Porsche Boxster 2016 Review

Porsche Boxster
Road Test

First launched in 1997, the Porsche Boxster is now going through a serious midlife update of its third generation. At the core of that overhaul is the swap from naturally-aspirated boxer six-cylinder to turbocharged four-cylinder engine as emissions and fuel economy reductions bite. To mark the change, ‘718’ (seven eighteen) has been appended to the name, linking back to the 718 model of the 1950s and 60s that was also four-cylinder powered. So a step forward, back or maybe even sideways? Read on.

If you are worried about Porsche’s decision to swap from naturally-aspirated boxer six-cylinder engines to turbocharged fours in the Boxster then don’t.

You surely have more important things to worry about.

Climate change, marriage equality, Middle-East peace, the end of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry … hell, the hollowing out of the Australian economy and what our kids are going to do for work.

Now they are things worth worrying about … and trying to do something about.

The only thing you need to do when it comes to Porsche’s latest mid-engined 718 Boxster convertible is go out and drive the damn thing.

Then you definitely won’t be worried.

But drive it in the right places. Don’t just putter down the street and sit there at the traffic lights at exhaust pipe level of all these blasted SUVs that now surround us.

No, head for the hills and those winding ribbon of bitumen that course their way along valleys, wend over hills and then slalom their way back down into the other side.

Then you’ll appreciate that the 718 is a different Boxster from its predecessors. But only in the same way matte black and piano black are different. It’s not a case of black versus white.

Yes, that new 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine installed in the standard $112,800 Boxster – add $4990 for the seven-speed dual clutch PDK transmission in our test car – makes 25kW and 100Nm more than the old 2.7-litre engine and makes it over a broader range, so it’s certainly faster.

But it’s not night-and-day faster. The Boxster remains focussed on balance not brutality.

It’s electromechanical steering is delicate yet decisive, its nose refuses to push wide at any sane speed, its rear-end remains tidy and supportive unless truly provoked, and body control is a marvel.

Sitting there low down, trapped in that deep, moulded bucket seat, grasping that small, perfectly shaped steering wheel, slicing through the gears using the properly shaped paddles and whipping through corners with little if any hint of body roll – from you or the car – is a marvellous experience.

It remains the best at what it does amongst its drop-top rivals such as the flighty Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and the improved Audi TTS.

Take the Boxster, enjoy it, treasure it even, because who knows how long we’ll have such pleasures freely available to us.

Um, well “freely” is not the right expression when it comes to the Boxster, or any Porsche really.

The retail price quoted above is in itself a sizeable $8000-plus jump from its predecessor as Porsche has swapped the Boxster and the Cayman hardtop in pricing.

As well as the additional cost of the PDK transmission, our test car also came fitted with the $4990 Sport Chrono pack, which brings with it new drive-mode adjustment controlled by a button on the steering wheel; a $4990 sports exhaust system; $3190 torque vectoring; $2710 PASM active suspension; $1850 metallic paint; and $1090 Connect Plus that includes the excellent Apple CarPlay (but Android Auto isn’t available).

So all that tallies the price (before on-road costs) of our test car up to nearly $140,000!

Railing against luxury brands – and especially Porsche – for their willingness to gouge relentlessly on options is about as useful as standing on the beach and abusing the tide for coming in and soaking your shoes.

But in a practical sense we have a test car that is far more adjustable than the standard version. Nevertheless, we’re sure a standard 718 would be pretty darn good drive too.

However, our drive experience also raised a few reservations that are translatable between standard and optioned versions of the Boxster.

Firstly, that engine, for all its extra outputs lacks the intimacy and character of the normally-aspirated horizontally-opposed six’.

There is a tiny bit of lag at throttle tip-in, just a smidgeon of hesitancy that comes when a turbocharger inserts itself into the combustion process. However, once up and going the engine springs to attention along with the PDK.

But the sound? Even with the optional exhaust it’s not got the distinct beat of the Boxer. How could it? Instead it’s forceful, aggressive and even harsh in its audio. And in doing so some of the magic has been lost.

Then there’s the brakes. What? An issue with Porsche brakes? Well, they pull up fine, but the initial bite of the four-pot monobloc callipers on the vented and cross-drilled front discs felt initially soft through the pedal. Not so much disconcerting as surprising.

In other ways the Boxster surprises in a positive, livable way; the powered cloth roof is easy to use and quick to fold at speeds up to 50km/h. Protection from wind buffeting within the cabin is efficient for people up to 180cm in height.

There are actual storage areas in the cabin and even enough room in the two boots to fit a couple of bags.

In this PDK-spec with PASM you could arguably even commute in this car.

Certainly, it would give your fellow members of traffic something attractive to look at, as this is a substantial update of a classic shape with a beautiful stance on 18-inch rubber.

The 718 Boxster is not the car it was, but it’s not that dissimilar to mean something fundamental has been lost. In fact, there have been both losses and gains that tend to balance each other out.

Worry not.

2016 Porsche Boxster pricing and specifications:
Price: $112,800 (plus ORCs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 220kW/380Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 7.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 160g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A

Also consider:
>> Alfa Romeo 4C Spider (from $99,000 plus ORCs)
>> Audi TTS Convertible (from $104,616 plus ORCs)
>> Jaguar F-TYPE Convertible (from $138,245 plus ORCs)