Had this for 24hrs

chanlon1

chanlon1

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Porsche UK contacted me recently to see if I wanted to have a Boxster or Boxster S for 24hrs, so I phoned them during the week and we agreed yesterday.
The girl asked me if I needed to be asked which model :faint: so I had my name down against the S :icon_thumright:
Arrived at the Porsche Dealership, and literally 15mins later was walking out with keys to a 2 month old Boxster S.
They put me on their insurance, put the S3 in their secure garage (under their insurance) and gave me a full free tank of fuel and told me not to bother filling it up when I return - tomorrow at 10am.
Spent the so far cruising the countryside












I left the car back this morning, the sales girl asked what I thought
My answer: "disappointed"
And thats the truth, for some reason I was expecting more, and felt that I had been let down.
The car they gave me was £47K, and for that amount of money I just felt it wasn't worth it.
Comparing it to the Z4 (I used to have), I felt the BMW was better, all be it without the power.
The S only had 295bhp, and didn't feel any quicker than the S3.
I did talk to her about the Cayman, but when she told me it had the same engine, I stopped asking questions!
We discussed the 911, but since it is my childhood pin-up, I have a fear of going anyway near it and being dissappointed.
Regardless, congrats to Porshce for giving me the opportunity WITHOUT the major sales pitch thrown in.....but its not to say that I won;t be back in the future!
 
Jammy git! I like the way they treated you, a huge difference to my experience with Agnew Audi. I asked them for a 2 hour unaccompanied drive in an S3 during the week, and although they were willing to do it, they refused to put me on their insurance. So I rang my own insurance company who refused point blank because it was a test drive! Told me if my own car had been in for some work and I was taking the S3 as a courtesy car it it would'nt have been a problem. Petty or what??
 
Nice review + pics mate. Only 295? Thought it'd definitely have much more than that. What engine is it anyway, is it Naturally Aspirated?

I'm with you 100% when you say the 911 is childhood pin-up, always wanted to drive a yellow one lol.

Btw, how did you go about getting that for 24hours?
 
chanlon1 said:
I left the car back this morning, the sales girl asked what I thought
My answer: "disappointed"
And thats the truth, for some reason I was expecting more, and felt that I had been let down.

I test drove a Cayman S with the view to purchasing before taking delivery of my S3. Got to say I was a little disapointed, certainly not worth 20k on top af the S3 price. Although it did look stunning.

Mark
Click to expand...
 
Did they give you a hair dryer with that as well? That is one gay looking car. Everyone I know that has ever owned a Boxster wants a 911, and every one that see's a Boxster say's poor mans 911
 
but you can say that about anything..... a bmw 325 is a poor mans M3, a merc slk is a poor mans slr, an S3 is a poor mans RS4 everything is 'poor mans' in relation to the next few models up - so its a daft thing to say really.
 
chanlon - did you just get a letter through the post and you phoned them up??

i got one similar but i never rang :( wish i did now!
 
steve184 said:
but you can say that about anything..... a bmw 325 is a poor mans M3, a merc slk is a poor mans slr, an S3 is a poor mans RS4 everything is 'poor mans' in relation to the next few models up - so its a daft thing to say really.
Click to expand...

OMG...can't believe I am agreeing with Steve...:keule:

And I think those who have driven the Cayman or Boxter S after the S3, are underwhelmed because around a track on pretty much every side by side I have read or viewed, the S3 is as quick and generally quicker...so the power is never going to make you are think you are getting £10k or £20k worth of car more...

But they are in a different class, just depends if you want to pay extra for class and looks and higher running costs I guess...
 
£47k !?

I'd be saving a little more and getting an RS4 tbh.
 
The engine was naturally aspirated. The S version, is 295bhp, and the non-S is 270bhp (I think).

In my opinion, the car would have been better with the turbo slapped on it.

Hwo did Porsche get hold of me....wellit transpires that Porsche UK recently bought BMW's customer database from them, and since I recently had a Z4 which was coming up for renewal, I was obviously prime candidate for a mail shot.
I received a letter from Porsche UK asking me to phone them in England to organize a day

As simple as that :)

I did tell the sales girl that was dealing with me about the fact that the boxster is only bought by those who can't afford a 911 and she laughed, but she tried to tell me that the 911 was a completely different driving experience.

I asked her to prove it :) (fingers crossed)
 
Porsche wont make a monster Boxter/Cayman, as it will tread on the toes of the beast that is the 911.

As much as I like them, i wouldnt have a Boxster, just screams 'I cant afford a 911 so im taking the second best'!
 
