16 months of fun with the Boxster GTS

[Huskyman]

My dad and I bought the car between us in March 2015 as a weekend only car, limited mileage policy on it to be kept for a long time... Best laid plans and all that. The car now has more than 16K miles on it!!
A good friend said 'They are for driving and enjoying, not just for polishing and for leaving in the garage'
Wise words. I just can't stop driving it, and it still makes me smile everytime I look back on it when I park it up after a nice long drive.
I always warm the oil through to more than 90 degrees before using more than 50% throttle and more than 4K RPM, I ran it in very carefully with some very long drives in it to get the mileage up, and it uses no oil at all. it does need a good clean at the moment, so no pictures yet!

Here's some thoughts about some ownership experiences so far:

Good
The car attracts mostly positive attention, and I have only had a few bad experiences so far with bell ends in taxis and the occasional boy racer.
In my opinion the styling of the 981 was a big step on with styling cues from the Carerra GT in the side intakes and the shape of the doors, and the lovely way the spoiler and the lights all flow into a cohesive shape at the rear, this gives the car tension in the rear styling.

The instrumentation is very good, with the selectable TFT screen that displays all the data, I do tend to reset the G meter peak readings after an enthusiastic drive...


The ride is acceptable on the 20" wheels even in Sports Plus, I rarely have to back it off to a softer suspension setting. The handling is very good, and even though the steering lacks the pure detail of the last 986 boxster I drove, the car still communicates well through the chassis.
I suspected that the next boxster would be a turbo, so we pulled the trigger on the GTS. The sounds from the exhaust and induction put a smile on my face every time, it sounds amazing in a tunnel and sonic mirrors are surprisingly numerous on the drives I go on! Some people bemoan the pops and crackles from the exhaust, I love them.
Seats and driving position are superb, and in vanilla mode it's as easy to drive as any car I have had and I climbed out of it after a 300 mile trip free of aches and relaxed.
Sorry to be a bit sad, but with a trip up north through roads heavily infested with speed cameras it was returning an average of 34mpg...

The remote access where you can lower the roof off the key fob is a nice little bit of theatre.
It is very practical for what it is, with a decent boot front and rear, and space behind the seats, decent door bins that remind me of my 928 S4, and the build quality is a massive leap on from the 986.

Even in total monsoon conditions the soft top remains water tight, which is a bit of a boon in this country...

Bad
It's bloody loud on a cold start! On the rare occasion I need to leave in it early it can make you cringe a bit, I would prefer if the silencers remained closed during this phase.
The plastic trim by the bonnet and boot release buttons is very easy to scuff
I wish that the PDK wouldn't kick down in manual mode.

That's about it really, three little moans isn't bad! I did look at the new 718 and I really don't like the styling, so I think it will be staying for quite some time to come. Roll on some nice hot summer weather!

Does anyone else have some experiences to share?

[Twinfan]

I've only had my Cayman GTS three months but I echo everything you've said. I think as a road-only car, the 981 GTSs were stunning value for money at £60k. You'd need to spend a lot more to get something as special, and as time goes on even more so now we're in the small-engine-with-turbo era.

[BogglemanGTS]

Nice write up, got to agree with everything you say. Great car without being too in your face.
I have hardly used mine, due to work commitments etc. But we have a trip to Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France booked for September. Should easily see the mileage around 3000 on return.

[Huskyman]

Twinfan said:

I've only had my Cayman GTS three months but I echo everything you've said. I think as a road-only car, the 981 GTSs were stunning value for money at £60k. You'd need to spend a lot more to get something as special, and as time goes on even more so now we're in the small-engine-with-turbo era.

I did have a good look around, and you're bang on with that sentiment. You would need to spend a lot more, the GTS feels special, and it's an end of era car.

[Huskyman]

BogglemanGTS said:

Nice write up, got to agree with everything you say. Great car without being too in your face.
I have hardly used mine, due to work commitments etc. But we have a trip to Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France booked for September. Should easily see the mileage around 3000 on return.

That sounds like a really good trip you're going on! Would I be right in guessing you are going to take in some of the spectacular passes on that trip? I bet you will have some fun on that jaunt

[BogglemanGTS]

Huskyman said:

That sounds like a really good trip you're going on! Would I be right in guessing you are going to take in some of the spectacular passes on that trip? I bet you will have some fun on that jaunt

Yes, as many passes as possible. Always take the long route, and add plenty of extra time for it. Done these trips for the last 3 years, and now a beach holiday does not have the same appeal anymore.

