Porsche 981 Cayman Ownership Review Ep.1

A little over 1000 miles have been covered in the Cayman so I thought it was about time for me to share how I've been getting on.

Buying and owning your dream car are two very separate things, but I'm pleased to report it hasn't taken long for me to treat the Cayman as just a car. I promised myself it wouldn't be babied nor would It become a trinket that only gets driven when the suns out, Porsche engineer these things so bloody well that it's a travesty to just let them sit.

The car didn't move much in its first week due to sub zero temperatures and a few inches of snow, but thankfully by the weekend it had cleared and I could spend some time getting to know the car on my local roads. Setting the alarm early and heading out yealded a few uninterrupted hours of driving joy where I discovered just how good the 981 platform is (more to come on this when I write a proper review) but for now let's just say it's brilliant.

On a separate note the seats do pass the takeaway test, no spilt curry here!

Back to more practical matters it was time to evaluate the cars road trip/holiday credentials with a trip to Cornwall. As we all know Cornwall is miles away, usually involving a long slog down a traffic ridden M5 and at some point you'll be in stop start traffic because smartmotorways are the opposite of what they claim to be. But it also means luggage, Cornwall in spring has its own microclimate with roulette like odds on what weather you'll encounter as such you hedge your bets by taking 3 of everything in the hope you'll be wearing the right combination of clothing for the wind/rain/hail/blazing sunshine you'll encounter. Apparently that's not a challenge for a Cayman as it swallows a ridiculous amount of luggage and has room to spare, it's shockingly practical for a 2 seat mid engined coupe.

The Cornish roads were particularly Cornish being narrow, poorly surfaced and littered with tourists who didn't understand the width of their mid segment crossover, but due to the Cayman being relatively compact it wasn't an issue and we could slip by without too much drama. The first few days I'd have been thankful for a fog horn or a boy up in a crows nest as the weather was tricky to say the least. But with the Cayman being so sure footed and having furnace like heated seats this weather didn't bother us.

The later part of the week was much better and there was the odd moment where this bright orangey-yellow ball appeared and made things feel warmer, that did highlight one issue though. Cornish roads had done a number on the cleanliness of the car, but I'm sticking to the not being babied mantra and it wore its muck with pride.

The break away was brilliant and Cornwall remains one of our favourite places, the car was brilliant throughout the trip. Motorways miles are easy and when then road clears you can have some fun at sensible speeds, the car doesn't feel frustrated with any type of road and seems to take everything in its stride, it's averaging over 30 mpg too which I'm amazed at. One negative is road noise, but I'm blaming that on crap surfaces and low profile tyres as it was something my old Mini suffered with too.

What's next? Well I really must wash it, and I think its time for a track day...