Cayman S vs. Elise vs. Z06

[Deschodt]

Looking for personal experience here (pretty please, not magazine reviews, hearsay, looking for personal "butt in seat", preferably "behind das steering wheel" ;-)...

In a couple of years if all goes well (buying depressed stocks right now, planning a job change too), I'm hoping to sell "der commuter" and treat myself to a modern car for a change... Used, as I am cheap... Something that does track days without overheating or being dog slow (no offense meant to my old 911SC).

The Cayman S is #1 (used), and I've driven that and 996/997s so I know what I like (911 power is better but I prefer the cayman handling)... nimble, great turn in, barely enough power but not bad...

The Elise is there because light weight just makes sense, it sounds fun as hell for track days and really I don't mind folding myself in and out of one, as long as it's got AC... I like my cars spartan, and the Missus does not borrow them if they are spartan...

The ZO6 is there purely because I enjoyed the show on TV about how they build it, saw one in person at the shop the other day and thought it looked damn good, and frankly, in 2 years - used - 500hp for 50K beats the hell of a cayman in power/price ratio.. Oh, and the MPG is impressive... But it's probably not as nimble ;-)

So really, it's price/performance/intellectual curiosity. And it's not exactly easy to line them up at a track day to drive them back to back in anger, so I am curious if anyone has *direct* personal experience going from one to another of that trio, for my edu-ma-cation.. Thanks!

[keitho64]

Greg - I am subscribing to this thread to read other comments. I have been torn between a Cayman, Cayman S and Elise. I have driven an Elise, Cayman S and C6 Z06. In each case it was a test drive with the longest being in the Elise. I will add my .02 worth for now, but understand this is based upon limited seat time.

Elise - The best 4 wheel sport bike on the planet. I have only driven the base Elise not super charged. The car has cat like reflexes, better than any car I have ever driven. The turn in, braking and acceleration are immediate. While not as fast as a Cayman S or Z06 it is still my favorite. I prefer the nimble handling over power and I think it would be very reliable. On the down side the ingress / egress is a pain but once in the seat you know you are home. Luggage space is almost nonexistent so if you wanted to do a weekend getaway you will need to pack lightly. I can only imagine that given the current economic situation this car will go down in value, good for us who want to buy one. Here is a picture of my favorite color; Polar Blue.




Cayman S - The Cayman seems to reward you the faster you go. It seems like the harder you push it, the faster it wants to go. This can be a double edged sword on the street. With the Elise you can feel the speed where the Cayman insulates you from it somewhat. The S has much more grunt, a more flexible / usable power band on the road. The Elise requires you to work the gearbox to be quick where the Cayman seems happy in almost any gear. If my plan was to drive cross country then the Cayman has a much better balance of comfort and speed. You can tell the weight difference between the Cayman S and Elise when driving. The Cayman has a much quieter cabin and a superior sounding engine. When the Cayman is running full song, there is no mistaking its' heritage.

C6 Z06 - Unbelievably fast is a straight line, challenging to toss around due to weight and over powering the tires. It does not seem as comfortable at speed as the Elise and Cayman. It tends to feel floaty when you hit the higher speeds. Not the best interior and the fit and finish is not on par with the Cayman. I would not turn one down if given to me but I see it as more a 1/4 mile or top speed car. While it is an excellent handling car I feel it is not equal to the Cayman or Elise.

All three are fantastic automobiles and 15 years ago I would never have dreamed of the options we have today. All are faster, safer and cleaner than anything from the past.

Like I said in the beginning I am anxious to hear what others have to say.

[serge944]

If you want a useless nimble car, why not go all out? Ariel atom.

The z06 makes the most sense to me - supercar performance, simple v8 reliability, and excellent gas mileage! Drive it everyday.

[rammstein]

I assume the Toyota 4-cylinder in the Elise is pretty reliable as well.

I suppose for track purposes, which tracks you drive on might make a difference. For one like New Hampshire international with all the low-speed, ultra-tight turns and relatively short straights, I'd bet the Elise and Cayman would be preferrable to the Z06. On something like Mid-Ohio, that back straight would allow the V8 to do its thing in a big way, so perhaps its worth considering where you would take it.

