[ismelllikepoop]

how is the base 718 lag on a daily driving basis. have a macan gts whose lag gets a bit annoying. don't think I really noticed when test driving it since i was pretty aggressive but after having it for over a year, day to day driving sometimes the car needs to think a beat or two before deciding to spool up the turbos. really need to spend some extended time driving one, but not sure if this has become an annoyance after living with it.

 

[GregW]

In Lexus mode (PDK) my base Boxster is very smooth and calling for sudden hard acceleration will cause a lag as both the turbo spools and the PDK shifts down one or two gears. Light acceleration may not even turn on the turbo.

In Sport mode everything happens faster and the revs are kept higher (into the major torque range) and there is now only a very slight PDK/turbo lag. Once the revs are over 3000 then no appreciable lag is felt.

In Manual mode with some decent revs on the clock, the response for a call for "MORE" is next to immediate--although the need for the next gear when booting it comes along in only a second or two.

I mostly use Sport mode and have no complaints although I did have to learn how to drive using smoother, more precise control inputs (I suspect my previous cars smoothed all that out by themselves). This did involve using less and more deliberate gas pedal as I realised how fast I was going VERY SOON after using the throttle. (I passed 3 cars going slowly in a 100 zone (60mph) and ended up doing well over 170 (105+) before I pulled back in.)

On-line evaluations range from almost unnoticeable to completely unacceptable.

I think you're going to have to test it for yourself.

Try booking a test drive and on the way there notice how the Macan responds and then swap to the 718.

Oh, and have fun!

 

[Ian718]

My experience with a base 718 Boxster exactly mirrors Greg's comments.

In sport mode the lag is minimal and completely acceptable imo. My only problem is I prefer the quieter sound of the normal mode...

 

[aeronca65tl]

I don't really see the turbo lag in my base Cayman.

Sometimes, when driving slowly, the PDK is a bit clunky (and might almost seem like it causes hesitation), but otherwise I don't really notice anything.

I normally drive in "Sport" function.

 

[Jeffvb9]

This ^^^

 

[Viffermike]

I echo the comments by @GregW, @Ian718, and @aeronca65tl.

Lag is there, but it's more a function of the ECU programming - which is partially dependent on what driving mode you're in -- than actual 'traditional' turbo lag.

Keep in mind that no forced-induction car with a flat-torque tuning profile can keep boost levels up all the time in all conditions to minimize or eliminate spool-up time. That's part of the trade-off for that kind of engine tuning -- which, I might add, is far, far more use-able in almost all driving situations than minimal spool-up would be. Manufacturers of high-strung turbocharged consumer cars in the 1980s learned that lesson when trying to minimize turbo lag in cars such as, say, the 911 Turbo: The only effective way was to keep engine revs up since ECUs were extremely primitive, if they existed at all.

This is part of the reason flat-torque engines such as VW/Audi's 1.8T were so revolutionary. Guess where the inspiration for them came from? Huge-displacement turbodiesel engines in large trucks, fire engines, and the like. The turbos in those are the size of some engine blocks, and they're designed to spool up at relatively low RPM to keep torque levels -- by far the most important thing such diesel engines need to produce -- consistent and flat. A byproduct? Low levels of turbo lag compared to turbocharged engines designed to produce max horsepower.

 

[ismelllikepoop]

thanks for the replies. yeah I know I just need to spend more time with one to get a better feel. I'd be getting a manual transmission car. does the variable turbine geometry on the S make that big of a difference? I don't really care about ultimate speed, I actually would rather have a slower car that's just fun to drive around town. heck even just punching the macan you can get to triple digits without even realizing it.

 

[TheLip]

I'd be getting a manual transmission car.

Now we are talking. I have a MY2018 base 718C with a manual transmission. I daily drive it in LA traffic, both on the freeways and side streets, and also drive it in the canyons when I can. I don't notice any turbo lag, at all.

Shortly after the 718 was released, I test drove a 718C with PDK because that was all that was available to drive at that time, and I really hated it. Like "scratch the 718 off my list" hated it. I found that it was so lackadaisical as to be annoying.

A few weeks ago I took my 718C in to the dealership and I got a MY 2018 718C as a loaner, and it had PDK. The more that I played with it, the more that I got to understand it and even respect it. You have to drive it hard to avoid the lag. Or, to put it another way, you have to drive it hard to get the shifts to be firm and quick, otherwise it just lulls along. After driving it for a whole day would I consider getting a PDK? Absolutely not. But then again, in 30 years of car ownership I have only ever had manual transmission cars, so I might have a bias against anything that does the shifting for me.

YMMV.

 

[Tailwagger]

...does the variable turbine geometry on the S make that big of a difference? I don't really care about ultimate speed, I actually would rather have a slower car that's just fun to drive around town. heck even just punching the macan you can get to triple digits without even realizing it.

I just went through a similar set of thoughts. Going in I was certain that if I bought a Cayman, I'd get the 2.0l. But after driving all the variants, I landed on the S manual. In my view the best road going sports cars are those that bow to the will of the driver, rather than dictate how they should be used. The S is one of those rare cars that asks 'what are you up for?' rather than yelling at you 'cmon lets go!'. The reality, at least here in the crowded suburbs of the NE US, is that a large portion of one's time behind the wheel is going to be spent dealing with average drivers in average cars going average speeds. Nothing ruins driving more for me than feeling like I have to hold the car back. For a high performance automobile to be pleasurable in daily use, beyond providing fun on demand, it has to be content to do 35MPH behind a line of traffic without complaint.

Personally, I found the base model to be a bit too high strung. Not overly so, but I had the sense that all too often it would be egging me on. The VTG and added torque of the S makes it a more flexible piece of machinery. It can putter around in a very relaxed fashion while you simply revel in its serenity and ease of motion, yet should you decide to dig deeper, you haven't the slightest doubt that its ready to leap forward if called upon. Catch a break in the traffic with a tight corner ahead, and if you're in the mood, drop a couple of gears, nail it, get your G fix, and then just go back to smugly observing the posted limit. Or not. The S is a happy companion either way.

The base too is a terrific package and certainly the right one for many, but in the end I concluded that the S was in fact easier, and more enjoyable, to live with on a daily basis given the sort of challenges that confront me every day. Only been a couple of weeks of ownership, but I haven't the slightest doubt that I chose wisely.

 

[RGM718]

I had a 2014 Cayman Base with PDK and now a 2016 Cayman Base with PDK (ordered a 2019 Cayman Base with PDK, Chrono, PASM...). I always drove the 2014, now always drive the 2016 in Sport mode. The difference in how 'alive' the car seems is heavily dependent upon the mode in which the car is driven. When I test drove 718s before ordering, I experimented considerably between N and S. I found there to be very similar parallels to my 14 and 16 NAs. It is much more a function of throttle mapping and PDK shift points than 'turbo lag'.