Last trips done in RS4 Cabriolet, I'm hoping this year will be more about over steer than under steer. Hahaha.

[BogglemanGTS]

[Gorsh]

I'm loving my BGTS too - currently in Scotland having done the NC500 plus a lot of other trips in the Highlands over two weeks. Home tomorrow and will have done close to 2000 miles on the holiday.

[BogglemanGTS]

Gorsh said:

I'm loving my BGTS too - currently in Scotland having done the NC500 plus a lot of other trips in the Highlands over two weeks. Home tomorrow and will have done close to 2000 miles on the holiday.

Hi Gorsh,

Can I ask what NC500 is like for a motorbike trip. I read varied reviews saying its a bit too rugged in places for the bikes.
Was planning a trip with mates for later in the year, but I have been slightly put off.
Glad you are loving the BGTS, some people poke fun at me for buying it. That is until I take them on a passenger ride, the noise gets every one of them.

[Gorsh]

BogglemanGTS said:

Gorsh said:

I'm loving my BGTS too - currently in Scotland having done the NC500 plus a lot of other trips in the Highlands over two weeks. Home tomorrow and will have done close to 2000 miles on the holiday.

Hi Gorsh,

Can I ask what NC500 is like for a motorbike trip. I read varied reviews saying its a bit too rugged in places for the bikes.
Was planning a trip with mates for later in the year, but I have been slightly put off.
Glad you are loving the BGTS, some people poke fun at me for buying it. That is until I take them on a passenger ride, the noise gets every one of them.

The NC500 is fine for motorbikes I would say, but be aware there are several stretches in the NW which are narrow roads with passing places so low speeds and lots of stop start driving. We saw lots of bikes on the route, loads of useful info on the nc500 web site. It's really good, but unless you're really short of time stay a couple of nights at your stops, gives more time to explore each area.

[evojam]

The GTS is the Boxster I aspire to and will eventually replace my old 987.Normally aspirated flat six singing right behind your ears and a manual box,a proper Porsche!

[dreamcar]

Great write up Huskyman, many thanks for taking the time to compose it. Our own BGTS, now 15 months and 8,000 miles on is an amazing car, the heart of which is the amazing sounding flat six. They are indeed a special last of a kind sports car - especially now we know how that agricultural flat four has comprehensively ruined such a great car.

[Biggriff]

26,000 miles and counting.

Personally I want a louder exhaust when on sport mode or with PSE on.

Brilliant car. Big enough to get everything in and small enough to place on back roads. Plenty quick although considering Fabspeed catalytic converters.

Got the PDK. Brilliant gearbox and the carbon seats so it's a nice place to be.

[brickwall]

evojam said:

The GTS is the Boxster I aspire to and will eventually replace my old 987.Normally aspirated flat six singing right behind your ears and a manual box,a proper Porsche!

Same here. Don't seem to be many on the approved used site yet, and the ones there are still very ££. I do think they're likely to hold their value pretty well.

[Mario149]

brickwall said:

evojam said:

The GTS is the Boxster I aspire to and will eventually replace my old 987.Normally aspirated flat six singing right behind your ears and a manual box,a proper Porsche!

Same here. Don't seem to be many on the approved used site yet, and the ones there are still very ££. I do think they're likely to hold their value pretty well.

The only mainstream P cars that could tempt me out of my BGTS are a 718 GTS if it had the engine from the current GT4 (or similar) or a manual 991.1 GTS with almost identical spec to my BGTS which is vanishingly small

[SHIFTY]

Had my first service yesterday on the BGTS (first time I have had a video presented on the underneath of the car, must get all that grass out of the floor trays).

He said that they could not get enough GTS variants and that prices are going up.

Just had a look on PH and only 8 for sale from £59K (2 year old) to £65K (1 year old.

I did fancy a change but the problem with the GTS it has everything you need and if I did change I would be going backwards.

[bcr5784]

SHIFTY said:

He said that they could not get enough GTS variants and that prices are going up.

Just had a look on PH and only 8 for sale from £59K (2 year old) to £65K (1 year old.

I did fancy a change but the problem with the GTS it has everything you need and if I did change I would be going backwards.

I had a letter from the dealer I bought my 981S off offering to buy my car. It looks like all 981s are holding their prices quite well (though I'd accept that GTS are probably more in demand)