Mid-Engine SHOWDOWN: Porsche Cayman GTS vs Chevy Corvette Z51 - TheSmokingTire

thank you baby [Music] I absolutely love the Porsche Cayman in all its forms and for Pure road driving this is the best one of them all it's the GTS 4.0 it's got that super sweet flat six sound it's light it's got perfect balance and it's the right size for a sports car with plenty of room for two people and a whole bunch of luggage it's got adjustable suspension quiet and loud exhaust modes and a great stereo which means it's versatile the GT4 may be faster and more extreme but the GTS can be a one car solution for many people but that's not all Porsche has been making this car for a while now and so the formula is pretty much sorted it's reliable and usable every day of the year in most places as long as you've got the right tires looks great it's tasteful curvy and restrained in any color besides yellow plus for so many of the important functions real buttons real temperature controls knobs for the volume knobs for the drive modes makes everything very logical very easy to find and it's the kind of car that could work for anyone from a hardcore track rat to someone who just wants a cool sporty daily driver sorry but it's got some real competition from an unlikely place the United States of America [Music] [Music] I know very cliche the Cayman is a very good car I admit that but the C8 Corvette is objectively a better car in every single way okay nearly every single way but we will get to that in a minute folks got to take a quick second and thank our Pals at Carl Friedrich for sponsoring this video I love my Carl Friedrich luggage I've got the carry-on the laptop carry-on and the checked bag and they are amazing I've brought them all over the world it's got the polycarbonate shell the Vachetta tan leather handles a zipperless design and a bunch of functional stuff inside to keep all my clothes and items from going all over the place when I open it plus with the extendable handle and the silent Speedy hinomoto wheels these wheels are awesome I can zip through an airport faster than a Ferrari and speaking of which this one in this special blue color is in combination with Scuderia Alpha Tori the formula one team needed a special set of carry-on luggage to get their crew from place to place in the Formula One season and Carl Friedrich delivered this alphatory collab carry-on is now available on their website and hit the link in the video description to get one for yourself while you're over there check out all the other luggage offerings from Carl Friedrich and thank you to those guys for sponsoring today's video this is the 2022 Corvette Stingray it's an LT1 and it has the z51 package it has carplay it has nice seats air conditioning a dual mode exhaust adjustable suspension a dual clutch transmission and it also has a 6.2 liter V8 that makes 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque it does a lot of the same things his car does just does them way faster Corvette is so much faster mainly because of the torque this just doesn't have very much of it my argument is that it doesn't really matter listen to that the engine the 4-liter naturally aspirated Flat 6 is just about as sweet as they come only Porsche's GT car engines are better it makes 394 horsepower 309 pound-feet of torque which means it has 8.08 pounds for every horsepower 0-60 in 3.9 seconds run the quarter mile in 12-1 at 118 and top out at 182. now those numbers matter if you happen to be taking your Cayman to a drag strip if you're driving it as a daily or on the weekends or even on road courses the answer is the Cayman accelerates fast enough so the Cayman is just happy to participate what about the Corvette [Music] hey okay uh yeah the Corvette gets to 60 miles per hour a full second ahead of the Cayman GTS and it continues that lead through the quarter mile the engine of course is what Chevy's namesake basically small block V8 6.2 liters 495 horsepower 470 pound-feet of torque that's right Matt the torque number in this car starts with a four not a three or two or whatever minute number it is that yours has now just because the Cayman doesn't have quite the power to weight ratio of the Corvette that doesn't mean it's slow in fact once you get this thing going and in the top of the Power Band [Music] this is unquestionably a very fast car this car has the seven speed pdk dual clutch it is The Benchmark in the category you know the tall gearing can be the weak link but you notice it less with the automatic than you do with the stick speaking of stick it is available with a stick and that makes it better than the Corvette which is not one of my favorite things about pdk is the ease of launch control I will come to a stop put it in Sport Plus left foot brake right foot gas [Music] and there we go it rides those clutches out for Optimum launch performance and it will do 0-60 in the threes which is fast enough for pretty much anyone's needs that would have been deep into Supercar territory a decade ago this quick