I've had the cayman for a year and a half now. I would say the cayman is the BEST bang for your buck when buying a porsche. I've driven both the carrera and carrera S, and although they accelerate faster (~1-1.5 second better 0-60), the handling on the cayman is superior. My point is, get a carrera if you can afford a GT3 or a turbo. If not, the cayman is more than enough. After owning ANY car for 3 months it all feels the same--like for me, the acceleration is more than enough, so i saved $10,000 by not getting the S version.

This is the highest quality, most refined sports car you can purchase for the low $50,000 price range.

I know I'm gonna grow to love this car now that I'm a week and 1,000 miles into it. But first reactions are that most drivers probably ought to look at the BMW Z4 Coupe. The Cayman must be driven mush harder to experience the same level of performance as the Z4. The Z4 actually starts in 1st gear (Tiptronic) as opposed to a sluggish 2nd gear. Luggage carrying capacity much, much better in the Z4 Coupe. Gas milage? No comparison...Z4 by 30%. Ahh, but the sound! No comparison. Cayman, hands down. Two years in a great car, the Z4 Coupe, may take some getting use to, but I'm trying hard and loving every minute!

If you buy this car intelligently, with only two or three must have options, you can keep you cash outlay to $60k - and for that kind of money this is an exceptional ride. Mid engine handling is second to none and although it may be a second slower than a 911, it outperforms overall. Customer service has also been excellent. Be prepared to get attention and unsolicited comments on its looks.

I ordered this and it came within a month. I got the red with black interior with the Tip. It is an absolute blast to drive. I have never driven a car with such ability to corner. You can turn so well in curves and corners that the car could almost make a person black out from the G force. Not really, but I am astonished every time I take a high speed curve.

The Tiptronic is also a blast and doesn't compromise fuel economy or power, but it makes it more fun to drive in traffic - and still allows you to have fun in high speed.

Great car at a great price. The best part is that you can be an owner of new Porche with only about 5gran (boxter is not even one of P's). on top of that, it looks similar to 911. Handling is ok, but the engine is, youknow, as you can see it's not roaring.(don't expect too much with only 300hp). But overall, it's a nice purchase for those who have tight budget, and wanna have a porshe. Have fun

Despite Porsche's intentional handicapping of the Cayman by leaving out the limited slip differential, monkeying with a few gear ratios, and delivering "only" 295 HP in order to protect the Carrera's staus as king of the Porsche line-up, the mid-engine layout and weight savings nearly keep it on par with the base Carrera. Flash the ECU, slap on new exhasut and install an LSD... all for about $5000...and you have a car that lines up nicely against a Carrera S in terms of performance for a lot less money.

Equip the Cayman S with the same set of options as a BMW and the Beemer starts looking like an economy car. Again, you really have to want the feel the Porsche delivers to be able to justify the premium.

Poke around Caymanclub.net for answers to all your questions. (No affiliation)

Drive a Cayman S at a Track day and you will buy one. It convinced me.