Upgrade from 981 GTS to 782 GTS 4.0?

[Boxsterjon]

I love my Boxster 981 GTS: it’s the best car I’ve ever had.

But the thought of something newer, shinier and (maybe) even better is tempting. And the increasing value of my 981 over the last few months means that the price to change has reduced.

Has anyone moved from a 981 GTS to a 4.0 GTS (Boxster or Cayman)? Was it worth it? How significant is the difference? Should I or shouldn’t I….

[Twinfan]

I would say everything is better, bar the exhaust sound. Which isn't easily fixed if you don't want drone.

The decision really boils down to how much you love the 981 pops, bangs and crackles and/or whether you want something your 981 doesn't have e.g. bucket seats, different colour etc.

[Boxsterjon]

Twinfan said:

I would say everything is better, bar the exhaust sound. Which isn't easily fixed if you don't want drone.

The decision really boils down to how much you love the 981 pops, bangs and crackles and/or whether you want something your 981 doesn't have e.g. bucket seats, different colour etc.

Thanks - the pops and crackles are epic but could be a small price to pay…

[julian987R]

Boxsterjon said:

I love my Boxster 981 GTS: it’s the best car I’ve ever had.

But the thought of something newer, shinier and (maybe) even better is tempting. And the increasing value of my 981 over the last few months means that the price to change has reduced.

Has anyone moved from a 981 GTS to a 4.0 GTS (Boxster or Cayman)? Was it worth it? How significant is the difference? Should I or shouldn’t I….

What will be the price difference and then ask yourself is the extra (i assume circa) £30K worth it? I doubt it. I'm sure its a stellar car, but not £30k's worth of difference (not withstanding the shiny new warranty you'd have)

Probably wouldn't get a slot or be in receipt of the car until 2022 - then you are 1 year away from the next cayman release and i wouldn't drop £30K plus a 981GtS for a 718 without sight of what the next model will be.


Why not test drive one. Surely that is the answer to your doubt.

[anonymous-user]

Twinfan said:

I would say everything is better, bar the exhaust sound.

As an owner I’d say TF knows his stuff, imo never get hung up on engine sound over a vastly improved car. The 981 is really not the holy grail some seem to think it is.

[Twinfan]

I would probably have swapped from my 981 GTS to a 718 GTS 4.0 if I hadn't got a 718 GT4 allocation because I really wanted a car with the 918-style buckets, combined with S-PASM and the new 4.0 engine, even it would have cost me £30k to do so. It would have been a tough call though as I think the 3.4 GTS engine is a peach and it's the main reason why I didn't switch to a 981 GT4.

As julian987R says, you've got to look at the price to change and see if it's worth it to you.

[OPOGTS]

I moved from a 981 Cayman GTS (3 years) to a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 (4 months!)

Personally, I'm exceptionally happy to have made the change but only you can decide if its worth the extra money!

Pros:-

• The engine is an absolute peach, significantly more low down torque and noticeably more powerful - which makes it nicer to use as both a daily and when pressing on.
• The setup feels a bit more 'alive'. It's small margins but slightly more pointy, slightly more precise, slightly more on its toes - meaning overall its a better steer (and by the way I thought the 981 was already superb)
• Looks, subjective, I wasn't originally a fan of the 718 Vs the 981 but it's really grown on me having it sat on the drive
• Infotainment - much better (still not amazing) and has CarPlay which I like (although you have to plug it in, which I don't like as my phone usually stays in my pocket!)

Cons:-

• The noise. The 981 GTS sounded like a mini race car - bit childish at times but personally I loved the outrageous noise. The 718 is nowhere near as good and a much more mature / muted experience. That said......... 1) it gets noticeably louder after being properly run-in and 2) it still actually sounds superb, just different (people I have in the car always comment on the noise).
• The suspension setup is a tad on the firm side - and take into account I deleted the -20mm and went for the -10mm. I use mine as a road car (it will never go on a track) and for every kind of journey possible (from the evo triangle to taking the dogs out, from 2 miles to the supermarket to 2000 miles roadtrips (god willing people!)). I prefer the suppleness of the 981 GTS, the 718 is right on the limit of what I personally like from an everyday road car. I notice a couple of the journos made a similar point around the new GT3, but ultimately each to their own...... some people will tell you they happily run GT3s everyday, others that they are unbearable - only you know what works for you. For what I enjoy and how I use the car I'm glad I didn't keep the -20mm.