[einreb]

E30

/thread

[rammstein]

I've been looking at E30s. They are like $20k!!!! I am in the market for a reliable AutoX car that will hold its value, but I need to be able to afford the admission ticket. $20k is insane money. There's a few out there for less, but they ususally have something questionable abotu them (mileage, damage, salvage title, rice, etc)

EDIT- I am referring to E30 M3s.

[ChkbookMechanic]

I drove all three before deciding to buy my '84 911 and the order I'd rank them for daily commuting is this:

(1) Cayman S
(2) Corvette w/ Z51
(2) Corvette Z06
(3) Elise

First off, I'm a tall, lanky person - 6'3" and 180lbs, so I was looking for something that would be comfortable if I had to drive it around on a daily basis when my current DD was in the shop.

That right there knocked the Elise out of the running. I loved it, it is an awesome car, but the folding myself into it just wasn't fun and I figured I wasn't going to want to do that on a daily - or even weekly basis. Also, after talking to a few of the owners I was told to stay far, far away from them because their build quality was less than that of a kit car after owning it for a few years. One of the owners dumped his Elise for a 500hp turbocharged S2K (go figure).

Now, the Cayman S and the Z06 were neck in neck. Had the Porsche dealer been able to give me what I wanted on my trade-in I'd be driving a Cayman S right now. However, it didn't happen, so I expanded my search to include the Elise and the new Corvettes. The Cayman S handles like a dream, is comfortable, fast and something I could drive on a daily basis. I loved everything about it except the price and that it could use more hp (but what doesn't?).

The normal corvette with Z51 package is stupid fast and handle way better than you'd expect - the Z06 is basically a Corvette turned up to 11. I drove it and it is one of the only cars that really, truly scared me with how fast and nimble it really is. People might knock the interior but I found it fine. It was comfortable, controls were where you expected them to be and I could find a good position to drive it. Then for the price there is nothing even close to it performance-wise. However, as a fun car and occasional daily drive I think the 'vette w/ Z51 package is the better deal - it isn't that much slower than the Z06 and it is loads cheaper. Like the Porsche dealers, the Corvette dealers couldn't give me what I wanted on the trade-in so I decided to wait and see what I wanted once I sold my MX-5.

I ended up selling the MX-5 for $2k over what I wanted from the dealers (both the dealers were $500 less than what I wanted) and decided to look at air-cooled 911s and ended up buying one of them, figuring I was buying something to run on the track, be reliable and that I could tinker on without breaking the bank having someone repair it for me. However, if I were buying new (or slightly used) I would definitely look really, really hard at the Corvette w/ Z51 and Cayman S.

[Jim Bremner]

funny two years ago, that was my short list.

I didn't buy the Z06 but did buy the C6 with the z-51 kit.

55,000 miles with two track days later no problems but a roof that delamed. The repacement roof creks (I need to see if they'll work on it one last time.)

as for the comment of weight, 3,160 pound vs the caymens 2,900 isn't all that bad.

The biggest complaint is that tires aren't cheap

[Deschodt]

>E30 /thread

Not really end of thread. I like them, but they are about in the same league as my SC.... And same price too ! And definitely not modern and not all that reliable at this point ! (see my sign for my current drivers, I need something recent to offset the oldies)

I want to ADD to the stable, not replace the 911, something fun as a track car yet air conditionned and with modern handling, ABS, etc...

>Chkbook Mechanic,

Sounds good, something to think about, thanks ! While I never saw myself buying a Corvette over almost any porsche, only idiots make uninformed judgements - and the C6 looks like a huge improvement... I will definitely try one for size when the time comes, like you said the price/hp is right...

Haven't heard strong a Elise defense so far, that's a bad sign I guess ;-) Good point on the type of racetrack.... Being in FL now, I bet an elise sucks air at Sebring on the long straights ! I'm shooting for a return to cali (and Thunderhill) though, not as big a deal !