All,

Does anyone have a Boxter/Boxter S? How does it compare?

I am sure that I know the answer to this question: how is it in the snow?
I only ask because I read a review that, surprisingly said it wasn't terrible...

Thanks

R

the S just goes to "11"

seriously, it depends what you are used to. they both are balanced and quick but the S just has more torque when you need it. Don't be fooled by that comparison in excellence a few years back. The S feels much more powerful.

The brakes and gearbox are also better but its hard to notice unless you are on the track.

prices are so low now on early S models that its hard to pass up.

read up on rennlist, boxa.net or 986forum.

We (my wife and I) have an '01 Boxster and really enjoy it. We don't drive ours in winter but I have talked/written to many that do drive theirs in winter. As with all high performance tires they suck in winter so you need all-season tires for the winter. Most people buy another set of wheels and tires for the winter. If I were to do it again I would get the "S" model for the extra HP. I autox'ed Lazuli (my Boxster) last year and found I always wanted more HP. What I really needed was a better driver...

The hard top is another option that I recommend if you live in a cold climate. In '03 they went to a glass rear window (mine is plastic) and the plastic breaks. Mine hasn't so far but just give it time.

Here is a picture of ours and yes it is real dirty (look at the road we were on).

I live North of Boston and we just had a record year for snow. Every winter I mount my 16 inch wheels with snow tires and motor on. The Boxster handles great in the snow, very balanced. I would rate it above the 1996 C4S I also drove year round. Hell, since my 914 is a sunshine car only (at least for a while) I gotta have something to drive the rest of the year.

I have a 2002 2.7. Its a great car in the dry, rather predictable nueteral handling ect. Handling in the rain is less than pedictable. The car has a tendecy to let loose in the rear without much warning. If you get one make sure you get a car with PSM if you plan to drive in bad weather. I dont need PSM in the dry, but I would appreciate it in the wet so I could relax a little more. My A4 is much more competent in the nasty stuff. The Audi feels glued to the road when its wet and I run Falken Azenis Sports on the Audi! I run Bridgestone S03's on the Boxster and it still feels a little twitchy in the wet.

Differnce between Boxster S and Standard cars arent much in close quarters "in the twisties" if you keep the standard boxster in higher rpm's. When the road opens up the S will walk away from you if your driving a standard boxster. S has a nice dose of low end torque that the 2.7 cars dont have. Differnce between the brakes on the street are nil. You'd have to be on the track before you would feel the differnce in my opinion. S has slightly longer rear control arms that is a minor differnce.

914 is a much more fun car to drive. Boxster gives you about 6/8 the fun with all the modern conviences and safety, reliability of a new car. Make sure you get a car with documented repari history. Avoid cars that have had rear main seal leaks. Also check cars in the front passenger floor for water damage - a number of Boxsters got out of the factories with pluged AC drains.

QUOTE (RangerRhett @ Apr 21 2005, 07:54 PM)

All, Does anyone have a Boxter/Boxter S? How does it compare? Thanks R

I have a 2000 Boxster S. It's a great car. It compares very well to the 914 as a fun around town driver.

The Boxster is better on trips, and I suspect it would be better at the track than my 2.0 914/4. My 914 is probably better at autox than the Boxster. My 914 has the usual supension mods so it is very stiff.

I take the Boxster on my daily commute more than the 914.

The Boxster blows away my 914 in acceleration. You reach 100 mph before you know it.

To me, it is the evolution of the 914.

I have only had my 914 for about 3 weeks...I really havn't had time to appreciate it yet...just as I got the 914, I blew a head gasket in my 1997 Ford Mustang 3.8L V6 (slow as balls ) . I drove the 914 for about a week in really nice weather...I get the Mustang back together...and it is working great...then I start driving it around town: What a piece of $hit compared to the 914....the 914 is 31 years old and still blows my daily (the mustange) away.....I have a friend that has a 2004 Mustang Cobra ( a $41K new -which he bought it new) and the 914 blows his car away....not on speed...but who cares about that anyway...

I can;'t imagine a Boxter as a daily.....

What do you guys think?

I pretty much drive my Boxster everyday. I have other cars so other choices but the Boxster is like a civilized 914. Fun, nice stereo, great torque, unbelievable sound, and in the words of a very sexy coworker, "that thing is so sexy I want to lick it". It isn't the autocrosser that the 914 is but the 914 isn't the track car the Boxster is either. I am glad I have both.
Rob

QUOTE (synthesisdv @ Apr 21 2005, 06:11 PM)

Don't be fooled by that comparison in excellence a few years back. The S feels much more powerful. The brakes and gearbox are also better but its hard to notice unless you are on the track.

Sorry, but I must disagree.

Probably spent well over 100,000 miles in virtually every Boxster combination now, Tip/stick 2.5, 2.7, and 3.2, S, non S, 987 and 987S, also in Tip and stick forms. Had a 2001 2.7 for a year and a half and just bought a 1999 2.5 six months ago. It's a little slow...compared to a late-model 911. Compared to my 914-4, it's a Murcielago!

