I HAVE been lucky enough to drive Porsche 911s on both road and track and they are absolutely wonderful.

But the slightly smaller and less powerful Cayman is much easier on the pocket and believe me, it's just as much of a hoot.

The lowest powered 2.7-litre can now be had for as little as £11,000 secondhand, and with full service history even a ten-year-old car can have years of exhilarating fun left in it.

I've driven three or four of them over the years and each and every one was like the first day of the holidays or taking the bookies to the cleaners.

From the perfectly weighted and delightfully tactile steering to the great sounding, free revving, mid-mounted flat six engine, this is one of the best driver's cars on the planet.

The road holding is sublime, the balance is immaculate, the brakes are perfect and even the ride is much better than any such car has a right to.

It reels in the horizon faster than just about anything and yet will trickle through town in high gear without dramatics to take granny to the bingo.

As well as the base 2.7 - which would be my choice because it's all I could afford and it has the best ride - there's a 2.9 with 261bhp and a 3.4 with a range of outputs from 290 to 325bhp.

Unlike some 911s, there is a great view all round from the driver's seat, which has enough adjustment for all sizes to be comfortable.

It is only a two seater but there's decent storage in the cabin and two boots - one in front and one above the engine.