It has been about six months since the delivery of the 718 Cayman T, and the mileage has exceeded about 2,000 km.

Although the break-in period is not completely over, I have been on several short touring trips, so I will report my impressions at this point in this area.

The 718 Cayman T is a Carrera T owner, so I understand the appeal of the 718 Cayman T.

The most attractive feature of the 718 Cayman T is its exquisite chassis set-up.
PASM Sport is installed as standard, and the ride height is 1 cm lower than the standard PASM Sport, and the damping is also tightened.
So, do you feel good simply because of PASM Sports? It is not so simple as that.

The Cayman T has the unique set-up of the "T".

We have a 992 Carrera T in our house, so I know exactly what you mean.
When you drive the Carrera T.The chassis set-up is totally different from the Carrera with the same engine.I often think, "I'm not sure how to do this. It is very nimble and supple. It is a wonderful balance of comfort and sportiness, and it is very clear that "Porsche did not just make the T as a special edition car for the end of the model year.

The "T" is really set up to be the "T" of touring.This kind of hands-off approach is what I like about Porsche.

The same can be said for the Cayman T.

After tasting the 992 Carrera T, I got in the Cayman T.Surely that's what happens when you put the 'T' in Cayman.I often think, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.
The chassis is notably nimble and supple, similar to the set-up of the Carrera T. It is not too hard, not too soft, not too sporty, and not too luxurious. It is not too hard, not too soft, not too sporty, and not too luxurious, which is exactly the sweet spot for "touring enthusiasts" and "driving enthusiasts.

Impression in the city

When it comes to the engine, this is no different from the regular 2-liter base model 718.

Torque at low speeds is honestly thin.It is true that when driving in normal mode around town, the car will shift up and down, and there are times when the driver may feel a bit short on torque and response. For example, when turning at an intersection, PDK will automatically shift from 5th gear to 2nd or 3rd gear to enter the intersection, and the driver will try to accelerate slowly while ensuring safety. In these situations, the rpms are often around 1000 rpm +/-, and in 2nd and 3rd gear, acceleration is sluggish, and the driver often wishes for more agile acceleration.

Therefore.It is recommended to run in sport mode in town.The normal mode of recent Porsches is more like "eco-mode" than normal, with a strong sense that they are pushing themselves a little too hard to meet fuel economy standards. This is especially true of the 718, where the PDK upshifts more than necessary.

If you want to experience the charm and usability of that original 2-liter engine, I think it is safe to say that Sport mode is the "normal mode.

When sport mode is selected, the idle rpm will be higher, which will shorten the time it takes for the boost to kick in. Besides, PDK also selects a gear one step lower, so it will give you a decent gear selection. When accelerating, the car pulls firmly in first gear and connects to second gear, which is easy to drive because it can be driven in a rpm range where some torque is available.

To digress a bit, I often hear that the 718 has many PDK failures, and I wonder if this is partly due to the fact that the normal mode selects a higher gear than necessary and the transmission is also subjected to heat and load from driving around town in Japan, which is all low speed range. I am thinking that this is the case.

In fact, when driving around town in normal mode, the 718 sometimes seems to be in too high of a gear and the engine seems to be having a hard time, or you can feel a momentary judder from the transmission. So,It seems to me that as much as possible, the sport mode should be driven in such a way that the manual shift does not put too much load on the engine and transmission.

By the way.Ride quality is superb, better than the Carrera T in the 992.
Compared to the 718 Cayman I have driven in the past without PASM (18"), it is very different. Since the Cayman T is a PASM Sport on 20", many would imagine that the ride would be less comfortable, but it is quite the opposite. The difference is as if the car is about two ranks higher than the base Cayman without PASM.

This isCompared to a regular Cayman with PASM, the "T" should be firmer, but it is comfortable and gives the impression of one step higher quality.Id.

Engine and Sound

On the other hand, when running above 2000 rpm, this engine is perfectly fine.
Rather, it handles very well and has more than enough power feel. Is this a 2-liter 4-cylinder? I would like to reassure you that it runs so energetically that you will think it is a 2-liter 4-cylinder.

The 718's engine has a "pre-conditioning" or "dynamic boost" system.The former optimizes turbocharger efficiency when Sport or Sport Plus mode is active. The waist gate valve closes, increasing the engine's intake airflow and maintaining boost pressure, thereby improving engine response and torque at full throttle.

The latter function maintains boost pressure by keeping the throttle valve open even when the accelerator pedal is temporarily released from full acceleration. As a result, when the accelerator pedal is pressed again, the engine responds as quickly as a naturally aspirated engine.

Perhaps due in part to these controls, the engine feels great when the rpm is maintained to a certain extent.

It is really responsive and faithfully linked to the movement of the right foot. The power is also perfect, and I don't think there are many people who would say that it is slow. In fact, more power would make it impossible to turn on winding roads, so this level of power is just right.

It is probably one of the easiest and most enjoyable Porsche engines for amateurs to enjoy turning as hard as they can on a circuit.

As for sound, the Cayman T has also been unable to be equipped with a sport exhaust since the middle model year.My Cayman T also does not have a sport exhaust, nor does it have a GPF (gasoline particulate filter).Is it quiet? It's not quiet at all.

It is much louder than domestic sports cars and is not a quieter car to drive. I think many people would find the 4-liter NA engine in the same 718, such as the GTS 4.0 or Spyder, to be quieter than the 4-liter NA engine in the GTS 4.0 or Spyder, as the valves are clearly closed at low speeds.

The sound quality is four-cylinder, so don't expect the singing sound of the pre-981 six-cylinder. However, in the case of this Cayman T without sport exhaust,It is true that the sound is free of clutter and does not cause unpleasant stress even after long periods of listening.I have driven the sports exhaust model of the base Cayman, and while it is louder and more uplifting, there is no denying that it is a bit noisy. In comparison, you could think of the sound as having only the noisy part removed.

Personally, the sound is not as clear as that of the 981 and 991.1, but it is not unpleasant at all, and the sound you hear when the rpm increases is rather sporty and can be heard for a long time even on long tours.

In the second part, we will talk about handling on winding roads and high-speed stability on highways.