I spent £18K and bought an 02 plate Boxster S, then remapped it to 270bhp (from 252) and fitted a short shift. Ride and handling are way better than most even if it may not have the speed. Great everyday car believe it or not, but 27mpg limits it to the odd commute and most of the weekend driving.

Would I have a Cayman? In a hearbeat, but not at £39k for a year old Cayman S, I'll wait another year or so.

Would I buy a 911? I would have, but I like the Cayman too much at the moment.

Nice idea from Porsche though.
 
Ha ha quite funny 'can't afford a 911 so I'll have a Boxster' statements. Its to be expected I suppose, mostly made be people who have never driven a Boxster thus never experienced the fantastic chassis, balance, engine, steering..... etc.

I have a Boxster but if i pushed the boat out could afford a 911, but then I'd probably be looking for a new wife after spending 60k+ on a car....

I was never a Boxster fan until the 987 came out, and once driven I was hooked. I have the non 'S' version, which is the 2.7 with only 245 BHP but still very, very good IMO!

Back to Chanlon1's review, I can totally relate to the S not feeling all that fast compared to the S3. What I found is the torque on the TFSI is just so good low down, it does make the Porsche feel a wee bit behind at lower revs. But the rewards are huge from the Porsche flat-six above 5k RPM, it really comes into its own and sounds tremendous.

The other major thing I noticed immediately was how good the Porsche steering is in comparison to the 8P, and how over-assisted the Audi was (I think I've heard a few of you guys mention this too?). In fact, coming from the Audi, the Porsche actually felt heavy for a few days until I got used to it.

And I agree that 47k is a lot of cash for that car, personally I'd wait 18 months to 2 years and pick one up for a lot less than that (kinda what I did :))!
 
audi upgrades
steve184 said:
but you can say that about anything..... a bmw 325 is a poor mans M3, a merc slk is a poor mans slr, an S3 is a poor mans RS4 everything is 'poor mans' in relation to the next few models up - so its a daft thing to say really.
Click to expand...
Absolutely right. The same was always levelled at the Land Rover Discovery, supposedly bought by people who couldn't afford a Range Rover. Total crap.

If anything the Boxster has more going for it than the 911, mainly because it doesn't have the legacy of its older brother, something which puts people off the 911.
 
What utter *****. What has a Boxster got over a 911? Yes you can say that about any car range, but very different when at the time they only made two models 911 and Boxster. The Boxster was designed to fill the low range of customers that could not afford a 911
 
d3fy said:
What utter *****. What has a Boxster got over a 911? Yes you can say that about any car range, but very different when at the time they only made two models 911 and Boxster. The Boxster was designed to fill the low range of customers that could not afford a 911
Click to expand...

Or could easily afford one but didn't want one...

I could have happily afforded an RS4, but I didn't want one...not quite the same calibre of car, but the sentiment is the same...and no one yet has been sad enough to accuse me of buying an S3 because I couldn't afford an RS4...my friends are a bit too mature for crap like that...
 
I've owned 2 Boxsters, the second one in preference to a 911.

I can understand you feeling it is perhaps slow compared to the S3, because of the way the engines are designed, but if I could have justified a 2 seater then I'd have had another one instead of the S3 any day of the week.

It just the whole package Porsche have put together, handling, grip, chassis is just awesome. It might not be rapid, but it more than makes up for that in other areas.

For me the S3 was the best I drove that provided the practicality I need, but it wasnt first choice.
 
daviscup said:
Told me if my own car had been in for some work and I was taking the S3 as a courtesy car it it would'nt have been a problem. Petty or what??
Click to expand...

You should have booked it in to have something "inspected" like the fact that the headlights were working.
 
normski said:
...and no one yet has been sad enough to accuse me of buying an S3 because I couldn't afford an RS4...my friends are a bit too mature for crap like that...
Click to expand...

...... Hummmmm, that tells me your a little insecure about being able to afford that RS4!!
 
Just Plain Old said:
...... Hummmmm, that tells me your a little insecure about being able to afford that RS4!!
Click to expand...

Not quite sure what that is meant to mean, so I will have to assume you are just a ****...:moa:
 
Just Plain Old said:
As I suspected you A3 guys are just so easy to..........
Click to expand...

And like I said...some people are mature...
 
I don't doubt the Boxster's ability - I've never driven one, so have to go on the reviews of the car.

However, I agree with what has been said - that the Boxster was developed to fill a hole in Porsche's product line.
 
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