Yeah, We’re Smitten with Our 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS

10,000-Mile Update

This a lot was most likely predictable: We had been going to love our long-term Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0. Rather a lot. Several intrepid net commenters mentioned as a lot after studying our introductory piece, and one even wrote a synopsis of what he anticipated to learn within the wrap-up story. We respect the assistance, however we do not check automobiles for 40,000 miles primarily based on what we or anybody else thinks the outcomes are going to be forward of time—even when we’ve got sure suspicions. And, as soon as once more, the Cayman GTS proved the worth of spending numerous seat time attending to know a car as an proprietor would. In the Cayman’s first 11,476 miles, we have discovered some necessary issues about it we did not count on—and located that nobody’s predictions about life with the 718 have been totally appropriate.

Sure, we thought we might dig this 394-hp flat-six-powered sportster. What we did not know is simply how a lot we might adore it. Our logbook is one lengthy love letter to the Aventurine-Green-over-Espresso fastback. Surprise primary: how livable it’s. Some Porsches that put on the GTS badge are an assemblage of choices that make the automobile extra aggressive and stiffer using, so we weren’t positive if we might discover the Cayman GTS too hard-edged to make use of as an on a regular basis automobile.

These first six months have assuaged these considerations. The GTS has turned out to be simply as content material and comfy cruising down the interstate on a highway journey as it’s adept at attacking switchbacks or howling its tires round an on-ramp. It rides higher than some sports activities sedans, steers as if it is an extension of your psyche, accelerates with gusto, and makes thrilling yawps because it pulls to its 7800-rpm redline. It’s a sweetheart worthy of paeans, which we’ve got not hesitated to scribble into its logbook. Here are just some:

“Sublime handling and engine coupled with uncanny comfort and flexibility—a truly epic machine.” —Technical editor Mike Sutton

“Love this car. Perfect amount of power. Never discover something that feels like it hasn’t been thought through. Sign me up.” —Editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga

“The coordination and integration of the steering, suspension, and body dynamics is sublime. So natural, progressive, and predictable. A high-water mark in sports-car tuning.” —Chief model officer Eddie Alterman

“There’s something delightfully vintage about this car. It expertly blends just the right amount of modern tech without diluting the driving experience. I love driving it.” —Buyer’s Guide senior editor Drew Dorian

And the reward goes on and on, which is why the Cayman has proved to be a preferred road-trip automobile for these touring two-up and may match their gear into the equal of three carry-on baggage, two within the frunk and one below the rear hatch. Our Cayman has traveled as far north as Escanaba, Michigan, and as far south as Alton, Virginia, for a go to to Virginia International Raceway. The the rest of the miles so far have been piled on in native commuting and errand-running—pretty much as good a check of every day livability as there may be.

Those miles have surfaced a few minor annoyances that made it into the logbook between the epic poems of reward. Just attempt discovering a handy storage spot within the Cayman’s cabin in your cellphone, pockets, or keys. The inside cubbies embody a normal passenger-side glovebox, hard-to-reach flip-out door pockets, and a wafer-thin bin below your proper elbow, none of them simple to make use of. Things can get loud inside as nicely; the GTS registered 75 decibels at a gradual 70-mph cruise—and that is on the sleek pavement of our check observe. Hit tough asphalt or a piece of coarse concrete on an interstate, and highway noise reverberates by the cabin. One editor puzzled why there was no on/off swap for the rev-matching function and why it was at all times working in Sport and Sport+ drive modes. (Turn off stability management in Sport and Sport+ modes to disable rev-matching –Ed.) Another wished for wi-fi Apple CarPlay, the dearth of which is an oversight in such an costly car.

Yes, these are small points in a automobile that spoils us in so many different methods, in order that they’re simple to shrug off. The GTS has additionally us happy with its upkeep report—at the least so far. We’ve made it to this point with out bending any of the GTS’s attractive 20-inch satin-platinum-colored 10-spoke wheels, and we have spent solely $21 within the first 11,500 or so miles on maintenance-related gadgets—for 2 quarts of oil to exchange what the GTS ingested throughout that point. The just-completed 10,000-mile/one-year service, which incorporates an oil-and-filter change and a multipoint inspection, is complimentary. (We’ll be paying for future scheduled-service visits.)

We did make one unscheduled journey to the native Porsche supplier because the GTS arrived in mid-February, although. A warning gentle got here on for an engine-cooling-fan fault, but it surely had apparently cured itself by the point the automobile arrived for its checkup. Maybe the GTS is afraid of going to the Porsche physician, as a result of one other one-off episode of digital weirdness additionally corrected itself earlier than we may take the automobile in: The air-con refused to blow chilly air on one boiling-hot day, whereas on the identical second the SiriusXM radio-station icons disappeared from the touchscreen. The chilly air got here blasting on immediately a dozen miles into the drive, and the station-button icons slowly got here again to life by themselves over the following few days. Go determine. Maybe it was sunspots or errant radio-frequency interference from a hostile nation’s cyberattack. All has been nicely since.

