The Porsche 718 Cayman is a coupe sibling to the 718 Boxster roadster that boasts better four-season potential but commands a price premium for that extra convenience. If you're wondering where the awkward alpha-numeric name came from, that's a change Porsche made in 2017 as a nod to the company's rich motorsport history.
That name change happened the same time Porsche traded the Cayman's six-cylinder engine for turbo four-cylinder power. The base Cayman uses a 2.0L motor that makes 300 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, while the Cayman S and GTS share a 2.5L good for 350 hp and 309 lb-ft in the S and 365 hp and 309 lb-ft for the GTS. We keep waiting for Porsche to tell us it's dropping the manual transmission from this car, but so far, so good: All three engines come mated to a standard six-speed stick, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is optional.
The GTS is special not just because of its nominal power boost over the S, but for its inclusion of items like a locking rear differential, torque vectoring and active suspension management, all of which help to make this the most capable handler of any Cayman. It's also a better value than either of the other models optioned out with all of those items, in spite of the GTS's starting price of well over $90,000.
The Cayman's mid-$63,000 starting price is a relatively affordable way to get into a sports car wearing the desirable Porsche name. However, be aware that some comfort and convenience features we've come to take for granted in less-expensive cars are still optional here, so it doesn't take much to inflate the bottom line.
And you have to inflate the bottom line a lot to address one of the Cayman's most glaring flaws: all the blank buttons on the centre stack where you'll find the controls for optional features in cars so equipped.
The Cayman faces some new competition this year with BMW rolling out the latest version of its Z4. That's a car BMW designed in concert with Toyota, who bolted the same underpinnings into a revival of its storied Supra model. The Nissan 370Z is a more established competitor, but one that's been around for a decade. It's a a good sports car value, being both a good performer and a lot less expensive than the Cayman, but it also lacks refinement.
Porsche's fuel consumption estimates for the Cayman are 10.5/8.0 with the 2.0L and the seven-speed automatic transmission and 11.0/8.3 with the manual; Boxster S and its 2.5L is rated 11.0/8.4 with the automatic and 12.1/9.0 with the manual; and the GTS's 2.5L estimates are 11.8/9.2 with the auto and 12.3/9.4 with the stickshift.
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