To "S" or not to "S"...

[socratic]

This may be a oft-asked question and possibly hotly debated. I'm looking for a used Boxster (my first) and people have been providing lots of great advice on my "Must-have Options" thread.

But whether or not to get a "S" is probably the biggest choice and is a tough one. Primarily because in Canada there seems to be quite a higher premium for an S.

First some context. Unlike some of you, I haven't been used to really fast cars. The fastest vehicles that I have owned have had C/D (Car and Driver) 0-60 times of about 7.6 seconds. I think that the 2.7 of 2000 and higher non-S Boxsters should handily beat that already (right?).

Is there any other "material" benefits of the S other than some straight line performance increase and some additional cachet? [Note, having a Porsche of ANY kind is enough "cachet" for me. ] Does the S handle any better? Is the S more luxurious?

Here in Canada, it looks like having the S adds about $7000 to $8000 USD (converted from about $9000 CDN) to the value of a fairly new Boxster.

If the non-S Boxter is already "very fast", maybe I don't need to spend $9000 CDN to get the same thing only "wicked fast".

Let me know what you feel are the advantages of the S.

Thanks.