Clewsey
New member
Evening all,
OPC Reading kindly lent us a new Boxster S PDK for the weekend and I thought I'd share my experiences....
So I'll start with the looks. I found myself looking at it far too much during my short spell with it. It's such a beautiful looking thing from almost any angle. I was stopped a couple of times in a carpark by folk who only had positive things to say about it. In grey it looks stunning with the 20" alloys.
What about the inside? Well, it's a nice place to sit indeed. It does feel more spacious, certainly feels bigger than the previous car but doesn't feel too big if you know what I mean.
Now the drive.... I took it on various A and B roads with the roof down early on Sunday morning (it wasn't raining at this point). First of all in both non-sport and sport the standard exhaust sounds fantastic. I would question why I would want a sports exhaust option as the standard system is good as it is. It sounds very throaty and takes on a very full on howl as you go beyond 4k revs. It also sounds excellent with the roof up too, so you really don't need to worry about it being too quiet with the roof up. I'd personally choose the manual box in either of the Boxster variants, but that was until I spent time with this. Porsche have certainly improved the responsiveness of the system, upshifts and downshifts feel almost faster than my GTS. I wouldn't say to a significant level but it feels very satisfying to use. Downshift blips stick in my mind most, being very quick and sounding very nice. I would certainly pick a manual in the standard model but I'd be hard pressed to decide which one I'd go with if I was speccing one.
The pickup was brisk and whilst PDK helps this, it felt very quick and encouraged you to keep your foot in. Beyond 4k it really did feel very fast, unlike some other Boxsters I've driven in the past where it's quick but I can't recall them having the same sensation of speed. I didn't use PASM sport mode but the standard setup felt excellent. The only criticism I have is the ride on the 20" wheels on rutted surfaces (especially on motorways). At one point, I thought I'd got a puncture as the vibration from underneath the car was very noticeable. The wheels look the part but I'd imagine the smaller variants would improve the ride quality somewhat.
Now the steering....... To be honest, did it spoil my driving experience? No. But it felt light. It never felt vague as such but it lacked some of the feel you come to expect from Porsche. I still had all the confidence driving it hard into corners but it just felt somewhat different. It wouldn't put me off one at all and like anything you get used to it, but I instantly see why some purists would put some criticism towards it. To put it into perspective, it still feels better than most systems found in current BMWs for example.
MPG - I never measured it really! [
]
Other comments - We had standard xenons. Compared to my GTS, they were pretty poor for some reason. With all the rain we had Sunday evening, the lights didn't seem to perform to the level I'd have expected. Apparently, I'm told the adaptive option is the better choice on it. Visibility could have been better with the roof up but I'm nitpicking really.
Overall, would I buy one? Definitely, it's very very good...and it looks fanstastic (but I'd also want to keep the GTS!). Porsche are onto a winner here and I can understand why many people have cancelled their 991 orders to get into one. When Louise decides it's time to get rid of her current motor, I will be driving over to my OPC to have a chat.
Cheers,
Simon
OPC Reading kindly lent us a new Boxster S PDK for the weekend and I thought I'd share my experiences....
So I'll start with the looks. I found myself looking at it far too much during my short spell with it. It's such a beautiful looking thing from almost any angle. I was stopped a couple of times in a carpark by folk who only had positive things to say about it. In grey it looks stunning with the 20" alloys.
What about the inside? Well, it's a nice place to sit indeed. It does feel more spacious, certainly feels bigger than the previous car but doesn't feel too big if you know what I mean.
Now the drive.... I took it on various A and B roads with the roof down early on Sunday morning (it wasn't raining at this point). First of all in both non-sport and sport the standard exhaust sounds fantastic. I would question why I would want a sports exhaust option as the standard system is good as it is. It sounds very throaty and takes on a very full on howl as you go beyond 4k revs. It also sounds excellent with the roof up too, so you really don't need to worry about it being too quiet with the roof up. I'd personally choose the manual box in either of the Boxster variants, but that was until I spent time with this. Porsche have certainly improved the responsiveness of the system, upshifts and downshifts feel almost faster than my GTS. I wouldn't say to a significant level but it feels very satisfying to use. Downshift blips stick in my mind most, being very quick and sounding very nice. I would certainly pick a manual in the standard model but I'd be hard pressed to decide which one I'd go with if I was speccing one.
The pickup was brisk and whilst PDK helps this, it felt very quick and encouraged you to keep your foot in. Beyond 4k it really did feel very fast, unlike some other Boxsters I've driven in the past where it's quick but I can't recall them having the same sensation of speed. I didn't use PASM sport mode but the standard setup felt excellent. The only criticism I have is the ride on the 20" wheels on rutted surfaces (especially on motorways). At one point, I thought I'd got a puncture as the vibration from underneath the car was very noticeable. The wheels look the part but I'd imagine the smaller variants would improve the ride quality somewhat.
Now the steering....... To be honest, did it spoil my driving experience? No. But it felt light. It never felt vague as such but it lacked some of the feel you come to expect from Porsche. I still had all the confidence driving it hard into corners but it just felt somewhat different. It wouldn't put me off one at all and like anything you get used to it, but I instantly see why some purists would put some criticism towards it. To put it into perspective, it still feels better than most systems found in current BMWs for example.
MPG - I never measured it really! [
]Other comments - We had standard xenons. Compared to my GTS, they were pretty poor for some reason. With all the rain we had Sunday evening, the lights didn't seem to perform to the level I'd have expected. Apparently, I'm told the adaptive option is the better choice on it. Visibility could have been better with the roof up but I'm nitpicking really.
Overall, would I buy one? Definitely, it's very very good...and it looks fanstastic (but I'd also want to keep the GTS!). Porsche are onto a winner here and I can understand why many people have cancelled their 991 orders to get into one. When Louise decides it's time to get rid of her current motor, I will be driving over to my OPC to have a chat.
Cheers,
Simon