Overall: My old 981 GTS was an absolute stunner, I utterly loved that car and was gutted selling it. But goodness me, I'm soooooo happy with the 718 and ultimately really happy I made the swap.

At the end of the day, you can't lose with either car (other than financially), they're both excellent

[n12maser]

nice insight, OPO.

May I ask where that first photo is...Dales perhaps? Looks lovely.

[Over over under steer]

OPOGTS said:

I moved from a 981 Cayman GTS (3 years) to a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 (4 months!)

Personally, I'm exceptionally happy to have made the change but only you can decide if its worth the extra money!

Pros:-

• The engine is an absolute peach, significantly more low down torque and noticeably more powerful - which makes it nicer to use as both a daily and when pressing on.
• The setup feels a bit more 'alive'. It's small margins but slightly more pointy, slightly more precise, slightly more on its toes - meaning overall its a better steer (and by the way I thought the 981 was already superb)
• Looks, subjective, I wasn't originally a fan of the 718 Vs the 981 but it's really grown on me having it sat on the drive
• Infotainment - much better (still not amazing) and has CarPlay which I like (although you have to plug it in, which I don't like as my phone usually stays in my pocket!)

Cons:-

• The noise. The 981 GTS sounded like a mini race car - bit childish at times but personally I loved the outrageous noise. The 718 is nowhere near as good and a much more mature / muted experience. That said......... 1) it gets noticeably louder after being properly run-in and 2) it still actually sounds superb, just different (people I have in the car always comment on the noise).
• The suspension setup is a tad on the firm side - and take into account I deleted the -20mm and went for the -10mm. I use mine as a road car (it will never go on a track) and for every kind of journey possible (from the evo triangle to taking the dogs out, from 2 miles to the supermarket to 2000 miles roadtrips (god willing people!)). I prefer the suppleness of the 981 GTS, the 718 is right on the limit of what I personally like from an everyday road car. I notice a couple of the journos made a similar point around the new GT3, but ultimately each to their own...... some people will tell you they happily run GT3s everyday, others that they are unbearable - only you know what works for you. For what I enjoy and how I use the car I'm glad I didn't keep the -20mm.

Overall: My old 981 GTS was an absolute stunner, I utterly loved that car and was gutted selling it. But goodness me, I'm soooooo happy with the 718 and ultimately really happy I made the swap.

At the end of the day, you can't lose with either car (other than financially), they're both excellent

This is a perfect summary of the differences between the two cars. The question is whether it’s worth £30k, and OP’s financial circumstances will dictate that.

[OPOGTS]

n12maser said:

nice insight, OPO.

May I ask where that first photo is...Dales perhaps? Looks lovely.

Cracking view isn't it, but that snap is from Italy, enroute to Modena from Tuscany (via the south of France, amazing trip)

[Boxsterjon]

OPOGTS said:

I moved from a 981 Cayman GTS (3 years) to a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 (4 months!)

Personally, I'm exceptionally happy to have made the change but only you can decide if its worth the extra money!

Pros:-

• The engine is an absolute peach, significantly more low down torque and noticeably more powerful - which makes it nicer to use as both a daily and when pressing on.
• The setup feels a bit more 'alive'. It's small margins but slightly more pointy, slightly more precise, slightly more on its toes - meaning overall its a better steer (and by the way I thought the 981 was already superb)
• Looks, subjective, I wasn't originally a fan of the 718 Vs the 981 but it's really grown on me having it sat on the drive
• Infotainment - much better (still not amazing) and has CarPlay which I like (although you have to plug it in, which I don't like as my phone usually stays in my pocket!)

Cons:-

• The noise. The 981 GTS sounded like a mini race car - bit childish at times but personally I loved the outrageous noise. The 718 is nowhere near as good and a much more mature / muted experience. That said......... 1) it gets noticeably louder after being properly run-in and 2) it still actually sounds superb, just different (people I have in the car always comment on the noise).
• The suspension setup is a tad on the firm side - and take into account I deleted the -20mm and went for the -10mm. I use mine as a road car (it will never go on a track) and for every kind of journey possible (from the evo triangle to taking the dogs out, from 2 miles to the supermarket to 2000 miles roadtrips (god willing people!)). I prefer the suppleness of the 981 GTS, the 718 is right on the limit of what I personally like from an everyday road car. I notice a couple of the journos made a similar point around the new GT3, but ultimately each to their own...... some people will tell you they happily run GT3s everyday, others that they are unbearable - only you know what works for you. For what I enjoy and how I use the car I'm glad I didn't keep the -20mm.