Indeed, the 718 Cayman GTS 4.0’s few minor hiccups have been simple sufficient to forgive contemplating the enjoyment it is given its many pilots. We’ll fortunately preserve rolling up the miles. As options senior editor Greg Fink put it: “If I had to spend the rest of my life driving only this car, then I’d die a happy man.”

Months in Fleet: 6 months Current Mileage: 11,476 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 16.9 gal Observed Fuel Range: 330 miles
Service: $21 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

Introduction

The very first day our new Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 went into long-term service, it bought snowed on. Heavily. Six inches of powder, the type skiers dwell for, piled atop a crust of ice from a blast of freezing rain that had arrived in Michigan earlier within the day. Welcome to your new house, Cayman!

Why would we topic a automobile this good to climate this harsh? Because we reward Porsches for being everyday-drivable sports activities automobiles. Testing that perception requires residing with certainly one of our favorites from Stuttgart—we all know, robust responsibility—lengthy sufficient to expertise it in a multiplicity of driving conditions. A Cayman proprietor in Los Angeles may resolve to take his or her automobile as much as Big Bear for some snowboarding; a Michigander may need to do some slip-sliding on a snowy day. We occur to know {that a} former C/D editor-in-chief purchased a brand new 911 a couple of years in the past and proceeded to make use of it as a every day driver in winter.

So, as we do with all our long-term check automobiles, we fitted the Cayman with winter tires when it arrived in late winter and proceeded to interrupt it in. We’ll preserve it lengthy sufficient to rack up 40,000 miles by all 4 seasons and study issues about it {that a} brief keep may by no means reveal. We’ll take it on cross-country journeys and trundle right down to the nook grocery in it to select up a dozen eggs. We’ll lean on it onerous on gnarly two-lanes. We’ll deliver it to the supplier for service. And we’ll report each penny spent on upkeep, gasoline, and repairs.

Snow or no snow, our Cayman won’t stay parked for lengthy intervals, and with good purpose: It’s the quintessential driver’s automobile. After all, the Cayman earned a spot on our 2022 10Best listing—its sixteenth straight yr—for its “shimmering combination of poise, grace, and grit.”

Our new Cayman arrived nicely dressed for its stick with C/D‘s employees of hot-footed drivers. It wears a coat of sweetly understated Aventurine Green Metallic paint—much better that than arrest-me crimson. This is the GTS 4.0, in any case, which is Porsche-speak for “racy.” It’s powered by a mid-mounted, naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six that spins out 394 horsepower at 7000 rpm and 309 pound-feet of torque at 5000 rpm.

If that energy curve sounds peaky, you are proper. This motor will get an enormous jolt of caffeine at about 4000 rpm—typical conduct for an unboosted Porsche engine—and it fills the intimate cockpit with an beautiful baritone wail because the revs race to the 7800-rpm redline. As if we would have liked extra incentive to go quick. We opted for the six-speed guide gearbox—after all—and the stubby shifter strikes by the Cayman’s tightly spaced gates with precision and delicacy.

Yes, Porsche’s good seven-speed dual-clutch automated would chop a couple of tenths of a second from the acceleration occasions, however preliminary instrumented testing of our manual-equipped long-termer (carried out after easing it by its 2000-mile break-in interval), confirmed that it is loads fast. It’s not the simplest automobile to launch—it does not like its clutch slipped off the road—but it surely nonetheless busted out a 3.9-second run to 60 mph and galloped by the quarter-mile in 12.1 seconds at 118 mph. It additionally circled our skidpad at 1.03 g’s and stopped from 70 mph in 145 ft. That’s acceptable efficiency for a automobile sporting a Porsche badge and a $99,070 window sticker.

Ninety-nine giant is some huge cash, and our long-termer is definitely flippantly geared up for a Porsche. Our check automobile (base value: $88,750) has $10,320 in extras—a mere sprinkling by Porsche requirements. The listing consists of the particular inexperienced paint ($650), wealthy Espresso leather-based slathered on most inside surfaces ($3680), and ventilated seats ($740). We additionally added a Bose Surround Sound audio system ($900), brushed aluminum inside trim ($900), and gloss-black-painted brake calipers ($900). Wait a minute: plain black brake calipers for 900 bucks? Yep, this can be a Porsche all proper. At least Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)—that means, adaptive dampers—is normal together with Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer season tires, dimension 235/35ZR-20 up entrance and 265/35ZR-20 rear.

So now it is on to the driving, 40K miles price. We count on to bask within the Cayman’s sweetly intuitive steering; sharp, highly effective brakes; and gutsy flat-six each time we climb behind the three-spoke steering wheel. What we won’t ensure of however hope to study is whether or not that particular driving character is matched by an equal measure of reliability although each season and state of affairs. We’ll report again quickly sufficient, with updates on how the Cayman’s stress check goes each 10,000 miles.

Months in Fleet: 1 month Current Mileage: 3845 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 16.9 gal Observed Fuel Range: 330 miles
Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0