2013 Porsche Boxster S

Good question, right? Some will say no, no way, that where a Ferrari 458 Spider, a Bentley GTC, a Gallardo Spider, a Jaguar XKR, Mercedes SL, a M6 Convertible, Aston V12 Vantage Volante or even his own brother, the 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, to remove this "vulgar" Boxster S.

Okay, but all these wonders are worth what they are worth and are beyond the reach of most of us. And the Boxster S also, tell me. True; 69,228 euros are at a price that separates dreams from reality but it is obvious that the percentage of possible customers rises significantly.

I regard it as a pretender to that title is his indisputable absolute supremacy in its own segment. The Boxster S is undoubtedly the best two-seat roadster in its power level and price, a great sports car affordable to some extent, and can be used daily to provide great driving sensations. Only two cars, without being strict Boxster rivals are able to offer the same driving pleasure in its purest form that gives Porsche, the Mazda MX-5 and Lotus Elise. That there is no comparison to a Boxster S?. Of course not, but back to the beginning.

If we are looking for the perfect balance of everything that defines an open sports car two-seater, I can assure you that the Boxster S is very close to that chimerical balance.

What if 911 of the poor, if it is a love and I can, if they have like 911 to hide ... The Boxster is slowly shaking off the unfair treatment was dispensed many though it must be said, in honor to the truth, that Porsche contributed significantly to cause confusion. The Boxster of first and second generation wanted to be just that, a "baby 911" and, under the brand whipping this approach, it was difficult for this little Porsche to develop its own personality.

With the arrival of the third generation, the Boxster has grown up. It does not look both 911 and that's very positive for those who purchase both a Boxster and, above all, for clients of 911 Cabrio anyone aspiring to hesitate at first sight, for they have invested their money .

Aesthetically, the headlights slanted it away from 911 and now has a more muscular, with doors that draw a line that draw air into cooling Entries wheel arches and a rear personality, almost LED drivers planes and a spoiler that pops to exceed 120 km / h. As being politically correct that's something we could never do on our highways, Porsche has a little button on the console that allows us to raise it when we want.

Inside, the air is undeniable Porsche. The brand combines things of life as the contact to the left of the steering wheel, the central rev counter presiding complete instrumentation and graduation of 50 to 50 and to 300 km / h. Speedometer-forcing install another digital as the law of the European Union imposes a maximum of 20 km / h between references-with completely new ones. An example of the latter is the center console, similar to the Panamera, Cayenne and 911 estrechita even more with less buttons.

This console places the change in a higher position, more handy and eliminates the handbrake lever-tops goodbye to pulling it caused, which moves to the left of the driver, to the knee. To operate you have to press the button to turn it off while there to pull him just the opposite of what logic dictates. It has, however, its explanation. It's backwards to avoid accidental release by a knee to climb.

From the console there is something we do not like anything and there are no holes to allow objects. The wallet, glasses, keys, mobile phone, coins ... anything that people should stay in our pockets because they have only a few tiny holes in the doors, a drawer behind the change, the main glove box, which barely fit papers and instruction manual and a box under the armrest, not being very large, is the only minimally useful to let small things.

The seats are comfortable and hold the body well. Standard are upholstered in leather and Alcantara and only have the electric backrest adjustment. From there, and going through box, whatever you want, sport seats, bucket seats, heating, ventilation, electricity regulation, memory, high quality leather ...

The same applies to the presentation of the cabin. The menu includes aluminum inserts but the menu offers carbon, wood or other types of metal. As always on the mark, the customizations are endless. An example is paint. You can order your Boxster in a solid color, metallic, special or bring a letter from Pantones and order one particular. But it will cost a paste Boxster will have a khaki green or bubblegum pink if that is your desire unstoppable.

The roof is canvas and electrical. So far, nothing new. The most interesting is the rapid deployment and redeployment (nine seconds) and the ability to operate it with the car running up to 50 km / h. This will allow you to mount the shtick anywhere and not just at stoplights long. The hood isolated acceptably but the Boxster is a noisy car, both open and closed. Furthermore, within the strategy of gaining weight, Porsche has decided to drop the cover-fiber hood. Why shoddy little things we use, we always enfundarlas to protect them. And I can assure you that if you buy a Boxster, the hood are going to use it very little.

This Porsche is not cars that are more comfortable when open circulate. I refer not to ride comfort but the acoustic and upwind. The windshield is not very high, as befits a good sport and the rear windscreen, which Porsche charges us nearly 300 euros without the slightest blush, turbulence away but is not meant to reduce our budget hair salon. The Boxster ruffles and voice requires care to use a certain amount when it comes to talking animatedly with the tour while we shot on highway 120, for example. And never mind if the highway is German ....

To travel, offers 280 liters of luggage compartment divided in two. The front supports 130 liters and is deep and narrow. Fit a pair of traveling trolleys, one above the other. Behind there is another boot poke holes through which to fill the reservoirs of oil and coolant. Engine no trace until you put the car in gear. Fully encapsulated, check that it is there requires crawling under the car and you do not see any other way.

The boxer engine is a horizontally opposed six-cylinder 3.4-liter engine and 315 hp. It has direct injection and now inevitable Stop / Start, which, of course, be disconnected. The engine is the typical Porsche boxer and behaves as such, ie it lacks bass note and starts pushing in earnest until surpassed the 3,000 laps. For that reason, is the least impressive of the car.

The engine does not have the kick of modern turbo engines (of the six-cylinder BMW turbo that mounts on the Z4 i35s, for example, or the volcanic five cylinder Audi TT RS) or push from below as if his life on it but, on the contrary, offers exceptional performance between 4000 and 7000 revolutions, on the other hand, is where you have to maintain a multivalve aspirated engine to get the performance that is capable of providing.

