From the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, Cars.com's Kelsey Mays takes a look at the 2014 Porsche Cayman.
Transcript
(high intensity music) <v Man>Cars.com Auto Reviews. Hi, I'm Kelsey Mays for Cars.com, and we're here at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show, checking out the redesigned Porsche Cayman.
Now, when the Cayman first came out in early 2006, I thought that the mid engine rear wheel drive sports car was one of the best-looking vehicles in Porsche's lineup. I got to say with the redesign, that's probably true again. Like the related Porsche Boxster, the Cayman follows a formula of a little bit less weight, a little better fuel efficiency, and of course, a little bit extra horsepower. The base Cayman has a 275 horsepower, 2.7 liter horizontally opposed six cylinder engine. This Cayman S right here has a 325 horsepower, 3.4 liter horizontally opposed to six cylinder. Power goes to the rear wheels through a six speed manual transmission or a seven speed dual clutch automatic with paddle shifters here, finally there are actually legitimate left and right paddle shifters rather than the forward backward shifters that Porsche had used for so long. Pretty good space orientation in a tight cabin here, the front seats power way, way, way, way back. That's as far back as they go, I'm about six feet tall, and I would sit with them easily, three or four inches up. So definitely good for people who are pretty tall. Same theme as Porsche has been doing lately. There's kind of a flow through center console here with lots of small buttons, pretty good cabin quality. In this car on the show floor, everything's wrapped up in leather. That's always a nice thing to see. The seats are kind of tight. The cup holders, well, it's a Porsche. It's not to say the Cayman falls short in all practicality issues. Because the engine is situated behind the front seats, there's storage space, a little over five cubic feet underneath the hood. Trunk area has nearly 10 cubic feet here, Porsche says that's up half cubic foot over the old Cayman. And if that's not enough, you can basically throw a bunch of extra belongings in two cubbies here, one behind each sheet. They don't look very big, but they're actually quite deep. Because of their mid-engine layout, the Cayman and the Boxster have both displayed excellent balance. They're really easy to rotate. Lots of fun to drive. The new Cayman hits dealerships in spring 2013. We're really excited to get behind the wheel. <v Man>For more car related news, go to https://www.cars.com, or our blog https://www.kickingtires.net.
