[Perfectlap]

I have driven the S2000 and The Boxster S and I would never ever say that the shifting was anything other than smooth on both. Neither would I EVER EVER say the 986 6 speed "sucks".
Effortless is a strange terminology because the only effortless transmission I have ever driven was the one in my friend's automatic Mercedez! (it required no effort to change gears).
See what I'm getting at? semantics, smooth,less smooth is what?Faulty, inferior?

some transmissions let you get away with sloppy clutching and shifting. others do not. My old Miata (a lower sports car) was much easier to shift in than most other sports cars I have driven.
Because it was engineered with a certain type of driver in mind.
Porsche introduced the Boxster in general to a wider public than would usually consider a Porsche. Some of these "new" customers ended up in S models. And then cane the reports of "problems" not noticed by the guys at the Nurburg ring. Porsche took apart the 6 speed and made it idiot proof. As with most things in sports cars its usually the driver not the car. I would only take a hard look at complaints from Porsche testing drivers and very experienced drivers in general. Afterall they did thousands of hours of testing on the S model before it was introduced if it "sucked" I'm sure it would have been addressed, as I can't think of one SINGLE thing on the Boxster mechanically that "sucks". I'm sure there are problems they didn't notice because they are very very skilled and precise in shifting. Porsche wants to sell more cars to the mass public which means they'll make it easier for them to drive and more likely be happy with once they've purchased it.
I'll probably get in trouble for saying this but I find that only a small part of Porsche drivers are actually serious driving enthusiasts that have mastered more than 50% of the capabilities of their cars. Not because they are bad drivers but simply because they've never ventured onto a track or Autocross. For instance, here in NY area there are a high number of autocross/track clubs (vs. other parts of the country) and I've notice being a member of or attending events for nearly all of them, that the difference between the quickest lap times and the average lap time seems to be the greatest in the Porsche events. Other clubs like SCCA have events where the quickest time of the day and average time in some clases was down to tenths! These big gaps in average time and fastest time of the day was also visible at BMW events. My friend said he didn't bother with either the Porsche or BMW clubs because they were for "the wine and cheese crowds" and that a Sunday was better spent at and SCCA or NASA event if searching for the highest degree of competition.



and again I wouldn't conclude that saying something is less than smooth was necessarily "absolute proof" that it was faulty. Most sports car gear boxes are not 100% smooth and effortless.
Some gear boxes can be somewhat smooth while others (the S2000) are smooth, no matter who is driving. Not many cars like that these days. The fastest guy in one of my clubs (instructor) who consistently places 1st or 2nd and has driven every car that shows up Porsches,M3's, Mazdas, etc., well he's looking for a "lower" S2000 sports car to race this season.