Porsche Boxster S 981 Guards Red, PDK Chrono PSE PASM PTV...
Discussion
Hi all,
My girlfriend and I want to do some European touring next year. We especially want to check out the Med, so plan to tour the Spanish east coast, Mallorca, do south of France again. Also want to do Norway, Wales and Scotland at some point.
So the first part of the plan was to buy a car that would do the job. I wanted something comfortable when needed to be, yet an incredible sports car when the conditions allowed. I didn't want a supercar, nor did I want a GT car, but a proper sports car. Ideally mid engined, two seater, convertible, modern, reliable and with a decent warranty! Budget was healthy, but the less I spent meant the more we could put towards travelling and also some investments next year.
So, whilst I appreciate not all these meet all the above criteria, my short list was:
Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster 4.7
Jaguar F-Type Roadster
Lotus Evora
Lotus Exige
Porsche 911
Porsche Boxster S or GTS
BMW M4 Convertible with Competition Pack
Audi R8
Another TVR
After much trawling around various car showrooms, it became clear there was one car that really did tick all the boxes. After a test drive, I was sold. It just blew me away. It was so easy to drive fast! It inspired confidence, felt light and nimble, the modern tech was a warm welcome over my previous (older) cars, the switchable suspension and exhaust, and PDK gearbox meant it was incredibly comfortable on motorways and longer drives, but an animal on a tight twisty country road.
I still would like an Aston one day, but they appear very dated inside now, running costs are frightening and it didn't have the same feel as the Porsche. I liked the F-Type, but ultimately it was too big and heavy and had terrible luggage space. Lovely looking car though. Same goes for the BMW M4, too big and a very small boot. I decided a 991 911 was too expensive, and I would value the second boot in the Boxster over two additional seats! The 997 911 again felt too dated inside. The Lotus is well and truly a proper sports car, but I decided I did want more mod-cons and slightly more comfort on long cross continent drives and again, the boot space was too small.
So I found a Boxster S at Porsche Centre Colchester. It was slightly higher mileage than I wanted, but it had every single optional extra I wanted, and more! After a fantastic test drive, I was sold. I did really want a GTS, but this car had all the GTS spec, except the alcantara interior and the extra power (around 10hp IIRC). In the end, I couldn't justify the extra £15,000!! Yes I know it will hold its value better, but the less I spent now, the better!
The spec was a glorious mix of various acronyms!
981 Boxster S
PDK
Sport Chrono
Sport Design steering wheel
PSE (Sports Exhaust)
PASM (Adaptive Suspension)
PTV locking diff (torque vectoring diff)
Full (extended) leather including leather dash
14 way electric memory seats
Heated seats
Dual zone climate control
PCM 3.1
Phone prep
Bose
PDLS (Bi-xenon dynamic light pack)
Auto dimming mirrors
Auto wipers
Cruise control
Wind deflector
Park assist front and rear
Coloured Porsche wheel crests
Porsche crest on the seats
Roll bars colour coded
Air intake, front grille slats and rear diffuser colour coded
Tyre Pressure Monitor
20” Carrera Classic wheels
Seat belts in Guards Red
I decided if I was going to get one, I specifically wanted a "spritted driving orientated" spec, so I wanted PDK, Sports Chrono, Porsche Sports Exhaust, Adaptive Suspension, PTV diff, and I really wanted extended leather as I hate plastic dashboards!
The one at Porsche Colchester had all of these and more! In fact it had around £22,000 of optional extras! Someone had really spec'd this car up well! And it was in a bright colour, so it stands out. A deal was struck and I took delivery a week later. Porsche Colchester were fantastic to deal with. Very helpful, very friendly, offering to stay late in the evening for the handover, collecting me from the train station. Every aspect of the purchase was superb. I'd not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
A few weeks with the car and I absolutely love it. It's everything I wanted it to be. It handles like nothing else I've ever driven. It's so poised, well balanced and precise. It absorbs our terrible bumpy roads with ease, even with the 20" wheels it never feels like it's being pulled from side to side or ever unsettled. The gearbox is an absolute delight. So quick and easy to use and the rev blips in Sport Plus mode are addictive. The PSE sounds fantastic at high revs!
