[GTO]

Originally Posted by 7447

GTO, definitely respect your point on the Carrera vs. Cayman S regarding the age factor - something to be considered.

From this thread:

The Porsche 911 Carrera was the disappointment of the day compared to the other cars there. Today the main track was being used by the PCA and walking around the paddock with endles legions of the the old warhorses, from the 60s to the present in virtually every common and exotic variation really made me wonder what makes a no-good driver like me think he can pass judgment on this hero. but none the less, the car was a disappointment to me and to virtually everyone else present. One can feel the mass in the car's ***, and one feels the car having all kinds of weird chassis behavior coming out of the car trying to keep its rear end stuck. It seems to want to lift the inside front tyre, especially when the suspension is having to stroke a lot, and that in turn produces very unusual steering behavior.

Next came the Cayman. Well, frankly, it’s a much better sports car than the 911. It has none of the dynamic foibles of the 911. Its a very good handling car. It has the classic midengined feel that I have come to love so much. Even the M3 feels a bit like you’re herding the lump of metal up front , that you’re basically trying to place and point that lump. The Cayman on the other hand seems to yaw, pitch and roll around the driver, and thus feels much more of a driver centered missile, and is thus very rewarding to drive. I would say that its more fun to drive than the M3.

Also, take some time out for this long thread (My Cayman S - Gen II (My Porsche 987 Cayman S Gen II))

In addition, here is an ownership review received by a member:

Ownership Survey

1. Which brand and model of car are you reviewing (e.g. Honda Accord)?
Porsche Cayman S

2. What is your car’s year of manufacture?
2010

3. Is this your existing car or a previously owned car?
Existing car

4. Which engine option does your car have (e.g. Petrol, Diesel, V6 etc.)?
petrol V6

5. What is the equipment level / variant of your car (e.g. LXi, VXi)?
S variant

6. What is the total mileage of your car (as of today, in kilometers)?
5 kms/litre

7. Do you drive mostly in the city or on the highway?
Mix of both

8. Is your car serviced / maintained by an authorised service station only?
Authorised only

9. How do you find the exterior styling and design of your car?
the design of the car is exeptional, the areodynamics specially.

10. How do you find the overall build quality and fit / finish?
the car quality and fit is amazingly neat and precise.

11. How do you find the interior design and quality?
the interior is very much porsche, clean , simple, sports and classy. does not have flashy stuff. only the engine speaks up for the car and ofcourse the design

12. How do you find the interior space and comfort levels?
the interior space is less and limited as expected for a two door, two seater sports car

13. Any other comments on the interiors (air-conditioner, fit / finish, seat support, ergonomics etc.)?
there are a lot of things that you can get custom built for the interiors. like i got my leather of navy blue colour and the rest interiors in Grey. the seat colour and options are also plenty. i got alcantra, to keep a sports feel and also colour options are available in that. the finish is exquisite. over all very class as well as cheeky.

14. How do you find the engine performance & drivability in the city?
the engine performance is raw. just made to conquer the road. the car is not the right combination for a in city drive as the car feels too heavy and hard to drive in city. the steer and the throttle are heavy , as expected in any sports car and it makes it tough to drive for long in cities.
apart from that , its a classy piece of engineering.

15. How do you find the engine performance & drivability on the highway?
the engine perfomance on highway, unimaginable. it turns you crazy and full of adareline. it holds up very firm, specially the braking on high speeds, has a very good control on the steering. does what you say and keeps you stuck on ground at any speeds. the centre of gravity is quite better than other cars that i have drove in the same class and segment. doesen give you the slightest feel of insecurity while driving on high speeds.
its a dreamer.

16. Additional comments on the engine (outright power, refinement, turbo-lag etc.)?
the car has enough torque to take you off the road and give you a flying feel. but i think that a V6 engine and the conditions that we face in our country, its the right combination and its enough to balance the whole scene.
ofcourse better engines are available and faster cars are too. but i am satisfied with the engine torque, though i would have loved if the engine roar would have been a bit more. the performace beats the engine sound, as far as the feel is concerned.

17. Overall opinion on the engine?
its a perfect engine combined with the PDK transimission, making the journey smooth and sound.
the only thing i miss is the raw part of it.
the engine does not give a overall rough and tough feel. its more like an advanced package.
sometimes you need a bit more to feel more.

overall design and performace is above par.

18. How do you find the gearshift / transmission?
PDK transmission is just a piece of art i would say. it works so well that you just cant feel the change of gears. infact even at high speeds you do not recognise the change. the best experience yet. even better than the lamborghini i just drove a few days back in my city

19. City fuel efficiency in KPL?
5 to 6 km/litre

20. Highway fuel efficiency in KPL?
8 to 9 km/litre

21. How do you find the ride quality?
the ride quality is exactly that you expect from a Porsche.
i was given the delivery of the car 3 months late, but once i got my car. the ride i now enjoy gives me the feel that every second that i have waited for the car is worth it.

just amazing.

