Porsche Cayman 718 Review (2016-present)

The Porsche 718 Cayman is a near flawless sports car. In fact, it can only really be faulted in two ways. The first is that the turbocharged four-cylinder engines that power entry-level variants are not the soulful, characterful motors you’d expect of a Porsche. The second is that all models have unusually long gearing, which is particularly frustrating in cars with manual gearboxes.

Those two shortcomings aside, the 718 Cayman has it all – great styling, usability, desirability, badge appeal, performance, handling precision… It is as complete a sports car as any on sale today. With highly-equipped and well-appointed cabins, they are effortless to live with (as long as you need no more than two seats), while two stowage compartments give the 718 Cayman more luggage space than appearances might suggest.

There’s also a fairly wide range of versions on offer, from an entry-level 2.0-litre model through to the raw, thrilling and track-honed GT4 and GT4 RS. None are particularly cheap, but strong build quality, excellent residuals and five-star driving experience mean the Cayman feels like it’s worth every penny.

If you’re in the market for a spacious and versatile family runaround, then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. With its mid-engined engine layout and relatively compact dimensions, the Cayman has been built with performance rather than practicality in mind. However, as sports cars go, the Porsche is actually one of the more usable ones, and few owners will have any complaints if they plan on using their car for more than just special occasions.

Yes, the Cayman is low so you have to stoop down to get in, but relatively narrow sills and long doors mean it's easier to clamber aboard or get out than you’d think. Once inside you’ll find there’s a decent amount of room for you and your passenger, while even taller occupants won’t feel shortchanged by the amount of headroom. Better still, the Porsche has one of the best driving positions in the business, with a wide range of seat and steering wheel adjustment, plus a perfectly placed steering wheel, gear lever and pedals.

Like its drop-top Boxster brother, the Cayman isn’t exactly over-endowed with handy cabin storage, with a shallow compartment between the seats, a decent glovebox and narrow door bins. That said, there is a large parcel shelf behind the seats, plus a pair of deep cubbies either side, although they’re a little awkward to get at and smaller items can be hard to retrieve once they’ve gone in.

One area where the Cayman scores over its sports car rivals is carrying capacity, its mid-engined layout offering both a ‘frunk’ and versatile hatchback tailgate.

The former holds a reasonable 130 litres, while there’s 275 litres to play with in the latter. Use squashy bags rather than suitcases and you should have no problem packing for a two-week holiday away.

The 718 Cayman is mechanically identical to the 718 Boxster. All that distinguishes one from the other is the type of roof: fixed and metal on the former, folding and fabric on the latter. Roofs aside, both models deliver much the same invigorating sports car driving experience. The bigger, faster and costlier Porsche 911 may be the more highly-regarded sports car, but it isn't any more thrilling to drive.

Being mid-engined, the 718 Cayman is beautifully balanced and you really feel that in corners. The steering is precise and detailed, there’s strong and consistent grip, the suspension on all models deals cleverly with uneven road surfaces and body control, whichever variant you’re considering, is rock solid.

The standard Cayman, Cayman T and Cayman S are powered by four-cylinder turbo units. These are more powerful and more fuel efficient than the six-cylinder units in the 718’s predecessor, at least on paper, but their soundtracks are clattery and their characters bland. Further up the range is a naturally aspirated six-cylinder that features in the GTS 4.0 as well as the limited-run GT4 and GT4 RS models.

Whichever engine you choose, the 718 Cayman is very quick in a straight line. Even the most basic model has close to 300bhp, meaning it will reach 62mph in just 5.1 seconds, while its top speed is 170mph. The most powerful model in the line up, the 718 Cayman GT4, is significantly faster. With 414bhp from a 4.0-litre flat-six, it’ll crack 62mph in 4.4 seconds and not stop accelerating until 188mph. All versions feature six-speed manual gearboxes as standard, while seven-speed PDK twin-clutch units are offered on all variants.

All would be more accelerative still were it not for their very long gearing. Run second gear all the way out to the redline and you’ll bust even the motorway speed limit. It means you tend to hold onto one gear when clipping along a B-road, rather than revelling in one of the best manual gearshifts in the business as you shift up and down the ratios. Cars with the dual-clutch PDK gearbox also have long gearing, but the extra gear (seven rather than six) helps to disguise that fact.

For the ultimate in driver thrills the GT4 and GT4 RS are hard to beat, boasting razor sharp track car handling, sensational performance and a spine-tingling soundtrack from their tuned flat-six engines. However, these models are built in limited numbers and cost a lot more to buy, plus their stripped-out, hardcore nature means they’re harder to live with day-to-day. As a result, the GTS 4.0 gives you 95 percent of the fun and performance, but costs less to buy and is much easier to live with.

Speaking of which, the Cayman is a remarkably easy-going companion when you simply need to get from A to B. The low-speed ride is a little stiff, but it gets better the faster you go, while wind- and engine noise are well suppressed on the motorway. Only the slightly intrusive roar from the wide tyres shatters the peace.

You don’t get something for nothing when it comes to the Cayman’s equipment levels, which like the open-topped Boxster is rather stingy in its standard guise. You get alloy wheels, air-con, half suede-trimmed seats, electric windows and powered windows, but anything else will require you to open your wallet a little wider.

In fact, get carried away with the options list and it's possible to nearly double the price of a standard Cayman. From a relatively modest upgrade such as cruise control, through to carbon ceramic brakes, Porsche offers almost every upgrade you can think of. The only limit is your imagination and your bank manager’s sense of humour.

On the plus side, all versions do get the firm’s touchscreen infotainment system as standard, which is easy to use and packed with all the features you’re likely to need. A DAB radio, Bluetooth, USB connectivity and Apple CarPlay all feature.

No brand new Porsche sports car will ever cost peanuts to keep on the road. Porsche parts and servicing, for instance, don’t come cheap. However, fuel costs needn’t be frightening. The four-cylinder models will return a realistic 30mpg or so in mixed driving, while the six-cylinder cars should achieve an mpg figure in the mid 20s. Of course, however, if you drive these cars like they're meant to be driven, then your fuel economy will take a sizeable hit.

Even the most basic 718 Cayman falls into insurance group 42 (out of 50), rising to 48 for the more powerful models. Similarly, you should budget a reasonable sum for Vehicle Excise Duty each year: all models incur the same premium rate charge of £475.

The cost of a full set of tyres will vary depending on model. A basic 718 Cayman might only set you back £600 when the time comes to replace all four tyres, while the hard-edged GT4 and GT4 RS models will cost at least £800. But be warned: the GT4 and GT4 RS tyres are made using a softer compound, which means they’ll wear out quicker, costing you more again.

Porsche has earned itself an enviable reputation for reliability in recent years. Its cars are very well built, too, which you appreciate every time you open the door and settle into the cabin. With high-grade materials, excellent fit and finish and top-drawer touchscreen infotainment systems, all Porsche sports cars exude the same sense of quality and durability.

They’re covered by Porsche’s standard three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, which can be extended at additional cost (for up to 10 years). Porsche says its cars should be serviced every 20,000 miles or two years, whichever comes sooner, although it does recommend annual health checks.

The 718 Cayman has only been on the road for a handful of years and reliability issues may be waiting in the wings. As yet, however, none have reared their heads. Some owners experienced issues with PDK transmissions on very early cars (any such problems should already have been rectified under warranty), while others have grumbled about the quality of the paintwork. Otherwise, though, for now at least, the 718 Cayman gets a clean bill of health.