Cayman as a Long Distance Commuter

[NJS]

Hi,
Just wanted some views about getting a Cayman for a long distance commuter, Cornwall to Sussex most weeks then round the West Country and Wales, so about 30,000 ish miles a year.

The main questions are would she be comfortable for a 4 hour stint? and how many miles should you get out of a tank of fuel I hate stopping and need to be able to cover 300 miles minimum in a stint. Is the 3.4 a better drive than a 2.7 ? It will need to be an auto.

I know running costs are going to be high but whatever I drive always cost me.

All comments appreciated as I will probably pick one up next week if comments are positive something around the 2007/8 vintage.

Cheers

[WazzerM]

Hi have an '06 Cayman S (manual) but don't do anything like that mileage. We did take her over to the Swiss alps etc. last year though and found, across the 2,000 + miles, her to be very comfortable indeed. We did 6 + hours on day one and even us old timers (both with bad backs) climbed out relatively fresh. We don't have the sports seats but do in our Boxster which are, we find, less comfortable long distance. As I recall she gives about 340 miles per tank. Our Box is 2.7 and can honestly say that she feels much less of a cruiser - lighter, more twitchy - great for shorter runs, but for long distance I'd choose the Cayman S without sports seats for sure. Oh, for comfort I'd go for 18s as 19s, from my experience, can give a hard ride.

Not sure you'd get 300 miles out of a tank if you're legging it but then we haven't tested it. My Cayman's dash tells me I get around 23mpg whilst the 2.7 Box says 27mpg - not a huge difference.

I'd be careful about 'picking one up'. You need to do your research (thoroughly) and find one that's got some protection against IMS failure and bore scoring as these have the potential to empty your bank account. Yes, I've been bitten so perhaps more wary than others.

[NJS]

Cheers for that Wazzer,
I understand about the picking one up it not as easy as I expected .

I've been driving all the big soft cars and 4x4's Disco's A8's ML's 7's etc and wanted a bit more fun in my old age, I have some great roads to drive along and most of my traveling is during the evening or early hours so not to much traffic so you do get the opportunity.

Sold my 993 a while ago and now want something to use all the time and I've always had a soft spot for the Cayman since it first appeared.

Thanks for you comments all taken on board.

[Sean Smallman]

One of our directors has a 2009 3.4 which has covered 170,000. He loves it, so much so he's extended the lease twice.

[Tallguy]

I had a 3.4 Boxster with a Tiptronic gearbox and regularly drove 250 miles in it without stopping. No problems when I got out etc. Max range is about 350 miles on a tank and you have to be careful to achieve that otherwise it's 325 miles on a tank full.

As Wazzer said, get a full inspection on anything that you are going to buy as there can be some engine issues on the vintage you are looking at. Make sure the inspection includes a leakdown test, compression test and borescope inspection. If the bores are scored or there is cylinder leakage then walk away from the car.

The Gen II 987 Boxster and Caymans use a different engine I believe (mid 2009 onwards) which doesn't suffer from the same weak points.

[Jon968Sport]

I'd go 2.7 and 17" wheels for the greatest ride quality, reliability and running costs. The 2.7 is viewed as significantly less prone to failure than the 3.4 with a later stronger IMS bearing for 2007 model year and very few signs of bore scoring if any. My 2.7 manual will do 400 miles on a tank on a run and 350 miles with more mixed, more urban use. Its certainly very comfortable (standard full leather heated seats).

If you can stretch you'd probably be best with a Gen 2 2.9 in order to get a PDK rather than a Tiptronic box.

[cvega]

just to weigh in, my Gen 1 3.4 S (with moderate driving, 25 miles a day to work, by no means grandma driving) gets about 340-350 to a tank. This is with the occasional full throttle blast down a motorway ramp. I would expect tiptronic to get a bit less. Having said that, I don't do many loooong motorway runs, when I do, mpg goes up significantly. On long regular runs I dont see why it wouldn't get 400 to a tank.