OT: Service loaners: Cayman vs. Boxster

I am posting this her to avoid the flame war I would get posting this on the Boxster or Cayman boards. Owning a 996 Carrera Coupe and having owned a convertible in the past, gives me an interesting perspective on the lower model Porsches. While dealing with a pesky oil leak (it was a bad IMS guide) and now in a busy shop waiting on an alignment, I have been fortunate to get 2 06' Boxster 5-sp manuals and now an 07' Cayman 5-sp manual as service loaners. Here is a completely objective comparison of these 2 models from someone who is not buying either. First, I will put this out here before I got further: I think the Boxster is the better car and I would not pay extra for a Cayman. Why? The cars are extremely similar as they should be being on the same chassis. The stock exhaust on both sounds like a sport exhaust. It even resonates in top gear while cruising on the highway. I had let several people drive these service loaners and everyone loved the sound. All these cars rode on 17" wheels and none had PSM, so they are comparable as can be. Both are very capable with long torque bands, good grip and strong brakes. So what's different? With the Coupe I expect it to feel stiffer, but it does not. They feel the same. I would expect to feel more motions in a convertible than the coupe, but actually I get the opposite. The suspension tuning is different between these cars. The Cayman is noticeably softer in front, but stiffer in back. I notice the Cayman's back end has more grip, but it also jitters over bumps that don't phase the Boxster as much. At higher speeds, I find the Cayman's front end starts to get light; where the Boxster tracks true. I actually find I drive the Boxster better because I can really set the front and get a good amount of oversteer from the back, both will turn in well though. I don't know if the Cayman is the faster car, but the Boxster is the funner car. With a convertible, you would expect it to be louder. Strangely, it is not. I notice the sound of the exhaust and engine penetrating into the passenger compartment a lot more the Cayman, much like the 986 Boxsters. They have really muffled the engine in the 987 Boxster. With the top down, I can only hear the exhaust and the engine fan on the right side. No sound penetrates from directly behind me. This was something that bothered me when I looked at a 986 Boxster S, but I really like the improvement in the 987. Visibility I would expect to be better in the Coupe and it is, from only 1 angle: looking through the rearview mirror sourced from the Boxster. THe rearview mirror shape is very awkward in the Cayman. It is not filled with the rollbar as the shape is designed to look through the middle of. Other than that, I found the same blind slots in the Cayman as the Boxster. I know there have been several threads about sunroofs and to be honest, I don't use mine much. But, it has now cooled down to being the 70's-low 80's at night. Driving the Cayman tonight, I wanted to open the sunroof and it has none. It would have been a great night to drop the top on a Boxster. For the money (even if they were the same price) I would choose the Boxster. Here are a few general notes: 1. I noticed the Bi-Xenons on the Cayman have a very different pattern than on the Carrera. They have a much wider/less focused pattern in both low beams and high beams. I still would not go without them. 2. Unlike the 996 and 997 Carreras, I don't care for the Bose audio in either of these cars. This is probably mostly due to speaker location not projecting sound properly from behind. I don't notice as much of a difference with the Bose stereo over the Sound Plus like I do in the Carrera. 3. I hate the manual climate control. It is placed well out of the line of site while driving. Auto climate control is a must. 4. With the 5-sp manual, the gearing is ridiculously too tall. The gears are far further spread than the 6-sp in the Carrera or Turbos, but it doesn't have anywhere near the power to use it. Second gear revs well past 60 for an engine that certainly lacks the Carreras torque or top end power to pull up there. I think the 5-sp is fine as a driver, but I would like to see them go to a much shorter final drive. 5. What's with the stupid tire pressure system? I checked the tires pressures with an Accugauge and it reads 4-6 psi lower than actual on each corner. Maybe the dealer can re-program it to fix it? Running the re-calibrating sure doesn't take care of it. 6. Despite all the negative comments, I am thoroughly impressed by both. They are far better than I had expected them to be before getting behind the wheel. The don't feel cheap and drive like a Porsche. If you were to be placed in one with a blindfold on, there is no mistaking the pedigree from behind the drivers seat. They are just not something that would influence me into replacing my Carrera.

Thanks for the great write up and comments. No flames here. Coming from a 986S, I noticed a few of the things you did when driving a Cayman S. Do you think your opinions would have changed much with the 3.4L S and/or with PASM and/or with 19" wheels? I think those 17" have like 50 or 55 series tires. Of course, the platform is very different from the Carrera, but your comments and relative apples-to-apples comparison is very useful.

