Porsche Cayman review (2006 onwards model)

Dropping a couple of gears I indicate to pull out and overtake the slow moving traffic. The revs on the flat-six rise, the familiar Porsche blare grows in intensity and I’m out, in and past the dawdling drivers.

The noise it makes is as glorious as you’ll find in any sports car, the performance being adequate rather than outrageous. Yet many have maligned this car, criticised it harshly for being overpriced and under endowed. But from where I’m sitting I’m struggling to see what the problem is. I’m in a Porsche Cayman. The standard car, not the Cayman S. And it’s really upset a few people. Like them, I’m slightly dismayed that Porsche charges more for the closed Cayman coupé over its open Boxster relative – made worse since Porsche has now denied the Cayman its only real advantage over the Boxster by giving the roadster the same 2.7-litre VarioCam engine. But there’s no denying that once you’re behind the wheel the Cayman you forget that. It’s a delight, demanding more from its driver than merely a flex of their right foot to enjoy the driving experience.

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So its 245bhp from 2.7-litres isn’t exactly headline stuff. There are plenty of cars with more than that, for less than the £36,220 that Porsche will relieve you of for the Cayman. Many offer far more bombastic performance, the Cayman’s 0-62mph time of 6.1 seconds not hugely impressive these days. But there are few cars that put such a low output to such good use. That’s because while it might not have the pace of its S relative, the Cayman retains its mid-engined layout, its fine handling balance and crisp, clear steering response. Porsche’s engineers are able to make an oddball rear-engined car like the 911 handle well, so the Cayman, with its far more conventional mid-engined layout must have been a cinch.

Better even than the 911, and the Boxster, the Cayman’s closed roof helping provide an even sharper driving experience than its closely related roadster relative. In the Cayman S that means real 911 chasing ability, and Porsche knows it, keeping its power output down so as not to upset the dominance of the 911. The Cayman, with its 50bhp deficit over its S relative, however, isn’t going to worry current 911 drivers. Even so, the way it covers ground will keep it ahead of most of its more powerful rivals.

Review of the Porsche Cayman S

Drive the Cayman hard and it’s hugely rewarding. The steering is beautifully crisp, and perfectly weighted, the rest of the car responding to it so faithfully that you can place it anywhere with absolute confidence. Push it through a corner and the Cayman delivers a neutral balance. The nose will push wide if you really start asking too much from it, but that’s not the way to drive the Cayman. Similarly, the rear can be brought into play too, the Cayman tightening its line by use of the accelerator, even if it’s not really got the power to kick its tail out into lurid, playful oversteer. But that itself becomes part of the Cayman’s appeal: using its excellent handling to overcome its perceived lack in power to maintain progress over challenging roads.

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Roads like the ones around Donnington race circuit. Riding on standard wheels and suspension the Cayman copes with adverse cambers and the sort of lumps and bumps you’ll find on a typical British country road with aplomb. It’s rarely unsettled, the body control excellent, and all the time you’re kept intimately informed as to what’s going through the controls. The 2.7-litre unit might not be able to deliver the sort of punch of something like a Nissan 350Z, or BMW’s 335i Coupe, but it’s got loads of character, and once you’ve heard it up near the red-line where it delivers its best you’ll be revving it hard just to experience it again.

Such immediate responses, a faithful, engaging chassis and a rousing engine note should add up to an impressive all-round package. And it does. Some might bemoan the lack of outright performance, but to write the Cayman off because of this completely ignores the car’s core appeal -its sublime handling. While the cost argument is perhaps valid when comparing it to its cheaper Boxster relative, it falls short when comparing to rivals – none can offer the cachet of the Porsche badge, nor the rock solid residuals. It’s a practical choice too, the front and rear boots able to swallow a surprising amount of luggage. It’s also very well built.

Even so, it’s rapidly become Porsche’s whipping-boy, the car in the range that people are quick to write off and criticise. But perhaps they’re too quick to find fault. Te Cayman is actually a hugely appealing driver’s car. It demands more from is driver to maintain progress, some forward planning and carrying of momentum rather than merely relying on the engine’s power to regain it. It’s too easy to get carried away by performance figures and bhp with sports cars, and the Cayman demonstrates that you can still have an enjoyable driving experience without big power figures. So is it a poor man’s Porsche? Perhaps. But it’s not a poor Porsche as a result.