From what I've seen most of the snobbery comes from other Porsche owners against the Boxster. They look down on it as a illegitimate step child, even though it is a superior car to their 911 in many ways.

I would take a Cayman, it's a great car. But like Travis already said, beyond the initial purchase cost it is expensive to maintain and modify for track.

... there is definitely some of that, but I think it is more the general population of 911 owners than it is the guys/gals that take their porsche to the track.... 911 owners that go to the track routinely get their asses kicked by boxsters, caymans, and especially 914s... it was always a special thrill to get by a 911 in my boxster... same will be true when we get by GTRs in our 370s ! ;)

The new '09' Cayman S with PDK, PASM and the Sport Chrono package is an interesting car. I drove one last week at a local dealer while I had them check an item on my '08' S. It's the first car I have driven in a long time that I'd take to the track and not mod for a time.

But no matter how you slice it the 370 is still the most bang for the buck in today's market.

Have any of you ever walked into your garage and not smiled when you looked at your Z? That was never an issue for me.

BTW, in a perfect world I'd want the feel of the Cayman S transmission with the rev match of the Z. I think that would be better than PDK.

Body lean =0
 

Just a word to the wise, the NISMO shocks, springs and sway bar, on my Z, have pretty much removed the body lean. No dips, no lean. Worth the money. Still 20K less than Cayman.

The new Boxster S with PDK is putting up some amazing numbers considering its specs

From R&T
0-60: 4.1 seconds
0-100: 10.3 seconds
1/4 mile: 12.6 seconds @ 110.2

C&D also pulled a 4.3 to 60 not sure on the 1/4 or traps

PDK is awesome for performance. Not to start a trannie debate (no, please, no!:)), but if it is lap times and 1/4 mile times you're looking for, any porsche buyer has to be compelled by PDK.

I drove a new PDK and PASM equipped 997S a few months back and I was seriously impressed. As Alan said about the Cayman PDK, same with the 997 PDK... It would be so easy to track that car stock, you could almost lease one, slap on some sticky tires and return it 3 years later with Porsche none the wiser... not that I'm recommending that or anything! ;)

Was the power difference noticeable?

The salesman was with me and the car only had 30 miles on it so I wasn't going to push it too hard. However, it feels like it has more pull in the mid-range.

For more noticeable power you could twin turbo the Z. If you blew it up you could put a new engine in it and still be below the price of an S with PDK;)<!-- / message -->

One of my first track prepped cars was a 1975 914 I purchased in 1979. It was a handling monster. To this day I don't think I have owned a better handling, or more smiles per miles car that that 914.

John

Let me put it this way.

I had a 350Z with coil overs, sways, headers, exhaust, intake, tune, and just about everything under the sun I can throw at it, including massive 19" super-light forged rims (19 lbs), fat R-comp rubber (245/275), and an oversized brake kit...

And my MZ4 Coupe was faster than the 350Z fresh out of the box. Bone stock. And not just a little bit faster. SIGNIFICANTLY faster. And the Cayman S I drove were every bit the equal to my MZ4 Coupe.

Yes, you pay a lot more for Porsche. But there's a good reason. And trust me, I'm no Porsche fanboi. I hate Porsche with a passion. I'd sooner commit ritual suicide by slicing open my stomach, than BUY a Porsche.

As much as I love the 370;

I just purchased a Certified preowned Cayman S this weekend... 2006, 15,500 miles, PASM, Sport Chrono Plus, Package, NAV and warranty that will run three months and 48,500 miles longer. Clean history, dealer maintained, single owner.

I paid only a couple $K more than a 370 touring +Sport & Nav... I just couldn't pass it up for that price... it just fit me like a glove!

This article was the biggest crock o sh!t I ever read. Look, we know there's a refinement
In porsche that's unmistakable. But the avg lateral g for porsche is .95g where the
Nissan 370 w sport package is .98g. So yeah the porsche might feel better in the twisties but the
Z is holding harder.
And funny how all of a sudden body roll is a good thing. The corvette zr1 gets highest
Praise for its 1.01g and lack of body roll. It always seems that when a car is from a certain race or country they always find a way to give kudos. The corporate anglo U.S. and the Aryan masters
Always make the perfect car. Oh yeah not to mention the brits who's cars spend the most time in the shop. But when the asian car market breaks through. Its always praised in stand alone tests. Then
When its time for the comparo. Its always some kind of condescending compliments yet highly critical
In a negative way.
The asian sports car is always great till it stacks against the american ponies or
German snob mobiles. N no I'm not Asian. Its just my extensive reading of various car mags.
Its insulting to me as a human.
The only reason camry civic and accord aren't beat so hard is because we build those cars here and hold a big stake in the profits. N though performance of those cars have become generic and hum drum.
These cars still receive high praise. Why cuz america makes money off those models. These cars honestly haven't been anything special since 2002.
I can buy a chevy malibu n save money by comparison. The nissan and mazda marks have been giving uncompomised performance and handling in its price range without question.
Hyundai is following suit. But having owned 4 american cars. N 3 japanese cars.
There's no substitute in the price range.
All this is corporate bribes with a subculture of racial superiority.
I have no gripes with any race. But its just an obervation I been noticing for years
When it comes to japanese and asian cars.
Lin the end porsche is a porsche. There will be thingz about it a less expensive car
Won't match. But my observation driving the Z tells me that this car can hang a lot harder
Than they r leading u 2 believe. Don't believe the hype. Test drive both.
That will be my next test drive.

I agree. Who here does not think they can make a car equal or superior in acceleration, handling, etc, out of the 370Z compared to the Porsche for $20-$30K?? Maybe even half that.

Yeh, it seems I remember in some other comparisons the numbers were close.

"to bring the Cayman along to the new Z's European launch. Bringing a gun to a knife fight as it were." This quote right here shows how much they are exaggerating.

But I think the 370Z is coming closer, that is why you are beginning to see comparisons. The 350Z, in the past, would not have been considered to be quite of a match.