The baby Porsche sports car looks the part and packs a punch. It has one or two sizeable flaws, but it’s still one of the most rounded cars of its type on sale today regardless. Whether a daily driver or a weekend toy, the 718 Cayman fits the bill. The two-seat, mid-engined coupe is more usable than it looks, supremely well built, seriously quick and utterly brilliant to drive.
The Porsche Boxster has had its ups and at least one very well-publicised down, but the current 718 Boxster remains a beautifully engineered roadster that’s exceptionally good to drive. Far from being stripped-out road racers, Porsche’s mid-engined sports cars are very well-appointed machines that can be used every day. The range-topping models, the GTS 4.0 and Spyder, are seminal performance cars that will be revered for years to come.
It was all change in 2015 when Ferrari replaced the 458 Italia with the 488 GTB. This was the first series production mid-engined Ferrari to feature a turbocharged engine, and the car’s character suffered a bit as a result. But that doesn’t mean the 488 GTB was a bad car. In fact, even now, several years after it was launched, it remains one of the defining modern supercars, with jaw-dropping looks, ferocious performance and exceptional handling.
A folding hardtop roof and a front-mounted V8 engine made the California quite unlike any Ferrari before it. A more civilised kind of Ferrari with grand touring aspirations, both the California and the California T that replaced it lacked the kind of sharp-edged handling precision that marks out most of the Italian supercar manufacturer’s models. Nonetheless, they sold in big numbers and are proving to be reliable several years down the line.
Fiat has reinvented its chic city car. This all-new, pure-electric 500e gets two battery options, and now feels more grown up, yet it's as cute and classless as ever. It’s great value by EV standards, and it’s one of our favourite small cars of any type.