[IceBox]

While I think the performance improvements are noteable, I'd have to agree that the styling, especially the interior, are for the most part bland, ugly, and inferior to the 986 (with the exception of the nose, which I like very much). Another poster noted that the styling was secondary in his positive appreciation of the 987, and while that point is very valid, and shared by many driving enthusiasts, I believe the larger market-place, to which the Boxster is squarley aimed at, demands a more 'total package', and styling rates highly on the list.
I get out to the track 4-5 times a year, so I'm no stranger to the driving enthusiast mentality of 'Who cares what it looks like, so long as it goes like stink' mind-set. My brother's WRX STI is a rolling monument to that motto. I believe a Boxster owner, for the most part, is after something more. A touch of grace, elegance, some stylin' cheese to go with the engine whine as it were. As noted above the 993 RS has a similarily f'ugly interior, but superior performance numbers to the 986 crop. If it's out and out performance one is seeking, the new Z06 or the afore-mentioned STI are the way to go, and will cost you less in the bargain. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a gorgeous drop-top that you can live with day-in and day-out, whose styling and appointments, as well as it's performance characteristics make you feel special and refreshed, there are few cars, and none for the money, that accomadate you like the 986. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the 987, for while it's performance improvements are good, it's G-35 like interior and generally squashed look leave one cold. In my 986, all I want to do is stay in it all day (this winter already feels way longer than any other and it only February...) while during my opportunity to view the 987, all I wanted to do was get out.