It's not the quickest car I've ever owned in terms of out and out straight line performance, but I have a lot more confidence to really push it on twisty and bumpy roads as it feels so well composed. And for the typical south coast roads which are clogged with slow moving traffic (yes Bournemouth, I'm talking about you!!), it's so easy to drive. Put it in auto, turn off the PSE, switch the suspension back to normal and turn up the stereo and it's a lovely place to sit.
We can't wait for some touring next year. Particularly checking out Spain. Should be a lot of fun!
It will sit alongside my BMW M135i and BMW Z4 M 3.2 Roadster.
Anyway, a few mobile phone pictures for now, but I will be taking some more professional shots soon!
My girlfriend and I want to do some European touring next year. We especially want to check out the Med, so plan to tour the Spanish east coast, Mallorca, do south of France again. Also want to do Norway, Wales and Scotland at some point.
So the first part of the plan was to buy a car that would do the job. I wanted something comfortable when needed to be, yet an incredible sports car when the conditions allowed. I didn't want a supercar, nor did I want a GT car, but a proper sports car. Ideally mid engined, two seater, convertible, modern, reliable and with a decent warranty! Budget was healthy, but the less I spent meant the more we could put towards travelling and also some investments next year.
So, whilst I appreciate not all these meet all the above criteria, my short list was:
Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster 4.7
Jaguar F-Type Roadster
Lotus Evora
Lotus Exige
Porsche 911
Porsche Boxster S or GTS
BMW M4 Convertible with Competition Pack
Audi R8
Another TVR
After much trawling around various car showrooms, it became clear there was one car that really did tick all the boxes. After a test drive, I was sold. It just blew me away. It was so easy to drive fast! It inspired confidence, felt light and nimble, the modern tech was a warm welcome over my previous (older) cars, the switchable suspension and exhaust, and PDK gearbox meant it was incredibly comfortable on motorways and longer drives, but an animal on a tight twisty country road.
I still would like an Aston one day, but they appear very dated inside now, running costs are frightening and it didn't have the same feel as the Porsche. I liked the F-Type, but ultimately it was too big and heavy and had terrible luggage space. Lovely looking car though. Same goes for the BMW M4, too big and a very small boot. I decided a 991 911 was too expensive, and I would value the second boot in the Boxster over two additional seats! The 997 911 again felt too dated inside. The Lotus is well and truly a proper sports car, but I decided I did want more mod-cons and slightly more comfort on long cross continent drives and again, the boot space was too small.
So I found a Boxster S at Porsche Centre Colchester. It was slightly higher mileage than I wanted, but it had every single optional extra I wanted, and more! After a fantastic test drive, I was sold. I did really want a GTS, but this car had all the GTS spec, except the alcantara interior and the extra power (around 10hp IIRC). In the end, I couldn't justify the extra £15,000!! Yes I know it will hold its value better, but the less I spent now, the better!
The spec was a glorious mix of various acronyms!
981 Boxster S
PDK
Sport Chrono
Sport Design steering wheel
PSE (Sports Exhaust)
PASM (Adaptive Suspension)
PTV locking diff (torque vectoring diff)
Full (extended) leather including leather dash
14 way electric memory seats
Heated seats
Dual zone climate control
PCM 3.1
Phone prep
Bose
PDLS (Bi-xenon dynamic light pack)
Auto dimming mirrors
Auto wipers
Cruise control
Wind deflector
Park assist front and rear
Coloured Porsche wheel crests
Porsche crest on the seats
Roll bars colour coded
Air intake, front grille slats and rear diffuser colour coded
Tyre Pressure Monitor
20” Carrera Classic wheels
Seat belts in Guards Red
I decided if I was going to get one, I specifically wanted a "spritted driving orientated" spec, so I wanted PDK, Sports Chrono, Porsche Sports Exhaust, Adaptive Suspension, PTV diff, and I really wanted extended leather as I hate plastic dashboards!
The one at Porsche Colchester had all of these and more! In fact it had around £22,000 of optional extras! Someone had really spec'd this car up well! And it was in a bright colour, so it stands out. A deal was struck and I took delivery a week later. Porsche Colchester were fantastic to deal with. Very helpful, very friendly, offering to stay late in the evening for the handover, collecting me from the train station. Every aspect of the purchase was superb. I'd not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
A few weeks with the car and I absolutely love it. It's everything I wanted it to be. It handles like nothing else I've ever driven. It's so poised, well balanced and precise. It absorbs our terrible bumpy roads with ease, even with the 20" wheels it never feels like it's being pulled from side to side or ever unsettled. The gearbox is an absolute delight. So quick and easy to use and the rev blips in Sport Plus mode are addictive. The PSE sounds fantastic at high revs!
