Porsche Cayman S 2006 Review

The comment came from my buddy less than a minute into taking him for a spin in this succulent beauty – "where are the prayer bars?". Call them what you like – and my mate had a whole array of suggestions throughout the short, relatively high-speed strap in the Cayman S – but there are no grab handles to assist passengers in their attempt to look as sleek and cool on the inside as this baby looks to the wide world.

Fortunately, Porsche has kitted the compact cabin out with body-forming, fully adjustable leather-trimmed seats to wrap the occupants in comfort and keep them relatively well placed while putting the Cayman S through its paces. Let's face it, grab handles on this gorgeous face would look somewhat like a big, ugly pimple.

And a simplistic, yet very functional, array of controls for the stereo and airconditioning systems, leaves no doubt about what the Cayman is. It screams sports car. Forget the confusing knick-knacks, just set the aircon to cool, turn up the stereo and get on with the job ... this is all about the driving experience.

That experience – driven by a 3.4-litre flat-six related to the engine in the Boxster S, which gets the Variocam plus system (variable valve set up) from the 911 – involves a 0-100km sprint time of 5.4 seconds for the six-speed manual. The $7000 optional five-speed tiptronic auto, as road tested, has a claimed time of 6.1 seconds for the 0-100km sprint, and both sound brilliant getting there.

Power is quoted at 217kW at 6250rpm, while the torque curve offers 340Nm between 4400rpm and 6000rpm.

The numbers, quite simply, add up to a whole lot of fun, particularly given the sports coupe's wonderful balance and sharp handling. The ride quality is remarkable with only the more significant bumps and potholes serving as a reminder of the sports-tuned machine you're riding in.

The Cayman S is a car you can connect with. The steering is almost instinctive ... you think where you want it to go and I swear it has read your mind and done the job itself.

Delivering that almost psychic steering experience is a rack and pinion arrangement with variable ratio. Superb balance is offered by the mid-engine layout, with the engine just 300mm behind the driver's shoulder line. Cayman feels light and nimble – point it where you want to go and it gets there with next to no fuss – and the Porsche Stability Management system is always on hand to monitor and assist the over exuberant driver. It can be switched off to put the driver's skills to the test, but with such technology at hand, who would want to do that?

It laps up the open road, too, offering an additional 11kW of power over its Boxster S sibling, while delivering fuel-consumption figures of 10.6 litres/100km (as quoted by Porsche). A week of CARSguide driving in the city and open-road cruises returned a figure of 14.5 litres/100km. Getting the speed up to the state limit of 110km/h won't prompt the rear spoiler up automatically – that clicks in at 120km/h – but it's handy to know you can manually raise this with a click of an interior button ... if only to woo a crowd.

The rear spoiler, however nice an addition you view it as, is not needed on the Cayman to attract onlookers' attention.

We now can be sure what the "S" which adorns Porsche's models stands for – "sexy". Porsche authorities may well argue and try to convince punters it means "sport", but the Cayman S at least confirms my personal thoughts. The snout is unmistakably Porsche, while a killer profile and luscious rear end keeps you on your toes deciding on just what angle is best to take in this beauty.

The Cayman S can be likened to a catwalk model – plenty of front, superb curves, hips in the form of its rear wheel arches and a behind you'll be disappointed to see disappear off the runway.

Unlike such models, the Cayman is not completely out of reach of those looking for a true sports car experience.

Priced at $148,500 for the manual and $155,500 for the tiptronic auto, the Cayman S sits above the Boxster (baseline price $114,400) and below the 911 Carerra (starting at $203,225).

The mid-$100,000 price tag for the Cayman S should create a bit of a stir for the middle-of-the-range Porsche model. About 70 are expected to take up permanent residence in Australia in the sports coupe's first year here.

SMALL TORQUE Porsche Cayman S

Price: $148,500 (manual), $155,500 (tiptronic auto)
Engine: 3.4-litre alloy DOHC 24-valve flat six with Variocam
Power: 217kW @ 6250rpm
Torque: 340Nm between 4400rpm and 6000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual or five-speed tiptronic auto
Brakes: 318mm discs (front), 299mm discs, four-piston aluminium brake calipers, cross-drilled and inner-vented (rear), Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake option $18,990
Wheels: 18in alloys with 235/40 ZR tyres (front) and 265/40 ZR tyres (rear), optional 19in rims $5000