My Edinburgh break last weekend was an ideal opportunity to both appraise and compare the cross country rural road capabilities of the CGTS 4.0 on some of the best driving roads of Aberdeenshire. The route south from the A96 coastal road was via the A941, A97, A944, Dufftown to Alford. Then the A980 to Banchory, followed by the B974 Cairn o' Mount to Fettercairn and Edzell, thereafter joining the A90 dual carriageway intercity route at Brechin for Edinburgh.
The reason I chose this convoluted route south was to reacquaint myself with the roads my late dad and I used to use on all night road rallies back in the 1960's. This route was also very familiar from experiences enjoyed with previous Caymans, both flat-6 n/a manuals and flat-4 turbo PDK's.
On the day of travel ambient temperatures were below freezing all day. At Dufftown where I joined the Cabrach route, the air temperature was -2.5C. Icy patches were frequently encountered particularly in shaded areas. The low, hazy, winter sun providing a golden glow to the icy landscape.
Careful throttle and braking applications were the order of the day. The PS4S tyres coped admirably in the low temperatures despite them being optimally summer tyres. Icy conditions also tested my wheel alignment geometry which proved absolutely spot-on when traversing sheet ice on occasion. The torque delivery of the 4.0 combined with the PDK gearing were ideally suited to this terrain, and my adapted driving style delivered me safely to my rest halt at Clatterin' Brig cafe at the south end of the Cairn o' Mount. This cafe was opened in by Prince Georg of Denmark in 1958. It is located at the junction of the Drumtochty Glen where there used to be a water splash ford, now sadly concreted over by a culvert. As a teenager, I recall watching the international competitors on the RAC Rally splashing through this ford in the 1960's. Austin-Healy 3000's, Cooper S's, Triumph TR4's and 2000's, all driven by British and European rally legends of times past. As I enjoyed the excellent Cullen Skink soup by the cafe window overlooking the ford, I recalled those wonderful nostalgic memories, long before world rallying became corporate and manufacturer dominated.
The return journey north from Edinburgh to the Moray coast was in much warmer double digit temperatures. My route was equally rural and convoluted, taking the A94, A923 from Perth to Blairgowrie, then the A93 to Braemar, and the A939 to Tominitoul where the temperature was a balmy 11c. The time of year provided very light traffic densities enabling a more assertive approach to my driving. The few occasions where slower traffic was encountered were quickly despatched on the winding undulating A93 route to Braemar. It was good to return to Porsche driving on such roads where I found other drivers I caught up very cooperative in moving over to allow me to overtake. This single track road had many such passing places and my progress through Glenshee was brisk to say the least. On open sighted sections with no other vehicles present I allowed myself to "give it some beans" through the lower intermediate gears. Any residual soot which may have accumulated within the exhaust system by the previous owner was now well and truly purged. I don't expect ever to have the catalyser/GPF recycling warning light appear during my ownership of this car.
Enjoyable driving progress on such roads, with a car such as the CGTS 4.0 PDK, can be safely experienced without excessive speed as represented by numbers. Thankfully, the speed limit on this route is still 60mph. I had enormous fun driving this route at speeds around 60-ish max. Third and Fourth gears in manual mode proved ideal, and the 4.0 surpassed by some margin my previous Cayman driving experiences on this very same route. Sport mode selected throughout proved ideal for the smoother, recently resurfaces sections, only becoming a bit harsh on the damper settings when encountering cattle grids and bumpier sections. Following this demanding cross country road experience, I can say without doubt this is my best Cayman of the lot. The power, the torque, and by no means least, the engine acoustics, all combine to make this car a keen driver's delight.
A final comment on this experience regarding fuel economy. Naturally, I did not choose this car for reasons of fuel mpg. Having driven the routes previously many times in a variety of Caymans, typical mpg figures given my usual driving style provided average 24mpg to 25mpg. It was a very surprising figure of 26.2mpg which showed on the PCM at the end of the cross country route. Oil level check at the end showed one segment below maximum after the 500 miles total trip. Regarding the mpg, I put this down to the torque delivery of the 4.0 and the PDK gearing. My familiarity with the route is undoubtably a significant factor as I know what the terrain is coming up ahead. By all accounts I am exceedingly happy with my car choice and delighted to be back in a Porsche Cayman again.
A few photos below for illustration of the terrain I encountered.
Brian.
