At first it may seem strange to have a head-to-head comparison using the same model Porsche against itself. However, there’s a major difference you can’t see from the outside. One Cayman has a manual gearbox and the other comes equipped with PDK. Which one is best? Let’s find out.
I think the second half of the video would be more telling if they had the same driver in each Cayman and compared their own lap times. We’ve done that at the Porsche Sports Driving School and PDK is faster every single time.
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View Comments (9)
The best one is the most fun one and for the majority of "real" drivers that'll be the manual for the road and track car. The indication here being that I'm a better driver and can smoke you with the manual and you in the "quicker" PDK. Seriously NOone is racing these things, actually, I'll bet less than 20% ever see a track-day so who cares which can eek out a couple o'tenths. You have to drive it day in and day out and face it, the vast majority of new Porsche owners don't give a poop aboot the heritage, they're buyin' a badge to go with their Gucci bag. Why the heck do you think Porsche started building trucks? Gimme my manual GT3 back...please!
@Bubba,
I consider myself a "real" driver and would take PDK, over a manual, on a NEW Porsche any day. Your right, I probably won't/wouldn't track it. What I would do, however, is enjoy the hell out of it using the flappy paddles for my "driver engagment" knowing at any time I can switch back to "full PDK" and let the transmission do the job 10 times better. With all that said, I still enjoy the three pedal set-up in my 993 as often as I can. Oh yeah, I also own one of those "trucks" you mention. Yet I bought it for the exact opposite reasons you mention above. Generalizations like yours cast too wide a net and have no basis in fact.
Actually, I was a Porsche Service manager and know the cars, trucks and clientele VERY well. The above are observations from the dealership as well as numerous track days.
@993C4S,
I have driven the pdk in a new Boxster - I hate it! Lots of surprises on shift that I didn't ask for and higher levels of anxiety for downshifts i would have made, but pdk didn't agree. I want the control and involvement that manual offers on all my cars!
I am on my 4th Porsche and it is a PDK equipped Cayman. I drove both the manual and the PDK and bought the PDK and have never once regretted it! I spend most of my time on the paddles in sport mode and it is fantastic. I understand the allure of a stick and spent a lot of time in that camp myself. What I do find interesting is those that those spend an immense amount of effort and money wringing every last horsepower out of the car so they can be faster and quicker and then argue against the PDK.
At the end of the day neither a stick or PDK is right for everyone but a Porsche is! We are all in the same family.
Personal choice, don't you think? Personally, I want the involvement in daily driving (on the street) that a stick affords me. As for getting every tenth out of performance - I get that. However, I buy the best technology in my bicycle that I can, but could also lose a few pounds to get more performance ... similarly, I don't want to drive the PDK daily, but get the gist of getting more performance. Whatever. So do other factors as well - tires, exhaust, weight saving measures, A/C, etc. The track is where I would want PDK, and I no longer take any of my cars to the track. Personal choice, don't you think?
Absolutely!!
I purchased my CPO 2013 C2 PDK thru a local dealer and I love it. At first, I was debating whether to go with a manual or PDK and I chose PDK because both me and wife can both enjoy driving the vehicle. When first driving the vehicle with shift paddles I felt I was losing the taste of a real Porsche and came with a little regret. However, the feeling didn't last long when I discovered using sequential box completely satisfied my appetite of driving a manual car. PDK to me is a next generation manual transmission, not only I can still manly shift my gears back and forward, it also saves a whole lot of efforts when stuck in the traffic. Just a personal preference!
I have been driving a 2016 Porsche Cayman with a PDK gearbox. A fantastic little car ...but
First paddle shift means that you never have to take your hands off the steering wheel. You are in control of the car at all times. There is no stirring around with the left hand reaching for the gearshift knob. Left foot braking and the right foot on the accelerator give total driver control at all times.
However, the car is geared to do 170mph. It will do 140mph in fourth gear which is more than enough for practical driving in Scotland. First gear is for taking off in Alpine passes and is rarely of any practical use. This means that the only useful gears in the car are second, third and fourth. The gap in the ratios between second and third is to much. You overrev in second, then bog down after shifting to third. Fifth, sixth and seventh gears are surplus to requirements.
The car needs a close ratio box which would transform its performance