[davemonfl]

I'm thinking about trimming down the number of cars I have and wondering if anyone has experience driving both a Cayman and a 335i. I currently own too many cars - a 2007 Cayman with 5sp MT, a 2009 VW Jetta GLI 2.0T with 6sp MT, and a Hyundai SUV to pull a trailer full of band equipment to our gigs on the weekends. Obviously paying insurance and maintenance on 3 cars is not fun.

I need to keep the SUV for the band but I'm considering one of two things:

Sell off the Jetta and the Cayman and buy a 335i to replace the two.
or
Sell off the Jetta and buy a 328i and keep the Cayman

It would be nice to cut down on my insurance bill, but I am not sure if the 335i would be as much fun as the Cayman....any opinions from folks that have driven both?

I'm also worried that the 335i would be too unreliable, both the Jetta and the Porsche have been pretty reliable. Any opinions would be appreciated!

[Indyeah]

I've driven both. After a cayman a 3-series would feel big and heavy and honestly way too tame. Cayman is lighter and the driving feel is hard to beat. No way a 3-series can live up to it. Cayman is more rare and in my opinion much prettier. I see a dozen 335s on my 10 minute commute to work. 335i has back seats and big trunk and all that so its more practical but who cares, you said you want fun. It might be a tougher sell if you already had a 335 and wanted a cayman. But going to the other way is crazy to me. No brainer I would just sell the GLI, pocket the money and be done with it.

[WatchWolf34]

Originally Posted by Indyeah

I've driven both. After a cayman a 3-series would feel big and heavy and honestly way too tame. Cayman is lighter and the driving feel is hard to beat. No way a 3-series can live up to it. Cayman is more rare and in my opinion much prettier. I see a dozen 335s on my 10 minute commute to work. 335i has back seats and big trunk and all that so its more practical but who cares, you said you want fun. It might be a tougher sell if you already had a 335 and wanted a cayman. But going to the other way is crazy to me. No brainer I would just sell the GLI, pocket the money and be done with it.

Hard to argue with this. I doubt you see a dozen 335i on your ten minute drive to work, but I wouldn't be shocked if you saw a dozen 3 Series on your way to work. Which, to 99% of the population is all the same so I still agree with the point overall. A 335i looks just like a 328i

A Cayman definitely stands out more.

The purpose of each car is entirely different. If you've got an SUV and a decent standard commuter, there is zero reason I could come up with to trade in a cayman for a 335i unless you need the money.

[Dan Bilzerian]

Option number 2 forsure! Sell the Jetta, buy a n52 powered car and keep the Porsche!

You'll thank me later.

[Ubersmooth]

Why not sell the Jetta and just keep the cayman and the SUV? Daily the cayman when it's nice out, daily the SUV when it isn't.

[maddmatth]

Buy a 328i and keep the Cayman.

Or sell both... and buy an M3.

[Bingobimmer]

You will be back in the cayman in 6 months. I have had a 4 door and 2 door 335. The four door offered a reasonable amount of cargo space, but my 2 door can't carry anything. My point is you would be getting much less fun without much more function. With all that said I love my 335!

[Eddien123]

The E90 is great but I mean... you?re coming from a cayman you?ve been where most people want to go from a 3er. I?d compare an m3 to a cayman from a ?fun? standpoint.

[Unknown_Car]

Originally Posted by WatchWolf34

Hard to argue with this. I doubt you see a dozen 335i on your ten minute drive to work, but I wouldn't be shocked if you saw a dozen 3 Series on your way to work. Which, to 99% of the population is all the same so I still agree with the point overall. A 335i looks just like a 328i

A Cayman definitely stands out more.

The purpose of each car is entirely different. If you've got an SUV and a decent standard commuter, there is zero reason I could come up with to trade in a cayman for a 335i unless you need the money.

05 Cayman is not worth mote then a 335i he has a 05 caymen they are in the 15k-20k same as lci 335.

If i was in his place i would sell everything, and get a 335i, tune it, and you got a really fun car. Plus much better looking then the Cayman.

[TemjinX2]

the 335i will feel faster in the straight line just with all the low end torque or turbo. But honestly, i think your better off just selling the jetta and keeping the hyundai and cayman.

If you really need to carry more then 2 people just use the hyundai and daily drive the cayman.

[rick100]

Im assuming you just have a regular cayman , not the cayman S.

If i remember correctly the cayman s is the one that was as fast as the 335. While the regulae cayman is slower

328 is nice after bolts on and tune. But before that is not

[davemonfl]

Yes 2007 base model Cayman 240 hp i think. Not super fast but a blast to drive, really have to keep RPMs high to have fun but I love the sound of the engine.
Think I will sell Jetta and keep an eye out for a 328i with sport package and manual tranny. 328i is similar to jetta GLI but rear wheel drive, nicer interior pretty much? I def want the 6 cylinder 328i with manual tranny. That's a good upgrade to do, yes?

[rick100]

Originally Posted by davemonfl

Yes 2007 base model Cayman 240 hp i think. Not super fast but a blast to drive, really have to keep RPMs high to have fun but I love the sound of the engine.
Think I will sell Jetta and keep an eye out for a 328i with sport package and manual tranny. 328i is similar to jetta GLI but rear wheel drive, nicer interior pretty much? I def want the 6 cylinder 328i with manual tranny. That's a good upgrade to do, yes?

The 328 with bolts on will feel more like the regular cayman as you need to rev up high to get going while the 335 has all that low end torque which dies off after 5500 rpm.


Cayman s is a different animal.