22. How do you find the handling?
handling is great as far as the drive is concerned.
as written above it is composite and feels like a sophisticated vehicle with all the comforts needed.
sometimes annoying as far as the Real Feel is concerned.
overall 4 stars , very sturdy and obedient . even at high speeds and variations

23. Overall review of the suspension, steering and braking?
the suspension is ideally very hard as expected. dosent feel like a luxury , but feels sporty.
the steering and braking are great , no problem with that. in line with the car performance and safety.

24. Any particular likes (damped ashtrays, powerful headlights, music system etc.):
music system is good. i got bose speakers as an add on. but does not have enough options to optimize the sound that you hear. sometimes not satifactory.
the interior lights are enough, but they get hot very fast. real hot.
the exterior lights are good enough but the day light LED in front are not enough , not does it create a great impact to enhance the look of the car. does hardly anything at all. not worth it.

25. Any particular dislikes (small mirrors, weak wipers, weak foglamps etc.)?
front LED for day light is not enough. should have been more impactful.
side mirrors of the car open and close manually. they should have been automatic.
the seat adjustments are not very comfortable. only if you take a complete electronic seat add on option, you get complete comfort. overall seats are comfortable, but it lacks in complete comfort.

26. Review on overall practicality (luggage room, ease of ingress/egress, cubby holes etc.)?
over all satisfactory

27. How has the overall reliability of your car been?
Excellent

28. Please list any problems and part failures (including warranty repairs and replacements)?
i had this back hood that was not opened by my key. so i called the dealer and they send them over to get it done. surprisingly it got fixed but my rear spoiler working got some error and they had to order a entire new piece for me, which i am waiting to arrive.
surprisingly i discovered that the car PDI was not done in sync with the Cayman S model. it was a shock to me.

29. How would you rate the overall after-sales-service of the authorised service station?
Average

30. How did you find the overall cost of upkeep and maintenance?
Expensive

31. Comments on the overall service experience with the authorized service station? (OPTIONAL : Enlist the total charges for each service)
yet the car has not been serviced.

32. If previous car, how was the resale value?
Excellent

33. How would you rate your overall satisfaction level with the car (10 = Very satisfied. 1 = Very dissatisfied?
8

34. Would you buy this car again?
Yes

35. Would you like us to keep this review public or private?
Yes

appreciate the point on the color choice having a real impact on the M3. I've started to consider this option more seriously as most members seem to be suggesting this.

Here's another long M3 ownership thread you should go through.

Would like to hear thoughts on this one? ie. Would any of you think its a good idea to go for something like this

For your Dad, yes. For a 20 year old, no ways!

[hiren959]

IMO at your age Cayman S is the perfect for you, if you dont go for that then it must be M3(my favourite)!!

[Speeding@160mph]

Good thing you're moving back - this would have been a heck of a choice to make while living in the city!

Dinky Roadsters - SLK/Z4 - Too feminine in my opinion and definitely overshadowed by their bigger manlier siblings, the SL & M6. Both great options with the SL beating out the M6 in terms of freshness as others mentioned earlier.

Performance juniors - M3/C63AMG - While they are incredible driving machines, I wouldn't put any snob value on the cars - they are sleepers and will fly under the radar for the most part in regards to your 'head-turner' requirement.

True blood enthusiast sportsters - Cayman/911 - who wouldn't want a Porsche? Actually I wouldn't! In my 20's living in NY there were always 2-3 of my buds hanging around - the only time I got to take out the SL was the weekends - else it was the Pathfinder. I'm guessing you may have the same issue and may need to cut down on your friends if a suitable alternate isn't there in your Bombay garage.

Sedan/Saloon Sportsters - XFR - Incredible specs, full size sedan, amazing interiors and I LOVE the rise-up shift dial. It is the sexiest thing I have seen IN a car! The Maseratti Quattraporte is also right in this range (1.25?) if I'm not mistaken and quite a stunner. But the only other car which comes close to the XFR is the CL55AMG which as I have said numerous times may be the most beautiful car i've seen.

What I believe it will come down to is

- Do you want a smallish 2 seater monster car? Porsche/M3/GTR?

or

- Do you want an almost full size monster sedan? XFR/CL/Quattra

[holysmoke]

Ahem, do you want to pre-pone your decision? Here is what i saw on sale today.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1985873

[imp!]

Hey 7447,

I can't recall what the R8 costs exactly, but it is in the neighborhood of a crore. About your choices:

M3:

Why do you care how someone perceives the car? At the end of the day you are going to be driving it, I wouldn't really worry about it too much. Driving is more fun than looking !!

