[alexey21]

Hi all!

I know this is not the Porsche forum, but since recently I posted my review on the M4 here, I will go ahead and post the Porsche Boxster review here as well. I think this way people who will want to cross shop a GTS / M4 will be able to read my personal opinions and experiences from a test drive in a Boxster, and hopefully make up your mind.

Exterior design: 8/10

From the front, I think this car is spot on! Yes you can argue that most Porsche cars look alike from a distance, but that is probably because they are all just plain sexy. The Boxster no longer looks as feminine as it used to in the past. Where the car's design really leaves me puzzled is towards the back end. The taillights have an integrated line which then goes on to become the spoiler. When looking at it, you have to wonder, "why did the designer do this?". The side vents are beautifully positioned for maximizing air intake and aside from the weird back end, the rest of the car is approaching perfection.

Interior: 6/10

Getting into the Boxster was not a problem for me, but mind you I am 5 11 about 155 pounds. I have seen rather bulky people struggle to fit inside the car and some even give up. There is not a lot of space inside, but that is sort of expected as you have no rear seats. For those who are confused as to why, that is because the Boxster is a mid engine car, and the engine sits right behind your seat. Nonetheless, the never feels claustrophobic, and it feels "Nice". The fit and finish is excellent, as is with most Porsche, except those that start to develop pools in passenger foot area . The infotainment system is not as technologically advanced as the BMWs are, but from experience, that is because you almost never get to use it except for making a phone call. One thing I must mention, is the driver seating position. Man they have done such a great job! When you get into the car, you are immediately comfortable, yet you are positioned in the perfect position to control the car. The giant tachometer like with all Porsche is a neat feature, the digital speed readout is somewhere bellow the tachometer, and a neat computerized window next to the tachometer reads the oil pressure, fuel range and etc. If I remember correctly, it can even display the map there. It is a great feature because Porsche does not have a head up display unit in their cars yet. One small criticism I can make right away, is that the PDK gear lever is to high, it is just not the height my hand would naturally go to for changing to drive or park, let alone shift if it were a 6MT. So a score 6/10 mostly due to the very small cabin.

Noise: 8/10

Well, what can I say. It is a very pleasant sounding car. It is not abnoxious, from the outside, but you can definitely hear the presence of a boxster and its flat 6 driving by. Inside the car, its a very amazing sound. Interestingly, there is less sound inside, than that of the cayman, as the caymans roof goes over the engine, where the boxster does not. I must say, this car did NOT have the sport exhausts, so I can say the sound can only get better. Porsche really has learned how to make nice sounding water cooled flat 6 engines. The GTS will sound even better, so if you want a nice sounding car, dont worry, the base car will not disappoint.

Drive Quality: 7.5/10

This part of the review can be a bit biased, only because I drive a 911 Turbo daily. The ride in the turbo as you can expect is harsh. The M4 ride, to me is soft, so the Boxster is somewhere in the middle. The chassis in the base model is not very stiff, but covering distance in comfort was definitely in mind when developing the boxster. There is more tire noise and road noise coming through than that of the M4, but not as much to make ones ears bleed. The chassis is overall well balanced.

Steering:7/10

Well, being a base car Porsche will not tweak the steering for the race track, but for all other purposes it was fine. A bit loose initially, but once you get used to it, it was doable. The worst electrical steering I encountered was on the 328i, so the Porsche regular electrical steering gets the job done, and even provides almost some road feel.

Performance: 7.5/10

Not much you can expect from a 2.7l engine. Acceleration wise, it does okay. I did not expect much from it but it put a smile on my face when I heard that motor behind me roar. The base model is not really set up for very aggressive driving. What I noticed the most, is how this car aims to be a comfortable drivers car, that you can throw into corners and not have to worry. I felt very little to no under steer, but surprisingly over steer is pretty easily achieved. This car can and will corner great, but it will also reach its limit quite quick. Seeing how Performance is really based on how well the car preforms as a package, this was hard to score. One one had it rides comfortably, isolating you a bit from the road, which to me is a bit of a minus, but on the other hand it only has a 2.7l engine and gets good consumption. For what it has to offer the performance is good, and felt like a really slow M4.


Engine: 7/10

As I mentioned before, 2.7l flat 6. It revs, but the revs take a while to build up. The redline is somewhere around 7,000 or a bit north of that, but it seems to take forever to get there.

Transmission: 8/10

This car was equipped with the PDK, and as I have said it before and I will say it again, the PDK is a masterpiece. It is such an emotional gearbox, smooth when needed, and aggressive when wanted. I think the PDK makes this car a very enjoyable and fun car. Would a 6MT be better? Yes. Did I miss the 6MT? no. The gearshifts them self are very very smooth in regular driving, and the transmission seems to go disengage the clutch when you ease of the gas pedal to allow you to coast. Unfortunately, there is an even better gearbox I experienced and therefor the score for transmission stays at 8/10. Now the shifter buttons were on the steering wheel. Some people love them and other people hate them. To me it did not matter as after 5 minutes of driving you just get used to it.

Overall Fun factor: 8/10

Overall, this car is not really made for attacking corners or setting laptimes. Maybe this is left for the GTS and trust me, I can feel the potential behind this car with a tighter and more powerful engine. Instead the fun factor you get in this car is from lowering the top and enjoying that flat 6 sound while having a bit of fun in the twisty. I think this car would make a great and enjoyable daily commuter for people who have experienced enough speed in their other car, and just want to get from point a to point b without drawing to much attention, yet enjoying the ride.

Total score 74

(Please note that having a score of 74 is fairly high for me. I believe Average score is around 65-70. No car is perfect that is why I do not give out 9/10 or 10/10 often.)