Test drive Porsche Cayman 987 2006 - 2008 coupe

Comparative test: Nissan 370z, Porsche Cayman

Nissan inhaled fresh forces into his Z-mobile, and Cayman coupe muscles were pumped up in Porsche. Whose six cylinders will be stronger and is it only a matter in the cylinders?
An ideal sports car does not exist, but there has always been a universally recognized standard, there is and will probably be Porsche. On the model of the German brand, one way or another, all competitors are equal. So Nissan publicly declares that its new 370z coupe will shut up not someone, but Porsche Cayman. How justified are these Japanese ambitions?
Not cheap and angry
In the previous generation, 350z, despite the modern appearance, was felt by the rebellious spirit of sports cars of the 70s of the last century. The car was not that morally outdated, but emphasized by straightforward, simple and uncomplicated. Looking at the new model, you might think that it is hidden on the same patterns. However, 370z does not claim the title of a revolutionary, but relies on progress in all directions. According to Nissan, the Z-mobile has become lower, wider, lighter, tougher, shorter, faster, cleaner, tenacious ...
But not cheaper, although its price is still very attractive. Even the basic version for 40 thousand euros is equipped with everything necessary (self -locking differential, radio circuit, xenon headlights), and in richer trim levels there are a lot of curious options, including the unique Synchro Rev Control system. But more on that later.
Cayman’s passage will formally cost you 55 thousand euros, but in reality this figure is only a starting point for further expenses. In Porsche, any trifle, including even rugs in the salon, costs additional (and considerable) money, so, for example, the price of our Cayman with bixenon and other no useless options is 67 thousand euros. And even for this impressive amount you will receive a car with a not at all stunning appearance - silver metallic and on a modest 17 -inch wheels in a banal color.
Whatever the color of Cayman, it looks best in the back. For this car I want to rush in pursuit, if only in order to admire the elegant hips of his rear wings with new lanterns similar to leaves. By sending Cayman to cosmetic procedures already three years after the release of the model, Porsche designers, alas, did not give a more exquisite form the cover of the rear luggage compartment, which remained absolutely flat. 370z looks more impudent even in inconspicuous color wet asphalt, and the silhouette of the Nissan compartment with a visual accent on the back of the body emphasizes the rear -wheel drive muscles of the sports car.
The appearance of these cars eloquently speaks of their habits: in turns, a well -mannered Porsche retains neutral, and a more gambling Nissan dancing under the back of the rear axle. In a long hairpin with a rather sharp rise at the output, Cayman evenly loads each of the four wheels and obediently changes the trajectory in response to the actions of the steering wheel and the gas pedal. The secret of such controllability in the average engineering, due to which the bulk of the machine is concentrated inside the wheelbase. Nissan behaves differently. At the exit from the hairpin, 19-inch rear tires take on a significant part of the weight of 370z, and when the gas gas is added, it obediently breaks down into the ski. The new Z-mobile, like its predecessor 350Z, feels perfectly in sliding, but a cloth of 100 mm wheelbase makes the car reactions more acute and bold.
The motor also contributes to the character of Nissan. The new V6 with a volume of 3.7 liters develops 337 hp. (it is 24 hp more powerful than 350z) and is perfectly pulling from low revolutions, despite the fact that the peak torque 366 nm is reached only by 5200 rpm. It would seem that with such indicators 370z may well compete with the 911th, and the basic Cayman with a modest 265-horsepower engine is not an opponent at all, but in practice everything looks different. At the wheel of Porsche, I do not lose sight of the Nissan walking in front of either slow corners under the II gear, or even in straight lines. The new Cayman Opposite engine with a volume of 2.9 liters is not equipped with direct injection, but in combination with a 6-speed KP instead of the previous 5-speed, it gives the compartment quite worthy dynamics. If earlier the magnificent chassis of this car revealed its potential only under the pressure of a more powerful engine on the S version S, now Cayman simply does not suffer from a lack of horsepower.
The facets of talent
The opponent Porsche is a much more multifaceted motor than the V6 on Nissan. It sounds noble, changing his tonality with an increase in revolutions, and turns into a small but evil beast after 4000 rpm. Like any Porsche car, the verified ergonomics of controls and efforts on them here give their special pleasure. Cayman requires the driver not physical, but rather intellectual efforts and encourages accuracy.
Unable to destroy this idyll and poor asphalt, Cayman retains self -control on potholes and waves of the road surface, isolating the driver from his flaws. The 370z racing in front of the side also seems to feel quite confident, despite the more significant cranes of the body in corners. But when my colleague and I change cars, he looks clearly tired. Sitting behind the wheel of Nissan, I understand what is the matter. The Z-mobile suspension does not have time to work out the irregularities of the asphalt: shock absorbers still come to their senses after one pothole, when you already need to do the next. Because of this, contact with the road is lost, the steering becomes slurred, and the reactions of the car are belated. In addition to this, the sound of the motor is drowning in the obsessive rumor of the tire, but, as they say, the loss is small - you can’t call the Japanese V6 melodic.
The gearbox with the Synchro Rev Control system partly helps to distract from these shortcomings, which automatically throws up the engine speed to the desired level when the step is lower. For many years I hone my technique for executions, but I never achieve this level of skill. My attempts to deceive electronics, deliberately delaying with shifts, do not confuse it: the engine speed is always the same as necessary. It is strange that in recent years many complex transmissions have appeared, but no one except Nissan thought of such a brilliantly simple system.
The difference of 370z and Cayman is that Porsche genius is not limited to individual nodes and assemblies. And let it have to make bitterings here in the old fashioned way, while pressing the gas and brake with his right foot, but how great it rides this compartment! The suspension meticulously lays out the road surface on the molecules and masterfully disassembles each unevenness separately, not letting the destructive vibrations into the body. In the limit modes, the tire is slightly shy, but Cayman remains sensitive and responsive and gives the driver all the necessary information from the road.
Maybe Nissan can take revenge on the ideal coating? When nothing distracts him, 370z generously shares with the driver pleasure from the road. At the wheel of this car you feel like a hero, but the heroes, as you know, do not go around. Therefore, the Z-mobile dictates a straightforward approach: slowly enter the turn, feel how the weight goes to the rear axle, and then open the gas, balancing on the verge of slipping. Compared to 350z, the new car is more energetic and behaves more accurately, but it is far from the depth of character Cayman.
However, Porsche also has weaknesses, the list of which is not limited to high price and ambiguous appearance. Extremely serious, carefully thought out and technically perfect, he looks like an exemplary German, and sometimes this lack of a spark in his eyes depresses. 370z is worse, brighter, cheerful ... You don’t get bored at the wheel of Nissan, it is more practical than Cayman, and its design (both inside and outside) is much more emotional.
In other words, 370z is a sports and entertainment compartment, and Cayman is a purebred sports car. These at first glance similar cars are actually different. Therefore, the best of them is the one that is closer in spirit to you personally.

Specifications
Nissan 370z Porsche Cayman
Dimensions, mm 4250x1845x1315 4347x1801x1304
Equipped mass, kg 1520 1330
Type of engine gasoline V6 gasoline opposite 6-cylinder
Working volume, cubic meter. see 3696 2893
Max. Power, L.S./O/min 337/7000 265/7200
Max. moment, nm/rpm 366/5200 300/4400-6000
Mechanical transmission 6-speed
Mechanical 6-speed
The rear rear drive
Max. Speed, km/h 250 265
Acceleration time 0100 km/h, with 5.4 5.8
Fuel consumption (average), l/100 km 10.5 9.4
Ollie Morridge
Photo by Chris Ratter
Evo publications ltd
 
 

 
 

A source: Avtopanorama magazine