987 Boxster 3.4

[dadofbud]

Having trawled the search facility without much luck, Your a knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

What real world performance and living experience I expect from a 987 3.4 Boxster ?

All I can see is a good and very underated car, but as soon as I mention that I'm looking for one everyone I know tells me that I will be dissapointed, I can't see it.

Your thoughts please.

[Mutt]

Fantastic cars. A quick and underrated car. Near enough 300 bhp for a gen 1 car, a touch more for gen 2. Lovely balance, phenomenal traction and a lovely way to enjoy the weather we're having.

They are also surprisingly practical with two reasonable boots.

I've recently driven a Cayman S and a 911 Carrera 2. Both times I was glad to get back in my car.

[SonnyM]

Fast, nimble, great handling, sublime open top moments, reliable, works in all weather, decent fuel consumption, and if you get one like mine it will growl and scream when you want it to!

It's the best all round sports car Porsche make.

[mph]

dadofbud said:

All I can see is a good and very underated car, but as soon as I mention that I'm looking for one everyone I know tells me that I will be dissapointed, I can't see it.

Your thoughts please.

Why underated ? Just about every review I read had the Boxster as the winner.

Possibly the car doesn't feel as fast as some others such as TVR or whatever as it's so competent and easy to drive relatively fast.

I'm possibly biased as I've just bought one

Edited by mph on Tuesday 26th April 18:21

[March2008]

If they say you'll be disappointed they've never driven one, or they don't appreciate a perfect sports car when they drive one. I've driven a few and think they are sensational, wouldn't put my money anywhere else for an open top sports car.

If it has a sports exhaust or custom exhaust, you'll never want to leave it alone.

I have a Cayman S, purely because I prefer its looks. But to drive, there's not a lot in them.

(and its certainly a better car than a Gen I 997 convertible Carrera).

p.s. The 2.9 Gen II is also a great car. But the 3.4 with Sports Exhaust is still the daddy.

[Hedgeman]

No, you won't be disappointed.

There are quicker cars in a straight line (their 0-100mph is 13 secs), but the handling and feel of the car is just sublime. Roof down, twisty road and there are few finer places to be. With the obvious caveat of just 2 seats, the overall package is also extremely practical. I've owned my 3.4S for almost 3 years and it's been faultless and never missed a beat.

Mine is a 3rd car which I don't get the opportunity to drive very much. I've toyed with selling it a couple of times as a result, but a spirited blast down a country road and it's under my skin again like no other car has been. Every other car I've owned was relatively easy to part with, but not this one...it could well be a keeper.

Gary.

[dadofbud]

Many thanks for all the very concise replies your comments are exactly what I hoped to hear.

With regards to my "underated" statement I think that the general motoring public do wrongly see these cars as underated, I don't wish to restart the debate with regard to other models up the Porsche range, that's not why I asked for your help.

I have been watching all the road test footage I can find on Youtube and I'm smitten.

So now I'm really going to pester you good folk, what are the meaningfull options as I will be buying used.

[Hedgeman]

dadofbud said:

what are the meaningfull options as I will be buying used.

Lots of options are nice to have, few are essential. In the latter group I would put:
- Fully automatic climate control
- Wind deflector (though easy to retro-fit I believe)
- Heated seats (for those crisp Winter mornings with the hood down)

My thoughts on the following options which are also fitted to my car:
- Litronic headlights (excellent, but not essential)
- BOSE (I like the sound quality, but it seems to split opinion)
- Cruise Control (never really use it)
- PCM (Nice if you can find a car with it, not that it's particularly great, just for the fact it's built in)
- 19" Wheels (Look nice, but don't really help the ride quality and tyres are more expensive)
- Multi-function wheel (surprisingly useful)
- Telephone module (useful but a poor substitute for lack of bluetooth in the gen 1 cars)

Out of the options I don't have, full leather (dash etc leather covered) and PASM seem to get favourable reviews.

Gary.

