2016 PorSche 718 Cayman first drive ReView

The latest version of the Cayman is a radical departure, with naturally aspirated flat-six engine that supports binned four-cylinder unit is more powerful and more efficient turbocharged. Important progress, or Porsche guilty rip the heart out of one of the greatest sports cars of all time? We give a warts-and-all the lowdown.

Auto Trader verdict:

Over the years, Porsche has built several star products, but it just goes to show that the closer you are to fly to the sun, the further you have to fall. Although the latest Cayman looks, drives, handles and stops better than ever, the 2.0-liter flat-four engine is an absolute nail. Yes, turbo makes it faster and more efficient than the old six-cylinder engine, but it sounds and performs like it was engineered in kindergarten. As a result, it undermines every other charming aspect of what is otherwise a brilliant sports car.

Key facts:

• Sale now; the price of £ 39 878
• More powerful, yet more fuel-efficient power units
• 718 ushers in a new styling and upgraded interior

Porsche Cayman claim that this latest '718' designation comes from the successful racing car factory in the fifties and sixties, but there is nothing retro about this new car. It has exterior and interior styling is completely new and, most importantly of all, a pair of brand new turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

Obviously, the downsizing of the naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine with a unit capacity turbo four-pot small is a radical departure from the philosophy of sport tried-and-tested Porsche, but you have to think that if every manufacturer has the technical expertise to do this transition off, it will be a Porsche.

From the beginning, the numbers look very encouraging. The entry of the Cayman model we're testing here is supported by a 296bhp 2.0-liter unit, giving 35bhp more than the old 2.7-liter flat-six. The new engine is also 13% lighter than fuel, returning 38.0mpg. In the case of our test model, the new engine is paired with a standard six-speed manual transmission, and is also equipped with 20-inch wheels and is equipped with a sports exhaust.

How does it feel?

Quite a disaster, really. From the moment you turn the key and allow the machine to settle into a restless idle, you are immediately struck by the fact that all is not right with the world. Initially, the engine rumbles away with all mechanical repairs of air-cooled VW camper van, and as the revs rise, your senses are assaulted by the increase in decibels rude and cranky, most un-Porsche like drones.

Press the sport in an effort to increase the content of the flue gases and bring in some kind of character, and two things happen. First, for some reason best known only Porsche (maybe it was an attempt to escape ragged off-beat pulse firing the engine at low engine speeds), jack idle speed to 1000rpm. Second, the machine took a rough-edged rumble similar to the bilge pumps Boaty this McBoatface.

Of course, things are better as you get motivated revs and drive with some speed under your wheels, right? Not a bit of it. On the contrary, some very annoying rattles, resonant and vulgar booming, accompanied by striking turbocharger whine can be heard and felt resonating through the cabin at different points in the rev range. Things get even worse in the overrun. Even sports exhaust, with its theatrical bustle chirp, pops and bangs, can not cover mechanical racket rough, which sounded for all the world as though the big end bearing would lose the plot.

It may seem harsh to condemn the whole car because the engine, and Porsche can claim its ability to shake the 300 horsepower of the 2.0-liter deserves praise. However, countless hot hatches, including the Volkswagen Golf R and Mercedes-AMG A45, generate this kind of power from the 2.0-liter lump, and did not sound or feel as rough or badly engineered as this 718 punch-drunk boxer.

Moreover, the nuances of performance also has suffered, let alone what the numbers say. That's because the 718 is over-geared to improve fuel efficiency, and it was seriously blunts driveability. Cars have always felt sluggish under 2000rpm, and bog down with each change at low speeds. You must spin above 3500rpm to keep things to a boil, and then and only then does it start to feel seriously fast. Perhaps most damning of all, there is no release of the final intoxicating power that you had with the old six-cylinder unit for their meteoric rise to the red line.

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Disadvantages of the machine becomes more disappointing when you consider that the rest of the driving experience is simply sublime. The Cayman own sweet handling chassis in the class by a country mile, and it has been made even sharper thanks to a revised suspension, better brakes and wider rear wheels, not to mention a new steering wheel borrowed from the 911 Turbo.

Control all have the precision and weight that makes you feel instantly at one with the car. The new steering is sharp and responsive and has a peerless consistency, such as weight and speed back up when removing the wheel is a mirror image of the efforts and the steps necessary to get the car turned into a corner.

Sheer grip and cornering agility that is quite surprising, in such a way that in normal streets, most people will never approach the squealing tires, let alone provoke anything approaching drift.

Brake pedal stunningly effective and easy to modulate, but perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the 718 is the way it successfully handles like a rally car has not ride like a limousine, even on 20-inch wheels. While many sports cars are so strong they tend to miss a challenging surface, it is almost impossible flexure 718, smothering all kinds of lumps and bumps with a fluidity that ensures the tire contact patch width always remains glued to the road surface.

Just as impressive is the quality of the cabin, which has increased in such a way that you need to look long and hard - and for a price point that is much higher - to find a rival to 718. There is also a new, clearer and more responsive touch screen central ape the iPhone interface, along with a standard stereo upgrade, improve connectivity and Apple CarPlay as standard. Sat-nav with full voice control is also available as an option.

Should I buy one?

Now that really is a toughie.

Side machines, Cayman is a class-leader in virtually every other area. This sets the benchmark in this class handling with a wider margin than before, and the ride quality of new cars need to be experienced to be believed. The cabins are perfect and the superb execution of style, quality and ergonomic excellence.

But - and it's a big but - the machine that pretty much ruins the whole experience. It's so raw and so far below the standards set by the rest of this 718 noble attributes, we struggle to understand how it worked out of the factory gate, let alone to the world stage.

Overall, the 718 Cayman is undoubtedly a step backwards compared with the six-cylinder predecessor, but there was one thing; for new car buyers, 718 does not compete with its predecessor, the sports car to compete with rivals such as the Audi TT S and BMW M2. So, the question should be, how to accumulate where they are concerned?

Well, to be honest, we do not know, and we will not until we have driven all of them back-to-back. The margins are too tight. However, itself indicates the size of the step backwards that Cayman has been taken, as in the past, the contest will never even close.

Key facts:

• Model: Porsche 718 Cayman
• Price: £ 39 878
• Engine: 2.0-liter flat-four petrol, manual six-speed
• Power / torque: 296bhp / 280lb ft
• 0-60mph: 4.9 seconds
• Top speed: 171mph
• Economy: 38.0mpg
• CO2 / BIK tax liability: 168g / km / 30%
• Boot space front / rear: 150/275 liter

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