Box - 911 Has anyone done it and wanted the Boxster back?
Discussion
hugedouche said:
I wouldn't, as good as the box is, and it really is good, It just never got under my skin like the 911 has, which once you get use to it is a more rewarding drive and just feels special...
I could see the "more rewarding drive" argument (playing with the unique rear engine package) for earlier generations, but not anymore for the 9X1 series. To really feel the rear engine in the 991 you have to do crazy things not really recommended for public road driving. For me the new BoxsterS actually carries more of the "old" Porsche values than the 991: sporty, nimble, reasonably prised, capitalizing on the superb handling rather than crazy hp numbers. German mag "Porschefahrer" summed it up nicely: what has been the 3.2 Carrera decades ago today is the Boxster.Ozzie Osmond said:
That's why I bought one!
Congrats to you and many happy miles ! Picked up mine just 9 days ago (report will follow after a break-in vacation commencing on Wednesday). For rear engine joy I keep my 997.1 GT3 (dedicated tracktoy) but for sporty open top road driving the BoxsterS is my favourite by far (traded in a 987.1 S after 120 k very happy km).My recently delivered 981-S, manual with PSE is much more engaging and provides a better feel good factor than my 997S-Gen2 which I thought was a bit bland except when tanking along. The loss of my license put me back in a 987 and then the 981 which is a massive leap in capability over the earlier boxsters. Btw the pse in sport mode is a great toy - make me laugh everytime It spits back and rumbles on the overrun but the missus isnt impressed so it must be good! Strangely I had PSE on my 997 and it was hard to tell when it was on or off...if you need a 2+2 though the 997 is a very capable car and I would happily have one again if circumstances demanded it.
Apart from Silverstone PEC, the only long run so far from the south coast was to the Cotswolds over this weekend. Unless your 981 "S" is a daily driver and you spend time in traffic, a radio/cd is totally redundant if you have the sports exhaust. Certainly a total waste of money to upgrade when the sound is as intoxicating as Porsche have managed to achieve.
Park brake is wrong way round, but eventually got used to it. Only other criticism so far, is the lack of clarity through the fabric wind deflector as it breaks rear images into pixels and should have been clear glass like the earlier models. All in all, whether on motorway or winding country lane, an extremely competent car on standard wheels, without PASM etc., just delivers exactly what you want when you want it. Certainly light years further on from my 986 "S" and I thought that was brilliant! Oh yes, the manual gearbox is a must, quite superb and you feel as if you are driving the car rather than being driven, total involvement.
Out of a dozen or so people over three days who stopped to talk about the car, 3 thought it was a Ferrari!!To be fair this is the best looking car Porsche have produced and does have a more visually Italian rather than German character.
Park brake is wrong way round, but eventually got used to it. Only other criticism so far, is the lack of clarity through the fabric wind deflector as it breaks rear images into pixels and should have been clear glass like the earlier models. All in all, whether on motorway or winding country lane, an extremely competent car on standard wheels, without PASM etc., just delivers exactly what you want when you want it. Certainly light years further on from my 986 "S" and I thought that was brilliant! Oh yes, the manual gearbox is a must, quite superb and you feel as if you are driving the car rather than being driven, total involvement.
Out of a dozen or so people over three days who stopped to talk about the car, 3 thought it was a Ferrari!!To be fair this is the best looking car Porsche have produced and does have a more visually Italian rather than German character.
Gouldian said:
All in all, whether on motorway or winding country lane, an extremely competent car on standard wheels, without PASM etc., just delivers exactly what you want when you want it. Certainly light years further on from my 986 "S" and I thought that was brilliant! Oh yes, the manual gearbox is a must, quite superb and you feel as if you are driving the car rather than being driven, total involvement.
Yes, I've done about 400 miles now and loving it. When I did my test drives the OPC only had PDK cars and at first I thought I'd buy one, although one or two transmission shunts annoyed me a bit. So I wated to try a manual and had a go in a 911 to check out Mr Porsche's skills in building a amanual box, and that's what I ordered.The 6-speed manual is absolutely superb now that I'm learning my way around it.
