The 2019 Porsche 718 Cayman

The last facelift was a pretty dramatic one for the Porsche Cayman. It got some new numbers in its name making it the 718 Cayman and it swapped its line-up of naturally aspirated six-cylinder engines for turbo charged flat-four units. This meant that Porsche purists who prefer the naturally aspirated sixes were left more than a little upset at the engine swap. You have to ask if all of these changes impacted a model that’s long been one of the UK’s favourite sports cars. Has the Cayman really lost all of its magic? Well, in this short article we’re going to try and find out.

The Cayman is available with three different engines which are all petrol, all turbo charged and they all have four cylinders. The entry level Cayman gets a 295 break horse power (bhp) 2.0 litre engine which is good for a 0-62 miles per hour (mph) of 4.9 seconds. If you opt for the Cayman S then this gets you a 2.5 litre engine though drops the sprint time down to 4.4 seconds. As you’d expect both engines do a great job of pulling this car around amazingly well once the turbocharger kicks in at around 2,500 revs per minute (rpm). However, you really want to get it above 3,000 rpm to really ring then best out of the performance of the engine. It’s at this point that you’ll get incredibly potent acceleration all the way to above 7,000 rpm. It’s not all good news however as the power delivery does suffer from a few flat spots and they are a bit more noticeable in the S variant. Sitting above the S variant lies the GTS which is the car we’re basing this article on. The GTS gets the same 2.5 litre engine as the Cayman S but it’s tuned to produce a little bit more power so the acceleration is still ferocious. It’s important to bear in mind that the outright pace isn’t that much quicker than the Cayman S. The real benefit of the GTS is that the power delivery is just that little bit smoother and more consistent than you get from the other engines.

The 6-speed manual gear box is more entertaining for keen drivers. However, its long ratios mean that you’ll rarely need more than second or third gear for spirited driving. The 7-speed automatic PDK gearbox costs extra but it’s wonderfully quick and smooth so it might be worth considering if you spend most of your time slogging through traffic. One downside is that you do lose some driver involvement which is pretty much what this car is all about.

Performance is one thing but what about the handling? Well, we can tell you that the Cayman does not disappoint in this department. The steering is beautifully precise and accurate and offers plenty of feedback through it to give the driver real confidence behind the wheels. There’s virtually no body-roll through corners and there’s an enormous amount of grip on offer as well. This car is essentially on a different level to rivals like the BMW M2, Audi TT and the Jaguar F Type. In fact it’s only really the Alpine A110 that comes anywhere close. You shouldn’t go thinking that you have to go on a track or haring around corners to enjoy this car. This is because its talents are so broad that it actually feels just as comfortable pootling around town as well.

It’s not all good news for the Cayman on the performance front. We agree that the numbers are impressive but if you owned one of the older six-cylinder Caymans then you’ll be very disappointed by the sound of these engines. What you get now is a rather monotonous drone and even with the optional sports exhausts fitted you just don’t get that glorious howl that used to characterise Porsche’s entry level sports car. It’s especially disappointing when you consider that rivals like the Jaguar V8 F Type and Audi TT RS make hilariously entertaining noises. The Cayman rides remarkably well by sports car standards too. Ok, it’s fun and this is what you’d expect but the damping is good enough so that you’ll never really feel uncomfortable.

The driving position in the Cayman is pretty much bang on the money. The pedals are perfectly positioned and there’s plenty of adjustment in both the steering wheel and in the seat as well. It’s on the central console that all of the important buttons and switches are placed. This might look a little confusing at first but once you’ve learnt how to navigate your way around the controls it’s easy enough to use. Sports cars are notoriously hard to see out off especially with their thick pillars small rear windows and a low driving position. However, we have to say that the Cayman is better than many other cars in this department. It’s just a shame that parking sensors are only available as an option extra - we’d definitely recommend adding them. You get a relatively crisp looking 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard in the Cayman. This comes with DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat-nav and Apple Car Play. For some annoying reason Android Auto isn’t available and this will upset quite a few owners.

Porsche’s reputation for building luxurious interiors is definitely on show in the Cayman. All of the buttons and switches are extremely high quality and everything you touch is made of nice dense soft touch materials. It certainly feels more special to sit inside this car than in rivals such as the Jaguar F-Type. However, it’s not quite as classy as the more minimalist Audi TT. The Cayman might have its engine mounted in the middle of the car but there’s still plenty of room for tall drivers. It’s also wide enough so that you won’t be brushing shoulders with whoever you’re sat next to as well. With this car you have the choice of two different boots. There’s one in the usual place at the back while the other is in the nose of the car. The boot at the rear is only really big enough for a few weekend bags, some small suitcases or a weekly shop but it’s a decent enough space for this type of car. It’s worth bearing in mind that the Audi TT is a much more practical alternative.

Whenever the name Porsche comes up then inevitably you’re going to assume that you’re going to require a rather hefty investment to get your hands on one – and you’d be right. It’s also worth bearing in mind that real-world fuel economy is pretty disappointing. When we took a Cayman S out on the road we only achieved 28.4 miles to the gallon (mpg). The Cayman had a slightly more palatable result of 34.4 mpg. Servicing and replacement parts will all cost more than you might expect and like most cars of this type it will happily chew through both tyres and brakes. It’s not all bad news on the financial front as the Cayman will actually hold on to its value well and even better than an F-Type in fact. The Cayman does look very expensive when compared to the Audi TT and BMW M2 plus both these other cars get much more generous levels of equipment as standard.

The Porsche Cayman 718 is an absolute joy to drive and it’s beautifully built. It offers incredible handling a classy interior and a strong choice of engines too. Ok, these engines don’t sound particularly great, the real-world economy is fairly poor and the standard equipment isn’t generous but all things considered this car is undoubtedly one of the best sports cars you can buy. If you’re interested in a Cayman then take a look at the used Porsche Cayman cars for sale we have available right now on DesperateSeller.co.uk.