Chris Harris drives the new Boxster
 

Driven: Porsche Boxster S

"The new Boxster doesn't have much steering feel."

The ho-hum reviews are coming in now.

2013 Porsche Boxster S First Drive - Motor Trend

Check out the description of what the car has lost.

The car looks like a collection of styles from other cars. I see MR2, Viper, Carrera GT, but not much Boxster left. Too bad.

People who don't really care or know what makes a sports car great will still love it.

They have to continue to appeal to baby boomers who are getting old and the Chinese millionaires.

I'll bet that steering is more about the fact it runs electrically and reduces parasitic drag more than it is some improvement; I'm told all manufacturers are going this way likely improves mileage.

they had to dull down the steering . it was one of the biggest complaints from non enthusiasts. they want to sell more of these . it's a "chick car again " . when my wife drive's my boxster she complains about there being to much harshness coming through the steering. her car is a BMW . Even the Evo X feels kind of numb compared to the 986.

Steering, heard the same about the new 911.... fuel savings and a broader audience ruins it for us few...

I thought the 986 had awesome steering response and feel. Then again, I thought my brother's 1973 911T had awesome steering, so did the 944.

The main reason I bought a Boxster was because of the handleing and feel of the steering wheel. I have owned and drove Vettes for 17 years and a vette will blow the Boxster way from 0-60 and the 1/4 mile but no-way doe's it drive or handle like the Boxster,The only car that doe's is my 2006 Lotus Elise but 2011 was the last year that they were sold here in the US.

It is sad to see what direction the sport-car market is going in,real car guys like most of us will have to buy used sport-cars I guess.:)

Yeah, same thing happened when roll-up glass windows replaced plastic side curtains. Somehow we all managed...

I find it interesting that older buyers who enjoy 997 and 996 Cabriolets are excited about this car. Saying things like "this is the first Boxster I actually like".
If Jeremy Clarkson is to be believed, who openly mocks the Cabriolet as being THE actual hair-dresser's car, actually he used much less PC language, then you really don't want to have the car that the Cabriolete and bloated BMW convertible buyers like.
But whatever buy what you like just don't be shocked when the purists in the Car Magazines say its for yuppies and their dad.

+1 Everyone should buy what they like, and I'll (and you and a few others) get to keep criticizing it. :)

Lighter. Faster. More Fuel Efficient. Are these attributes now anathema to the "purists?"
Pray, what would you have Porsche do? Slow it down? Beef it up? Reduce the mileage?

One would think Porsche has slapped a Boxster badge on a 645i, fer crying out loud. I suggest that condemning such a potentially wonderful car for subjective qualities such as steering feel before having driven said car is a bit premature.

And I'll be the first to come on here lamenting the wooden steering if that's what it has, after I spend time driving one.

I read the first review (Pistonheads in the original post) as being very favorable to the new boxster.


I also interpreted the second review as favorable. The author discusses a weakness (steering feel) while admitting its a more capable car.


Both reviews are worth reading. I look forward to driving this car (and maybe more importantly the new Cayman).



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The 2012 Porsche Boxster S - Chris Harris On Cars - YouTube

He's right about the brake pedal sitting higher than the gas pedal that makes it difficult to heel and toe.

I don't think those are the reasons the 997 and 996 Cabriolet buyers (and BMW Convertible drivers) are citing for their change of heart on the Boxster.

They aren't really the types who make it out to a DE or autocross regularly. So the improved engineering wasn't something they really had a chance to examine before proclaiming that this was the first Boxster they could envision themselves in. They decided on other more image-based criteria. The fact that it's quicker and more technological wasn't what was keeping them from embracing the 987 since the 3.4 and Boxster Spyder peforms well already.

The 981 is more status symbol in its visual appeal which has an obvious appeal for a Cabriolet buyer.

Could one not argue that NOT liking a car for no other reason than because it appeals to people who also like 911 Cabs is just as poor a reason as LIKING a car because it is a "status symbol?"

no doubt . this car looks great. i can see the hair dressers and poseurs lining up for it.

Perhaps.

On the other hand, if the one and only thing I knew about the new Boxster was that it was the first to appeal to people who liked 911 cabs, I would definitely consider that to be a very bad thing.

The funny part about this is that my haird dresser drives a 997 Cabriolet and his husband drives a Cayenne and is thinking about geting a Panamera.

They think my Boxster is too impractical.

The real question is whether the 981 is the equivalent of the 280Z (the luxury bloated follow-on to the success of the 240Z and 260Z)? Has the Boxster finally jumped the shark?

Based on the reviews, I'd say yes on both counts. The new 981 isn't new enough or better enough to warrant an upgrade from a 986 or a 987 as far as I can see.