Last month brought about some chores that required a bit of driving around the few twisty roads that are located north of Dubai. Apart from the track or next to a club door, this is where this car really shines. The chassis, suspension and the 275-section tyres really come together.

Having 320bhp and over 250lb ft in torque at 4,000rpm on such a balanced chassis is one of the greatest combinations I can think of. It’s very easy to hit apexes, come out of turns flat out and even get a glimpse of being a rally driver with the PSM off. Excuse me while I use that well-worn cliché: the Cayman is as easy to handle as a go kart.

The most impressive part is that even when you manage to get beyond the grip limit and the car starts drifting, it’s still controllable and neutral - small corrections get you back on the right track

Though I think this car doesn’t have the power it deserves. It doesn’t need that much more, maybe another 30 to 40bhp. That’ll surely come in the next two years and will turn the Cayman into – another cliché here – a benchmark, no doubt superior to the Z4M, the 370Z or the SLK55.

And the PDK. Oh my, what a tool for going quickly. There are some buts to it, yet when you want fast gearchanges and are trying to get to your destination in a hurry there is nothing like it.

The problem with auto/semi-auto transmissions with more than four gears is that the computer has some difficulties in assessing what to do next. This is where the ‘buts’ begin. This car has seven gears, and that makes it quite indecisive, regaling your ears with a groooo-wheeee-brrrr sound until it chooses what ratio is most suited for the current speed, throttle position, slope angle, astrological sign of the day, tide and dawn.

You essentially have two options. One is Driving Miss Daisy, which means no more than 20 per cent throttle at all times. The second is emulating Walter Rohrl. Any other alternative will feel like being all revved up and dropping the clutch.

Then, at very slow speeds, like on endless traffic jams (something both Salik and the Dubai Metro are going to extinguish) for a car as powerful and light as this one, it’s tremendously uncomfortable. Add to all these factors the perennial accelerator lag and the car feels unresponsive. That is, of course, unless you are doing qualifying laps.

I’m considering another Cayman, and, as much as I like the PDK transmission, I think that my next Porsche won’t be any automatic. I’ll have a manual, ta.