There are some cars I drive that produce a stupid, sloppy grin on my face every time I turn the ignition key. It’s like a reflex action, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Even when someone cuts me off in traffic and makes me miss my turn. I just keep smiling like an idiot because I know something he’s not even considering.
I’m driving a pretty damn cool car, and he’s not.
In fact, during the test week for the damn cool 2008 Porsche Cayman S, I had this reflex action even when I wasn’t driving. If a co-worker said something frustrating, I’d just walk away smiling because I was driving a Porsche Cayman, and he wasn’t. I got bad news from my condo association about a new special assessment. Didn’t matter. I was driving a Porsche Cayman. Spat with the boyfriend? Two words: Porsche Cayman.
Talk about an instant mood lift.
This is the first time I’d driven a Porsche of any sort for a full, weeklong test, and I have to admit I was impressed and more than a little surprised.
The test vehicle was a Speed Yellow Cayman S model with the six-speed manual transmission, and everything about it was smooth. The steering, the gear shifting, the ride and handling. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that.
The thing that completely took me off guard, however, was the Cayman’s capacity to be an everyday driver. Sure the steering and chassis were stiff, which could provide some difficulty in winding parking garages or over railroad tracks. But the turning radius was phenomenal, and the get-up-and-go … well, remember that stupid, sloppy grin?
You might automatically assume that the rear-wheel drive Cayman with its Porsche heritage is a gas guzzling sports car. But that’s actually a myth. The Cayman has a 2.7-liter horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine that delivers 245 horsepower and 201 pound-feet of torque. Yet the fuel economy rating is an impressive 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. The Cayman S upgrades to a 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine that delivers 295 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. If you’re not testing the zero-to-60-mph time of 5.1 seconds, the estimated city/highway fuel estimates ring in at 18/26 mpg.
Something else that surprised me about the Cayman S test vehicle was its comfort level. From the minute I sank into the Stone Grey leather seats to the final gear shift before handing over the keys, I was incredibly pleased with how I fit in the Cayman. I feel like most sports cars swallow me up whole, but the Cayman afforded an excellent driving position and grippy seats that actually supported my thin frame. All the gauges and controls are easy to see and use, and the interior design is an exercise in simplicity. The only thing that threw me – and it got me every time I tried to start the car – was the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel instead of the right.
The exterior styling of the Cayman is unmistakably Porsche and hearkens back to the Porsche 904 and the Porsche 550 Coupe. I really liked the bright yellow paint on the test vehicle, and the matching key ring and seat belts in Speed Yellow appealed to my sense of order. I know yellow isn’t a terribly manly color. But I have to say if there’s any car out there that can be sunshine yellow and retain its manly grunt status, the Cayman is that car. Especially when you tease that gas pedal and hear the engine roar. Insert stupid, sloppy grin.
As a two-seater with minimal storage capacity, the Cayman probably falls under the realm of “second car” for most people. The good news is that the Cayman has front and rear trunks because of the mid-engine construction. The bad news is that the cargo volume rings in at 5.3 cubic-feet and 9.2 cubic-feet, respectively. The front compartment is deep and narrow, which is fine for a couple of back packs or a single rollerboard suitcase. And, I have to admit, I was tempted to see if this 5-foot-tall journalist could fit. But I didn’t trust any of my friends or co-workers to let me out of the trunk before they managed to slip a way for a joy ride.
One of the only problems I had with this car is more of an issue with Chicago and less of an issue with the Cayman itself: Speed bumps. Look, I understand the need to keep cars from zooming down side streets where kids are present. But there were certain speed bumps – like those big honking brick speed bumps in the Strack & Van Til parking lot on Elston – that scraped the bottom of the car no matter how slow I went. And, believe me, we’re talking 2 mph here.
Two model years into the Porsche Cayman (Cayman S launched in 2006, and the Cayman followed in 2007), there really isn’t much that’s new for 2008. You’re looking at new optional leather sports folding bucket seats; some new colors, like Macadamia Metallic; and new service intervals for oil changes (12,000 miles or one year) and spark plugs (36,000 miles are four years).
The Cayman comes with a base price of $49,400, which positions it between the Boxster ($45,800) and the 911 Carrera ($75,600). Since the test vehicle was an S model, it came with a starting price of $59,100. The test vehicle stayed pretty basic, eschewing pricey options like Sports Bucket Seats ($4,790), Aerokit ($5,865), Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes ($8,150) and PCM 2.1 including extended Navigation ($3,110). It did, however, add some options including the Preferred Package ($2,191), Bi-Xenon headlamps ($1,090) and automatic climate control, which brought the as-tested MSRP up to $67,080 including destination.
Even though the bright yellow test car is long gone, I have to admit I’m still smiling. The Cayman was eye-catching and easy to drive. It sounded great and drove even better. Plus, you’ve got a punch of power without sacrificing fuel economy. Basically, it’s just a damn cool car. Insert stupid, sloppy grin, yet again.
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