My Boxster Review

I'm so glad to be in a position to finally be able to write my very own magazine-style review of the Boxster! On 1/22/99 I picked up the 1999 Porsche Boxster I'd ordered from Carlsen in Palo Alto, CA 10 months earlier. You may wonder if it is worth the wait. It might not be for everyone, since some people need instantaneous gratification, and others might prefer a minivan. Nothing wrong with that. But if you want a great handling, great looking, high-quality sportscar, the Boxster should definitely be high on your list!

I'd bought a nice used 1993 Mazda RX-7 twin turbo just six months earlier, so I was not in any hurry to move on. A few other cars tempted me while I waited, like the Mercedes Benz SLK 230 (once it became available with a 5-speed), the BMW M Roadster (the extra horsepower was tough to pass up, but it doesn't handle as well or look as good), and the Honda S2000 (I just can't see reving a street car to 9000 rpm to get the power going). They are all great cars in their own way, but when I "wore the decision" for each of those cars for a while, the Boxster still had greater appeal.

Click here to see the options I ordered for my Boxster, and some reviews of these options beyond what you can read on this page.

Executive Summary: This car is a blast when pushed to its limits! Yet it is also a very fun car to drive around town or for fun weekend drives to scenic areas. You don't have to drive it fast for it to be fun (unlike my RX-7 which was annoying at all times other than when driven at race speeds!), but driving the Boxster fast is definitely fun too! And the two trunks make the car pretty practical. Yet quality and attention to detail are not neglected, and the handling is better than almost anything else on the road. The paint, leather, body panels, and even the plastic parts, look good and fit well. I see thoughtful design everywhere, from the automatic climate control and the stereo that automatically increases the volume at higher car speeds, to the easy to read fluid-level indicators and the well-executed little cubbyholes in the doors (lined with soft felt!). I understand why Porsche gets high marks for quality from enthusiasts. A few more horses would be nice, but zero to 60 mph in 6 seconds is certainly not slow.

General Driving Impressions

In a testimony to its general appeal, my wife and I both love driving the car! She hated my RX-7. Too harsh and rough, though she enjoyed the power and handling, bless her little heart! After losing some of the nervousness I'd felt when I drove the car home from the dealer, we drove the Boxster on its inaugural run from San Jose north on Freeway 280, then west over Highway 92 to Half Moon Bay on the Pacific coast, down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz, then back over the Santa Cruz Mountains on Highway 17. A wonderful top-down drive on a gorgeous, clear and sunny, but chilly, 45-50 degree day, with over a hundred miles of twisting two-lane highway and beautiful scenery to enjoy. Those P14 heated seats and the lack of any real wind buffeting help a lot. All that happens is that the hair on the top of one's head gets gently ruffled, and there's a slight draft that hits the back of one's neck. Amazingly good aerodynamics! Porsche really worked hard to make the car comfortable with the top down. Hats are usually optional, even for people with long hair. If you want a greater feeling of "oneness" with the great outdoors, remove the windstops and lower the side windows.

I was a little worried about the ride quality of the optional M030 Sport Suspension while waiting for the car to arrive. I drove a friend's Boxster that had the equivalent P38 Technic Sport Package, and I didn't notice any undue harshness. But I was worried that I'd just been too caught up in the excitement to notice it. I was mentally prepared to run out and buy the standard springs and shocks just in case we didn't like it. No need to worry; the ride is great. We both like the precise handling and don't feel that the ride is unacceptable in the least. Unfortunately the description of the M030 package in the '99 Options List is wrong: There are no special ride-height or camber-adjustment goodies. But the stiffer shocks, springs and sway-bars make for a wonderful-handling car nonetheless.

I wasn't worried about ordering the P69 Sport Design Package though. I'd sat in a 911 Turbo which was equipped with the equivalent Sport Seats, and I thought they were great. I'd seen pictures of the upgraded interior and I thought it looked really cool, and it has been a hit with the people I've shown the car to. The comfortable 3-spoke steering wheel is much classier looking and also lets you read the gauges better when the wheel is turned far. Yet I came close to regretting that I ordered it. I've either gained weight (nope), or forgotten exactly how they felt, or they are not identical to the 911 Sport Seats I tested, because the Sport Seats in my Boxster are definitely more snug than I thought they'd be. The seat backs have extra bolsters along the sides for lateral support, and they are quite snug at the sides of my shoulder blades. Not to the point where they feel wrong, but just enough to make me aware that I'd better not gain any weight if I want to still fit into them! But those seats sure do hold us well in fast turns, and I think it's a great option.

