My wife and I are seriously considering one of these, how do Volvos tend to hold up long term (give the twin-charged platform)? How do they compare to the outgoing BMW F31 platform?

Be careful, rousing some butt-hurt purchasers - especially those who toss around $10-15K price differences as if that is a rounding error to most folks.

The GTS package maintains a tarted up S engine, it is an options package not a complete overhaul and still a turbo-4 in the 718. Superior chassis no doubt, but still lacking in the character department.

The 718S is not special enough to justify the $$. I regularly track my cars and while I have no doubt the Porsche is proper weapon, it needs to be exciting to drive on the street as well. The 981/987 generations are the only Caymans of interest to me after experiencing them all.

Interior looks great along with the sedan exterior. Let’s hope the 5-door hatchback looks better in person, too much going on with the rear.

Say what you will about the 911 where I think all generations had redeeming and excellent variants, but the Cayman is a whole other story where the 987 and 981 generations are the only enticing models. The 718 such a snooze...

Bingo - was not impressed in my short stint with the 718.

“high risk of very high priced repair” - yeah no. Most cars run fine through 100K miles and 7-10 years, I see the CPO being worthwhile on a new generation platform or luxury barge.

Why do consumers overvalue a “CPO” car when in reality it is a pretty short checklist, often less exhaustive than an independent pre-purchase inspection (and certainly not conducted with the buyer in mind)?

No plates and Porsche hat... is a rather overgrown track in-field??? Still looks like fun.

Bingo - for the Z4M market that means at the very least CDV delete, shock mount reinforcements, engine/tranny mounts and a stubby antenna for aesthetics!

No matter how many superlatives a journalist uses for the M2, it still cannot touch the ‘special sauce’ of BMW in the 1980s to early 2000s. NA, hydraulic or no-power steering and simple design cues.

Still affordable but that market is on the move, get one while you can! Soon it’ll look like the 1M market - fantastic cars but not worth the price of entry.

The only worthwhile item in that package is the Recaro seats. A ~2500lb MX-5 does not need brembos or wheels - can find better items in the aftermarket with the $3-4K off MSRP Mazda is offering.

Having drive from SF to Palm Springs and back this past weekend, I could not agree more!

What is the correct driving etiquette here? I get proximity to the fire is certainly the issue, but I see four open lanes and drop a few gears to get far away from there!

Watching this closely too. Mazda is a tremendous value proposition in it’s segment but not without fault. Tons of road noise in our Mazda3 hatch, I wonder if the CX-5 is better?

I find it ugly and a continuance of BMWs retreat from engaging driving machines, save for solid engine options and those seats. The RF wins on all levels even with its budget interior. Still, we will all have to suffer through superlative filled reviews as we continue to ignore the march toward appliance cars.

OK... as an addition to an expanding garage! In all seriousness, my wife loved her 228i MSport and loves her Miata RF - is this the grown up version?

There was brief mention to the platforms of yore (Z3, Z4). Would you describe those M variants as hardcore versus the new direction of the car?