Newb question 99 Box seems slow
 

Just picked up my first Porsche last weekend and put about 700 miles on it (450 from the trip back from where I bought it). I have to say I'm a little disappointed. It seems like it runs great, no dash warnings. When I punch it it eventually winds up and starts moving pretty well. The problem it that my 2015 WV Passat with 170hp feels like a rocket compared the the Porsche. Heck, my wife's Honda minivan feels faster. Since I've never driven another one before there is nothing to compare it to. Does this sound right? It has 60k on it, tiptronic. All I've done is swap the air filter.
Thanks!

It is slow by modern standards. I had the same disappointment during my first 2.5L test drive.

Did you not drive the car, or another base Boxster prior to your purchase? I've not owned a tip but have owned a 98 base and 00 S at the same time. The 98 did not have the performance of the S but was still a blast to drive and was certainly quick enough when the revs were raised.

You bought a 18 year old car that, when new, had 200HP. You also bought the tip version, which subtracts a bit of performance. The car is a blast when driven in the 4-7K rpm range, where it makes the most HP. Acceleration from a light or typical stop/go traffic commuting will not highlight the fun factor and performance of this car.

Using the gears properly will make that car sing. Keep the revs up over 4K and boot it.

Yeah, didn't have any options to test one. Jackson, MS isn't exactly a Porsche mecca. But, after reading and researching I unplugged the MAF and it made a huge improvement. I know this thing isn't a 5.0 Mustang. That's why I included the other two cars that for comparison because it should at least be faster than a Honda minivan! LOL! I was right to suspect it.

It's not a straight line shorter; Porches are "track" cars and will shine on chicanes

The '01 Tiptronic I have adapts quickly to aggressive driving. The '99 does not, too bad there's not a "Sport Mode" switch. What I learned with the '99 is that it is a whole different ride if I put it in manual mode and run it in the higher revs. Advantage of a Tip in manual mode: You can not over-rev it. Try this... Find a clear, safe stretch of road. Put it in (M) and start from first gear and FLOOR the gas - Keep it floored until you have reason to slow. Do not shift. It will run up through the gears, shifting at red line. Next, Starting from 'fast' in 5th gear, decelerate hard. Quickly drop it to 4th, then 3rd, then 2nd. It will not drop to a lower gear until it calculates that it can do it below red line.

Keep in mind that these were never meant to be straight line 'drag cars', but if after doing the above, it does not feel 'sporty', then I expect the car needs some maintenance or repair.

These cars are slow on the straights. Period. Take the Honda around a corner fast, then take your Boxster. You'll get the message.

You have to keep the rev's above 4,500 rpm in order to have any power. If you're punching it at 3,000 rpm not much will happen for a moment until the rev's build and the power comes on.

On the race track, I try keep the engine above 5,000rpm and its fairly common for me to approach a rolling race start at 5,000-6,000 rpm in order to have power at the green flag to get a good jump, rev to redline, and then immediately go to the next gear to keep the rev's from falling too far.

Even with all of this being said, remember a 2.5L only has about 185 hp at the rear wheels and a 0-60 time of 6.3 sec (on its best day) which means that you're not going to win a lot of drag races.