Pros :
- Best handling roadster ever.
- Most eye-pleasing "poor man's Porsche" ever.
- Slick-shifting gearbox.
- Smooth and responsive boxer engine.
- Finally gets a glass rear window.
Cons :
- Definitely not a bargain.
- Cramped interior.
- Certain cheaper Japanese sports cars have quicker acceleration.
- Fuel economy of a much larger vehicle.
- Weak stereo for such an expensive car.
Press Coverage :
The Boxster began as a concept in 1993 at the Detroit Auto Show, meant to extend the brand's franchise without - such was the claim - compromising its values, an interesting exercise to be repeated in spades early next year with the introduction of the Cayenne, "the Porsche of sport-utility vehicles." (Say what?) The Boxster was introduced for real in 1997 as a 1998 (By the way, road-huggers, "Boxster" is a combination of "boxer" - its flat, horizontally-opposed engine type - and "roadster."). One thing the Boxsters have done for Porsche is to increase the application or use of 911 componentry considerably, while extending the franchise. In fact, one trick has been to keep them separate enough over time, but both Porsches, which has worked reasonably well so far. This might be an issue as they promote additions as 911 features, such as instrument panel, cupholders, light-and-lock gloveboxes, Bose digital audio systems, bigger, lighter wheels, and so on. Obviously design engineers and marketing types have decided these forms of parts-bin raiding and sharing do not speak to the fundamental personality and value-for-money of the cars themselves - or their targets.
Boxster gets optional 17 and 18" wheels. Both now have a heated glass rear window in a top that has a neat 12-second cycle time. Remote-unlocking front and rear trunks have been added. Design-wise, the mods to front and rear fascias and rear spoiler are minor in the great scheme, but these contribute to a slightly sharper, more sculpted body appearance.
The Boxster engines, with VarioCam technology, both more powerful, now give the Boxster 224 bhp. The Boxster has a five-speed manual and offer Tiptronic S options.
Porsche boasts redesigned exhausts for "modified acoustic presence." I suppose that's a German engineer's way of stuffily saying sounds tubular - but anyone who doesn't groove on the music of these exhaust notes while motoring might be better off driving an elevator and listening to Kenny G play his garden hose.
The Boxster now gets the same shocks as the S, while the S gets a beefed-up rear stabilizer bar, and the benefits are dynamically noteworthy. Which brings us to the driving.
Driving dynamics are a real triumph in these cars. Balance seems near perfect, and the handling is the equal of anyone's. In the segment, neither the Audi TT nor the Honda S2000 has anything on the Boxsters - they're all really good. Particularly on the fairly rough roads we drove, sometimes quite briskly, the suspension turned out to be a marvel of performance. It held to a remarkable combination of compliance that soaked up the shocks and bumps, without unpleasantness or harshness: and of stiffness that allowed A+ handling and cornering with no bump steer whatever at all speeds. On a wonderfully smooth road racecourse, both cars remained poised and confident, no matter what bad habits you propose to them. If you get it right, they're better still at sticking where you point them.
The optional PSM (Porsche Stability Management) system's program waits a sportingly long time before it will decide, like a tolerant parent, okay that's enough now, before you hurt yourself, let's intervene.
With the top down, conversation was reasonable over the wind noise for the most part. However, at speed, there was, to my way of thinking, both a bit of disruptive wind noise and buffeting back on the shoulders, not impossible, but noticeable. At 80, you might defer conversation. This effect is, I believe, less pronounced in the Audi TT. The turn signal you wouldn't hear at all, though it barely ticks anyway.
Thecarconnection.com
Except for a larger glovebox, a swing-out Carrera-style cupholder and use of 911-like trim materials, the Boxster interior is essentially unchanged. Optional again this year is Porsche Control Management (PCM), an integrated radio/stereo/ GPS system, which uses Porsche's Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) to juggle output signals that are displayed on a 5.8-in. color monitor.
A day of driving in the Italian countryside south of Rome reaffirmed what we have known for six years: The Boxster delivers even more bang per buck (or euphoria per Euro) than any other Porsche model. Although the overall performance of the 2003 models is not noticeably different, the low-speed driveability is definitely improved. And, thanks to retuning of the intake and exhaust systems, both Boxsters now make a lovely low-speed growl.
Roadandtrack.com
History:
1998-2002 Porsche Boxster
2,687 cc / 220 hp / 192 lb-ft / 2778 lbs / 0-60 mph 6.4 sec.
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