Any regrets having bought a 2.7 base Cayman?

[GoKart]

Considering a 2.7 to drive regularly, a couple days a week.

Looking for input from the current or former 2.7 crowd.

How do you / did you like these cars?

Are they a long term keeper?

[recycled sixtie]

Hi GoKart,
My last experience of Porsche was a 2001 Boxster base with manual transmission. I bought it used and owned it four years. It had the 2.7 engine. I put 15k miles on it in four years and then got a CEL. Repairing it would have cost me too much money.

I sold the car as is. If I had to do it again I would have kept it and got it repaired. Instead I bought a used Miata NC. It was no substitute for the Porsche.

Some folks say you have to get the S model. I found the 2.7 engine adequate once you wind it up. The manual trans was heavy.

Cheers, Guy

[Harold_89_911]

I've had my 08 Cayman base for only 2 weeks now and no regrets yet. If you would like to experience a mid-engine car, there are not that many options out there. Italian exotic, Audi R8 or the C8. All of those will be much more expensive in purchase and maintenance than the Boxster/Cayman platform. Current prices for the 987.1 base models are hard to resist and I won't be concerned to toss the keys to my 21-year old daughter. If I was looking for a car with the best straight line acceleration, would be hard to beat a Tesla. If you are looking for an incredible driving experience, the base model with manual transmission is perfect and you can actually rev up the engine a little on public roads without getting into too much trouble. Not sure I could live with it as my only car (as in hauling stuff, kids, bikes, and long road trips).

[2nd_Amdt]

I have a 2010 base with a 2.9 engine, 6 speed manual; it is my daily driver. I've put 28,000 miles on it in the last 18 months since purchasing it used with 102,000 miles on it. I love it - it's fun, fast, has been dependable.

[jluetjen]

I've got a 2002 Boxster base (2.7) and no regrets. It's certainly quick enough. If you look closely at the peak HP engine speeds, you'll see that the base engines are actually a little more "racy" than the S engines, which use the extra cc's to generate more torque across the rev range, but which have a slightly lower peak HP speed than the base model. So if you want all of the base engine's torque, you'll need to rev it harder.

That being said, the 2.7 certainly has adequate torque for pottering around in traffic. When driving around town, I'm often in 5th gear at 25 mph and the engine still pulls cleanly. But if you want to accelerate quickly, you'll need to drop a couple of gears and rev the engine -- but that's the fun of the base model.

In the old days (i.e. the late 60's and early 70's) the S's had the peaky engine, and the T was torqueier at lower revs because of the significantly milder cam than the S. Nowadays the S is torqueier because of the extra cc's, while the base model requires rev'ing all the way to red-line to get the best.

[mikedsilva]

I just picked up a 2008 base Cayman..
But when it was new, it was ordered with 6 spd man, pasm, sports chrono, sports seats, short shift, 19 inch rims and factory sports muffler. Doesn't make as much power as my old aircooled 911, but it is a very nice car to drive and I have no regrets whatsoever.

[GoKart]

Thought I’d come back to this to say that I bought a 2008 base 2.7 Cayman with 5 speed manual, and I love it. It’s plenty fast. Very fun to drive. I’m happy with it.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by GoKart

Thought I’d come back to this to say that I bought a 2008 base 2.7 Cayman with 5 speed manual, and I love it. It’s plenty fast. Very fun to drive. I’m happy with it.

I am very happy for you with your new purchase. I am sorry I sold my 2.7 Boxster base and miss mine dearly. I think the 2.7 engine is adequate. Good performance and decent fuel consumption. How much hp is the 2008?

[GoKart]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

I am very happy for you with your new purchase. I am sorry I sold my 2.7 Boxster base and miss mine dearly. I think the 2.7 engine is adequate. Good performance and decent fuel consumption. How much hp is the 2008?

It’s about 240hp approx. Figure the weight and output are similar to an E36 M3 and a 964.

[suntam18]

Originally Posted by GoKart

Thought I’d come back to this to say that I bought a 2008 base 2.7 Cayman with 5 speed manual, and I love it. It’s plenty fast. Very fun to drive. I’m happy with it.

Awesome. Happy for you. My new to me 03 Boxster base has been a lot of fun to drive. Took into consideration the cost of tires, insurance etc... in getting the base vs S or other platforms (Miata, RX7/8....) also considered the cayman however wifey liked the boxster more, and for me reminded me of the 124 spider i had when i was in college many moons ago.

[ASD]

True statements...My 986 s model is powerful but I need to get on it for higher revs.