Porsche 718 Cayman Review

It took Porsche eight years after launching its Boxster to offer the popular, entry-level sportscar as a coupe, but in 2005 the Porsche Cayman was finally launched in 987 form. It’s been a mainstay in the range, since, right up to the current 981 model, which now is priced slightly below the Boxster in the line-up. Like its open Boxster relation, the Porsche 718 Cayman is the sportscar yardstick, being the car which all its rivals have to beat in the class, but few come close. It's one of the best sports cars you can buy.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a Cayman coupe version of all the Porsche 718 Boxster models, so the range starts with the base Porsche 718 Cayman followed by the Porsche 718 Cayman T, Porsche 718 Cayman S then the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0. Above that there’s a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, built by Porsche’s Motorsport department, and different enough to warrant its own report. 

The 718 badge was introduced in 2016, denoting the switch from flat-six naturally-aspirated engines, to turbocharged flat-four engines. If you’re well-read on Porsche history then you’ll know Porsche 718 was a successful four-cylinder powered racing model in the late 1950s, though even that retrospective nod isn’t enough to convince some of Porsche’s most hardcore fans that a four-cylinder Cayman is right. To appease that small, vociferous fan base Porsche reneged, adding the GTS 4.0 into the range in 2020, with a slightly de-tuned version of the 4.0-litre flat-six from its range-topping GT4 model. 

For everyone else the engines are made up of a choice of turbocharged flat-four engines, of either 2.0-litre capacity in the Porsche 718 Cayman or Cayman T, and a 2.5-litre version powering the Porsche 718 Cayman S. With more power than the engines they replaced, as well as the hope of improved economy and emissions, most buyers will be more than happy with the smaller powerplants. Like the six-cylinder units they replaced, the turbocharged four-cylinder engines are still placed right in the middle of the car. 

That engine placement is crucial to how well the Porsche 718 Cayman drives; it is situated low and right between the axles, creating perfect balance, which is to the enormous benefit of agility. 

Drive any Porsche 718 Cayman, even the most modestly powered model, and it’ll make other cars feel mute in their responses, with the quick, accurate steering, fine ride and the superb poise defining how it goes down the road. They are exceptional to drive, and with two luggage areas – one front, the other at the back – they’re also surprisingly practical for a two-seat sportscar. 

That usability means the Porsche 718 Cayman doesn’t need to be a weekend plaything, but can be used as your everyday car, which might dictate your choice of transmission. The Porsche 718 Cayman is offered with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox, the former so good it’s difficult not to recommend, but that automatic, referred to as PDK, does make the Porsche 718 Cayman both slightly quicker as well as a bit easier in traffic. 

Add the kudos of the Porsche brand to the Porsche 718 Cayman’s good looks and its class-leading driving dynamics, and it’s little wonder it’s so dominant against its sportscar rivals, and indeed, good enough to humble many cars costing significantly more.

The rational choice is the standard 2.0-litre 718 Cayman with a careful specification. It is quick, still brilliant to drive and often the easiest way into the car without spending too deep into Porsche money.

The heart-over-head choice is the GTS 4.0, and that is the one we would choose if budget allows. It restores the naturally aspirated six-cylinder character many people felt the earlier 718 range lost, and it turns the Cayman into something much more memorable without spoiling its usability.

The Cayman T has its own appeal if you want the slightly more focused chassis feel and do not mind that it uses the base 2.0-litre engine. The S is usefully faster, but for many buyers the jump to the GTS 4.0 is the one that feels most significant.

For much deeper pockets, there’s the GT4 and GT4 RS, but as well as being much more expensive to buy, they’re also not quite as easy to live with.

Used 718 Cayman prices now start from around £30,000 for earlier 2.0-litre cars. You’ll pay about double that for the cheapest GT4 and well over £100,000 for a GT4 RS.

There’s plenty of choice in the market, but Porsche options matter enormously here. Two cars that look similar in the classifieds can feel very different in reality depending on wheels, seats, suspension, stereo, sports exhaust and whether or not they have the PDK automatic gearbox.

The Alpine A110 is the most obvious alternative if lightness and delicacy matter most, though it’s less practical and less premium inside. The BMW M2 is another route if you want more power and a more extroverted feel, but it does not have the Cayman’s balance or precision. 

The Audi TT Coupe and BMW 2 Series Coupe offer greater day-to-day practicality, but neither gets close dynamically. A used Porsche 911 also sits in the background for some buyers, but the Cayman remains the more focused and purer sports car.

