Dan Drives His First P-Car! | Porsche Cayman S (981) In Depth Review

Welcome back everyone to year two of Track Day, formerly known as Track Day tv. Today's episode is pretty special to me because I'm forced to wear this glove to hide a hold of my hand. And I get to drive my first Porsche. Now I know what all the haters out there are probably thinking. How can you do all these performance car reviews if you've never driven the most iconic sports car brand of all time? Well, I hate to break it to you, but I did own a few Corvettes. All jokes aside, we all got to start somewhere, right? In my case, that somewhere was either going to be a 911 Turbo or a Cayman S with a proper engine. Luckily, there's a man out there by the name of Walmart Dan and he's got just the car. This is the 2014 Porsche 981 Cayman S. It's not the fancy new 982 generation with the manhood questioning turbocharged flat four. No, I chose to drive this car because I wanted to drive a Porsche with the proper naturally aspirated flat 6. Now I know that there's a 4 liter version coming in the 718 GTS body, but we won't have the luxury for quite a while. So let's just enjoy this one while we can. Before I can continue, I need to introduce what I call the Vehicle Report card, which is a grading system that I came up with for doing these car Reviews. It covers 10 essential aspects of a vehicle, each worth 10 points. At the end, we add them up together and give it a letter grade. Kind of like high school nifty, huh? The first category is engine power delivery and exhaust note. Now, the Porsche 918 Cayman S is essentially a mid engine sports car with a high revving 3.4 liter, all natural flat six. But I personally wouldn't call it high revving simply because it only goes to about seven and a half. But it does produce a modest 321 brake horsepower until it 273 foot pounds of torque, not that much in this day and age, but it does weigh less than £3,000, so we're looking at about nine horsepower per pound. And you know what, I wouldn't sleep on that. In terms of power delivery, it's all pretty linear and predictable. There's no turbo lag, there's no throttle lag, there's no fall off on the high end. You just kind of punch it and let her rev out. That said, you're not going to get that same low to mid end punch that you've kind of been accustomed to in turbocharged cars these days, you kind of have to be above 5000rpm for any max to happen. Regardless of which, given the right circumstances, this is still a pretty capable car. You're talking about a mid 4/2 0.60 time and a quarter mile time of 12.6 at 112 miles per hour. But no matter how quick this car is, it's not equipped with Porsche sport exhaust system. And that's kind of unfortunate because this base exhaust system just doesn't do this car justice at all. You know, it makes all the right tones and if you time it correctly, you'll get some nice crackles out back. But overall, the whole feel is just too muted and reserved. It just, it's too quiet. You know, when I think about this car, I expect it to have a little bit of bite when you kind of get on it, but this thing kind of just nibbles at you. Overall, I'd say this whole category is an 8 out of 10. Now, I talk a lot about how this car has a proper engine, but ironically, it doesn't have a proper manual gearbox. Little unfortunate, but you do have to give PDK some respect because it is quite a good transmission. You know, for the guys out there who intend on tracking this car or track this car, I would say PDK is 100% the way to go, because there is no physical way you're going to be shifting fast in the computer with your hands. The other thing you have to keep in mind is that Porsche has been building dual clutch systems in their cars for quite some time now. And that experience does show. This gearbox is hands down magnificent. There's really nothing I can complain about. I mean, you have seven forward gears. The gearing itself is quite aggressive. Gears one through six are perfect for performance. Seven is just a highway overdrive gear. And it's great for fuel economy and the shifts themselves. I mean, I gotta say, downshifts are actually better than the upshifts. And that's, that's saying something because the upshifts are near instant. Even in Sport plus, which is the most aggressive setting, you don't get that, like, crazy jerkiness on the upshifts or drama or anything that you get in like a Ferrari, where they just kind of punch you in the back. This thing is just pure business. So this is actually the sports steering wheel and it comes with actual paddles. It's the only way you can get actual paddles because the base steering wheel has these little rocker Buttons that are kind of bizarre. It's kind of like dating a beautiful woman and finding out later that she has no bosoms. Anyway, the paddles themselves are actually pretty good material. They look like they're made of metal, but they' really hardy plastic. Upon further research, they actually are made of metal. They do a pretty good job. They're a bit slim in design, which is okay because it fits in with a general cockpit here pretty well. I will say there is a slight downside in the fact that the placement feels like a few millimeters off. But the real problem is that it kind of lacks positivity in the engagement. With everything else in this car being so robust, I just, I wish this paddle just had a little bit more confidence. And it doesn't really detract too much for me though, because this transmission is just. It's amazing. I have to give this a 9 out of 10. Next up, we have handling, steering and braking. And if Porsche's got anything right, it's their handling, because that's kind of what they're known for, right? I mean, it's got a mid engine layout which is already going to give you a different driving dynamic than your typical front engine sports car. On top of that, it's got pasm, Porsche Active Suspension management, and that's basically just adaptive dampers as well as Porsche's torque vectoring. All of these are options from the factory that you should 100% spec because it just makes this car drive the way it was designed to be driven. And that is just a precise and fun sports car because around a corner at the limit it does get pretty lively, but at the same time it's balanced and neutral and you feel like you're in complete, absolute control. The Porsche doesn't feel like it wants to kill you, which is kind of the opposite with a lot of these other, like, high power sports cars want to do. Overall, I would just say that the steering itself is really responsive. It's not as heavy as a BMW, but it is precise like everything else about this car. I guess at the end of the day, listen, if Porsche got nothing else right, they