RE: Porsche 718 Boxster S: Review
Discussion
nickfrog said:
I specced a 2.0 to £43k as I would only want a couple of cheap bits and stick to 18' wheels. With discount and based on the cheaper forthcoming Cayman, that should be very close to £40k.
Very good VFM for a 300hp mid-engine car that will be quite superb to drive based on past experience with the brand - loss of the F6 : not great from a noise and refinement POV. But they've apparently made it rev cleanly and with good throttle response, a la BMW I6 turbo so not all bad. I am even wondering if the character of the engine won't liven up the super safe but occasionally slightly inert chassis (blame the "overtyring"). Can't wait for the test drive.
Porsche make cars for enthusiasts and I don't care if the majority of buyers are supposedly hairdressers or don't know/care what engine it has - I am not in marketing so all this demographics / target audience doesn't bother me, I buy a car for me, as a daily+track days+Ring trip tool, which I reckon this will be near perfect for on a budget.
Amazing that it's comparatively cheaper than the old 944 Turbo from this test in 1988. Also interesting that you could buy the base spec 911 for over 10% lessVery good VFM for a 300hp mid-engine car that will be quite superb to drive based on past experience with the brand - loss of the F6 : not great from a noise and refinement POV. But they've apparently made it rev cleanly and with good throttle response, a la BMW I6 turbo so not all bad. I am even wondering if the character of the engine won't liven up the super safe but occasionally slightly inert chassis (blame the "overtyring"). Can't wait for the test drive.
Porsche make cars for enthusiasts and I don't care if the majority of buyers are supposedly hairdressers or don't know/care what engine it has - I am not in marketing so all this demographics / target audience doesn't bother me, I buy a car for me, as a daily+track days+Ring trip tool, which I reckon this will be near perfect for on a budget.
Dan Trent said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Were it that simple, eh!Simply, is the 718 s
t? No. Is it faster, sharper and more flexible than the six-cylinder cars while using a bit less fuel? Yes.
Do you sacrifice some of the previous car's character for this? Yes.
Does it cost a lot of money and even more if you put together a half decent options package? Yes.
I don't think we shirked from any of the above in the story! And exploring the nuances around the above points isn't copping out or sucking up to Porsche, it's where the real interest is. There are plenty of boring cars in the market; this isn't one of them. Better/worse? Both, as it goes but whether or not it appeals to the likes of us is something to be debated here and I'm enjoying reading what people think.
Cheers,
Dan
Your article finished with this:
The article said:
Which brings us full circle. Does mourning what's been lost make you less receptive to what's been gained? Or are you willing to embrace the new world (firing) order and trade imperfect but engaging character for more ability? Speed still matters. How you wish to achieve it will determine your view of this new turbocharged Boxster.
Well, I'd kind of like you to answer those questions! You didn't seem to answer them in the review, and to me they are the questions that I can't guess the answer to from looking at a spec sheet. How did you feel when you got out the car? Did the objective excellence/competence of the car overcome the lack of character from the engine?
Maybe most importantly: At then end of the day did the car feel special enough to you to be worth £62k of your own money? Does the speed still matter that much for you?
Now really is the time to buy a 987 Gen 2 - The best Boxster ever made.....
Buy now whilst prices are reasonable.
For those who already own one, Porsche has kindly increased the extendable warranty to 15 years, by which time these vehicles will bee seen as the future classics which they are....
Buy now whilst prices are reasonable.
For those who already own one, Porsche has kindly increased the extendable warranty to 15 years, by which time these vehicles will bee seen as the future classics which they are....
I've read 2 massively different reviews on this cars power train now and I don't know which one to believe? The other review stated it lost its punch by 6500 and wasn't fun to rev out, but this article says it punches all the way to the top? Anyway doesn't really matter as I can't afford one 
Peter Cee said:
Now really is the time to buy a 987 Gen 2 - The best Boxster ever made.....
