718 Cayman

Make
Porsche
Segment
Coupe

One of life's most decisive moments is when one comes to the realization that there is a little bit of bad wrapped into every good package. For example, the fact that Porsche constantly reinvents each car in its lineup so that it's better than the last comes across as a good thing. At least until you buy the best spec of your respective Porsche model only to find that it's utterly useless against next year's midrange model.

That sad tale seems to have become a fact of life for Derek Powell, who recently took home a 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4. No sane enthusiast would knock him for that kind of purchase, but Jonny Lieberman is not exactly a sane enthusiast. He brings about a dose of reality when he postulates that the new 718 Cayman S is better than last year's Cayman GT4.

According to Motor Trend's veteran journalist the 718 Cayman S, which is just a year younger than the Cayman GT4, is the better of the two cars. How can that possibly be? The Cayman GT4's central feature was a 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine ripped from a 911 while the rest of the car was given a full-blown revamp for hardcore track handiwork. On the other hand, the 718 Cayman S has a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that lacks the metallic rasp of the GT4 and doesn't have many of the GT4's aerodynamic tweaks. Lieberman thinks the new Porsche is better, and perhaps because of bias, Powell disagrees. Fortunately there are ways to find out who is right and they all involve getting behind the wheel for a drive.