The chassis is really strong! When I drove Miatas I was distressed to notice a slight amount of cowl shake (dash twisted in one direction while the seats twisted in the other... even over fairly small undulations in the freeway pavement). And it was much worse in the Camaro convertible we once rented. In fact, I've noticed cowl shake in a lot of coupes I've driven too! But the Boxster has virtually none. Incredibly strong chassis! And the suspension just... well it doesn't exactly soak up the bumps because it's a bit stiff with the optional M030 Sport Suspension, but it sure doesn't seem to transmit them to the chassis either. A real feeling of solid quality.

Performance

Performance-wise this car has a tough act to follow in my RX-7, which even today is still dominating the fast Super Stock class at the SCCA Solo 2 Nationals. But the Boxster is everything that I want the RX-7 to be that the RX-7 isn't (i.e., refined), yet still many of the things it is (fast, beautiful and fun). And the Boxster may well be the new "car to beat" in SCCA's A Stock class.

For instance, the Boxster isn't nearly so harsh and bumpy riding, even with the optional M030 Sport Suspension, yet handles the turns as well as, if not better than, the RX-7. Even with the smoother ride it seems to corner flatter. Amazing. How can that be? Perhaps because the Japanese seem to rely on stiffer shocks to give cars that "sporty" feeling, while Porsche emphasizes the springs and sway-bars more? I do know that all '93 RX-7s used the same sway-bars and springs, while the "go-fast" RX-7 R-1 differed mostly just in having stiffer shocks. Stiff shocks help transient response (the interval between driving straight and when you've settled into a turn), and high speed bump control, but don't help in the middle of turns and don't reduce lean, and hurt the ride more than stiffer springs do. Not my philosophy. I like to reduce lean in turns.

Handling-wise the RX-7 is fairly forgiving, but not nearly to the degree that the Boxster is. The RX-7 can definitely bite back, while it's really hard to get the Boxster out of shape. Though the extra weight in the rear of the Boxster does mean that if you should lose traction there, it'll be harder to prevent it from continuing to slide. I worried whenever my wife drove the RX-7, especially in the rain. But the Boxster's predictable handling reassures me, and the optional traction control helps even more. Still, the Boxster's turn-in (steering response) isn't quite as good, possibly because the front tires on the Boxster are a little narrower than the RX-7's (205/50/17 on a 7" x 17" rim, vs. 225/50-16 on an 8" x 16" rim for the RX-7). Could also be due to alignment variations though. I've found that toe-in is critical, and caster can also affect turn-in.

As for power, the Boxster's throttle response and acceleration at rpms below 3000 is slightly better (no turbo lag), while the mid-range is definitely weaker than the RX-7 which comes on really strong over 3000 rpms. The top-end isn't too different though. But the RX-7 has 54 extra horses, and only about 100 pounds of extra weight so, not surprisingly, the RX-7 is faster than the Boxster in 0-60 acceleration (taking 5.40 seconds for the RX-7 per my own tests vs. 6.25 for the Boxster), as well as in the 1/4 mile (14.36 seconds at 101.4 mph vs. 14.87 at 94.1 mph). So the Boxster is slower, but certainly not a slow car. (Trivia: The Boxster Owner's Manual actually has a horsepower/torque graph in it!)

That said, the Boxster engine is so much smoother. Driving it around in parking lots is nice while the RX-7 tends to lurch a bit. Shifting the Boxster smoothly is also easier, and there are no unexpected surges in power when the second turbo comes on-line like in the RX-7 (usually just before a sharp turn!). The RX-7 power is a bit unpredictable due to the wavy power curve caused by the sequential turbos, and it occasionally hesitates too (a result of poor programming apparently).

And the Boxster engine sounds a lot better than the whooshing "Hoover" vacuum-cleaner sound of the RX-7! But I'm not sure that I like the sound of the Boxster exhaust at less than full throttle. It's a bit whiney. They tuned it to sound like an air-cooled Porsche... who cares about that? Maybe the old-timers who think the 911 is the best car ever built and make a religion out of it. Not me. But at full throttle it screams! A really cool, hoarse howl! But I still plan on trying out an aftermarket exhaust at some point. There are a number of good ones available, all of which have documented increases in power (and noise), on the order of 7-12 hp at the rear wheels. With my wife's '96 Nissan Maxima I knocked off about .5 seconds with a muffler and K&N intake (verified with a G-Tech Pro). But that car is pretty choked down, while the Boxster is pretty free-flowing already, so the improvement won't likely be as high. The exhaust and a K&N filter should be enough to cut probably .2 or .3 seconds from the Boxster's acceleration times, I'd guess. (See my "modifications" and "tests" pages for info on the aftermarket exhaust I ended up buying.)

