Reviews, Comparisons and Flying Low

[aglsteven]

Why I love my boxster?
There are too many reasons, but....

It makes me smile every time I drive it. You can't beat driving to work in the morning with the hood down!

It handles beautifully, all the time!

I saved every penny for two years before I got mine. I'm now saving for the replacement in two years time. Will it be another Boxster or a 911 cab? Who knows. One things I do know, it will definitely be a Porsche!

My colleagues at work all ask me about it, where I got it from, how much it cost and how I like it. They are always amazed when I tell them it is 6 years old already, and how reasonably priced it was. They all want one.

I'm addicted to it!

[Brucelee]

"My colleagues at work all ask me about it, where I got it from, how much it cost and how I like it. They are always amazed when I tell them it is 6 years old already, and how reasonably priced it was. They all want one.

I'm addicted to it!"

This is one of the cooler things about the Box. If you keep it pristine, the 97 looks like the 04 to most folks. Add some 18" wheels and you are off to the Country Club in a 20G car.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[PasadenaBoxster]

Let me give this a try.

I love my Boxster because:

1) The handling is absolutely amazing. It handles so well, I can now honestly say that I know what people mean when they talk about the car being an extension of the driver. No other car has given me that feeling.

2) I love twisties! Exhilarating is the only word that I could find to describe the feeling of blasting around corners in this car.

3) It's a Porsche. As has been said many times there is a certain aura of mystique that surrounds Porsche. In LA you seen tons of BMW's or Mercedes on the roads, so much so they stop catching your eye. But a Porsche will still turn heads.

Compared to:

BMW Z4: My father has an 03 Z4, and while it's a great car in it's own right it just can't measure up. The steering is not nearly as tight or responsive as the Boxster, nor is the handling through the twisties. Also, I don't feel like part of the car while driving it. It's fun to drive, it's just not "exhilarating".

[IceBox]

...Because it is everything a sports car is meant to be and nothing a sports car is NOT meant to be...
It is:
A two seat drop-top, the essential component of the Sports Car.

The most pure expression of the 'Modern Sports Car' since the introduction of the Miata, itself a pure blood in it's own right.

A true Porsche in every sense of the word, and attached to all that heritage.

Beautiful; near flawless design

Powerful enough, even in base model to constantly deliver fun and excitement while offering a daily driver that forces you to make zero comprimises.

Track-bred. Try one out on your local raccing complex and you'll see what I mean. Those who have already know.

Fits me like it was made for me alone. The interior layout simply enfolds you and mates you to the machine

It is NOT:
A truck
A four door
All show and no go
Ugly
Harsh
A compromising design
Fragile
Flimsy
Cheap
Goofy-looking
Overly Gadgetized
Overly complicated
Cost-prohibitive for a good cross-section of enthusiasts
Parked in someone else's drive-way :dance:

[QporscheQ]

Ill just stick with comparisons to other cars, since everyone has already said what is so great about the car


Cars I've driven (recently)

2005 Corvette -- Tons of power, okay handling, okay styling, problem was it only felt like a fast version of my '95 Firebird. I was less than blown away.

2005 GTO -- Sounded awesome, drove like a total piece of junk and looks stupid

2005 Pontiac G6 -- I included this because I thought it kicked the pants out of the GTO. Kind of strange.


Cars I've ridden in or driven against recently:

2004 MB SLK32AMG -- crazy HP in a small car. Completely destroys my Box off the line (it has the auto tranny that does everything for you), however I start to reel him back in when the speeds go up and the road starts to twist. I’m not crazy about the styling.

2004 WRX -- some how I completely obliterated a friend in his WRX off the line the other day. I’m still trying to figure this one out. I don’t think he had the turbo spooled in time and the lag killed him. My back tires cleared his front bumper before we went under the traffic light. I actually really like this car. It has some sedan usefulness, all wheel drive and is still pretty quick.

2004 RX8 -- I actually love this car. A friend bought one and every time I ride in it I think I like the car more. The back seat is more then large enough for an adult.

1968 GTO -- in a straight line no competition. However any turning of the wheel and he is done for.



The Boxster is by far the best looking car of the lot. In my opinion it drives better than any of them too. The Boxster is just everything a sports car / roadster should be. Its tough to beat.

[Perfectlap]

One word:

THROTTLE RESPONSE

ok maybe two...

The S puts down %85 of its torque by 2000 RPM's.
That's just plain nasty.

the other day I had to drive a Toyota Corolla which I hadn't driven since buying the BoxsterS. Wow I thought the Toyo was broken. SOmetime you need to drive a tin can with now power, handling or steering to fully appreciate what Stuggart has engineered.

[YellowJacket]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

SOmetime you need to drive a tin can with now power, handling or steering to fully appreciate what Stuggart has engineered.

