2003 Porsche Boxster

I cried the first time I drove a Boxster S.

To my defense, it was a really windy day, the top was down, and I think there was something in my eye. But from the moment I sat down it was already over – the impeccable steering feel, the waves of effortless torque, the athletic poise through turns, the pure BALANCE of this car – I’m not ashamed in the least to say I shed a single solitary tear.

That was a 2005 Porsche Boxster S – the 987 designation, an all new version of the instant classic that came out of Stuttgart back in the fall of 1996. The scene was the hills of Palos Verdes. And this was work… I was working for a certain major automotive manufacturer at the time, and I just happened to be working on the next generation of a certain iconic sports car from said automotive manufacturer. The Porsche was sandwiched between the best of its peers: an all-new at the time Chevrolet C6 Corvette, a recently debuted Mercedes Benz SLK350 (with a proper manual transmission, mind you), a BMW Z4 (sporting the 3.0l inline six and a robot to work the clutch for you), a Mazda RX-8, a Nissan 350Z, and a Honda S2000. And I’d take the Porsche every time.

But wait a second; our observant readers will notice this is a review for the 2003 Boxster S – the 986 version. Well, after leaving said automotive manufacturer, yours truly needed a personal car. A daily driver. A car suitable for a mid 20’s young single male who is equally liable to be surfing, at the track, and at the symphony all in the same day. And even though it had been two years, I couldn’t get the thought of that 2005 Boxster S I had shed that solitary tear over out of my mind.

I’m quite practical. If there’s one weakness to the Porsche brand, it’s their amazing business savvy. A brand new Boxster S retails for $55,700. I really am quite practical. I was fully prepared to pay full retail for this piece of automotive nirvana, but I had to feed my frugal side first. I looked at used Boxsters.

The Boxster – so named for its “Boxer” engine and the fact that it comes in a “Roadster” body – was Porsche’s way of bucking the trend we see so prevalently in the automotive market today – that of overweight, overpowered sports cars. The Boxster has the right number of seats – two – and the right place for an engine – the middle, sandwiched between the brains and the legs of the car. None of this rear seat, rear engine nonsense that will no doubt have 911 owners closing their browsers in disgust right now. In the year 2000, a larger engine version of the Boxster was created to help keep it competitive with entrants from the Japanese and fellow Germans; the ubiquitous “S” designation graced the trunks of these Boxsters with better go and stopping power. 2003 saw a minor change to the Boxster line, with creature comforts such as a proper glass rear window and performance upgrades such as the Vario Cam system to efficiently distribute torque across the entire rev range. I drove this 2003. Did I mention before I’m quite practical? At almost half the new car’s price, and 8/10ths of the new car’s performance, it was a tempting proposition. Needless to say it’s in my driveway now.

“Oh, but used Porsche’s are terribly expensive to maintain!” Mine just happens to be a Porsche Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle. All those capitalizations mean that Porsche will take care of my car until the odometer ticks past 100,000 miles, or five years from the original purchase date. Rear Main Seal (RMS) issue? Under warranty. I strongly urge anyone looking at a used Bavarian vehicle to consider some sort of warranty. Service? Well, Porsche parts are amazingly inexpensive when bought online. The internet age is a wonderful thing for those sly enough to utilize it. My last major service was quoted me at $2,000 from the dealer. Just buying parts online and taking those very parts to the dealer for the labor dropped the price to play to a mere $800. More than a Honda Civic’s service, but this is hardly a Civic.

“Oh, but Boxster’s are slow!” With a mere 258 horsepower the Boxster S might seem underpowered on paper. But never underestimate weight. At just under 2,900 lbs., the Boxster is one of the lighter sports cars on the market today. The engine is in the middle of the car, and the intake sound above 4,000 RPM is the voice of a little devil sitting on your left shoulder urging you to keep your right foot down. I’ve passed 911’s, Elises, Evo’s and even Corvettes at Thunderhill Raceway and Laguna Seca. Grip? Check! Loads of it. Could it use an LSD? Of course it could. But you’re not going to notice around town. Steering feel? Oh my God. The Boxster has hands down the best steering feel I’ve ever experienced. The amount of information coming through the wheel is almost overwhelming at first. Even simple drives to the store are artistic orchestras of tarmac topography. Brakes? They’re stock ones from a 911 – a car that is a good 400 pounds heavier. Even BMW drivers acknowledge the best thing they can do for their M3’s is put Porsche brakes on their overweight 2-door sedans. You should really come drive with me sometime.

“Oh, but it’s not a REAL Porsche!” I’m driving to the beach, top down. A stoplight affords an opportunity for an amazing young blond to ask me quite cutely where the beach is. She knew where the beach was. You know when your car goes to the valet and it is prominently portrayed right out front? Common occurrence. If driving instructors at racetracks tell you your car is Badass, chances are it might be. Trust me, it’s a real Porsche.

“Sports cars aren’t practical!” This is very true. But mine has two trunks – one out front, one out back. It’s got room for two – which as a hopeless romantic is the most I’d ever want to carry anyways (except on my rare Bruce Wayne moments when you just have to show up to a club with two girls in the passenger seat, but that’s another story). At this very moment I have a yoga mat, tennis racket, soccer cleats, a gym bag, a blanket (for the passengers during cold weather top down driving), sweat shirts, tire pressure gauges, and all sorts of other odds and ends stored deftly in trunks and crannies. And like I said, any car you can take your snowboard to the mountain, your helmet to the track, and your date to the Opera is a winner for me.

Am I seeing my Arctic Silver beauty through rose colored glasses? Of course not. It could be stiffer – the 987 I first drove was orders of magnitudes stiffer. As I said before, it could use an LSD. The shifter’s throws are long and rubbery – it is by far the weakest part of the car. Little things like fading paint on the calipers and how the leather seats are wearing is starting to annoy me. And sure, a 987 will be in my future. But at the end of the day, when the sun is just setting and I’m driving top down through my favorite mountain roads, cold air held back by the coordination of heated seats on “red” and vents blowing full bore, I know in my heart of heats that this is the very best Boxster for me right now.

And on really windy days when there’s a bit of sand in my eye, I still shed a single solitary tear.