And launching is much easier with the Boxster. With more weight on the rear wheels, and with wider rear tires and wheels (255/40-17 on 8.5" x 17" rims), and better throttle response, it takes off no problem. The RX-7 spins both tires pretty easily, and then loses boost if you have to back off of the gas. Some people, including me, have commented on the poor feel of the Boxster clutch. When I test-drove the dealer's Boxster I noticed a bit of uneven release when starting from a stop... as if there's too much friction in the cable. I haven't had that problem with my Boxster though. Perhaps Porsche has improved the clutch and its linkage, or maybe roughness develops with time. We'll see. In the meantime, I've adjusted nicely to the light weight of the clutch. Only stalled it a few times.

Styling and Stereo

And the styling: Wow! What an awesome, innovative design! I especially like the lines when viewed from the side, slightly behind the middle of the car. It does hint a lot at Porsche's past, but it is certainly not old looking. I think it is unique and cool enough to start new trends in styling. My RX-7 was beautiful, but in a conservative sort of way, while the Boxster has me finding lots of novel excuses to hang out in the garage! And the Guards Red is a great color for the car. I can't understand why the darker colors are so popular... they hide the beautiful lines too much. Get a lighter color and show off the styling folks!

One disappointment: The Hi-Fi Sound System is only adequate. And from what I understand the high-end P49 Digital Sound Processing option is no real help because it doesn't add much speaker, and the DSP (for "Jazz Club" effects etc.) doesn't work well in cars with such a small cabin. My wife's 1996 Nissan Maxima SE has a much better system, but then it's a Bose. I'm considering improving the Boxster's Hi-Fi with better speakers and amps.

Practicality

I didn't buy my Boxster because it's practical, but I now think perhaps that's why I have kept it for four years now. If I were to buy, say, a Honda S2000, I'd probably have to also either buy a small pickup truck, or borrow my wife's car, for those times I go surfing, or biking, or scuba diving, because so few sports cars have sufficient trunk space for all of the required gear. In contrast, the Boxster has two trunks! The front trunk is nice and deep, while the rear trunk is wide. That allows for some pretty substantial cargo capacity. I've discovered it can hold all of my scuba diving gear with room to spare (two tanks, BC, wetsuit, weight belt, regulator, console, hoses, towels, bags, food, water, camera, etc. etc.). The Boxster gets pretty good gas mileage too (I have averaged 22 MPG overall, and best trip was at 26 MPG). I also bought the Porsche RTS roof rack, and that has enabled me to transport my bikes and even surfboards. And the car has no vices that render it unsuitable for everyday driving. It's easy to park, has good visibility, doesn't break easily, runs smooth and consistent, and is easy to operate.

Reliability

My Boxster hasn't been problem-free during the nearly four years I've owned it, but it has never had any serious problems either. All of the problems I've had have been small enough that I could address them at my leisure. None of them have left me stranded at the side of the road:

1. One of the clips on the windstop was broken when I took delivery of the car. My sales person then had to order a replacement windstop since they had none in stock. When I didn't hear from them in over a month I called back and discovered that they forgot to call me and apparently gave the new windstop to some other customer. Hmmm. They ordered another and that time I got it. This whole issue had much less to do with the car itself and everything to do with the dealership.

2. Also at the time of delivery, I noticed that the edge of the cabriolet (convertible) top didn't always seat in the groove just above the rear of the left side window when we'd put the top up. We had to sort of push it into position when it was halfway up. The dealer said that if we left the top up for a few days it would take a better set. That didn't happen (which speaks poorly of the dealer's car prep as in the first problem above), so I brought the car in for adjustment. When I picked the car up at the end of the day, they said it was fixed, but I didn't see any real improvement. Later, a representative of Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) called me up and asked me if the repair was satisfactory. When I replied that it wasn't he immediately followed up and alerted my dealer so that I could get it repaired properly. Great service! I brought the car back and this time they seem to have gotten it right. Apparently this is a fairly common problem according to the service rep.