OR a Z4. A buddy just bought one, and convinced me to take a test drive. Took out a 2005 Z4 3.0 w/ 6-speed. My thoughts:

Sounds dead. Same dull drone through the entire RPM range. They took the "if it's loud, it'll sound sporty" approach. The opposite is our Boxsters, where there's a nice high whine at low RPM that slowly changes into an all-out growl under WOT at about 3-4krpm on up.

Road feel sucks. In my Box, I feel like I'm driving a go-cart. In the Z4 I felt like I was driving a loud Buick. Even though it handles well, it had that disconnected feeling.

STEERING!!!! Can't stress this enough. I can dart in and out of traffic, handle crazy twisty roads, etc, etc. In the Z4, it felt like a truck. I felt like I was out of control. The car had a mind of it's own and felt skittish.

Seating position. I'm a small dude (5'10, 150lbs), and the Box fits me like a glove. Even at 5'10, I felt like I was looking over the windshield in the Z4. This is in addition to the fact that I could NOT find a comfy seating position and the lack of bolster on the seat allowed me to go flying all over the seat every time I hit a curve.

Verdict: BMW did a great job at making a roadster that even Mazda and Toyota would laugh at, despite costing twice as much as a Miata or MR2 Spyder.

[saorsa]

you guys should all come to scotland in the Uk, There arent many boxsters here , lovely scenery , twisting roads , sun at least for 3 days in the summer ( lol )
I Have had Mercedes, Jaguars , Rovers , Sprints, Range Rovers ect ,
I Can Honestly say the Boxster makes me grin everytime i even think about taking her out ,
its even handy given that we are a 3 person family , solution : they dont get in it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure i wish we could all afford a gt3 and the running of it , but we all have a budget, i think you should all enjoy it for what the car is , a smile machine
of course if there are any millionaires out there who wish to update me , please email me and i will give an address to ship the car you dont want , promise it will have a great home ,

thanks all from scotland
saorsa

[Brucelee]

Good to hear from someone from the other side of the POND!

[harrisg]

Originally Posted by saorsa

you guys should all come to scotland in the Uk, There arent many boxsters here , lovely scenery , twisting roads , sun at least for 3 days in the summer ( lol )

It's more embarrassing for me located in the South West. We've only had three days sun as well

[blinkwatt]

Quick Info
99 Boxster
Zenith Blue
52k Running Damn Near New
I have not regret a second of owning the car. It is great,has speed,handles,and breaks well. The best aspect of the car is that you dont have to drive it hard/fast/stupid to enjoy it,just drive down the street and listen to the exhaust note with the top down. I did not know running out to pick up some Epsom salt for my dad's broken finger would be so fun. Being young(18) and having money(work at grocery store and for eBay) I receive some rather upset looks from people,so jealous people do not compliment me often unless they are younger then me. When I let my dad drive the car he receives compliments all the time. I have driven BMW's,VW's,Audi's and I can honestly say I would not trade it for a S4,M3,GTI 1.8T. Only complaint is the shift knob,but I am ordering a MOMO Anatomico short version shortly. I have heard some complain of the interoir but I have no clue as to why it is made from quality,granted I have the Hi-Fi upgrade to the stereo and a painted center console I would assume its not too different then a stripped stock one. A couple of recommendations would be to change to the updated 2003 taillights and order clear side markers($175 shipped new),painted valve stem caps($15) and matching Boxster license plate frame($40). I could have lived without them but since I had the money and said "why not?".

[threpwood]

2004 Boxster S
now 6000 kilometers

Some cars that I've driven:

1989 Chevrolet Camaro RS
240hp only. A fun and spacious car. Not a bad pony car.

1996 Chevrolet Camaro
The engine was the 3.8L but the room for mods made it interesting Everything from stock was basically worthless so had to put in few usual mods such as suspension (bilstein, eibach), borla and added an intercooler. A good friend of mine later added a dyno supercharger after I sold it to him. Good torque, but handling is similar to handling a mule.

1994 Chevrolet Cavalier
Bought it used for work car, but had serious reliability issue (engine and brake system didn't last).

2000 Honda Civic GTR
Still driving this as my second car. This is the only car I own that never breaks (no, not even once), cheap maintenance, super mpg making it a good grocery car I am considering trading it for a newer model of 2005 Civic (Hybrid) though for the sake of our earth

2004 Nissan Skyline
Only test drove the car. First impression was the engine was quite smooth, okay torque, but cheap and rattled interior, cramped back seat just killed it.

2004 Chevrolet Corvette
Well, yes I'm a Chevy fan. Test drove it. Corvette actually is quite nice but considering the size of local street in Japan (small), this car becomes almost impossible to drive, not to mention to park. I would love to have it as second car though...

2004 Porsche Boxster S
Test drove it and never looked back Nothing to complain really and have smile on my face everytime I drive it.

The only problem with the boxster is that not many people drives this car in Japan and being a 2 seater and living in rural area in Japan make the jealousy factor quite high (had cars spinned their tires behind me, car stopped in front of me for no reason in 2 months of driving. Unbelievable). Well, hell, grow up, it is MY money, I earned it and I AM enjoying spending it