Thinking about a Boxster...

[LoveBunny]

I don't often drive with other people in my car, but I do go places with my dad and brother often enough that not having a back seat is of a little concern. Of course it's not like I'm the only one with a car or anything, but for some reason I seem to drive a lot. Might just be because it's more comfortable to ride in my Lexus than my brother's Jeep, and riding with my dad driving can be downright scary so we never ask him to drive.

So that would be the main reason. Now, if I did ride with them in the car and use the back seat, guess who would be back there though? Not my 60+ year-old dad and not my 6-foot-tall brother.

[cvhs18472]

I just got back from New Orleans and it was Dec and 80 degrees, I realize that it is not always like that, but it is warm enough to have the top down whenever you feel like it. Heated seats. In a week I only saw 2 Boxsters there and one had Washington plates on it. I had choices and chose the Boxster. you may choose differently but all your choices are a blast. I spent weeks going for test rides on all kinds of sports cars and had one of the best periods in my life. All the choices you had were different and only you can make it , but if you ask the oponion of people on a Boxster forum they are not going to tell you to get a 911. We all love our cars because of the handling, looks and affordability. Good Luck on your hunt. Nice dog, I have a Silky, a Wirehaired Mini Daschund and a Black Lab-Golden mix , and they all love the riding in the Boxster with the top down. Ed

[LoveBunny]

I don't know what the temperature is right now, but my A/C is on, so definitely warm enough for the top down. I don't see many Boxsters here, but there are a few. I saw one today and was thinking how nice it would be to be in a convertible. My dad said he knows someone who works at the dealer here, unless the guy has retired by now, so going to check on that. I'm going to go on some test drives soon when I get the chance and I'll report back how it went.

How much difference is there with the Boxster and Boxster S? Is it really worth the extra $$$? Seems like a pretty significant price difference.

[turbo23dog]

Originally Posted by LoveBunny

How much difference is there with the Boxster and Boxster S? Is it really worth the extra $$$? Seems like a pretty significant price difference.

This gets to some parts of the "feel" part. Some will say that the base Box is plenty enough oomph for their driving style. Others who have a need for more go and stop pedal under foot will want the S model at any cost.

During my search, I drove several base Boxsters before geting a spin in an S model and after finding a huge difference in performance, that sold me on the S. Besides the S model has a few interior upgrades that make living conditions a bit nicer too.

Good luck,
Rich

[Frodo]

Quote:

"and how in the hell do I get that picture of my dog sticking her tongue out off of my avatar? I can't remember how I got it in there to begin with."

Posted by LoveBunny.

LoveBunny I was just joking about changing the avatar. I LOVE dogs!

I grew up during the heyday of the muscle cars of the '60s and the '70s, never at that time in my life able to swing the big V-8 some of my friends had (the Chevelles, the Roadrunnders, the GTXs, the Chargers, etc). When I went car shopping a couple years ago, this still influenced me. Even though I was more interested in the handling and the overall roadster appeal, I guess that's why I knew I wanted something with some decent HP to it. "Torque is a good thing," as a friend of my once so simply put it. I knew I wanted the 'S' and never even drove a base model. OTOH, mines an '01; if you're looking to get a newer one, some of the base models have almost the HP of mine.

At least one of the times you test drive, take your dad and a pet carrier with you, to see if they'll "fit" well with the car. Your dog's pretty small---I don't think you'll probably have any problems fitting the relatively small carrier that (s)he would need in there. I take "Jake" my springer spaniel with me all the time---he's about 60 lbs, though I just throw a blanket over the seat. (When we go hiking together, keeping out of mud, water, leaves, etc. is not particularly high on his priority list.)

[LoveBunny]

Well, my avatar is kind of huge. I just would at least like to shrink it a little. Every time I come on here I see this huge pic of my dog with her tongue out.

She is pretty small so her fitting in the car wouldn't be a problem. The carrier she usually rides in is a little larger crate that I put in my back seat with a soft bed inside. I'm so paranoid about getting into an accident with her in the car that I think she's safest that way. I'm sure it would fit in the front seat of a Boxster though. I'd want to be sure I could get it in the trunk so when she's not with me it'll be there.

I'll have to see what the difference is in how the S drives versus non-S Boxster, and versus the others too. I honestly don't need a super fast car. I just want one that is fun to drive and handles well. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of open windy roads around here to really enjoy driving on. Most of my driving is in the city. The Porsche dealer happens to be in a really busy suburban area, so driving around there would give me an idea of how they drive in traffic. I'm hoping to go tomorrow.

[Frodo]

You'll want your carrier not too big, otherwise you'll risk banging into the door or the paint right behind the door getting it into the front seat. And I hate to say this, but I don't think you're likely to get a carrier into either trunk (unless you can find some sort of collapsable one). The back one would be too shallow vertically. The front one's a possibility, but, short of taking out the spare tire, I think even that's going to be difficult. Even without the spare, don't think you'll be able to get anything bigger than a small to (possibly?) medium sized carrier up front.

They do have seat belt/harness arrangements that can be used to strap dogs in the front seat, but I've not used one before so I can't give you any sort of useful opinion on them.

Don't worry about your avatar being "huge." Guys really like women with big avatars.