the same configuration as my Cayman(PASM, Bose Surround Sound,Sport Chrono, heated & power seats, Bi-Xenon lights, etc.) and agreed to replace the18' standard wheels with the 19' Sport Designs that I like so much. The car will be transferred from another dealer in the Northeast so I have to wait a week or so for delivery. While I'm disappointed that I couldn't buy the Cayman, I hope to be driving my first porsche in a week or so - the day could have been alot worse!

And if worse comes to worse buy the Carrera. It is a very good alternative and 'if the shoe fits, wear it'.

Sounds like you are getting a 911 - congratulations. All the stories about being or not being able to fit in the Cayman are a bit unexpected to me, since when I tried to fit in a 911 I could not ( I am 6' 1 178lb ) - the main reason was that the wheel did not tilt - on a Boxter/Cayman the wheel telescopes and tilts adding the room I needed for my knees ( 33' 34' len. pants ). I was going suggest getting a Tip. transmission, but if 911 gives you a good fit, for sure go for it /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/thumbsup.gif

I had the exact same experience in my short test-sit. I am 6' 0" and found that my knee/leg was hitting the steering wheel. Moving to the 911, I was able to get a very comfortable fit by moving the seat the whole way back. I need to go back and re-test the fit before I place an order. I'd swear the first Cayman I sat in was a better fit. I'll have to try the up and back procedure mentioned by K-Man-sculpture.net when I try it again. I am going to be VERY disappointed if I can't adjust the seat to a comfortable position. I find the looks of the Cayman far superior to the 911 and am not sure I would buy a 911 if I didn't get a Cayman.

I wear 34 x 34 jeans, and I found the legroom a little tight, too, but nothing I couldn't live with. There is a ton of headroom, and like every other car I've driven, I'd like the steering wheel a bit closer. I guess there's just not that much space in there because of the engine hump.

I'm 16yo, 6'4" - 6'5" and a bit minor of 200lbs. To me, I got a good, but slightly cramped position, except for the clutch, which seems a bit centered/hard to reach in my case. (I'm not going to tell my pant size because I wear a few sizes bigger than mine) But if only if the clutch was a bit to the left. Did you adjust the steering wheel? Are you using the smaller diameter steering wheel?

Crazy_Fast - you are about the size of my nephew, who is a year or two older. I took him to see the car at the showroom and asked him how it fit or if it was too small for him. And he said it was nooo problem, he fit just fine. He made some joke about how it was roomier than he would of expected and he would have no problems going with me for a ride.

You will enjoy the 911 a lot, it's a terrific car. You have to be comfortable no matter what or you'll end up not wanting to get behind the wheel. Body parameters are much more complex than a few measurements and ergonomic designs in cars are always a compromise.

I'm 6'2' with 32x34 pants. I didn't much care for the seating position until I pulled the wheel all the way out (toward my chest) and put it all the way up. Then I could actually move the seat forward a couple clicks and lean it back a little. My legs are bent, but it's comfortable for me. I've got the sport seats *and* sport wheel, though, which means the wheel is a little smaller. Not sure how different the seats are. I have also had surgery on each knee. My drive home was five hours in mine and while I was getting a bit butt-sore and my right knee was getting a bit stiff (wasn't comfortable running cruise on the interstate the last hour in bad rain), but overall I like it a lot. As I mentioned in another thread, I had an Elise and already sold it. You want an impossible fit for a tall guy... --Donnie

Donnie, A 5 hour drive would hurt anyone. Sounds like that was the ultimate test, the fact that you could do it. I loved the feel of the sports seats short distance, although they were pretty snug. No idea what long distance would have felt like. Russ

C'mon 5 hrs. a long time? 3 times I've done a CT to Tahoe drive solo that was 15 hrs. each day for 3 days. One time Boulder to Tahoe in 18 hrs. in a snow storm. I was too stupid to understand the impact of summer tires on snow. I was sawing at the wheel from Cheyenne to Tahoe doing 50 mph on I-80.

The seats are a bit narrow in the bottom and I did have to adjust myself side to side a bit basically putting one butt cheek up on top of the side of the seat for a little bit. The backrest is awesome, it's just the bottom that isn't great for me. I'm 6'2' and 200 pounds, so I'm not small, but I'm also pretty well proportioned (don't have a big *** or a big gut <g>). I'm thinking it will break in some plus I'll just get used to it. I did stop once about half way for an hour for dinner, which I should have mentioned. Didn't stop otherwise (hmm, it was actually about two hours in that I stopped, then I did three hours straight). I'm sort of an iron man in the drivers seat, though. I once did a 7.5 hour stint without stopping in my motorhome. Of course, my codriver followed that up by going right at TEN straight hours with no stop. Nope, we didn't use a piss-cup, either. We did make it from Topeka to central NC with just the one stop, though. --Donnie

Regulary go from Santa Fe to Santa Barbara in 13 hours with only gas stops. I'm afraid the tiny tank on the Cayman will limit that considerably.

Well, it won't go 10 hours like my motorhome will, that's for sure. On the interstate I was getting over 21mpg with the car brand new. It should get a little better mileage as everything breaks in, too. 300+ miles before stopping is pretty respectable for a car and a driver. --Donnie

RussR wrote >The trick to making the seat go back farther is to raise it - not lower it, then move it back, then lean the seat back again and play around with that position a bit. I'm 6' 245 lbs and the dealer used the above method to get the seat in the right position for me. Once the seat was good I adjusted the steering wheel - then went for a 2 hour test drive - no problem. I'm counting on reproducing this in my Cayman S. Scouser - have fun with the 911 - please do write a few notes here about it! RedEye Edited by - RedEye on 01/15/2006 7:04:53 PM

After experiencing the same problem, I tried Russ' suggestion and it's true. To make the seat go back slightly more, you have to first raise the seat. It did make a difference in the steering wheel clearance for me. However, my left leg still felt weird. I had to hold the leg in a weird position to reach both accelerator and brake. I still need to have a test drive to see if its something I can easily get used to.

Wow I'm glad it seemed to help, I was starting to wonder if it would. I had a lot of time (several hours) to just sit in the car at the dealer, without being able to drive it. So I just played with the seats and the PCM for a really long time. Oh well someday one of these babes will be in my driveway, and like the rest of you I want to be able to live with it comfortably.