The Boxster engine therefore requires changing play lest he fall of laps when we drive in a sports-if not the case, anyway-and, therefore, very important to have a change that lend to that game.

The most interesting of the engine is its elasticity once passed the 4,000 laps. Where the turbo start asking the following March, the boxer stretches and continues to deliver power with a deep and serious. Feelings are not impressive acceleration from standstill but once you spend a march.

Consumption, meanwhile, is playing well in a car. Presentable when circulated in highway cruising speed (between 8 and 10 liters depending on the terrain) and high, how could it be otherwise when he is required to fund. Going from 15 liters is not difficult but anyone who buys a car from 315 hp expect miracles when engaged to require background to his car on mountain road.

Porsche Boxster offers two types of changes, a six-speed manual, the lifetime, and automatic dual-clutch seven-speed PDK was wearing that our test unit. Normally, I would have said that it is so worth it to spend the $ 3,000 Porsche calls, but this change is that as tariffs have fallen after taxes, would be a sin not to.

Turns out, as the PDK version has a consumption lower than the version approved manual and emits 189 g / km of CO2 to 202 of the same model with a manual gearbox, the PDK falls in the lower car tax so the difference is only 500 euros. Therefore, PDK or yes.

The box is wonderful and I'm not exaggerating. And more so considering that automatic transmissions were never something that Porsche stand out. 911 Tiptronic Those two generations ago were desperate for their slowness and tendency to skate and the Cayenne, the Tiptronic have never been the best of the car. In addition, Porsche complicated life customers with buttons on the steering wheel, small, erratic driving and absurd which fortunately disappeared in the previous generation 911.

This dual-clutch PDK holds not only the changes compared to the BMW M, absolute reference between non-sequential automatic (the Ferrari F1, for example, is a truly spectacular robotised manual), but it is among the best for speed and, above all, how it adapts to any riding.

The change seems to have its own life and know perfectly well that is mounted on a car where you will be required to stop sportsmanship. The Boxster has a Sport button that changes the mode of action and change, if we ride the Sport Chrono Pack, our unit had, added a new mode even sportier. In between, the rate of change and the change point vary appreciably but best not change that because that makes today any automatic and minimally sports.

The good thing is as PDK adapts to driving in automatic mode. If you want to shoot with confidence, it seems that there is. Spend the gears smoothly, without the slightest problem and always looking for the longest possible to save fuel.

If, however, a more sporty drive, change the rhythm adapts to reprint, marches stretches depending on the gas you give, reduced to stop before entering the curve to be always ready to give back to gas and even gives us ears with a double-clutch pun-raising engine speed for the best possible outcome.

In sequential mode, gets to change on their own to reach the injection cut but if we opt for the Sport Plus mode. In this case, when it comes to cutting, injection and short wait until we who turn to the higher gear. Really exceptional because in sequential mode is very fast and allows us to continue to accelerate as we change.

The Boxster car had always been a very effective but this third generation slashing excellence in terms of dynamic behavior and, above all, improves abrupt oversteer tendency of the previous generation, a car tremendously effective but demanding the limit.

This new generation is stable thanks to their wider track and longer wheelbase, and therefore is less radical. The level of traction is great on dry and is almost impossible to go back but it will force them to give based on a quantity of gas output unlikely to a sharp bend. If we also have Porsche Torque Vectoring system that brakes the inside wheels during cornering, and the hardness variable electronic suspension, the cornering speed is very high and transmits absolute confidence, especially in fast corner which is where more delicate was driving the previous Boxster.

When accelerating hard, the Boxster S completely eliminates the floating front axle, more than ever downloaded in a car rear-engine and rear-wheel drive, braking support in support undeterred, something the previous model but also to ways less elegant in their reactions, and although it is very flexible in supporting the changes, it is a very fast car thanks to the precise steering, electric but the best feeling I'd ever seen in such a direction.

The previous Boxster had a great ability to grip but hid a very violent reaction in losing traction. This not. This suggests a slight oversteer when it reaches the limit of adhesion, oversteer that gas is recovered with a slight countersteer and without violence. It is therefore more efficient than before, faster and more accurate but also more rational because it is easier to carry and spend less.

We shall discuss the issue of price. Roza 70,000 euros but I think it is extraordinarily expensive. This is a fancy car, of course, but you can use every day without problems and allowing travel duo fast and convenient way. The equipment is the usual level in Porsche, has almost everything you expect in a car like that but the ink is left in improper elements of a car of this price.

One can understand that Porsche charges more than 8,000 euros for each investment-ceramic brakes not worth it unless it's going to be our meat Boxster circuit as standard brakes are phenomenal-why a technological marvel, the active suspension separately invoiced or Sport Chrono pack, which includes the Launch Control system perfect output (like a Formula 1 but you can only use the output of a toll), a stopwatch to calculate the circuit back to back and an indicator of G forces, is considered a fad. Right.

What is already harder to understand is that Porsche charge us 294 euros for a measly plastic air dam, a 118 or 196 t for Isofix anchorage in the passenger seat.

And what it is inconceivable that a car is 70,000 euros, a move to a climate control air conditioning costs us 837 euros and that elements such as rain sensor, automatic headlights, parking sensors and keyless entry, that are standard in utility of 15,000 euros, and have to pay astronomical prices apart.

The Boxster optional list is very long and the amounts of certain elements will enable us, if we are a spendthrift, increasing 50% over the original budget.

In short, this is a really balanced sports roadster, with a change-engine-chassis exceptional finishing and quality typical of Porsche and driving sensations that while away from the radicalism of a turbocharged car, allow us to conduct capitalized, feeling the road and enjoying it. Is the best roadster in its segment of power and money? Yes, no doubt.