[kazino]

Owned a 3.4 gen 1 for 2 years. Never missed a beat mechanically, was more than fast enough for the road with perfectly judged suspension and handling, did take it on the track where it was a bit soft. Got sports exhaust from carnewal on it and it sounded like a mini gt3. Of course you have all this while being able to put the roof down at any given opportunity and very usable boots. I have a 996 TT now and although I'm enjoying the power and the 911 quirkyness, I would love to have my boxster back alongside it. If you value handling and ride quality over looks I would suggest sticking to 18" wheels else 19's look fantastic. Either purchase one with sport exhaust or have one fitted. The PCM is pretty good except ipod integration with dension will cost you a packet, else purchase one without PCM and have a nice aftermarket double din unit installed. Also make sure you have the car independently inspected before purchasing as if anything is on the way out it will be expensive to replace. The 3.4 as far as I'm aware does not suffer from the IMS failure which rules out the major downfall of gen 1 boxster ownership. Make sure you have the car properly aligned and N rated tyres all round and you'll have a cracker.

Also head over to boxa.net for all your boxster needs, it's an excllent forum with a very friendly and helpful crowd.

Alternatives to the boxster 3.4 would be a Z4M, SLK 55 amg or a 996 cab. All have great strengths - Z4M playful handling, SLK55 AMG beast of an engine, 996 cab it's a 911; but the boxster has the best overall performance. Miss it dearly

[RichB]

mph said:

Possibly the car doesn't feel as fast as some others such as TVR or whatever as it's so competent and easy to drive relatively fast.

Well that would be because it's not I've got both and my Griff 500 would beat the Boxster hands down in a straight line drag but the handling and balance of the Boxster are sublime. It's one of the few cars I've driven where every control; steering, brakes, gear-change, clutch, & throttle feels in complete harmony. Mine (my wife's actually) is a 2.9 987 Gen II car which has the same performance as the older 3.2 Boxster S and I love it. If you want an enjoyable everyday sports car then you'd have to look a long way to find something better than a Gen II 3.4 Boxster S

[SFO]

sports car with incredible agility, superb handling, wonderful flat 6, and which can go long distances with no problem at all.

I have driven mine from London to Grenoble on 3 separate ocassions. Each time straight there. Sports seats were amazing, and 8 hours or so of driving produced no aches, just lots of fun.

It will cruise all day long with the roof up in comfort .. not a quiet as tin top, or Mercedes convertible.

The thing I love about it most is its incredible agility .. almost no need to slow down for corners

[SFO]

kazino said:

Alternatives to the boxster 3.4 would be a Z4M, SLK 55 amg or a 996 cab. All have great strengths - Z4M playful handling, SLK55 AMG beast of an engine, 996 cab it's a 911; but the boxster has the best overall performance. Miss it dearly

Z4M -- apart from the engine, ride, handling and agility is economy class compared to Boxster in first. Dreadfully uncommunicative .. compared to the Boxster.

SLK55 -- amazing engine, but terrible chassis, ride and handling. Far too heavy in front to have agility to come anywhere near the Boxster.

996 Cab -- not driven one, so can't comment.

[mercGLowner]

March2008 said:

(and its certainly a better car than a Gen I 997 convertible Carrera).

Really?? Whilst I respect your subjective view, I beg to differ. Given the choice of a 987 Boxster S or 997 C2/4S Cab I think most people would choose the 911 (for good reason!)!

C4S Cab owner!

[mayes911]

March2008 said:
(and its certainly a better car than a Gen I 997 convertible Carrera).
Really?? Whilst I respect your subjective view, I beg to differ. Given the choice of a 987 Boxster S or 997 C2/4S Cab I think most people would choose the 911 (for good reason!)!

C4S Cab owner!


if buying a porsche cab. imho it has to be a boxster.the 911 should remain a coupe.the boxster was designed to be a convertible,whereas the 911 cab like so many saloon convertibles is just a roof chop!!!!!!so yes its a better buy/car than a 911 convertible.
i myself could have bought a 911(coupe)but went for a cayman instead,the only 911 for me is a 7gt3

[highway]

The Boxster is an awesome piece of kit. Fast, sweet handling, practical. BOSE is a great option if you like music. You cant install (professionally) a discreet sub, amp and speakers for £1k so its a cheap option, moreso second hand.