The Porsche 718 Cayman is a sportscar, and that brings with it a certain expectation of some compromises, but for two adults it’s perfectly comfortable and not lacking in space. 

A decent-sized glovebox is ahead of the passenger, with the doors have bins for oddment storage with useful pull-out sides, but even with the easy access, the space behind isn’t huge. There was a no-cost option to add a storage net in the front passenger footwell. 

Where the Porsche 718 Cayman gains over its Porsche 718 Boxster relation is in luggage space. It shares the same usefully shaped 150-litre capacity front luggage compartment which will swallow a couple of carry-on bags, but also gains in the rear compartment due to its obvious lack of a folding convertible roof. Not only is the rear boot larger (by 150 litres) to offer 275 litres of volume, but it’s accessed by a large opening hatchback. 

That rear boot still won’t swallow a bike (like you can manage in a TT), but with clever packing and soft bags you’ll get a surprising amount in. Being a coupe, too, there’s always room for a bike, or skis, on a roof-rack, and because sportscars look epic when they’re carrying your gear on the roof. 

As a daily, useful driver, then the Porsche 718 Cayman is capable with a few provisos, and if you need to do the school run (with one child only, admittedly) then there’s the option of an ISOFIX child seat mount on the passenger side seat – though not if you’ve optioned the more extreme bucket seat choices.

The Porsche 718 Cayman measures 4,379mm long, 1,801mm wide and 1,295mm high. This makes it much more compact than the 911, but you can go smaller still – both the Audi TT and Alpine A110 are a bit shorter.

The Porsche 718 Cayman came with a 7-inch screen which Porsche dubs Porsche Communication Management, it contains a navigation module, mobile phone preparation, audio interfaces and a voice control system. 

A lot of services are bundled under the Porsche Connect banner, a subscription service that includes Carfinder, a system that allows remote vehicle status, services and vehicle tracking. Porsche originally supported Apple CarPlay alone, but eventually relented and added Android Auto connectivity to its cars. 

The standard audio system is Porsche’s Sound Package Plus, a 110W set-up with six speakers and DAB digital radio. Optionally there was a BOSE surround sound package with 10 speakers and 505 watts, or for a much higher outlay, an 821W 12-speaker Burmester setup.

Operation of the touchscreen is simple enough with practice, with shortcut buttons beneath it speeding access to certain functions. There’s a second small screen in the instruments for the on board computer, though if you want to control the audio functions from the steering wheel you need to add the heated multifunction wheel to your specification, as it’s a cost option. 

As standard the T came without a stereo as part of its weight-saving measures, but it was a no-cost option to have it added back.

As standard, you get seats trimmed in a mix of leather and a microfibre-like RaceTex fabric. Your options list was the main way to change materials, with various leather options and packages with different inlays made from things like carbon fibre. 

Further customisation was available via both the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur service and the Sonderwunsch (special request) department.

Die-hard Porsche fans might have lamented the company’s decision to replace the six-cylinder engines with four-cylinder ones, and the corresponding 718 badge addition, but the engines have a lot going for them. Indeed, both the 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four engines deliver more useable performance, with greater low rev flexibility, but still allied with an appetite for revs that appeals to more enthusiastic drivers. 

The 2.0-litre engine provides 300PS and 380Nm of torque, while the 2.5-litre engine ups that to 350PS and 420Nm of torque. The four-cylinder engines sound better (though still not brilliant) when optioned with a sports exhaust. For sound, and superb high-revving flat-six thrills, look no further than the GTS and GT4 with their naturally aspirated, 4.0-litre, six-cylinder engine, or better yet, the 911 GT3-sourced unit of the same size in the GT4 RS.

Optioning Porsche’s Sports Chrono package increases the performance and focus in all, upping shift speeds in the PDK automatic transmission, adding a Mode Switch for the drive modes to the steering wheel, blipping the throttle for smoother downshifts with the manual and adding a bit more configurability to all the systems. 

Sports Chrono also adds Launch Control mode and various options that are useful if you want to take your Porsche 718 Cayman to a circuit. Sport Chrono/PDK equipped cars are slightly quicker to 62mph as a result of the additional features, but none are slow, with even the Porsche 718 Cayman able to reach 62mph in 5.3 seconds and manage a 170mph top speed. 