[But the bloomin' HOLD function seems to have a life of its own. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I'd happily can it alongside the rest of the electric parking brake system.]
Another difference Ozzie that I noticed between manual and PDK. On the overun the PDK made a rather farty higher pitch blow back that I found tiresome, the manual on the other hand has a much throatier rumble on overun that can be sustained by throttle control. Whether this is normal or just that test car I don't know. I've had mine for a month now and still not seen a 981 on the road, so no opportunity to compare manual/PDK. with another owner.
I must say I'm finding this thread to be a very useful guide to my ultimate decision, like I have said I tried the 997 911 Turbo S and thought it was everything I wanted in a car but having then just jumped in to a Boxster S as a wild card I was blown away by the instant grin factor of the Boxster plus in my particular case I still find the inevitable depreciation of the Turbo S something I'm not prepared to swallow at this moment in time. I think one of the problems these days is people do tend to have ideas about cars they haven't even tried and I have to admit to be one of those who up until I tried one thought of the Boxster was the 911's poorer sibling. My conclusion now is I'll probably buy a 2007 Boxster S with PASM and Chrono run it for a few years and have fun then sell it when the 911 has levelled out depreciation wise.
Gouldian said:
On the overun the PDK made a rather farty higher pitch blow back that I found tiresome, the manual on the other hand has a much throatier rumble on overun that can be sustained by throttle control.
Yes, the PDK soundtrack is different especially with the "Sport" and/or "Sport Plus" buttons pressed. I have yet to establish what, if anything, the "Sport" button does in my manual car with conventional suspension. Apart from turning on a little red light. I seem to have two buttons both of which turn off stop/start (thank goodness) one of which lights up a green symbol on the dash and the other doesn't. Very handy.
Anyone else noticed stop/start can't be fully switched off? It re-starts the car whenever I stall it....
Really interesting thread - thanks OP and all you contributors. We are in the unexpected situation of having both a 987 2.7 and a 996 C4 cab in the drive. I plan to sell one of them, probably in the spring when convertible prices come back, but which? On one hand, I originally wanted 4WD (whoops, that's annoyed one lot of purists already, then) and the extra room which the 911 gives you, and having tried a Boxster for a short time had decided it just wasn't big enough in the cockpit. But on the other hand, now we have the 2 cars back to back all the time, while I do still miss the ability to tilt the driver's seat back when driving the 987, what a fantastic drive it is! It goes just where you point it, very composed over the rough roads we seem to have everywhere now, and is just huge fun.
Yes I miss the plusher interior and toys in my up-spec 996, but as SWMBO says, surely the point of having a convertible is to have fun!
Yes I miss the plusher interior and toys in my up-spec 996, but as SWMBO says, surely the point of having a convertible is to have fun!
Zyp said:
The Sport button in a manual car should just increase throttle response and let the PSM kick in a bit later.
(if the same as the 987)
In the 991 it seems to work a little differently from the 997. This from my ownership experience:(if the same as the 987)
Sport button = deactivation of coasting mode and Auto Stop/Start, enhanced throttle map, opening of inlet noise valve (sound symposer), activation (reversible) of (optional) sports exhaust, sportier gear change map (in Auto mode)
Sport Plus button = deactivation of coasting mode and Auto Stop/Start, same throttle map as for Sport, relaxation of PSM threshold, opening of inlet noise valve (sound symposer), activation (reversible) of (optional) sports exhaust, activation (reversible) of (optional) PASM sport suspension, activation (non-reversible) of (optional) PDCC sport mode, BONKERS gear change map (in Auto mode)
The only time I select Sport Plus is when I want to push back the thresholds of PSM and tighten the PDCC roll bars. I can choose to scream around in 1st gear all the time with the paddles.
Edited by BnB on Thursday 20th September 09:51
Zyp said:
GT03ROB said:
Can't really comment on the original question, but having just bought a 987s, I think I know which between the Boxster & GT3 will get more use.
It won't be the GT3.
It won't be the GT3.
The GT3 is a real event, but to really appreciate, it needs to be driven with a certain amount of pace. You just can't do that on many roads much of the time. The Boxster's fun is more accessible, more useable day to day.
Thats basically why the Boxster will see more use
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