got this right. The brakes are drilled 12.4 inch steel rotors with four piston calipers in the front in the same situation in the back, but slightly smaller. The feel is really positive. The brake pedal itself is quite firm. There's a lot of bite when you actually hit the brakes, but not in like this jerky, dramatic way. More of like this eloquent manner that you know you can stop no matter what, given how light this car is, I really don't feel like fade is going to be an issue in a track situation. This is an easy 10 out of 10 for me. Great handling generally comes with greatly reduced ride quality, and in most cases, I would generally agree. But with this car, I don't see it. Especially with the adaptive suspension, you can switch between Sport plus and Normal, which, you know, obviously gives you that added flexibility. But even in Sport Plus, I would argue that it's comfortable enough to drive around every day. Granted, not maybe in the city, but it is more comfortable than an M2 competition. A TTRS definitely more comfortable than a Lotus Exige or Alpha 4C, but, you know, for city driving, you can always switch it over to normal, which makes it even more compliant. If I had to complain about one thing, I would say maybe add a comfort setting because, you know, sometimes we do want to fall asleep on the highway, but otherwise, nine out of ten for me. So this interior is quintessentially Porsche. I mean, there are design elements that pretty much carry over from one model to the next in the range, whether it's from a Macan to a Panamera or, you know, Cayman to a 911. Personally, I'm a pretty big fan of buttons. I love having buttons in my cars, and I think this Porsche really does it for me. I mean, there's a button for everything. There's a button for Sport, Sport plus, traction, suspension, spoiler, some heat stuff. And another thing I don't really care about, but there's literally buttons for days, and I can just keep pressing them with my fingers. Fall off. I mean, the downside, however, though, is that this car is $82,000, but it doesn't have navigation, backup cameras, or cup holders. Not that I can see, but. Oh, there are cup holders in this car. Wow, that is like. That's got to be the most genius location for cup holders in a sports car ever. Only in a Porsche, the seats themselves are okay. They hold you well enough for what this car is capable of, especially on the street. On the track may be a different story, but for the most part, can't complain. Storage space, on the other hand, pretty good for a car this size. You have a frunk, you have a trunk, you have a glove box and this kind of hatch area for oddly sized items. So overall, I'd say a 7 out of 10 in this category. The last thing I'm going to talk about is driver engagement, and what that really is is an overall subjective feel of the vehicle's. Driving dynamics. For me, I think the car is really potent around a corner and the PDK can't be faulted at all. It's a good transmission, but the exhaust node leaves a lot to be desired and power delivery around town is lackluster unless you're really hammering it. And somehow there's kind of like a sense of disconnect that other cars in its competition range really tend to excel at. It's not so much numbness. I would just call it maybe over refinement. I'll leave it with an eight for now. On the outside we have a few criteria as well, the most obvious being exterior design. I'll be honest, yellow. Not my first, second or third choice. That won't affect the score though, but I am a big fan of the overall shape and dimensions of the Cayman. To me it always felt like a leaner, younger, more athletic 911. The side intakes, the sleek roofline, the headlights, the pop up rear spoiler and it's a very pretty package for an entry level Porsche. And I'm sure this whole design is rather functional. On top of that, they always seem to do a good job with the wheels. Nothing too gaudy, just timeless wheels that look good even after half a decade. I would argue for a more aggressive front and rear bumper design, but that's kind of what the GTS trim is for. Overall, 9 out of 10 here. Curb value is a very subjective topic and feelings can be hurt, so I'm going to be as blunt as possible. At the end of the day, it is a Porsche. You roll up to most places and this will get you some attention from both sides of the gender pool. Sure you'll have 911 guys be like, oh, that's just a Cayman. Or Lambo guys be like, pfft, just a Porsche. But at this price point, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck because the normal people, they can't tell the difference between a 200 grand Turbo S or your entry level Cayman. And no matter how you look at it, it's a proper sports car. If you rolled up to me at a stoplight with a Cayman S, I'm gonna assume you either know how to use that thing or you just graduated med school. 9 out of 10 here. Obviously this car is out of warranty, but if you bought it brand new it would be four years and 50,000 miles and that is pretty standard among German luxury brands these days. Aftermarket, on the other hand, is a bit mediocre. It doesn't have the same upgrade potential of its boosted brethren, but you can still get your usual intake exhaust tune. Just don't expect to make more than 50 horsepower at the crank from that, and it's definitely not going to come cheap, but that's just the nature of modifying a naturally aspirated platform. This gets a 7 out of 10. The last essential category here is price. Back in 2014 when this car was brand new at MSRP for just over $82,000, which is kind of a hefty price tag when you think about the fact that it doesn't have any of the luxury amenities that we often look for, even bare bones. We're talking about a $66,000 car, so you have to ask yourself is the performance value really worth it? And if you think about it, it's one of the cheaper mid engine sports cars that you can buy on the market these days. So really there is some merit there. I'll give it a 6 out of 10. It's a sports car that ages exceptionally well and can still keep up with the usual suspects at your local parking lot. Many people will consider the Corvette a better value proposition, especially with the mid engine C8 coming out, and I would tend to agree if you're comparing it to the turbo four 718 Cayman. But the flat six 718 GTS is a whole nother animal and it probably would drive a wedge between me and my beloved American sports car. All in all, it gets the full five bonus points for me. So let's tally this all up and see where the 981 Cayman has to end it up. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you did, let me know by leaving a thumbs up and a comment below. 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