Brian_Innes
Member
981 Cayman GTS PDK - Driving Impressions.
Enough of the technical data, it's what the 981 Cayman GTS is like to drive that is the main purpose of this review.
Sitting behind the wheel my first impressions are of being in very familiar territory. The 981 cabin is basically the same as the 718 apart from minor evolutionary tweaks, eg PCM screen, air vents, sport chrono clock position, steering wheel design, etc. Hamish's GTS has the full leather and red stitching option which gives the cabin a significant lift. The biggest difference immediately becomes apparent when turning the ignition key to fire up the glorious normally aspirated 3.4 litre flat-6. The engine acoustics are very much more apparent inside the 981 cabin compared to the 718. It makes little difference whether or not the sports exhaust button is activated. The evocative flat-six fills the cabin with mechanical sounds you would expect a Porsche to make. Once under way on the road the engine note continues to dominate the driving experience, even more so than I recall from my 987 Cayman R ownership. I selected Sport mode and manual gear shifting using the paddles for my first drive from Ballater to Braemar on the A93. Traffic was the usual mix of local, commercial, and tourist, but thankfully light density with lots of clear road sections to enjoy the GTS and get to know it better.
On the largely straight sections with only a few gentle curves, the 981 GTS rides straight and true on the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres. In Sport mode the ride still has reasonable compliance for surface ripples and bumps, and the car feels pretty much the same firmness as my 718 in a similar mode. The main difference that became apparent on this first drive was with the steering. The 981 having a slower steering rack ratio, it takes a greater amount of steering wheel input to negotiate the tighter corners I encountered, compared to the 718. The steering also lacks the road feel of my 718. Whether this is due to my car having Power Steering Plus, lighter ceramic brakes, and maximised negative front geometry is a moot point, but Porsche have also done significant work on the steering between the two models, quite apart from fitting the 10% quicker steering rack.
On the road in Sport Plus mode the 981 GTS changes character into a snorting, rev blipping, hard riding machine more akin to a track day car experience. The ride is now very much firmer, and the engine mapping gives the throttle a more urgent response. Although best suited for track day use, Sport Plus mode works well enough on the 981 GTS provided the road surface is not too bumpy. The car now feels as if it is longing to be let loose off the leash and revved to red line. I did have an opportunity on one occasion during Sport Plus mode to overtake slower traffic on a clear straight section. The traffic ahead was held up by a 40mph camper van, and I paddle shifted down to 3rd gear preparing to overtake the convoy of three cars. Now, this is where the performance deficit compared to my 718 GTS hove into sharp focus. In retrospect, perhaps I should have selected the lower 2nd gear, bearing in mind the longer gearing of 981. Be that as it may, following the obligatory mirror, signal, manoeuvre, I floored the throttle at 45mph in 3rd gear, Sport Plus already engaged, and although the acceleration was more than adequate for a safe overtake it lacked the punch I have become used to in my 718 GTS. If I had selected 2nd gear for this overtake, the 981 GTS would have shot past the slower traffic in a crescendo of blaring revs as the rapidly approaching 7800rpm red line beckoned an upshift to 3rd gear. By which time I would have been far above the legal speed limit with the long 981 gearing. Being fair to the 981 GTS, I would have preferred more time to get acclimatised to returning to driving a normally aspirated Porsche. I am now well used to driving turbo cars, and my driving style has adapted accordingly having driven nothing else for the past 3 years. When you look at the comparative engine data stats, the 981 GTS torque band kicks-off with 380Nm at 4750rpm, compared to the 718 GTS pulling 430Nm from a lowly 2000rpm and staying flat until 5000rpm. It's in the everyday overtaking situations such as I have just described that the accessible performance difference of the 718 compared to the 981 falls into sharp focus. This is not intended as a criticism, more an illustration of the evolution of turbo engine technology as applied by Porsche on the 718. That said, the 981 GTS is very capable, comfortable, and satisfying car for any driving enthusiast to own. In normal driving conditions along flowing rural roads as featured in this review, there is nothing much to choose between the two cars from a driving perspective. Both cars corner exceptionally well, have superb handling, and provide more than adequate performance for the majority of road and traffic conditions. It is also important to remember that the 981 GTS provides improved fuel economy compared to a similar spec 718 GTS. On the road test mileage completed, the 981 GTS recored an average of 26 mpg, whereas the 718 GTS showed only 22 mpg.
A quick trawl through the OPC Porsche approved lists showed a variety of 2015/16 981 Cayman GTS PDK examples ranging between £52,000 and £56,000. The 2018/19 718 Cayman GTS PDK models ranged from £60,000 and £68,000. This proves how strong the residual values are for the 981 GTS. I would wager this trend is likely to continue for some time yet. If aural appreciation is important, then the 981 GTS option is a compelling one, and it saves you money........
Brian
PS. Hopefully, Hamish will offer his driving impressions of the 718 GTS PDK very soon.