This is what i would consider buying. In this order:

1) 911 Turbo (I think in India it may be more expensive than 1 cr...dunno, if not than the Carrera 4s)


A.S.S may not be the best, but this is some serious tech to be driving

2) Audi R8

3) LP 670/640

With All due respects to the M3/M5/650i fans (I personally the M3); whoever has done the pricing for these cars is under some serious delusions. Even with the way CBUs are taxed, their pricing just can't be justified.

I would just bite the bullet on the Porsche, if you have a terrible A.S.S experience, just take the car to a reliable aftermarket center. But then, that is what I've done with my Laura TSI......

P.S Some of these cars may have to be bought slightly used, they may go significantly over budget, I can't remember without having ACI in front of me.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by 7447

Would be willing to go to a 7 from a 9/10 in terms of service etc.

Sounds fine then!
I don't think most BMW, Merc, Porsche, Audi etc services would be considered a 6/10 experience -- its just that when you're expecting a 9/10 (reasonable, given the cost + brand value of these cars) even a 7/10 gets complained about.

Originally Posted by 7447

If you were in my place what would the list look like?

Oh man. Don't open up this pandoras box!!

Keeping it simple - I'll tell you that the E-coupe and 6-series would not be on the list. The M3 and XFR would.

And if i were to buy a Porsche, I'd only do it when i have enough $ for a turbo or a GT2/3...but i'd be glad to eat my words anytime soon.

Originally Posted by 7447

P.S.- Thanks for making the E-coupe a "30-something" ...

I was driving past the merc showroom with the coupe on display, and i figured i need to revise the above statement.

Its 30-something ONLY if you get the AMG wheels/package. Else, 40s.

Originally Posted by Sahil

First choice: Carrera

Second choice: M3 (most practical for your needs, get a flashy color so that it doesn't look like a sheep)

Third choice: XFR

^^ For you, i think Sahil's got the list right.

cya
R

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by imp!

LP 670/640

Dude, the cars are 4 times expensive than what the thread creator is looking around!

[Anmol89]

@ 7447, Keeping in mind the "sportiness" criteria and your budget...you could also consider the Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged V8, which at 510 bhp is a beast..rocketing from 0-100 in under 6 sec (Cayman territory). And then there is the ride quality and road presence, which is fantastic. Iv also heard no complaints with service back up with land rover back here in Delhi.

[acidkill]

Apart from what has been suggested above, i would recommend

1. Audi TT
2. M3 Convertible
3. M5? Will it be within 1 Cr?
4. Merc CL Coupe
5. BMW X6
6. Jag XFR 5.0 Supercharged
7. Porsche Cayenne S or Cayenne Tubo

If you are interested in importing certain exotics like an alfa romeo, maserati, aston martin, Nissan GTR, Dodge Viper, Corvette, Mustang or hummer.. pl do get in touch, il put you on to some guys who specialize in importing legitimately.

[Anmol89]

@ acidkill, I don't think that the Viper, Corvette or Mustang are available in RHD, which are allowed on Indian roads. Please let us know if such is not the case...

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

Oh I forgot the Nissan 370z, the Audi TT, the Nissan GTR and the Evo X. They are surely worth a look and about cheaper too.

The Audi TT, though a great car, isnt all that extraordinarily fast. Ofcourse its surely not bad....great engine no doubt but with that kind of money you could get cars much MUCH faster than the TT . Many of the members have already suggested some fantastic cars like the Jags.
With 1 crore, i would over look the TT if i wanted something FASST

[//M]

The 370Z, TT, Boxster and Z4 are all great cars (infact the Z4 is one of my all-time favourites) but just don't let these cars tame you. Get the real thing. A Porsche 911 or a BMW M3 or a Jaguar XK-R is the thing. The Nissan GT-R is also a hell of a ride, but I don't prefer Jap supercars. And for me, the M3 is the car to have.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Also thought of the Audi S4 ??? 1 hell of a ride ! killer looks . amazingly fast. ofcourse availability is going to be an issue as hardly any of these are ever seen around

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

Also thought of the Audi S4 ??? 1 hell of a ride ! killer looks . amazingly fast. ofcourse availability is going to be an issue as hardly any of these are ever seen around

Well a friend of mine had found out about the S4 and was told it was not available here. And then apparently quoted 70 lacs for it.

He ended up buying the 3.2fsi instead.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Well a friend of mine had found out about the S4 and was told it was not available here. And then apparently quoted 70 lacs for it.

He ended up buying the 3.2fsi instead.

exactly. unlike the m3, this 1 is really elusive and would obviously have to be imported. perhaps not worth going through such huge headaches