2017 Porsche 718 Cayman S Manual

What It Is: It’s the version of Porsche’s updated-for-2017—and newly turbo-fied—entry-level sports car with a fixed roof, a 350-hp engine, and a six-speed manual transmission. Along with its 718 Boxster convertible sibling, the 718 Cayman coupe offers one of the purest driving experiences available in any sports car, including within Porsche’s own stable. As part of a lineup-wide redo, the ’17 Cayman S received quicker steering from the 911 Turbo, firmer suspension tuning, bigger brakes from the 911 Carrera, and fresh sheetmetal nearly everywhere, as well as a turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four in place of the prior car’s naturally aspirated 3.4-liter flat-six. Output increased by 25 horsepower and 37 lb-ft of torque, the latter available, usefully, some 2600 rpm lower on the tachometer. (The horsepower peak is lower, too, by 900 rpm, but the maximum engine speed dropped by 300 rpm, to 7500.) The Sapphire Blue Cayman S we drove for this review started at $67,350 before roughly $15,000 in options.

Why We Tested It and How It Performed: We’ve already tested the latest manual and automatic non-S Caymans, as well as the automatic-equipped S, and the circle demanded completion. Given the launch-control function and lightning-fast shifts of Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK transmission, it’s perhaps no surprise that the quickest Caymans are the automatics, with the base version requiring 3.9 seconds to get to 60 mph and the S just 3.6. The manual-equipped S tested here gets to 60 0.2 second quicker than the 300-hp, stick-shifted base car, 4.1 versus 4.3. So, yeah, none of these cars are slow.

They’re also all tenacious handlers, a trait best enjoyed by your adrenal glands but quantified in our data by skidpad performances that fall between 1.00 and 1.04 g, with this S manual being the stickiest. Braking distances from 70 mph are retina stretching, too, falling between 141 and 146 feet (this S stopped in 145). We’ve also run three of the lot on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy loop, and it turns out the Cayman is relatively efficient in such situations: This S manual achieved 29 mpg. Not too shabby but a number that few on our staff will experience in a Cayman except the poor soul who cruised for hours; the rest of us were too busy caning the thing within an inch of its life, as the 19 mpg we averaged overall will attest.

What We Like: Well, we like pretty much everything about the Cayman S and its siblings—there’s a reason they’ve become mainstays of our 10Best Cars awards. The chassis begs to be poured into a corner, there’s sublime mid-engine balance and communication at the limit, and the ride is livable in most every situation. Plus, with 15 cubic feet of cargo space split between the front trunk and the hatchback area, the Cayman is better suited than most sports cars for daily driving or long road trips.

But forget commutes or traffic slogs, this is a car that’s all about living in the moment. The harmonious feel of the primary controls fosters an almost spiritual connection between the car and its driver, and with turbocharged torque available all over the tach, the Cayman S simply hauls ass. The steering, shifter, and clutch are nearly perfect in terms of tactility, response, and weight—they’re substantial and responsive but not falsely heavy or twitchy, unlike in many other sporty cars where marketers seemingly dictated the feel.

If you’re going to hammer on this car on back roads or on a racetrack, it’s hard to argue with our test car’s PASM Sport suspension ($2070), with its lower ride height, or the $1320 Porsche Torque Vectoring, which teams individual rear-wheel braking and a mechanical limited-slip differential to give the Cayman an even sharper appetite for corner apexes.

What We Don’t Like: This car oozes with all the dynamism one expects from a Porsche, but it’s hard not to consider saving $13,000-ish and getting the base Cayman with a manual. That model’s performance numbers aren’t that far off those of the S, and it offers most of the same options outside of a few higher-performance goodies such as the PASM Sport system.

While we understand there’s lots of profit in Porsche’s à la carte options model and a lot of consumer appeal to ordering a very specific car, items like heating ($530) and ventilation ($730) for the seats, navigation ($1730), and auto-dimming mirrors ($690), and power seat adjustment ($800 for two-way Sport Seats Plus)—all of which were among the extras fitted to our car—really should be included on anything that starts north of 65 grand.

Finally, the transition to forced induction has seen the engine sound become less euphoric and more Oreck. The 718 Cayman S still sounds great on the low end, where the mechanical goodness of the flat engine layout shines through, but at higher rpm there’s more groaning and whooshing than in older Caymans. That’s with the $2540 Sport exhaust; the car is even less aurally satisfying without it.

Verdict: The Cayman is one of the greatest cars around, no matter its configuration.

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door hatchback

PRICE AS TESTED: $82,290 (base price: $67,350)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve flat-4, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 152 cu in, 2497 cc
Power: 350 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 309 lb-ft @ 1900 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 97.4 in
Length: 172.4 in
Width: 70.9 in Height: 50.6 in
Passenger volume: 49 cu ft
Cargo volume: 15 cu ft
Curb weight: 3087 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.3 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 16.2 sec
Zero to 150 mph: 24.8 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.3 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 8.3 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 5.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.4 sec @ 115 mph
Top speed (drag limited, mfr's claim): 177 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 145 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 1.04 g

C/D FUEL ECONOMY:
Observed: 19 mpg
75-mph highway driving: 29 mpg
Highway range: 490 miles

EPA FUEL ECONOMY:
Combined/city/highway: 22/20/26 mpg