| A Week at the Wheel | Bucks, England | Porsche Cayman S |

Inside & Out:

Usually the Cayman S would be in the solid four-star bracket here, but Porsche has gone to town with the options on our test car. We love the 'Carrara White' paintwork, but the red 911 GT3 RS aping Cayman S script down the sills and bright red wheels - combined with a rather unnecessary aero kit - do little to increase the Cayman's visual allure. Indeed, one of the most appealing things about the Cayman S is its relative restraint in the styling stakes.

Inside the additions are a bit more agreeable, the Porsche's hip-hugging sports seats a welcome optional addition to any car, and the leather interior also adds appeal. The stopwatch on the dash might be a bit geeky, but it brings with it the Sport button, which raises the thresholds of the stability system, increases the throttle response and gives the exhaust a meatier note: it sounds fantastic.

Engine & Transmission:

The Cayman S's 3.4-litre engine is the only part of this ludicrously equipped, near £64,000 Cayman S that hasn't been added to with options. That's a bit of a shame, as the Cayman S's chassis has always felt like it could cope with a good bit more grunt than the 3.4-litre flat-six's 291bhp. That said it's a cracking engine, which sounds fantastic and delivers flexible, accessible performance from any revs. It'll reach 62mph in just 5.4 seconds and a 171mph maximum, so despite us wanting a bit more it's certainly not lacking in performance.

Porsche's six-speed manual transmission is operated by a slick shift through the gate with real precision, Porsche's manual gearboxes always a delight to use. With the Cayman S yet to get Porsche's PDK twin-clutch transmission you'd be mad to choose the Tiptronic auto unless you really have to. The PDK is likely to be offered in the Cayman, along with engine improvements, when the range is updated in the next few months.

Ride & Handling:

Pressing the Sport button might make the flat-six improve in terms of noise volume and responsiveness but it also stiffens up the PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) to an unacceptably compromised level for all but the very smoothest of UK roads. Thankfully you can press the damper icon-ed button to revert the suspension setting to its default mode. It's still firm, but not to the jarring, skipping level that Sport takes it to. That makes us wonder why you'd bother at £1,030. Similarly, £5,349 for Porsche's Ceramic Composite brakes is just daft unless your commute takes in several laps of Silverstone.

The Cayman S remains a benchmark car in not just its class but across the performance car spectrum for poise and precision. The steering is beautifully weighted and delivers wonderfully clear messages to your hands on the rim, while the near perfect weight distribution helps with the chassis' excellent poise. Grip levels are high, but push up to and beyond its limits and the Cayman S is supremely smooth and predictable, being an absolute pleasure to drive on road and track. Friendlier and more forgiving than its 911 relative, the Cayman S is Porsche's best handling car - which explains why Porsche is so reluctant to up its power and potentially take sales from the 911.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

In 'bog standard' £44,250 guise the Cayman S is all the Porsche you could ever want. It's fast, handles beautifully, looks great and is even reasonably practical with its front boot and rear hatchback. Add the circa £20,000 of options as Porsche has here and you're looking at one very expensive Cayman S - entry-level 911 money, in fact. Economy and emissions aren't usually something sports car buyers are too concerned with, but 26.6mpg and 254g/km are pretty respectable for the Cayman - especially given that Porsches do tend to actually get near their quoted consumption figures in daily use. The only piece of equipment we'd suggest is essential is Porsche's satnav and telephone kit, which adds around £2,500 to the list price, oh and the red tail lights at £225 and the Sport Chrono Pack at... you see how it happens?

Overall:

The Porsche Cayman S is a brilliant car in standard guise; the additional kit Porsche has added here does nothing to increase its appeal. A new car arrives soon, which is likely to feature the sort of enhancements to the line-up that have recently graced the new 911. That should mean more power, even better economy and enhanced communications and in-car entertainment. Everything else is so good we hope Porsche has left it all well alone.