It's not the quickest car I've ever owned in terms of out and out straight line performance, but I have a lot more confidence to really push it on twisty and bumpy roads as it feels so well composed. And for the typical south coast roads which are clogged with slow moving traffic (yes Bournemouth, I'm talking about you!!), it's so easy to drive. Put it in auto, turn off the PSE, switch the suspension back to normal and turn up the stereo and it's a lovely place to sit.
We can't wait for some touring next year. Particularly checking out Spain. Should be a lot of fun!
It will sit alongside my BMW M135i and BMW Z4 M 3.2 Roadster.
Anyway, a few mobile phone pictures for now, but I will be taking some more professional shots soon!
Edited by zed4 on Saturday 21st October 12:59
TTmonkey said:
That's a stunner. And such an obvious correct choice from your list. I've been wanting similar but still outof my reach right now.
I'm going to be blunt, what did it cost you? You say higher mileage.... how many?
Great choice I hope you have a great road trip.
Thanks. It is a stunning little car. Porsche got the design right on these! Looks great from the side. I'm going to be blunt, what did it cost you? You say higher mileage.... how many?
Great choice I hope you have a great road trip.
Miles were 42,000. I was originally wanting something with around 20k on it, but the spec on this was too good to miss. Plus it had the benefit of the 2 year Porsche warranty and assistance. Porsche had just painted the bumper and bonnet due to stone chips, and I paid extra to have the side skirts and side air intakes done, so it genuinely looks like a new car. It's clearly been garaged from new as the roof is spotless, and I'll continue to garage it.
I paid just over £36,000 for the car. That included the repaint and a Porsche Silverstone experience!
I thought it was a good price, seeing as a lot of well spec'd cars are still £40-50k with fewer miles on! It's definitely worth paying a bit more to get the spec right though. I just wouldn't be happy without the full leather option, or PSE, or bluetooth etc... If I'm spending this much, I wanted it to have everything!!
zed4 said:
TTmonkey said:
That's a stunner. And such an obvious correct choice from your list. I've been wanting similar but still outof my reach right now.
I'm going to be blunt, what did it cost you? You say higher mileage.... how many?
Great choice I hope you have a great road trip.
Thanks. It is a stunning little car. Porsche got the design right on these! Looks great from the side. I'm going to be blunt, what did it cost you? You say higher mileage.... how many?
Great choice I hope you have a great road trip.
Miles were 42,000. I was originally wanting something with around 20k on it, but the spec on this was too good to miss. Plus it had the benefit of the 2 year Porsche warranty and assistance. Porsche had just painted the bumper and bonnet due to stone chips, and I paid extra to have the side skirts and side air intakes done, so it genuinely looks like a new car. It's clearly been garaged from new as the roof is spotless, and I'll continue to garage it.
I paid just over £36,000 for the car. That included the repaint and a Porsche Silverstone experience!
I thought it was a good price, seeing as a lot of well spec'd cars are still £40-50k with fewer miles on! It's definitely worth paying a bit more to get the spec right though. I just wouldn't be happy without the full leather option, or PSE, or bluetooth etc... If I'm spending this much, I wanted it to have everything!!
Very nice.
I've driven a couple of these and they really are a nice car to use everyday, prices seem to be quite firm and stay above 30k. I'd be happy with a 2.7 PDK with PSE, heated seats and 19's.
I love the colour too, makes a change from black.
I love the colour too, makes a change from black.
Edited by steve-5snwi on Saturday 21st October 18:33
I've been polishing and waxing! 5 coats of Swissvax, should help keep the dirt at bay over the winter!
Had the side skirts and side air intakes repainted by Porsche. Front end was done when I bought the car. Perfect job so it's perfect now. Not a single stone chip anywhere on the car!
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on Flickr
Had the side skirts and side air intakes repainted by Porsche. Front end was done when I bought the car. Perfect job so it's perfect now. Not a single stone chip anywhere on the car!
Untitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrUntitled by Daniel Yeates, on FlickrEdited by zed4 on Monday 4th December 15:01
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