Buy now whilst prices are reasonable.
For those who already own one, Porsche has kindly increased the extendable warranty to 15 years, by which time these vehicles will bee seen as the future classics which they are....
Porsche warranty, soft, strong and thoroughly absorbent. Difficult choice, the new one with apparently no character or the old one which had loads....in a traditional British sports car sort of way Buy now whilst prices are reasonable.
For those who already own one, Porsche has kindly increased the extendable warranty to 15 years, by which time these vehicles will bee seen as the future classics which they are....
leglessAlex said:
Well, I'd kind of like you to answer those questions! You didn't seem to answer them in the review, and to me they are the questions that I can't guess the answer to from looking at a spec sheet.
How did you feel when you got out the car? Did the objective excellence/competence of the car overcome the lack of character from the engine?
Maybe most importantly: At then end of the day did the car feel special enough to you to be worth £62k of your own money? Does the speed still matter that much for you?
It's a complicated car and one that'll take more time than we had with it to reach a definitive opinion, which I guess is why I left this first instalment as a fairly open conclusion. I think it would take some chutzpah to declare one way or the other what others should think about it or take a 'line' about it; at this stage I wanted to relay a sense of what it's like to drive, offer up a bit of engine noise and let people draw their conclusions from the evidence presented. To do any different would be to lead the witness I think. How did you feel when you got out the car? Did the objective excellence/competence of the car overcome the lack of character from the engine?
Maybe most importantly: At then end of the day did the car feel special enough to you to be worth £62k of your own money? Does the speed still matter that much for you?
Speaking entirely personally I'm really intrigued by the engine and have huge respect for the *way* in which the 718 tackles the need to go four-cylinder and turbocharged. They've not taken the easy way by any stretch and I respect that. May not be a flat-six any more but in technical terms I think there's more than enough engineering clout in there to stand the scrutiny of the market position. That and the performance to me compensates to a point for the sacrifice in 'soul'. I did wince at the bottom line price though.
What did I feel? It's kind of tracked in the story. For the first few miles - sat beside the Porsche PR - I was thinking 'holy crap, this might actually be awful' as he did the party line on its brilliance. I thought it was really harsh, gruff and unrefined and, putting myself in the position of a current owner going for a test drive, would have left the dealership very happy with my six-cylinder car and no intention of going back.
Then I did some errands, the gruffness became less of an issue and I felt myself warming to it. Then I got up at 6am on Sunday and went for a proper drive on my own but, as you'll see, the conditions were a bit dismal. Mooched around a bit more, felt a little more positive. Then I did my early run down south on Monday and managed to get a blissful early morning crack at the A5 from Lutterworth to Towcester with seemingly nothing else on the road and roof down. After THAT I was feeling much more positive - the refinement issues definitely took second place to the sheer thrill of the extra grunt.
Frankly I think they may struggle in the test drive scenario that was my first half hour with the car. But as time went on I got a sense of more depth than I'd expected. I'd love to drive it on track too.
First chapter of a long-running story this. I get the impression it's going to run and run!
Cheers,
Dan
kambites said:
Out of interest, those of you who current own a six-pot Boxster but don't fancy one of these because of the engine, what will you replace the current car with? Or will you just keep it indefinitely?
I have a 981 GTS PDK fully loaded (came to £69k) which you'll have to pry from my dead cold hands!! It sounds absolutely glorious and now with 10,000 miles on the clock it's sounding even better and rortier than when it was new.I tracked it at Castle Combe over a weekend and it was constently 2-3sec quicker per lap than all the E46 M3's that were there (I know, because I also drove an M3 that same weekend).
But a 718? Nah, it sounds crap and they've poxxed the interior styling. The only thing I'd want is that nice new 918-style steering wheel, probably something I can snaffle from the OPC catalog anytime.