shifting transmission is an eight-speed dual clutch it was developed by Tremec uh and it is just as good as what you would find in something like a Ferrari or an Audi it's not quite as crisp on the shifts as the pdk or as McLaren but it's very very very close and how did they design such a good transmission Zach okay yeah they um reverse engineered the Porsche pdk transmission but if you're gonna copy someone copy the best right it is a very very good dual clutch it shifts quick when I want it to it can smooth out a lot when I want it to be refined excellent excellent job you may have more power but you cannot get away from the Porsche at only 3 185 pounds the GTS is a verifiable lightweight five pounds in fact lighter than the 911 GT3 RS has a super low center of gravity with that flat six mid-engine configuration you feel like you're sunk down in between the wheel arches and I love that the steering is as sweet as any sports car on sale at any price I hesitate to use the p word but I won't the steering is perfect which is accentuated by a wheel that is perfectly round at least it's not a yoke it's not round but it's not a yoke steering is light it's a little too light there's a little feedback but I will say the Porsche steering is better you win that one Matt you won't win a race but you win a subjective test this Stingray has the one LT package which is basically the base cards the cheapest trim level you can get it now comes with carplay but it doesn't have things like air conditioned seats really the only option this car has is the z51 package which is a must-have in my opinion if you drive your car hard either in the canyons or especially at the track you have to get the z51 package it includes an electronic limited slip differential better brakes an upgraded cooling system especially for that differential and the Dual mode exhaust which is worth five horsepower if you option your Corvette with the magnetic ride suspension you will be blessed with one of the greatest most comfortable riding cars available today not just sports cars cars period the ride in this is so good that when I drove to work today I actually thought I was on a different Highway than I normally commute on because it felt completely different and the technology is so amazing because it allows us to have our comfortable cake but also eat road courses too with a touch of a button you can firm up the suspension and then this thing can laugh at a road course all day long and be great at it it's a wonderful world to live in yes Porsche invented the pdk but a lot of companies including Ferrari license the suspension that was invented by GM Porsche's adaptive dampers may not be as advanced as Magnetic Ride Control but they still offer distinct driving modes excellent body control and in Comfort mode a very smooth ride that I could use every single day no matter the tarmac quality steering really talks to me the tires are usable even in Rain which I've driven this car in rain all weekend it's just fine and although the gearbox lags in regular mode it's one click away from sport everything is in the right setting and now the engine revs out perfectly for everyday use this car weighs 3 600 3 500 pounds depending on the options you get but in the corners it does not feel like it it feels like it on the highway it feels very solid and it feels like a refined ride and then when you get in the corners and you put the hammer down this thing will eat eat road courses and here's why the Corvette has double Wishbone front suspension basically the best suspension design there is oh and if you want to get it on a Porsche you have to get the GT3 it's not available on a Cayman GTS so sorry do you have another hundred thousand dollars double Wishbone suspension means that when a car hits a bump the tire stays as flat as possible over that bump so it's able to move with the road while maintaining an excellent contact patch [Music] his special magnetic suspension means the vet Corners at 1.03 G's which is the same number as the Cayman and then there's the rest of the car there are some things that Porsche has unquestionably done better here the quality of the interior and the refinement is better even though at ninety six thousand dollars this car has a manually adjustable seat with no Lumbar and no leather on the dash it still feels incredibly high quality reinforcing the fact that it's not just putting leather on stuff that makes it luxurious it's how tight it's screwed together the ergonomics of this car are better both of our cars are two-seater with front and rear Trunks and yet this car feels much more spacious inside with a better more usable Dash layout and more cargo space let's not forget Corvette gave up on the manual transmission first so no matter what Porsche deserves our money for still making the thing like that and if you got the manual transmission you would save 3 700 and about 35 pounds of weight while Matt's cabin was nice and Airy mine was a little clingy the interior feels like it was designed