Porsche Cayman S 2006 Review

Perhaps it was the sexy shape with its side gills, tapered roofline and voluptuous rear end? Or maybe it was the bright fire engine red paintjob; 'Resale Red' they used to call it back in the '80s? Or it could have just been the new deodorant I was wearing that week...

Whatever it was, the Guards Red Cayman S that was in my possession for a week attracted more oohs, ahhs, and comments than any other test car in recent memory. Pleas from office girls for rides, requests for test drives, envious stares in traffic, even comments from jaded Porsche enthusiasts... It was a far cry from the gunmetal grey 911 C4S I drove a few months prior which barely raised a murmur even from the car-loving office cleaner!

There's no disputing the 'hardtop' Boxster is a great thing; you only have to nestle down in those super-snug leather seats, flick through the 'snickety-snick' six-speed close-ratio gearbox, enjoy the sweet sounds of the boxer six at full song behind your left ear as you rev it one more time to its 6250rpm limit, or just tottle around town for a few minutes to know that Porsche has hit the mark on a number of levels.

First, the styling; undeliably part of the Boxster and 911 family, but with its own distinctive character, and judging by the reaction, possibly the prettiest Porsche going. Second, the price. While not cheap in most people's language, $150K for one of the sweetest drives money can buy makes it good value in the rarified world of top-end sports cars. And at more than $50K less than a 911, it will have many cashed-up buyers that might otherwise have headed straight for the range-topping 911 struggling to rationalise the extra expense -- especially after back-to-back drives. And with an $118,000 'entry level' Cayman arriving in August...

Sure, the 3.4-litre six-cylinder (sits between 911 and Boxster in capacity) is down on power and torque (217kW/340Nm) compared to the 911.But you'll barely notice this in a straight-line drag, where it's almost as swift to 100km/h (5.4 secs, just 0.4secs shy of the 911) thanks to its 1340kg weight. Perfectly-spaced gears quickly get the engine into its power and torque peaks for optimal acceleration on the move.

Where the Cayman really excels is on tight, twisty roads. The mid-engine layout, rigid body, controlled suspension and biting brakes help keep it beautifully balanced under most situations in fast corners. It turns in willingly, stays flat and is forgiving if you manage to overcook it and break rear-end grip. With its smooth,  progressive  power delivery, and communicative chassis, the Cayman encourages you to dive deeper into each corner and power out earlier. While criticised in some quarters as less tactile than previous Porsches, the pin-sharp steering is still up there with the best.

It's not quite perfect though. The Cayman may feel like an old friend after a few minutes behind the wheel, but feels less composed over rough surfaces than some other Porsches I've driven lately. And while I managed to squeeze a set of golf clubs and buggy into the car between the rear hatch compartment and front 'boot', it's not as luggage-friendly as the 2+2 911. The Germanic interior design is a little underwhelming, too, although for ergonomics it's hard to beat.

Like many German prestige models the options list will raise an eyebrow. While the standard kit is impressive, some of the options fitted to our car like PCM sports suspension with sat nav ($7250), sport chrono package ($2190), PCM phone module ($2190) and interior carbon package ($2190) we could have done without. Others like the $1690 sports seats should be fitted as standard.

Fuel consumption over the week was 14l/100kms; not bad considering we thrashed it at every opportunity!

The Cayman S is a pleasure to spend time in whether enjoying a spirited Sunday drive or using it for the daily drudge to work. For the money nothing really comes close to it in terms of sports car performance and panache. Just make sure if you want to spend more time driving it than talking about it, don't tick the 'Guards Red' option box.