What IMHO has killed the Boxster is exactly the same thing that did for the Mx5...Image. MAny claim not to care and good luck to you if thats the case. For many both these cars have unfortunately aquired, dare I say it...a somewhat NAFF image over the past few years. This is reflected in the used values for both of them. MX5's barely depreciated at all 10 years ago, but the cheap Eunos imports did for the residuals.

I'm not sure what the catalsyt was for the Boxster but again, the used value simply collapsed in comparison to how they were circa 2003.

I dont mean this as an attack on Boxster's or Boxster owners, merely an observation.

[Mutt]

mercGLowner said:

March2008 said:

(and its certainly a better car than a Gen I 997 convertible Carrera).

Really?? Whilst I respect your subjective view, I beg to differ. Given the choice of a 987 Boxster S or 997 C2/4S Cab I think most people would choose the 911 (for good reason!)!

C4S Cab owner!

This is the sort of 'underrating' that the Boxster suffers from.

[g7jhp]

I've always fancied a Boxster S but the depreciation puts we off.

Might be interested in a Spyder in a couple of years when they've come down a bit.

[mrdemon]

you can tune the 3.4 lump very easy and cheap to 340BHp which helps alot with a gen 1 987.

great value cars at 20k and with another 2.5k on mods, a sweet car.

I would not want auto climate after having it, as you have to have it on all the time and you can feel the power lose under foot, why in a soft top ?

Staight air con is best imo, you either want it on or off.
PCM is crap in gen 1 so not needed, again 19" ruin it.
Again I am not a fan Of Bose so not for me.

I would only want
Sports seats
Xenons
Wind deflector.

then I would remap it and fit a Remus back box.
SOme remaps can give you sport mode 100% of the time
if you don't want to mess with it I would want the Crono pack as pressing that gives you a bigger slip angle.

Full leather is nice but rare.

Would not want PASM either as I would fit some Kw3's :-)
but again if not fitting coil overs I would want PASM

[Rockster]

dadofbud said:

Having trawled the search facility without much luck, Your a knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

What real world performance and living experience I expect from a 987 3.4 Boxster ?

All I can see is a good and very underated car, but as soon as I mention that I'm looking for one everyone I know tells me that I will be dissapointed, I can't see it.

Your thoughts please.

Test drive one. You may be disappointed if the car just doesn't suit you. It is not for everyone. Nothing wrong with that. Otherwise, the whole world would be driving 987 Porsches.

But I suspect you'll like it and then you'll realize how little everyone you know knows about Porsches and even less about the 987 model.

Sincerely,

Rockster.

[kazino]

I don't think they can really be compared as better or worse. They are horses for courses, one is a rear engine one is mid engineed, one is 2 seater the other is 2+2, the 997 has a better engine, one costs 20k, the other costs 35k+ The 997 from driving it a bit is very well engineered and while you can certainly tell there's a lack of roof compared to the coupe dynamic wise, it doesn't affect it anywhere near as bad as it did in the 996.
Sometimes I miss the mid engined dynamics where you can really stick it into corners and play with the weight balance of the car very easily for my basic skill level, but I'm currently enjoying getting stupid traction out of corners that still amazes me

mayes911 said:

March2008 said:
(and its certainly a better car than a Gen I 997 convertible Carrera).
Really?? Whilst I respect your subjective view, I beg to differ. Given the choice of a 987 Boxster S or 997 C2/4S Cab I think most people would choose the 911 (for good reason!)!

C4S Cab owner!


if buying a porsche cab. imho it has to be a boxster.the 911 should remain a coupe.the boxster was designed to be a convertible,whereas the 911 cab like so many saloon convertibles is just a roof chop!!!!!!so yes its a better buy/car than a 911 convertible.
i myself could have bought a 911(coupe)but went for a cayman instead,the only 911 for me is a 7gt3