BentleyJava,
Have you made your purchase yet? I had the exact same dilemma as you - I wanted to spend about $28K - $33K, and was debating between a 2001/2002 'S' or a 2003 Base. I took 60 days to research and call around to hound technicians in IL & MI to get their opinions. I also test drove 8 Boxsters before I decided on my car, a 2001 'S' with the sport package. Maybe you won't be surprised by what the techs told me, but I was... slightly.
Test Drives:
1998 2.5 Silver
2001 2.7 Lapis
2001 3.2 Meridian Metallic
2002 3.2 Black
2002 3.2 Black
2003 2.7 Black
2006 2.7 (Silver - service loaner discounted 10%)
2001 3.2 Arctic Silver (my car)
Sales people want to push toward the newer car, or at least whatever they have in stock. I made an effort to walk past them and talk to the guys in service. This is where I get a lot of my info from. Feel free to correct any numbers that are incorrect. EVERY SINGLE tech told me the same thing - a 2003 is a better overall vehicle than a 2001/2002 & a 2005/2006 is much improved over every Boxster before it, but for performance, the 'S' in any model year is a better choice than the base in ANY MODEL YEAR. Now that's for performance minded people only. I realize that the glass rear window, improved front fascia & glovebox mean a lot to people. It meant a lot to me, I just didn't go with it. EVERY TECH said this, though. EVERY ONE!!!! And to be honest with you, I agree.
I was able to test drive a few of the 'S' models for 30 minutes - hour, and I can tell you that even a 2001/2002 S feels quicker than a 2006 base, let alone a 2003 Base. Here's why: It's not just hp, the S has considerably more torque. Even a 2006 base model has only 199 lb/ft. I'm not sure about a 2003 - maybe 195 lb/ft??? Not sure. The first Gen 'S's have 225. And yes, it matters. Add to that, that you get 1/2 litre of displacement and 6 short gears that are closely spaced to improve acceleration. Even if the "numbers" don't seem all that far off, the "feeling" does. I'm serious when I say that a 2001/2002 'S' feels faster than a 2006 Base. I couldn't really afford the 2006, but they wanted me to drive it so I figured "why not?" And of course... the brakes & suspension on the S...
I'm certainly not a Porsche expert - I am new to the family (08/02/06) but from my research, and test drives combined with talking to guys at: Loeber Porsche, Rizza Porsche, Napleton Porsche, Porsche Exchange, Fred Lavery Porsche & Midwest Eurosport, this is the advice I'm giving you. A used S is only marginally more expensive, but the overall value seemed worth it to me. Your service bills are surprisingly going to be the same on a Boxster, whether you drive a base or an 'S.'
Happy hunting - swing the 'S' if you can.
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