for Maverick you know it's very fighter jet but I feel like I'm sinking into the Earth they're sitting low on a car and then there's feeling like the car is eating me especially around here over over my three-quarter shoulder here the reflection on this uh Plexiglas is kind of distracting I keep thinking there's a car inside the car with me however in terms of functionality and quality the Corvette holds its own the screens are bright and responsive the stitching looks good and I even like the buttons on top of the abstinence wall and then there's the seats the seats are some of the most comfortable supportive buckets I have sat in I got in this car yesterday I haven't adjusted the seat since that says a lot if you see yourself more as a Thomas Bahama than a Tommy Bahama uh you can opt for the 3lt package that'll give you things like cooled seats and enough leather to keep the entire grid of Moto GP safe Zach's interest in leather outfits brought me to one final topic the design let's be honest the Cayman just looks better it looks so good that they've barely redesigned it in 20 years I mean you can really see that they saw the first gen Cayman and said better not ruin that and then they saw the second gen came in and said better not ruin that either and they've kind of kept the vibe it's a classy car it doesn't have something to prove the Corvette is like ah way to the danger zone oh we made a mid-engine car it better look like an F-14 sadly Matt was right the front looks okay I think it looks a little bit like a paper airplane that was made from a previously constructed paper airplane it's a lot of angles and points on it the back though you see when they designed this car it was required that you could fit two sets of golf clubs in the trunk of the Corvette the back is just thick looking and it looks really thick when you compare it to the very pointed fighter jet front end and look I understand why you would make it a priority to fit golf clubs in your car I get it you want to be able to go to the golf course with your buddy in your Corvette and I had a C5 Corvette so I understand what a big trunk is about fact is the need for golf clubs has ruined the ass end of that car and it would look better if it looked more like this however a benefit of that thickness is the cargo volume because between the two trunks this car has it has 13 cubic feet of cargo space which is one foot less than the Cayman has look big engines take space okay I've got a V8 and I'm happy about it lastly we had to talk about money fortunately I'm an expert at Car Guy math new for new the Corvette does seem like a better value but when I buy cars I think it's important to do both sides of the math I might argue that after a few years of ownership the resale value percentage of this is higher than the Corvette if you do both sides of the math I think the value swings back in the cayman's favor objection your honor speculation let's live in the present and talk about the prices when new the ca Corvette with the z51 package is about seventy thousand dollars if you opt for the 3lt package and everything it's gonna be about 90 grand now that's a lot of money that's also where the Cayman starts so I have more power way more torque a better ride a better suspension design up front quicker to 60 quicker in a quarter mile and with a thirty thousand dollars you save buying this car instead of his you could buy another car ha [Music] depending on what you're looking for it's hard to go wrong with one of these two options but this video isn't about what's a good sports car for under 100 Grand or what's a usable sports car for under a hundred grand it's about what is the best sports car for under a hundred grand so let's get back to the studio and tally up the scores [Music] great tough call but let's see how they do in our categories category one inputs Corvette versus Cayman I think I gave it to Cayman I think the steering is just slightly better forget the steering the steering wheel it's round that's good we're talking about a round wheel versus a squeal one for the Cayman Category 2 is a little tougher Road feel both great sports cars both great handling and both can be affected by different things like tires and trim levels very very true I think the Corvette is a very good sports car but I also think it actually has a better ride overall whereas the Cayman might be slightly sharper but it's a little less comfortable the Cayman can be used every day unlike the GT4 or the boxer spider which is a little too stiff so let's give it to the Corvette because it has a little more versatility of use yes the next category I think is a little easier for me style I think the Cayman is a classy car in a classic shape you look at it you see Porsche right away and it's true to its roots and it can fit in at the valet in the canyons or at the racetrack no argument your honor category four is character which I think also includes authenticity and actually this one is a little trickier at first glance I might be thinking