Still 335 will be faster than a cayman if that is all ypu care about. If that was the case and you want to stay na maybe have a look at 5.0 mustang gt .

[N52UNED]

Originally Posted by davemonfl

Yes 2007 base model Cayman 240 hp i think. Not super fast but a blast to drive, really have to keep RPMs high to have fun but I love the sound of the engine.
Think I will sell Jetta and keep an eye out for a 328i with sport package and manual tranny. 328i is similar to jetta GLI but rear wheel drive, nicer interior pretty much? I def want the 6 cylinder 328i with manual tranny. That's a good upgrade to do, yes?

Yes to all.

I went from an Audi A3 to my 328i - so pretty comparable to the GLI as the smaller Audi's are pretty much Audi/VW. As far as performance it's pretty much a wash. Handling on both are rather good, but I'd give a slight nod to BMW ... not as much body roll and a smoother ride / less rolling resistance (not to be confused with more plush of a ride). Interiorly I'd also give the nod to BMW, it's much more comfortable for long drives and feels a bit bigger than it is. All in all ... I prefer my 328 to my Audi as far as overall driving pleasure. The Audi was fun but the BMW is just better, IMHO.

As mentioned by rick100 ... there's stuff you can do to give the 328 a bit more performance ... nothing close to the 335 though. A 6spd and sport suspension is going in the right direction.

It helps being in FL ... there's a lot out there to choose from, although finding a 6 spd will be the most difficult part (at least one with reasonably low miles) people who have them tend to drive them a bit more.

[TemjinX2]

Originally Posted by rick100

Im assuming you just have a regular cayman , not the cayman S.

If i remember correctly the cayman s is the one that was as fast as the 335. While the regulae cayman is slower

328 is nice after bolts on and tune. But before that is not

on paper maybe yes, but the butt dyno will say no. Once you get use to a turbo cars with all the low and mid range torque, a NA 6 or 4 will feel slow even if the numbers differ in terms of track time.

[WeekendWarriorz]

Absolutely do not get an n52 powered engine/328i.. 335i is the much more fun car with tunability.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

on paper maybe yes, but the butt dyno will say no. Once you get use to a turbo cars with all the low and mid range torque, a NA 6 or 4 will feel slow even if the numbers differ in terms of track time.

True. But a lot of people like to feel the power up top.

For example my brothers a4 has tons of low end torque. I love driving it but once i get to back roads i dont like it too much, all power dies off after 5 000 rpm while the 328 or mpst na's are just staring to make power. Most popular cars on the track are making power up top like the s2000, miata, m3s. I personally love reving up high .

For racing i rather have power up top, i personally think is more fun on the track. For city i think i like low end power


A lot of guys here are putting big turbos which i believe are giving power up top instead of down below.

[GMe90]

Buy the 328i and keep the Cayman. Both are more fun to drive than the 335i.

[TemjinX2]

Originally Posted by rick100

True. But a lot of people like to feel the power up top.

For example my brothers a4 has tons of low end torque. I love driving it but once i get to back roads i dont like it too much, all power dies off after 5 000 rpm while the 328 or mpst na's are just staring to make power. Most popular cars on the track are making power up top like the s2000, miata, m3s. I personally love reving up high .

For racing i rather have power up top, i personally think is more fun on the track. For city i think i like low end power


A lot of guys here are putting big turbos which i believe are giving power up top instead of down below.

i prefer the low to mid end torque for daily driving.

I test drove a 2008 cayman and 2010 cayman s. It felt too slow compared to my jb4 tuned 335 awd.

Even my gf commented it felt slow to her too and she's not a car person. She's a more of a i like it because the car looks pretty type.

of course the 718 cayman is a totally different story. Im waiting until they hit 40s.

[Jesda]

If you want a proper BMW, get an E30. To hell with this E9x garbage.

[rick100]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

i prefer the low to mid end torque for daily driving.

I test drove a 2008 cayman and 2010 cayman s. It felt too slow compared to my jb4 tuned 335 awd.

Even my gf commented it felt slow to her too and she's not a car person. She's a more of a i like it because the car looks pretty type.

of course the 718 cayman is a totally different story. Im waiting until they hit 40s.

Of course is going to feel slow compare to a car that is making all power down below.
Turbo charge cars feel slow to me up top . You get this big smile in your face at low mid rpm and then the smile goes away once you past 5000 rpm. It feels like you have to shift too early. At least the ones with a small turbo


Na in the other hand do not give you a smile down below but they sure do up top. You feel like you have to work through the gears.

Different cars. One feels less effortless while the other feels like you need to work it. Maybe thats why some people prefer m3 over 335s.

I can see in the city with traffic why people would prefer the power in the low and mid rpm. But on open roads na are more fun for me. Nothing like keeping the car in rhe high rpms with the engine noise .

Although i believe a lot of 335 guys are upgrading their turbo to a bigger one where they are making power mid and up top rather than below.

Personally i had my brothers a4 with apr1 for a week and it was a blast in traffic but it fell flat on open roads. After 5000rpm it fell flat . I felt like i was shifting way to early and it kind of took out the enjoyment a little bit. I would rather have the turbo give me power mid and top.

[Efthreeoh]

Keep the Cayman. Flat-6 Porsche. They no longer make them that way. You should never sell it. Keep the Jetta (assuming it's paid for). Nothing wrong with having 3 cars. Chat with your insurance carrier to see if you can change coverage or get a price reduction. Depending on the age of the Jetta, maybe drop the collision coverage (unless you tend to run into people). I have 3 cars and a motorcycle. Here in Virginia we have to pay an annual tax on cars .