What is your next car up from a Boxster?

[CenterIsl]

I've been asking myself a similar question: what's next (I don't automatically assume the direction is "up"). I have other toys - a cabin and a couple of boats - so for me the Boxster is a peripheral item anyway. In the 1 year I've had it I put about 5,000 miles on it, about 90% with the top down in fair weather. My previous sports / sporty cars were a Miata (loved the car, cost near nothing to maintain), a BMW 328ic (I wanted a rear seat for the dog and an AT for the wife, but this car was never really right for me), and a modded Lexus SC430 (happy with it except for exterior appearance, just not sporty enough). I got the Boxster on a whim and am pretty darn happy with it, but I do "look around". My neighbor has a Maserati convertible that seems about the right blend of sports / luxury / looks - but I don' think I'd like the maintenance. I too love Ferrari exteriors, but would never reconcile the running cost.

Ironically, my wife pushed me towards the Boxster - she really liked the looks of the car (she dislikes almost all other Porsches) saying it "doesn't look like a sports car - it looks like something Grace Kelly would drive". Um, ok. Except I ended up with a manual and I have the "specially lowered seats" option (basically they reduce the padding) so she has no interest in driving it (she's happy to be a passenger).

My wife has also made appeciative noises about the newer SL Mercedes, but OMG look at the reliability. Even CPO or with a warrenty, it's going to be in the shop a lot.

I've looked at Carrera coupes (I don't find the cabs attractive) but I really do prefer a roadster, and - honestly - I haven't seen another car that's more attractive (though we did park next to a Z8 the other night that I liked).

In summary, I think I'm going to have this Boxster for quite some time...