Porsche 718 Cayman S review: the enthusiast's choice, coupe body included
4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
If outright handling matters more to you than the badge on the back, the Cayman S is the Porsche to buy: the 350 hp turbo four and the fixed roof combine for a car that is quicker point-to-point than a base Boxster or Carrera and noticeably cooler inside during a Bahraini summer than the convertible. Treat the manual as the enthusiast's choice and PDK as the sensible one for daily Manama traffic; both are mechanically sound cars when serviced on schedule.
Pros
- Widely regarded as the best-handling car in Porsche's current range
- Fixed roof means noticeably less cabin heat soak than the Boxster in summer
- 350 hp turbo four gives the chassis the power it always deserved
- Stable used values driven by strong enthusiast demand
- Meaningfully cheaper to buy than a comparable-performance 911
Cons
- Low seating position and rear visibility take adjustment coming from an SUV
- Only two seats and a genuinely small boot split front and rear
- Manual cars take longer to sell locally than PDK
- Insurance and servicing remain Porsche-level despite the "entry" positioning
Porsche's own engineers have said for years, off the record, that the Cayman is the best-handling car the company builds, and the S grade with its 2.5-litre turbo flat-four is the version that finally had the power to back up the chassis. The fixed roof adds torsional stiffness the Boxster does not have, and it shows in how the car changes direction.
Coupe versus convertible in Bahrain
The practical case for the Cayman over its Boxster sibling in this climate is straightforward: a fixed roof means less heat soak into the cabin after a car has sat in a Bahraini sun for a few hours, and the air conditioning has an easier job cooling a smaller, better-insulated space. If you actually value the driving experience over the open-air one, the Cayman is the more sensible daily choice here.
Rear visibility and the low seating position take some adjustment for buyers moving from an SUV, and reversing cameras — increasingly common on later cars — are worth prioritising when shortlisting a used example.
Ownership realities
The 2.5-litre turbo four in the S is a strong, relatively simple engine by modern Porsche standards, and used values have been stable because enthusiast demand for this exact car has stayed high. Expect insurance quotes broadly similar to a Boxster S; the coupe body does not change the premium meaningfully in this market.