Porsche Boxster 2013 Review

My ability to retain journalistic impartiality lasted all of eight seconds after lowering myself into the third generation 981-series Porsche Boxster.

That’s about as long as it took to twist the ignition key, depress the clutch, snick the manual six-speed gearbox into first gear and ease away from the kerb.

The mechanical exactness and communication of this most basic of automotive processes, and the ease with which it was achieved with no hitching, bobbling or stalling, was simply breath-taking.

Instantly, the $107,000 price tag looked good value. I knew straight away that after this week was up, I would hand back the third-generation Boxster with regret.

OK, so you’re already dismissing this as yet another motoring journo’s Porsche wet dream, and I can understand why you’d think that. But the truth is this: Porsche has made one of the most enjoyable sports cars on the planet significantly better. So much so I’ve already dubbed it in print my most improved car of 2012.

That’s a big call, but then this is one heck of a car.

That hammers home when you drive down a challenging road -- say a series of pockmarked switchbacks and gnarly off cambers, opening up into a series of ever-faster sweepers -- and realise you are doing it more swiftly, yet with more control and comfort than anything you have driven along there before.

So how’s it done? Typical Porsche refinement, that’s how.

The fundamental concept of a flat six engine placed behind the two-seat cockpit and ahead of the rear axle remains intact. But the body is lighter and stiffer, the wheelbase longer, the tracks wider, the centre of gravity lower and torsional rigidity increased.

The strut front and multi-link rear suspension is refined, the brakes are stiffer and larger, the wheels bigger. Most controversially, the hydraulically assisted steering has been traded in for electro-mechanical rack and pinion.

The revised engine of the base model tested here actually drops from 2.9 to 2.7-litres displacement, swaps to direct injection, rises 7Kw in power to 195kW at 6500rpm and delivers slightly less torque at 280Nm (-10Nm) over a wider rev range between 4500rpm and 6500rpm.

In this most basic of forms, the Boxster accelerates from 0-100km/h in 5.8 secs (0.1 faster), on to 200km/h in 21.3 secs and claims a top speed of 264km/h. The fuel consumption claim is 8.2L/100km on 98 RON PULP. Our week with the Boxster returned 10.0L/100km.

So it’s a cake and eat it too proposition -- as long as you aren’t after a practical vehicle. After all, there are only two seats and limited storage inside and outside the cockpit. Porsche has done much to lift the ambience though with higher quality trim materials.

There is more cockpit space thanks to the extended wheelbase and moving the windscreen forward 100mm. Meanwhile, the cloth roof -- which is now fully powered -- and its magnesium frame deconstructs or erects in nine seconds at speeds up to 90km/h.

And no doubt, operation of controls has been improved by following the example of other recent Porsche overhauls and adopting the ramped centre console, allied in this case with a 7.0-inch media screen. The superb seating position and brilliant pedal relationship for heeling and toeing are carry-over.

Outside, the Boxster is now a more aggressive looking car. It has lost some of its predecessor’s roundness, replaced with more aggressive haunches and those big air inlet ducts in front of the rear wheel arches. It looks ready to launch into action.

And it is; which is appropriate, because this car is all about the driving and the driver.

Only the driver gets to appreciate that intimate and oh-so direct gearshift, the instant throttle response, the way the front and rear wheels transmit their intentions and are so easily adjustable before, during and after a corner.

And the steering; it shames just about every other electrically-assisted system going -- except maybe the 911’s. It seems a little too direct coming off top-dead centre and at low speed just a bit floppy. But these are minor irritants. Pursits will still pine for the hydraulic system but precision, control, feel and responsiveness are still outstanding.

The same can be said about the engine. Whip-crack quick revving, yet smooth as butter from idle to the 7800rpm cut-out. Flexible too, 100km/h in sixth is short enough so you can bowl along in the countryside without ever bothering to change gear. But you’ll want to, for the sheer purity of the shift action and to listen to that engine wind from basso to howl as revs rise and VarioCam Plus kicks in.

The nice thing about the audio is your passenger is being let in on that part of the fun too. He or she also gets to enjoy a ride that is better than it should be given the Boxster’s sporting intent. Even on optional 20-inch wheels the inputs are controlled and dealt with decisively. Noise levels on coarse surfaces, however, remain an irritation.

Drop the roof and keep the windows up and wind drafts aren’t too bad even at 100km/h. Scuttle shake is virtually non-existent. Raise the roof and good luck reversing in tight car parks, even if the size of the glass rear window has been enlarged.

Not that that would stop me from buying a Boxster -- if I could afford one -- which is maybe an odd thing to say having described this car as great value. Yes, Porsche still charges a motza for just about everything on the world’s longest options list, and yes, the Boxster is still not that generously equipped.

But look at the opposition, look at what price they are and what they deliver in driving appeal and there is no argument about the Boxster’s fundamental superiority

Of course, there is a new challenger looming and we don’t mean the Boxster’s hard-top relation the Cayman. It’s the Jaguar F-Type.

It will be fascinating to see if the first two-seat convertible Big Cat since the E-Type reaches the same lofty heights as the Boxster. Let’s hope so. The world needs more cars like this.

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