[Spydert]

Today my pal brought his 781 Cayman GTS over for me to check out. I took it for a spin on my neighborhood back roads, hit the highway for a bit, and drove into town and back.
Impressions:
- The Cayman has more balance and takes curves better than the M2. Definitely! It’s quite amazing how it feels more planted and yet lighter than the M2. That chassis is wonderful!
- It sits way lower and I kept ‘falling’ into the driver’s seat.
- The difference between normal and sports mode is wider than that between comfort and sports on the M2 - though I think the M2 has a wider sports vs sports plus difference.
- The Cayman steering has way more feedback but I think they are almost equally precise at placing the front wheels
- The seats are nice and quite different - but I like the M2 seats as well
- M2 dials and dash are easier to read – especially now that I’m used to a higher screen for the center console
- The Cayman looks nicer than the M2 side by side. That lower stance helps and it’s definitely the sportier looking vehicle
- The sports response button in the sports chrono package is an absolute blast. (I could get the car for that button alone).
- And now to the elephant in the room – the exhaust sound. First, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. Second, it can get really loud. Way louder than the M2. In fact, when my friend arrived at night and waited in idle for me to come get him, the exhaust sound was all over the neighborhood. It gets really loud in sports. But the M2 sound is better. More sonorous, deeper, purposeful, and better attuned to whatever the engine/car is doing at the time. After a while the Cayman sound actually started to stress me out and I just left it in normal (quieter) mode. I’ve never experienced that in the M2. Porsche needs to improve that sound. Really!

Final take way:
There are two main regrets I’ve had when it comes to personal automobiles. One was not buying an absolutely clean 10k mile 2003 540i that was on sale for 15k a few years ago. Still regret that. Second was wishing I had grabbed a 981 Cayman before the 6 cylinder engine gave way to the four. These regrets partly informed my acting quickly to get an OG M2 after I read about the upcoming competition with the engine change, and EOP for the OG. I really wanted a great sounding, 6 cylinder, manual transmission, sub 5 0-60 BMW for keeps - and was fortunate enough to get one. However, I’ve always wondered whether a base Cayman wouldn’t have been a better choice.

I think I now have my answer.

I won’t trade my car for a Cayman. At least not the 718 generation. Not even the GTS. Objectively the Cayman is the better car, but for what I want a car of this class to do for me, the M2 is better. The nearest track to where I live is hours away so my main means of enjoying the car consists of Sunday morning drives along my favorite back roads with an occasional highway blast. The M2 fees better than the Cayman for this. I think it’s because within that performance range, the M2 comes across as having its parts work more harmoniously than the Cayman – the power delivery, acceleration, even the slight lean in (had to look hard for lean in the Cayman), and sound – all just feel better matched to each other and to the car as a whole. Driving the Cayman actually made me appreciate more - how great the M2 is as a daily driver.

I'll be keeping my M2 long term. Perhaps I'll get a 2019 Miata club if I can score a great deal, and hopefully one day, add a 911 T - before they all lose the manual, become electrified, and neutered with autonomous driving.

I really think the M2 will end up being a classic.
Cheers.