Was lucky enough to compare 986 2.7 and 986S 3.2 back-to back in both pre-update and update forms on the same roads. Then did 986S/550 edition vs. tired 1997 car. In that last and most extreme case, the S had NOTHING on the 2.5 coming out of 2nd gear corners on backroads. Get into third and up and the 550 edition walked away, of course. But over the road, its pace was really no faster.

The early 2.5s are lacking in low-end torque, but you're still talking 0-60 in the low 6s and 149 mph top speed from just 2.5 liters. And they're the best sounding of the bunch. That said, they also have the worst interiors of the bunch...

In all cases, yes, you can feel the torque of the S motor, but it's simply not worth the 20-ish percent more it cost when new, and not worth $10,000-12,000 more than a good 2.5 now. You can get good 2.5s for $14,000 to $20,000. S models start at $25,000 and really hang out at $30K-ish for nice ones.

For street work, the 2.5's brakes, suspension, and just about everything else is superb. For track work, I'd probably pick another car -- or a Boxster S for the brakes alone.

As with 914s, what makes these cars great is HANDLING, not straightline speed. Unlike the 914s, where the difference between the Type IV and the 901 six is huge in every way, the 2.5s are still the same engine, only less powerful.

If money's no object, then the S is a great choice. But in three back to back tests, it failed to make a convincing case for me and several others.

Evo magazine out of the UK largely confers with this conclusion...and they usually get it right when it comes to driving dynamics. Of course, everybody's entitled to an opinion...I just wish they were more often based on fact or first-hand experience.

pete

P.S. All of the above info about service, the braking differences, etc are right on!

All,

How has maintenance been on it? I have never owned a 'new' Porsche. Is the oil change $500 bills like I am reading? There is no dealer in the town where I live, so I would have to go to Indinapolis for 'dealer' service.


R

I have a 2000 Boxster S, I got it as a 3yr old x-lease car. It had 31,000 miles, pristine paint and interior, premium sound system, 6 speed, etc. I got the thing for $27k, now what new car can you buy for 27k? I love it, what's not to like? This thing is a total daily driver. I don't baby it, I drive the crap out of it. 100mph+ on the Florida Turnpike with the top down and it starts raining? Don't stop- just roll up the windows.

My fun car is a '70 914 with Sheridan bodywork, 930 gearbox, Electromotive computer controlled fuel injected 350 V8, Big red Brembo's all around, carbon fiber hood and trunk lid, a full cage etc. The car is kind of in it's second incarnation for me; it is driveable but not finished completely. GOES LIKE STINK.......my wife asked why I put five point harness seat belts in it.............so I took her for a drive. She doesn't ride with me anymore, come to think of it, she doen't even walk very close to the car anymore.

I would never own a tail-dragger Porsche. I think those things are an archaic design that the factory would have dropped long ago if their buying audience would have let them. Mid engine is so..........right!... and rear engine is so................well.. why do you think Porsche always put the little engines in the good cars? 'Cause they beat the snot out of the tail-dragger profit makers when they have the same amount of power.

It kills me when the cool mid-engine Porsches are reffered to as the "entry-level" models, like they are just a different version of the 911! These cars are totally different in personality.

Wow, sorry for raving there. I think Porsche had to learn an awful lot about handling in order to get the 911 where it is today. Thankfully they are putting that knowledge into mid-engine cars again.

I love both these cars, they are SO completely different that I wouldn't really compare them, but I'm going to keep 'em both.

I've spent maybe 5k miles behind the wheel of an 02 2.7 car, sport suspension, 18in wheels.

-that car was an awsome ride, easily the most well balanced modern car I'v ever driven. When I can justify it to the wife, I'll get one as a daily driver...

-I'm not so sure about winter driving though, at least out here, even with winter tires, the roads are sooooo bad over the winter, and I'd just cry every time I saw it covered in salt and road shit....

QUOTE (7391420 @ Apr 22 2005, 11:15 AM)

I've spent maybe 5k miles behind the wheel of an 02 2.7 car, sport suspension, 18in wheels. -that car was an awsome ride, easily the most well balanced modern car I'v ever driven. When I can justify it to the wife, I'll get one as a daily driver... ..

-I'm not so sure about winter driving though, at least out here, even with winter tires, the roads are sooooo bad over the winter, and I'd just cry every time I saw it covered in salt and road shit..


I don't know about the winter stuff. I live in south Florida and every time i go north I'm usually renting some slushmobile for business. I guess you would need a winter beater to go with the Boxster daily driver to go with the 914 fun-mobile and your wife needs a car...........

Kinda reminds me about a politician that I heard being interviewed years ago. Some reporter was asking him about different line items on the national budget, he said "a billion here and a billion there and pretty soon your talking some serious money".

Undercoating and a good detailing job in the fall might help protect the 'ol Boxter, though. Right?