The Porsche 718 Cayman S with PDK and Sport Chrono is actually marginally quicker to 62mph than the GTS 4.0, despite the 4.0’s 400PS, that down to the GTS’s standard fitment of a manual transmission, with PDK as an option.

The manual transmission might be a touch slower, but if you miss old-school driving fun then you’ll love the six-speed gearbox in the Porsche 718 Cayman. It’s quick and light, and the clutch, and other pedals well positioned and weighted to really allow you to enjoy it. PDK adds convenience, and another ratio for a total of seven gears, it is an excellent transmission if you prefer the ease it brings.

There really isn’t a weak point in the line-up in relation to the ride and handling, even the lowliest entry-level model offering the sort of agility and engagement that marks the Porsche 718 Cayman as the driver’s choice in the category it competes in.

As ever, though, there are degrees of that, Porsche offering plenty of choices to sharpen that drive up even further, either by the selection of individual cost options, or picking a model that’s already been specified with them. 

The base Porsche 718 Cayman and Porsche 718 Cayman S came with standard, passive suspension, riding on 18-inch wheels in the entry-level car, and 19-inch ones on the Porsche 718 Cayman S. To that you can add PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) and/or a Sports Chassis which drops the ride height further, as well as the choice of bigger wheel options.

The Porsche 718 Cayman T gains all of those, as well Porsche’s Sports Chrono package and a mechanical limited-slip differential with Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV). That combination creates a Porsche 718 Cayman that feels even more alert and eager to turn in, without sacrificing too much in the way of ride comfort. The Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 uses much the same set-up as the T, only it’s got the substantially more powerful engine to really enjoy the fine balance on offer. The GT4 is more focused and thus not as useable day-to-day, and the GT4 RS is even more extreme, and quite brilliant.

Don’t write off those four-cylinder engines, though, indeed, by not being the main event they only further illustrate how capable and enjoyable the Porsche 718 Cayman’s chassis is – even in standard form. The steering offers lovely weighting and crisp, precise response, grip levels are high, but there’s adjustability should you want it, the connected feeling you have with the chassis being key in the Porsche 718 Cayman’s driver appeal. The brakes are mighty in all versions too.

No independent crash tests of the Porsche 718 Cayman have been undertaken, but it complies with all global standards for crash protection. There are a pair of front and front passenger full-sized airbags, while all Porsche 718 Cayman models also feature Porsche Side Impact Protection (POSIP). 

This comprises of side impact protection elements in each door, a thorax airbag in each outer backrest side bolster and head airbags in the door panels. If you option Sports Bucket, or Full Bucket seats, you lose the thorax airbags, as well as not being able to option an ISOFIX child seat mount for the passenger seat. 

In addition to those safety devices the Porsche 718 Cayman’s stability and traction control systems should help you avoid an accident in the first place, as should the standard anti-lock braking system. Tyre pressure monitoring comes as standard, as do standard bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, Porsche offering a number of headlight upgrades on its options list. 

There was the option, too, of parking sensors or a rear parking camera, and if you specced the PDK automatic transmission you could also option Adaptive Cruise Control. A camera-based traffic sign recognition system was also available.

The most economical version of the 718 Cayman is the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder model, which manages 31.7mpg according to the WLTP combined cycle. The 2.5 four-pot isn’t far behind at 29.4mpg, and then it’s a sizeable drop to 25.9mpg for the GTS 4.0, and a marginally lower 25.7mpg for the GT4. The racier engine in the GT4 RS is the thirstiest of the lot, clocking just 21.4mpg. 

These are broadly in line with what we’d expect for a premium sports car, although an Alpine A110 is significantly more frugal thanks in large part to its low weight. Some versions manage up to 42.2mpg.

Some used Caymans will still have part of their original three-year, unlimited warranty left. There’s also the option of a Porsche Approved Warranty on any model up to 15 years of age if it meets certain requirements.

Even the entry-level 2.0-litre model is in insurance group 42, and then it’s 43 for the T, 44 for the S, 46 for the GTS, 47 for the GT4 and 50 (the highest group there is) for the GT4 RS. That’s to be expected for a car like this. It’ll pay to shop around for quotes, including some specialist insurers in your search.

For most 718 Caymans first registered on or after 1 April 2017, the standard annual VED rate is now £200, or £17.50 a month by Direct Debit.

Because the original RRP for all 718 Caymans was originally over £40,000, they’re also liable for the government’s expensive car tax supplement. That takes the annual bill to £640 from years two to six of ownership.