Cayman because that model has been not changed much for 20 years and goes all the way back to the 550 spider Porsche you know and those mid-engine race cars from the 50s and 60s true but the Corvette's character has always been punching way above its price point using whatever technology they could put in for that budget and I think it absolutely does that right the Corvette has always sort of democratized whatever was going on at the high end in Europe they went as far as they could with that for engine platform and they knew it would cost a gazillion dollars to change it which it did right but then they finally did it and I think that is still within its character having said that I still feel like the Cayman is a little more authentic Porsche than the C8 is authentic Corvette even though it fits that formula why what do you think's wrong with the Corvette it's not about what's wrong with the Corvette it's just that the Cayman there's such a consistency of 550 to rsk to 914 to Boxster the whole length of they've been building a mid-engine sports car throughout almost their whole history I I'll concede this yeah okay yeah one for cayman the last official category is speed and actually I think this one is a little more purely objective the Corvette it's straight up faster and putting aftermarket parts on it is way cheaper than putting aftermarket engine parts on the Cayman and you will get far more for your dollar if you put those parts on yeah so Corvette with speed and now for our final thoughts the Cayman leads the Corvette in points three to two but the question is for your 90 000 hypothetical dollars what do you think is the better choice okay in conclusion the point system says the Cayman is the winner three to two but you have 70 to a hundred thousand dollars to spend on a practical-ish sports car what are you going to buy Zach Clement if I only had 70 to spend you get way more Corvette than Cayman mine was back to like seventy six thousand dollars and still had all the nice accoutrements and stuff like that but for a hundred you're just getting more leather but you're not really getting any more Prestige and for that I would buy the I would buy the Cayman I agree and actually I think it's interesting that if you get a Porsche whether it's a Cayman or a 911 with fewer options it still feels nice and tight and put together really well and I don't miss the lack of contrast stitching and extended leather whereas all the Corvettes I've driven up to this point were press cars fully loaded 3lt or even more with extras carbon and stitching and leather and logos and this one was still nice but a little more basic and and for the first time I saw some of these surfaces in plastic rather than leather or carbon and I did notice the cheapness um I think I would rather have the Cayman I already do own a Boxster and even though the Corvette is faster I'd don't value racetrack speed as much as I value a feeling of Oneness with the car a feeling of really high-end quality I mean and it came in also feels smaller because I think it has much better visibility plus you have two trunks so yeah it is in my opinion it's a more usable car objectively the Corvette is going to be the quicker car so you're getting more speed for your money and you can take the roof off which makes it feel airier inside kind of get two for one there you do get two for one but the Cayman is a smaller car but with a bigger interior so it actually feels more roomier and a little more usable if I was going to work every day going to the store running errands I'd rather climb in and out of the Cayman than the Corvette most of the time how much gaming do you get for like 70 000 bucks either a basic s or a loaded base oh yeah it's pretty it's a four-cylinder car for sure and it's gonna not have a whole lot of options so we should say that this comparison isn't exactly lined up perfectly because there's a twenty thousand dollar Delta between the two of them nevertheless these are the two best sports cars I think under a hundred thousand dollars Wild Card Lotus Amira which we did not drive at the time we made this film true but we've driven now throw the Amira in I'm still taking the caiman and remember always fight your tickets use code tst10 on the off the Record app available in the Android and iOS store or go to offtherecord.com TST

Channel: TheSmokingTire

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Keywords: the smoking tire, smoking tire, hoonigan, tavarish, the straight pipes, carwow, throttle house, doug demuro, edmunds, car review, matt farah, hagerty, the smoking tyre, zack klapman smoking tire, What's the Best Sports Car Under $100k? Porsche Cayman GTS vs Chevy Corvette Z51 - TheSmokingTire, Cayman GTS vs Corvette TheSmokingTire, Matt Farah Zack Klapman Cayman Corvette comparison, corvette vs cayman comparison test thesmokingtire, tst corvette C8 Porsche Cayman review, TheSmokingTire

Id: kTDAG6KXLio

Length: 24min 30sec (1470 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 24 2023