[teddyb]

Finally took delivery yesterday, and so far I have been blown away by the car.

My Cayman had been in the shop getting some last minute stuff done before the lease turn in, and they provided me an '11 Cayman with PDK. So 2 days of driving that and then into the 135... perfect comparison.

What I can say is that DCT is hands down far superior to PDK. You really can "have it your way" with DCT. Smooth shifts in D, press sport to sharpen things up, then slide the shifter over to S and those shifts just BANG. Throttle blips in M mode are a riot. The PDK was definitely good, but the steering wheel shifters are god-awful, and the shifter design just plain bleagh.

The 135 does not handle as well as the Cayman, I think there is no argument there. But taking my favorite twisty onramp this morning, I had just the same sh*t eating grin on my face as in the Cayman when that wall of torque kicked in! And really that's what driving is about for me - seat of the pants driving pleasure.

For me personally, I have begun to discover that while I love driving dearly, I am not the "track" enthusiast I was. Or thought I was. The 135 fits me way better. Some of my (male) friends have asked me why I'm "downgrading" - and I just smile. I'm getting a lot more for way less $$.

As far as the HK sound goes, I know there has been a lot of discussion and maybe I just don't know better but it blows me away. I regularly drive an '09 S550 at work with HK sound and I don't find it nearly as engaging. For the money, I feel I got a bargain.

Kinda glad I didn't get iDrive. Again, maybe I don't know better, but I have driven other BMWs with it and I found it a little distracting. Also I am less tempted to fiddle with the controls while moving, and more likely to keep eyes on the road. I really wanted the convenience package but I think I'll survive.

So those are my impressions. Two radically different vehicles but they do get cross shopped so I think the comparisons are valid. Now, if I can just add that Boxster Spyder to the garage....