3. I had another problem later that first year: the stereo "froze up" (like a computer sometimes does) whenever I played a CD. I couldn't get it to respond to the buttons; I couldn't even turn it off with the car's ignition off. I had to pull out the fuse for the stereo and reinsert it to turn it off. This problem occured every time I played a CD. I called Carlsen, set up an appointment and kept it. When I arrived there they told me that the replacement units they had in stock were all bad, so I'd have to come back later when they had newer units in stock. Hmmm. I then made an appointment at Anderson-Behel in San Jose. They are not only closer but also much better: They fixed the problem on the first try and had it ready the same day, and they even washed my car for me!

I next had a long period of no problems at all, followed by:

4. I started hearing a bit of a clunk from the rear of the car. I didn't definitely notice the clunk noise for a while, but a friend noticed it when he was a passenger in my car. I guess it's one of those things that sneaks up on you because it gradually increases from nothing at all to a noticeable noise over a period of time. Anyway, it took several visits before that got cleared up. Anderson-Behel first thought it was a bump stop for the cabriolet top (it seems it was missing or broken... my paperwork from them seems contradictory). They back-ordered the stop and I finally came in for the work after a while. Oh, they also decided it might be the rear struts, so they replaced them too. Replacing those parts did seem to help (and they tightened the bump stop on the other side too), but over time I could tell there was still some noise back there. This, of course, required another visit for diagnosis. This time they decided to replace the sway-bar bushings (as a precaution), and finally the upper bearings on the rear suspension struts. That seems to have fixed it for good!

5. Then my air-bag light started to stay lit after starting the engine. It's supposed to light up on start, then go out after the system is checked by an on-board computer. But when it stays on it indicates a problem. I'd heard (on PPBB) that this was very common, and due to the seat-belt latch mechanisms. Sure enough; that's what was the problem. Anderson-Behel fixed this in no time at all. Fortunately, this happened shortly before I went in to have the clunk fixed, so no extra visit was required.

No problems for a while, then:

6. I noticed that the right-side window occasionally refused to close. It happened maybe three or four times. Also, I had to deal with a recall: Porsche has agreed to replace all of the fuel-cap O-rings on all Boxsters and 996 911s. Mine was replaced at one of my visits, but it seems I had to go in anyway. Not surprisingly, the service people couldn't duplicate the window problem, but at least I got the new fuel-filler cap. They told me to come in immediately next time the window misbehaves; not even to shut off the engine. That way they can diagnose it more easily. Annoying since my warranty will soon expire (wow, has it really been nine years already?). Update: It hasn't happened since then, but I don't drive much any more, so maybe that's why. Could also be that some water got into the electrical system and caused the problem, and it has dried out now. We'll see.

I had my most major mechanical failure to date, at about 62,000 miles, when the water pump failed. I had noticed a sound that I attributed to the rear tires, but after a couple of weeks I noticed that their was some coolant leaking. I immediately brought the car to the shop, and a mere $990 later, it was back on the road. Ugh.

These problems have been annoying, but still mostly so minor that I consider them to be almost acceptable for a limited production sports car. Still, my wife's Maxima didn't have even one single minor problem during the three years we owned it. Though the Maxima was awesome, my wife's BMW has been no better than my Boxster. I guess it really is true that Japanese cars are the most reliable. So if problems like the ones I've described above concern you in the least the Boxster may not be for you. That isn't to say that the other cars I considered are any better... some of them are far worse. And it's still far more reliable than my RX-7 ever was. Of course I may just have been the unlucky one, but most people I know who own Boxsters (quite a few people actually) seem to have had at least a couple of minor problems. But it seems that we have to set our priorities, and if your top priority is 100% reliability, I'd suggest you buy a Maxima, or a Toyota of some sort.

Conclusion

Yes, this car was well worth the long wait! I've now owned it for almost nine years, and I have absolutely no regrets. I've driven it in autocrosses, for weekend trips to the mountains and the ocean, used it as my scuba-gear hauler, as a daily-driven commuter car (30 miles one way), and as an errand runner. It has performed admirably in every one of those situations, which is more than I can say for other cars I've owned. I currently ride my bike to work, so the Boxster is mostly my weekend car. But I still really love it; easily my favorite car ever! It is amazing to me how well it fits into my life.

Will my next car be a Boxster? Hmmm... very possibly. If I didn't love the car as much as I do, I would have sold it a long time ago. Nine years is a long time for me to own a car. Still, I like variety, and I'd consider other cars too. But the Boxster is still at the top of my list!

© Copyright 1999-2007. Dennis Schøler Pedersen.
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