Overall: My old 981 GTS was an absolute stunner, I utterly loved that car and was gutted selling it. But goodness me, I'm soooooo happy with the 718 and ultimately really happy I made the swap.

At the end of the day, you can't lose with either car (other than financially), they're both excellent

Really helpful - many thanks for taking the time to share your experience. With current 981 prices the differential is more like £25k: still a lot of money but very tempting.

[Romo]

Coming from a 981 C GTS, full spec, to my current 718 GT4.

For me the main difference and also the most important one; the steering.

I can not speak for the 4.0 GTS steering, but the GT4 steering is absolutely miles and miles ahead compared to the 981 GTS

Next point is how much confidence the front axle GT4 gives compared to the 981 GTS. I always had the feeling it would understeer, and I never became friends with the steering feel, steering input.

[JasonSteel]

Romo said:

Next point is how much confidence the front axle GT4 gives compared to the 981 GTS. I always had the feeling it would understeer, and I never became friends with the steering feel, steering input.

just curious - did your car have PASM or X73?

and did you have Pirellis on your car?

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Not quite similar but I had a 718 4.0 gts Boxster on order. Bought a 981 Spyder to tide me over as delivery was not until 2022. Cancelled the 718 GTS after a few weeks with the 981 as I lived the more focussed nature of the 981 and that charismatic engine that made it feel so special all the time. Won’t help your decision of course!

[MPorsche]

JasonSteel said:

just curious - did your car have PASM or X73?

and did you have Pirellis on your car?

+1. I came out of a 981S (non PASM) with Pirelli’s the difference is massive, certainly in the warm dry roads.

Motor has a hell of a lot more torque as well

[IMI A]

I can't help thinking 911 as a sports car died when these were launched

[Romo]

JasonSteel said:

just curious - did your car have PASM or X73?

and did you have Pirellis on your car?

PASM and Power steering plus

Pirelli indeed

Not a good tire compared to Michelin PSS/PS4S/Cup2

The steering was beyond worse IMHO;

- Verry slow initial steering response
- Too much self centering force (In long fast cornering I always had the feeling I had to fight the steering wheel, there was so much strong force to go to the middle position)
- Feeling of understeer, not very confident IMHO

The (IMHO bad steering) was the reason I sold the car quickly ,the steering couldn't make up for the brilliant engine-PDK,PCCB, really; everything was right on that car but the steering.


At that time I also owned a BMW E82 1M, that car had a brilliant initial sterring input, steering action was steering reaction (that is precise the way I do like how a car has to steer)
Of course the 1M had HPS vs the 981 C GTS the 1st generation gof EPS. Could have been the explanation how I experienced the bad steering feel of the GTS

I did later on a test drive 981 GT4, within the 1st meter of driving the difference in steering feeling was noticeable.

For me the reason I went for a 718 GT4 and not the 4,0 GTS, I wanted the most sharp steering set up possible, I wouldn't dare to choose the GTS again.

The GT4 does not disappoint on steering feel, does not disappoint on anything for me, I do love it.

I also do own now a F87 M2CS, also very sharp, direct initial steering response, I would say on par with the GT4

Edited by Romo on Saturday 10th July 10:43

[n12maser]

PASM + power steering plus + pirelli may well be the reason your impression was bad

My (albeit new) 981 GTS is x73 (so 1cm lower,) + pilot sport 4s + normal power steering, and first impressions are that the steering is not quite as feelsome as my 993 but it's not far off and I have no problem with it, nice and heavy and accurate.

[TDT]

n12maser said:

PASM + power steering plus + pirelli may well be the reason your impression was bad

My (albeit new) 981 GTS is x73 (so 1cm lower,) + pilot sport 4s + normal power steering, and first impressions are that the steering is not quite as feelsome as my 993 but it's not far off and I have no problem with it, nice and heavy and accurate.

How are you getting on with it?

[n12maser]

Love it!! As you said...proper weapon