Porsche 981 Boxster GTS - my opinion on a surprising car

Hi guys

New on here but thought I'd post a review of a 2016 spec Porsche Boxster GTS that I recently drove. First let me give the spec of this car:

- Red
- Turbo wheels
- 'X' suspension (so a bit lower then standard 'lowered' suspension on this car)
- Carbon bucket seats (heated!)
- GPS/upgraded sound system from factory
- GTS Red interior package (carbon + leather + alcantara)
- Sports exhaust
- Sports Chrono package
- Bi-X headlamps
- PDK
- Porsche 981 GT4 steering wheel (not an option, but ordered separately from the factory and installed onto the car)

This car had a delivery price of a few dollars over $230,000.00 (Australian); many options were NOT ordered on this car (such as Torque Vectoring) as the owner decided that he already spent enough on it.


I spent a day with this car and here are my thoughts:

PERFORMANCE:
Really surprising - this is a faster car than I thought it would be, and much louder. The sound of this car was great (for a Porsche); I originally wasn't a fan of the flat-6 sound (sorry!) but I thought this car sounded pretty good. Porsche claimed a 0-60mph (0-100km/h) of 4.7 seconds; we had a v-box all set up and clocked a 0-60 (0-100) time of 4.2 seconds and 4.1 seconds on a flat road. Huge speed over the claimed figures. Over 100km/h I felt it lost power at an increasing rate more then what I expected, but overall it was a nice surprise to feel such speed from a Boxster. The torque could've been more and the power was sufficient but I did feel it lacking. I realise Porsche seriously handicaps the Boxster so it doesn't compete with the 911 and that is the absolute worst feeling I had when driving - I knew this car could be better, but it purposefully wasn't. Not sure how I'd feel if I purchased one knowing this.

The PDK transmission is such a great dual clutch that I think it is better then any dual clutch I've used thus far. It is smooth for city driving and in Sports+ mode very aggressive, well suited for speed runs in the hills or on a track. The launch control is amazing; I did more then 20 hard launches consistently and nothing failed. I could easily do 40 more without issue.

7/10 < Faster to 60mph (100km/h) then Porsche state but this needs far more power and torque.

HANDLING:
Great, balanced, smooth, balanced and balanced. This car is very well set up - better then my previous Lamborghini's in fact. Had a Gallardo and that felt a bit heavy and a bit wobbly at speed; my previous LP640 roadster felt unstable the faster I went. I know both cars are in a difference league but the fact that this Boxster GTS made me even think to compare these Lamborghini's is testament to how it is balanced. The chassis didn't flex despite being a convertible and despite the lack of carbon fibre in the actual body. The braking felt responsive and suitable for the amount of power the car had (it was using the standard brakes, NOT the expensive carbon options). If the car came standard with carbon's that would be better (and about 100 more HP at least! keep dreaming...). Overall a fantastic handling car.

8.5/10 < So balanced and so well set up.

INTERIOR:
Spacious but also a warm, comfortable place to be. The bucket seats (GT2 seats from Porsche - full carbon, leather, alcantara with heating) were actually comfortable. I never felt they were too hard and they were better then the racing seats in my past Lamborghini's. The gadgets (PCM, GPS) were ok but not great; PCM is crap and the screen in the centre console was a bit low-res and slow for my liking. Also the built-in 40gb hard-drive was super slow - they could've at least put in a drive that spins at 7000rpm! It is a slow, small drive. Pointless. The GPS was ok but nothing great and my phone does a just-as-good job if not better. The dials were nice and easy to read, heating/cooling worked very well too. The upgraded sound system was nice but audiophiles won't love it at all (and I am one). I've never been in a car with a sound system that impressed me and whilst this has a decent one it wasn't anything to write home about. Bluetooth was a bit clumsy too.

Interior fit and finish: 7.5/10 < Really a nice place to sit.
Interior gadgets: 6/10 < They all do their job but nothing is market-leading.

EXTERIOR (BODY, DESIGN):
Great looking Porsche. The front is striking, the side profile is nice and the rear isn't that bad (although the weakest part of the car - still looks Boxsterish). This is the furthermost the Boxster has currently gotten to looking less-Boxsterlike and more exotic. In my personal opinion I would've preferred the car to have the proportions of a 458 - wider, lower, longer with a longer wheelbase. That way a bigger engine and fatter tyres could be fit. Plus it will have MUCH more road presence. Again, I realise this will never happen. It is a great looking car and functional; Porsche improved the styling over the previous cars but for me it is still not 100% there. It has potential, like the performance, but feels purposefully 'capped'. Disappointing feeling.

7.5/10 < An improvement in all areas but still not perfect.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CAR AS A WHOLE + OPINION ON COSTS:
The GTS is fantastic to drive around in; it gets more attention then any Boxster previously and it looks pretty nice too. For non-car people it probably looks exotic like some Italian car. It is loud, performance is good and the interior is a step up from older cars as well as competition from similar brands. The biggest negative I can name is that it feels so very limited in almost every area: styling, performance, design. I understand Porsche do this as so not to kill off the 911 but this car truly deserves more then what Porsche gave it. So much potential seems a little washed out. Oh, and the price.

They start at $169,000 (or thereabouts) here in Australia and the options are ridiculously priced for a Boxster. Fully optioned they will likely get around $250,000 Australia dollars (or even a bit over!). Considering a decently optioned 2012 Boxster S here is worth $110,000 (paid $179,900 with options) the depreciation stick will hit the GTS pretty hard I imagine (and this Boxster S example is directly from a friend who listed and sold his a few weeks ago). In about 6(ish) years time the GTS - no matter how many pricey options it has - will probably be worth $80,000 here. That is a huge drop in comparison to price paid.

Would I recommend this car? Yes and no; I thought the one I drove was very well optioned with lovely fancy seats and other bells and whistles. It looked great and had a nicely setup interior. Was it worth the actual price paid for the car + all these nice options? No way. I can't justify that much money on what will always be a Boxster - the handicapped Porsche. In the states this car would hit approximately $110,000 (the way it was optioned out). That is still a lot of money in the US in comparison for what you can buy with $110,000. Even there (where I used to live) at this price I'm not sure it is worth it. I feel it overpriced for what it is - still a Boxster. Hell, make it wide, lower, longer, more powerful and up the design language a little more extreme and call it a 9XXX car - slot it above a 911 or in-between a GT3 and Turbo S or something. Ok now I'm ranting.

Interesting car, so many positives and a few negatives. If this same car came up on the market (clean, of course!) selling for around $100,000 (probably will in a few years) then I'd consider it. I'm torn on the conclusion of this review - but these are my thoughts.

 

I played with the configurator on the website for their cars; I kept hitting $30,000-$40,000 just in options with no real benefit to the car per model I played with. Crazy!

Suffers on a performance front? Yep the Z06 is a great performer with plenty of power.

They have already started; the new 4-cyl Boxster (now called 718 Boxster) is already in production and due for release by mid-year. The NA 3.4L flat-6 is gone for good. The new cars have more torque and will get more power, but at the expense of engine sound. I've been in a new twin-turbo Carrera S with sport exhaust and that was one of the dullest sounding cars I've ever been in - especially for a sports car. The new 4-cyl single turbo Boxster's will likely sound terrible too.

They also have lower redlines due to turbos so you get muted, dull sound that never screams to a sufficiently satisfying redline.