Interesting!! I also had an '06 Boxster loaner recently. I would agree with you on the manual HVAC system. It is awful, a major downgrade from the earlier cars. However, I found the exhaust tuning (standard exhaust) on the new cars is simply terrible. Major droning and resonance, it sounds similar to the sound from an aftermarket GHL muffler set-up on a 986..........really bad IMHO.

You guys getting Porsche loaners be thankful. When I take my rig to the Porsche dealer I get a GM **** box to drive. Of course I am thankful I get somethig to drive, but geez talk about going from penthouse to outhouse.

I got a Buick Lacrosse for 3 days as a loaner. When I got back into the 911 I started realizing how lucky I am to own such an awesome machine.

Nice review. It will be interesting to see if the Caymen sells well.

Just a note, both the 06 Boxster and the 07 Cayman come standard with PSM. Interesting comparison though. The difference in gearboxes makes a huge difference in the Cayman vs. the Cayman S. I would assume it would be the same for the Boxster. I just spent a week in a Cayman S (I traded cars with a friend). Basically the car was a stripped down model with no PASM, sports chrono, etc. Basically, just heated seats and the Bose audio system. On first impression I was not all that impressed. However after about a day of driving my attitude completely changed. I learned to drive it differently than my 996 and really started to appreciate what Porsche has done. There is no question the car could handle more power but is not underpowered by any means (forgetting price). I found the exhaust and intake note of the Cayman S intoxicating. Much better than my stock 996. Very quite at idle but a great sound on throttle under load (not so much just in a rev up situation). The sound under load reminded much more of the old air cooled 911 sound. I noticed no resonance and/or drone at any cruising rpm. However, the location of the engine definitely allows the �whine� sound characteristic of the flat six into the cabin. The crisp turn in and the ability to carry speed into the corner without feeling the weight of the rear end was what was the most fun for me. You can�t get on the throttle as much or as quickly as you can in the 996 but the car just feels much more �zippy� than the 996. The Cayman S feels so much more tossable and light compared to the 996. The 996 felt much more brutal and heavy compared to the Cayman S. The Cayman S speed is somewhat isolated feeling and the power very linear so it is deceptive to how fast you are going, while I felt the 996 provided much more commotion. Spec. wise the cars very close acceleration wise but you feel like you are going faster with the 996. The clutch and shifter require very little effort in the Cayman. I thought the front end felt much more planted (with less float) than my 996. As for the climate control, I like the button lay out of the 996 better but the location of the system is the same in my car. Both systems Auto function sucks IMO. Both pass too much cool air through the windshield vents causing condensation on the outside of the glass, therefore I only used the manual control. I don�t understand why Porsche can�t fix this problem. I like Bose system better than my HiFi system just because the sound stage was further back in the car. Neither system is audiophile quality, and both lack detail and clarity. I thought the Cayman S was an extremely fun car to drive. In fact I found the Cayman S more fun at legal speeds than the 996. I came away thoroughly impressed with the Cayman S and could see myself replacing my 996 with one. I really can't say anything negative about the Cayman S other than Porsche should forget about protecting the performance numbers of the 911 and let the Cayman share the engines. The cars are totally different in the way they go about the driving experience and therefore, I can't see cross shopping of the two models. The weight distribution is just different and there are always going to be 911 guys.

Having owned Boxster, and Boxster S and NOW a 911 owner, I can say, for sure, a Boxster is EVERY BIT as much of a Porsche as a 911. As countless reviews on TV and in magazines, the Boxster is THE MOST underrated car, and possibly the best, most complete sports car, ON THE PLANET. Don't believe me? Ask Tiff Needels. I love my 911, but if I came from Mars and had never heard of a Porshe and drive a Boxster S, then a 911, I may just pick the Boxster S!!!

+1

I've got a Ford Taurus for the day while they deal with squeaky front wishbone.

Before having the Cayman (non-S) as a service loaner, I have previously driven a Cayman S. I got about 20 minutes of solo driving with it. I noticed several of the things I experienced in my service loaner. That car did have the 19"s and had incredible amount of grip in the back. Regardless of speed or weight transfer, I could not get the rear to break loose. In high speed turns above 70 mph, the front end got light and I needed some concentration to keep in the right direction. I don't know if this was the stiffness of the suspension or tires to validate it. I have not driven a 987 Boxster S, so I don't have a direct comparison. I am suspecting that the new 07' Boxster S may be a real gem since it gets the 3.4l from the Cayman. I will be test driving one in the future.