They will likely release the 718 GTS with 360hp and some exhaust tweaks, but that still just won't give me the flat 6 experience and noise I love now. Sorry Porsche, you sold me an instant classic 18 months ago and I'm hanging onto it.
ORD said:
Give it a year and we'll have the diesel version. It would be barely any worse.
Although Porsches aren't my cup of tea, I'm always very happy to listen to the Porsche flat 6.I watched the video of the 718 and thought it sounded like a diesel. The aural qualities had diesel all over them. The harsh pulses, very limited range of pitch etc. It just sounded like a big premium car diesel with a 2000 rpm usable rev range. Why anyone would want to accept all the practicality penalties for an expensive daily driver with such little emotive payback on offer is a bit baffling.
Thanks very much Dan, I appreciate you answering those questions.
I get what you're saying about letting others make up their mind, it seems reasonable. I just like to hear the reviewers own personal opinion, once I've read a few I can try and work out who puts importance on what and then try to guess how I'd react to the car!
I, and I'm guessing many others, appreciate the (very free) content.
I get what you're saying about letting others make up their mind, it seems reasonable. I just like to hear the reviewers own personal opinion, once I've read a few I can try and work out who puts importance on what and then try to guess how I'd react to the car!
I, and I'm guessing many others, appreciate the (very free) content.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Hopefully the previous reply will have expanded a little and I appreciate you keeping us honest - it's one of the things I love about working for PH!Picking up on the above though I probably don't need to tell you the realities of the business have changed a lot since 'the old days' you describe. I'm not pitching you a sob story - just attempting some context - but on Monday morning it was a case of chucking the keys to the collection driver, running back to the office, reading the press gubbins, making sense of notes and impressions, typing it up, cropping and editing pictures and vid all the time hoping nobody else was going to break the embargo and go live before the allotted time. As you'll see from the previous post, my views were constantly evolving and you'd have had a very different review from me if I'd written it Saturday, different again if you'd asked me Sunday and different again after the drive on Monday morning. I'm sure back in the day turnarounds were just as tight and deadlines just as fierce but I'd hazard there would have been more time for beard stroking (some beard in Setright's case!) and arranging thoughts than we now get.
Obviously being able to assess a car on the spot and express that with a gun to the head is what we're paid for though and I don't for one minute expect sympathies. But I'm always wary of snap judgements and those who make them on anything other than utterly solid conviction.
I think this story will evolve. As I say, it's just the opening salvo.
Cheers,
Dan
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I would though! I like a challenge and there'd be more to explore and learn with the new one, despite instinctively preferring the 3.4 and all the romance that comes with it. Witness what happened with the M4 long termer. It took many months and over 10,000 miles but once under the skin of that car I really, really enjoyed it. Golf R, on the other hand...
Dan
So does this car rev or not? Dan seems to think so but other reviews aren't so sure. A 7.5k rpm rev limit sounds like a step in the right direction but only if it likes going there. A 4 pot can be made to feel exciting, someone earlier mentioned the import Impreza Sti engine which would bang up to it's 8250rpm limit with aplomb. This is what they should be going after, low-mid range punch is nice when you are just poottling along but is anathema to me when it's at the expense of top end fireworks in a sports car when I want to have fun.
Price wise it's also a bit steep and the styling is nice but a bit of a step backwards from the previous gen one IMO. All in all I'd still be looking at a V6 Exige long before I considered this. It might be too hardcore for your average Boxster buyer but the new Exige has been softened a bit so it's a better all rounder now but when it comes to fun, I reckon it would blow the Boxsters socks off.
Price wise it's also a bit steep and the styling is nice but a bit of a step backwards from the previous gen one IMO. All in all I'd still be looking at a V6 Exige long before I considered this. It might be too hardcore for your average Boxster buyer but the new Exige has been softened a bit so it's a better all rounder now but when it comes to fun, I reckon it would blow the Boxsters socks off.
I shall remember my 986 2.7 and 3.2 with greater fondness from now on!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff