What Car? Car of the Year 2006 - Best performance car

Porsche Cayman S
Price: £43,930
Target Price £43,930

What we have in the Cayman S is a car most people will find even more capable than the legendary 911 – recipient of this award more times than you've had hot dinners – but at about 75% of the price. If Porsche has indeed misjudged things, the winners will be you, the buyers.

Porsche reckons the Cayman will form a bridge between the Boxster and the 911, helping to retain customers who might otherwise have migrated once they had finished dallying with roadsters. Maybe. On the other hand, once word gets around how good the Cayman is, 911 aficionados are bound to want to try it, and we can't think of even half a reason why they would be disappointed.

The Cayman is most closely related to the Boxster, but to label it a roadster with a tin lid is to do Porsche's engineers a disservice – they've done a great deal of work to differentiate the two. The Cayman has a unique 3.4-litre flat-six engine that combines elements of Boxster and 911, and its own suspension settings. Naturally, having a solid roof, it is stiffer than the Boxster.

All of this is enough to give the Cayman its own, distinctive feel. You only have to drive a Cayman for a short time before you start to wonder why all cars don't respond to inputs as urgently and faithfully as this, while so brilliantly resolving the conflict between the needs of ride and handling.

There's one other thing: the Cayman's packaging. Not a millimetre of space has been wasted, which means that in a car about as long as a Ford Focus, Porsche has managed to squash in that mid-mounted engine, a comfortable two-seater cabin and good luggage areas front and rear. Not only that, but it's done so for £44k. What a steal.

Highly recommended
BMW M5
Price: £62,705
Target Price: £62,705

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Price: £124,650
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Price: £58,380
Target Price: £58,380