Vehicle on test

Porsche Cayman S

Overall:

On first sight, the Cayman S is a Boxster with a roof for a very competitive £43,930 - small change for Porsche buyers inured to parting with well over £60,000 for the world-beating 911. But, take it from me, there's nothing even remotely budget about the Cayman S. This is the best out-and-out sports car this humble scribe has ever pedalled, bar none.

When it unveiled the Boxster, Porsche brought to the UK a roadster honed to perfection for British roads. In recent years, it has been viewed as a tad passe by Porsche afficionados - a bit hairdresser-ish. But that opinion is widely held by drivers who, in the main, have never pedalled a Boxster in anger and, probably, because the little Porsche has become a common sight simply because of its massive sales success.

So, the Cayman looks very familiar. But Porsche's latest offering is much. much more than simply a Boxster. It's the prettiest sports car Porsche has ever built and it brings 911 performance and cachet within the reach of a whole new tranche of potential buyers, who should be flocking to their local dealership in droves. It's that good.

Like the Boxster and unlike the seminal 911, the Cayman S totes its power plant ahead of the rear axle and right behind the driver's left ear. The immediate pay-off is absolutely perfect balance which makes even a Porsche novice feel he has the skill, touch and panache of the legendary Jacky Ickx - umpteen times a Le Mans winner for the Stuttgart marque.

The Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system comes as standard kit and the test car was also fitted with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). For an extra £1,030 you get push-button control of damper settings which go from stiff to stiffer. realistically, there isn't much difference between the two settings on the road - the 'sport' setting makes the lumps and bumps a bit more intrusive.

Like all true driver's cars, the Cayman is a car you don't climb into as much as put on. Everything fits to absolute perfection whether you're 6ft 3ins tall and slightly (okay, I'm stretching a point, perhaps) overweight or 4ft 13ins and seven-and-a-half stones soaking wet. A quick tweak of the reach-and-rake steering wheel's lever and a fiddle with the electronically adjustable sports seat and mirrors and you'd swear the Cayman was built for you, and only you.

Like all Porsches, the steering effort, pedal weights and gear change shift are all superbly weighted. You sit properly, everything falls perfectly to hand and the car chatters away incessantly to you through every possible avenue of feedback. It makes driving the Cayman hard, and it positively begs to be driven hard all the time, a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience every time you turn the key.

But this is no watered-down 911 because in real-world performance terms the Cayman S concedes very little to the wonderful 911 Carrera S, which UKCN tested not too long ago. Zero to 62 mph comes up in in 5.4 seconds and, where legal, the Cayman S will push well past the 170mph barrier.

The oomph comes courtesy of a 3.4-litre boxer six up on power and torque over the Boxster S, thanks to 200 extra cubic centimetres and the fitting of the VarioCam-Plus camshafts and valve gear from the 911. That all adds up to a gutsy 295 bhp at 6,250 rpm and a flat torque curve between 4,400 and 6,000 rpm with 340 Nm on tap. Fuel consumption is also better than that of the Boxster S with Porsche quoting an eminently achievable, on the evidence of our week with the car, 26.6mpg.

Our fire-engine red test car came with black leather upholstery, automatic climate control; a Porsche Communication Management system with integrated sat-nav, a six-disc CD autochanger and in-car phone preparation. The test car added in 19-inch SportDesign wheels, coloured wheel centres and bi-Xenon headlights, all of which added up to a drop-dead gorgeous package which had every 911 driver I came across taking a long, lingering second look at the Cayman's clean lines and taut curves - arguably the best accolade which any new Porsche could be afforded by those proably best in the know.

Summing up then, the Cayman S is the best sports car out there. No argument and, like any Porsche, it needen't be a purely second car because it can handle everything you throw at it in day-to-day use....including luggage. Bags can be stowed front - a-la-911 and Boxster - and back - under the tailgate and behind and above the low-slung engine - 410 litres in all. Try finding that in a TVR.

Report by Mike Tremlett