My wife drove the Boxster for the first time

[kk2002s]

In 6+ years of ownership, I have been my Boxster's only driver. A year or so ago I started to have sympathy for what the experience might be for my passengers. They have always said they really didn't like riding in it. As I look at the car with the top down, it's really a small car out there with all those SUVs, PU trucks and tractor trailers. Tooling around at 80+ mph or late breaking into back road curves, I started to realize maybe being a passenger kinda sucked and was a scary experience.
So last Sunday my wife suggested we go for a nothing drive before it went into the high 90s. I thought, I know a perfect road that would have no traffic and she could finally try driving it. She has driven our manual camaro, our manual mustang GT and manual Nissan Xterea, so she knows her way around a manual trans. I was already to teach her to let the clutch out a few times to get use to it, but no, she just pulled away with out any problems and was off. She drove a few miles on those back roads without any problems. I was impressed. I asked her, her driving impressions and she confirmed that she can now see why people want to drive a Porsche, it goes where you want it to go. I was also curious if she thought it felt small from behind the wheel. Her perspective changed, from behind the wheel, she didn't feel small and vulnerable. She felt confident and in control. So while she didn't seem to miss a beat driving a Stick, she also confirmed my thought that driving a car that has this much control and feedback really does erase that reality that you are probably the smallest thing out there.
Now I need to get her out on a Hwy @ 75+ mph

[Deserion]

Better than I expected.

[husker boxster]

Porsche #2 is not far away.

[Ciao]

My 13 Year old has been practicing for his DL test in the 986.

[garv214]

That's great! Having your spouse on-board will help to ensure that it stays in the stable a much longer time....

[Gjohn3707]

Thanks for the perspective from the passenger seat. I've never been a passenger in mine since I bought it. I will try to be more considerate when driving with my wife. It feels so smooth and stabile I tend to drive faster than her comfort level.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Ciao

My 13 Year old has been practicing for his DL test in the 986.

Manual or tip?

[Ciao]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Manual or tip?

Manual; I told him if he learns manual everything else is a piece of cake

[jdlmodelt]

I've let several others try out the Boxster. My wife and daughter drove it home partway the first day I owned it. I've let my Son take it to school a handful of times. My wife took it out a few times and then decided she needed her own convertible and settled on a 2007 Jaguar XK. That's a sporty machine. My son prefers his 1986 Jaguar XJ6 (classy).

[boxfix]

My wife's nickname "Mary Andretti" has been driving our 2003 986 forever. She loves it. She has not drive my 1973 911 however.....

The Boxster is her car actually, she also has a pristine 2001 Saab Aero wagon for carrying more stuff. She loves the Boxster on the mountain roads around us.

When I met her she had just bought a 1968 Camaro with a 350 and 4 on the floor.....she has always had a stick along with mini vans and SUVs which had autos.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Ciao

Manual; I told him if he learns manual everything else is a piece of cake

True. Still, I take my hat off to him. All these years later, I recall being nervous enough taking my driver's test that I'm glad I didn't have to worry about smooth clutching, misshifts, etc, in addition to 'just driving.' (I did my test in a '65 Buick Skylark, an automatic.)

That said, my kids used my '96 manual transmission Camry when they took their test. (Admittedly a pretty forgiving/easy-to-master clutch, but still...) And neither has owned an automatic yet

[Porsche9]

Nice to see new drivers learning to drive a manual. In our household and our just married daughter’s household there are a total of six cars and only one is a automatic. My daughter learned on the Boxster.

[Ciao]

Originally Posted by Porsche9

Nice to see new drivers learning to drive a manual. In our household and our just married daughter’s household there are a total of six cars and only one is a automatic. My daughter learned on the Boxster.

"Save the Manual!" Only 20% of all cars in the US are manual. Like handwriting, it is a dying skill.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by Ciao

"Save the Manual!" Only 20% of all cars in the US are manual. Like handwriting, it is a dying skill.

Wow...unfortunately that number seems surprisingly high to me.

When I got that manual Camry, it was the only non-automatic on the lot. And that was 22 years ago. I would think these days that one-sidedness would be even more pronounced, but maybe not.

One of my kids told me that he's heard young drivers refer to automatic transmissions that have shifters in the center console (like that old Skylark) as "stick shifts."

[A8ked]

I read an article a couple years ago that said one of the biggest deterrents to auto theft now days is a manual transmission. Apparently many people are never learning to drive a manual.
If the article is correct, it may stop kids looking for joy rides. But I expect a professional auto thief would not have that issue.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by A8ked

I read an article a couple years ago that said one of the biggest deterrents to auto theft now days is a manual transmission. Apparently many people are never learning to drive a manual.
If the article is correct, it may stop kids looking for joy rides. But I expect a professional auto thief would not have that issue.

A couple of wks ago I was driving my LE in street traffic. There was a car 1 lane to the left and 1 car ahead that had a couple of young boys in it. I had been watching them for several blks as I didn't want to drive in their blind spot and have them pull a quick lane change into me. We get to a red light and the passenger hangs way out the window and says, "nice car, is it a manual?" I said yes. Initially thought that was a strange question to ask, but then wondered if they would have jacked me if I'd said it was an automatic?

[YellowS2000]

Iv had my 2000 S manual for just over 2 years now, as I dont work on wednesdays its my job to do the school run in our Passat. My wife therefor has to use the Porsche to go to work.

She is not a fan..... yet she loves the Passat which feels wooden to me. She cannot for the life of her understand why anyone would like a car that is a bit more challenging to drive. To her the easier a car is to drive the better.

Iv have tried explaining driver feedback, pride of ownership, engineering excellence etc but she just doesnt get it. I think Porsche you get or you dont..

[YellowS2000]

Originally Posted by A8ked

I read an article a couple years ago that said one of the biggest deterrents to auto theft now days is a manual transmission. Apparently many people are never learning to drive a manual.
If the article is correct, it may stop kids looking for joy rides. But I expect a professional auto thief would not have that issue.

Was watching jay Leno's Porsche 911 PDK episode the other day and he was saying that they are selling loads more in the UK where im from even tho predominately we prefer manuals.

I love my manual but after driving my mates 5.0ltr Supercharged XFR Jag there was something nice about just flooring it and hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life.

That jag is an 8 speed single clutch auto but even still I dont think a human could change faster. Image what the Porsche PDK dual clutch will be like!

[clickman]

After I bought my 986 12 years ago I had my wife drive it a couple of times. She was oblivious to the joys of driving and, after I committed the unforgivable sin of asking her to please not take so long on the clutch while backing up she has since steadfastly refused to drive it. She still enjoys top down drives in the passenger seat, so it’s all still good but it would be nice for her to share some of my passion for the driving experience.