Enough of the technical data, it's what the 981 Cayman GTS is like to drive that is the main purpose of this review.
Sitting behind the wheel my first impressions are of being in very familiar territory. The 981 cabin is basically the same as the 718 apart from minor evolutionary tweaks, eg PCM screen, air vents, sport chrono clock position, steering wheel design, etc. Hamish's GTS has the full leather and red stitching option which gives the cabin a significant lift. The biggest difference immediately becomes apparent when turning the ignition key to fire up the glorious normally aspirated 3.4 litre flat-6. The engine acoustics are very much more apparent inside the 981 cabin compared to the 718. It makes little difference whether or not the sports exhaust button is activated. The evocative flat-six fills the cabin with mechanical sounds you would expect a Porsche to make. Once under way on the road the engine note continues to dominate the driving experience, even more so than I recall from my 987 Cayman R ownership. I selected Sport mode and manual gear shifting using the paddles for my first drive from Ballater to Braemar on the A93. Traffic was the usual mix of local, commercial, and tourist, but thankfully light density with lots of clear road sections to enjoy the GTS and get to know it better.
On the largely straight sections with only a few gentle curves, the 981 GTS rides straight and true on the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres. In Sport mode the ride still has reasonable compliance for surface ripples and bumps, and the car feels pretty much the same firmness as my 718 in a similar mode. The main difference that became apparent on this first drive was with the steering. The 981 having a slower steering rack ratio, it takes a greater amount of steering wheel input to negotiate the tighter corners I encountered, compared to the 718. The steering also lacks the road feel of my 718. Whether this is due to my car having Power Steering Plus, lighter ceramic brakes, and maximised negative front geometry is a moot point, but Porsche have also done significant work on the steering between the two models, quite apart from fitting the 10% quicker steering rack.
On the road in Sport Plus mode the 981 GTS changes character into a snorting, rev blipping, hard riding machine more akin to a track day car experience. The ride is now very much firmer, and the engine mapping gives the throttle a more urgent response. Although best suited for track day use, Sport Plus mode works well enough on the 981 GTS provided the road surface is not too bumpy. The car now feels as if it is longing to be let loose off the leash and revved to red line. I did have an opportunity on one occasion during Sport Plus mode to overtake slower traffic on a clear straight section. The traffic ahead was held up by a 40mph camper van, and I paddle shifted down to 3rd gear preparing to overtake the convoy of three cars. Now, this is where the performance deficit compared to my 718 GTS hove into sharp focus. In retrospect, perhaps I should have selected the lower 2nd gear, bearing in mind the longer gearing of 981. Be that as it may, following the obligatory mirror, signal, manoeuvre, I floored the throttle at 45mph in 3rd gear, Sport Plus already engaged, and although the acceleration was more than adequate for a safe overtake it lacked the punch I have become used to in my 718 GTS. If I had selected 2nd gear for this overtake, the 981 GTS would have shot past the slower traffic in a crescendo of blaring revs as the rapidly approaching 7800rpm red line beckoned an upshift to 3rd gear. By which time I would have been far above the legal speed limit with the long 981 gearing. Being fair to the 981 GTS, I would have preferred more time to get acclimatised to returning to driving a normally aspirated Porsche. I am now well used to driving turbo cars, and my driving style has adapted accordingly having driven nothing else for the past 3 years. When you look at the comparative engine data stats, the 981 GTS torque band kicks-off with 380Nm at 4750rpm, compared to the 718 GTS pulling 430Nm from a lowly 2000rpm and staying flat until 5000rpm. It's in the everyday overtaking situations such as I have just described that the accessible performance difference of the 718 compared to the 981 falls into sharp focus. This is not intended as a criticism, more an illustration of the evolution of turbo engine technology as applied by Porsche on the 718. That said, the 981 GTS is very capable, comfortable, and satisfying car for any driving enthusiast to own. In normal driving conditions along flowing rural roads as featured in this review, there is nothing much to choose between the two cars from a driving perspective. Both cars corner exceptionally well, have superb handling, and provide more than adequate performance for the majority of road and traffic conditions. It is also important to remember that the 981 GTS provides improved fuel economy compared to a similar spec 718 GTS. On the road test mileage completed, the 981 GTS recored an average of 26 mpg, whereas the 718 GTS showed only 22 mpg.
A quick trawl through the OPC Porsche approved lists showed a variety of 2015/16 981 Cayman GTS PDK examples ranging between £52,000 and £56,000. The 2018/19 718 Cayman GTS PDK models ranged from £60,000 and £68,000. This proves how strong the residual values are for the 981 GTS. I would wager this trend is likely to continue for some time yet. If aural appreciation is important, then the 981 GTS option is a compelling one, and it saves you money........
Brian
PS. Hopefully, Hamish will offer his driving impressions of the 718 GTS PDK very soon.
