Porsche Boxster
The Boxster is a sports car distilled to its purest form: sleek, seductive and uncluttered body wrapped around a superbly balanced chassis and exciting engine. The Boxster’s mid-engine layout is considered by many enthusiasts to be the quintessential sports-car setup, allowing for ideal weight distribution in aid of excellent handling.
Unlike the original, the current base model is powerful: it has a 240-horsepower, 2.7-liter six-cylinder engine controlled through a slick-shifting five-speed manual transmission. With a relatively low curb weight of around 3,000 pounds, the base Boxster sprints to 60 mph from a standstill in an impressive 5.9 seconds.
For those who want more, the Boxster S features a 280-hp, 3.2-liter six-cylinder and a six-speed manual transmission that allows a zero-to-60 mph dash in 5.2 seconds. Both models can be equipped with a five-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that offers manual gear selection.
Handling is impressive, thanks to the rear-wheel drive, mid-engine layout. The car rides on a sophisticated suspension and has variable-ratio power steering. Traction and stability control are standard — the latter can be disabled for those who like spinning the tires to slip and slide through turns — as is four-wheel antilock disc brakes with an Active Brake Differential to help modulate brake force.
Porsche’s Active Suspension Management System is optional and allows the driver to select suspension stiffness and ride height (variable by 10 mm). Seventeen-inch wheels and performance tires are standard, with optional sizes up to 19 inches in diameter.
The powered top is easy to use and features full sound and weather insulation and a heated glass rear window. An optional removable hard top is available for winter driving. Two trunks — one front and one rear — provide a surprising amount of storage.
Boxsters come well equipped with a long list of standard features, including head-curtain airbags, the power-operated top, heated washer nozzles and a speed-dependent extendable rear spoiler. The options list is extensive enough, but Porsche goes a step further, allowing owners to customize exterior and interior trim with a plethora of paints, finishes and materials.
Acceleration always produces mechanical music, while a shifter that only reeks of positive engagement and a progressive, user-friendly clutch pedal mean you'll never get tired of shifting up and down the range. Keeping up the revs unleashes the flat 6 engine's 240 horsepower (up from 225), which has even this slowest-of-all-Porsches breaking 60 MPH in a tidy 5.9 seconds. Take it up to 159 if you dare, then erase all that speed through the powerful, readable antilock brakes. Whenever you're ready.
But one cannot play boy racer every minute. Truthfully, the Boxster's first impression isn't all favorable. The engine fires to life with a loud, raspy hum right behind your ears. Exiting your parking space proves a chore by hefty steering effort at low speeds, complimented by brakes that are stiff at all speeds. The 2.7-liter engine's ordinary low-end torque doesn't infuse the car with instant motivation. In the city, the long-throw shifter sort of feels like it's been doused in Krazy Glue.
Porsche returned to $40,000 territory with the Boxster, its first new car in two decades. While never less than a thrilling machine, the Boxster's performance was merely peppy instead of pulverizing. The passing of time showed the other three Germans, then an American, then a Japanese all nipping at its heels, often beating its pants off on several fronts. High on price, middling in performance and low on interior elegance, Porsche found itself turning into, well, the Lincoln of sports cars.
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