Porsche 718 Cayman review

Porsche nails the ergonomics of nearly everything it makes, and thus the 718 Cayman’s driving position, visibility, steering wheel size and pedal positions are all nigh on perfect. Nobody does this stuff better. At least not in a car that so expertly balances the requirements of everyday use with the desires of us driving nerds.

While this generation of Cayman effectively launched in 2013 – the 718 treatment and flat-four arriving with its 2016 facelift – it doesn’t feel dated in here, helped by a media system running CarPlay and its ilk. A little bit of age means the dials are analogue, too. A rare treat nowadays, and one we suspect the next-gen 718 won’t offer. Especially given its rumoured all-electric drivetrain wouldn’t need a big fat central rev counter.

Speccing tips? Get the best seats you can afford. Porsche offers some brilliant sports buckets if you can stomach their slightly eye-watering price. Keep the steering wheel relatively simple, but spec Sport Chrono. It adds a driving mode dial to the ‘wheel, which flicks between varying levels of sharpness and firmness for the engine and suspension, while also adding rev-matching for the manual gearbox and a mid-mode for the stability control.

Porsche’s brilliantly nerdy cupholders are present and correct, too. They’ve been a mainstay in its sports cars for well over a decade but the latest 911 has ditched them, which is all the hint we need that the next 718 will, too. We’ll mourn their passing; wonderfully damped, expertly constructed and with a little illustration on their cover that appears to display a punchy little cocktail rather than a hastily bought latte. It’s the little things that make us smile.