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- Martin
Mid-life crisis? What mid-life crisis?
My tennis coach interjected with "It's not a mid-life crisis - it's a good life crisis!" when I reverted to the only clichéd justification I could come up with upon showing her my irrational and downright unnecessary acquisition. She's a wonderful, kind and much wiser person than I am, to whom I attribute many profound life lessons - both on and off court - so her nice way of putting it made me feel less uncomfortable about my recent loss of blood to the head.
Back in mid-November, in the middle of a sleepless night, I remember thinking "what the hell am I doing?" after I'd signed on the dotted line and transferred a substantial down payment to the dealer for a six year old 981 series Porsche Boxster S. I didn't even have a place for the car at home, so this, clearly, amounted to an impulse purchase. Truth be told, affordability is much less the issue compared with practicality and logistics. So, mantle of irresponsibility duly borne and psychologically offset against fake life-affirming sayings such as: one life - live it, life's too short and my absolute best (not) YOLO, I took the plunge and bought that third, weekend car I'd been yearning for. It also helped to have a kind, fellow Porsche-loving mate offering free use of a vacant garage just a few clicks over the hill.
So, as some of you already know and logistical inconveniences disregarded at this stage, I now have the good fortune of experiencing a neat little 981 Boxster S with a normally aspirated flat six engine and PDK transmission. You'll notice the repeated mention of those three numbers - 981 - primarily because they denote what must be the last of Porsche's entry-point sportsters without forced induction and therein lies the cornerstone of the allure.
Nickname's "Aggie"
The car's painted in Agate Grey hence the name "Aggie" given to her by my mate's children. Yip, as it turns out, it's a "she" and the name's stuck so to hell with bestowing personality to inanimate objects. Anthropomorphism aside, this car really does have a personality.
That powertrain: what you've read and watched - it's true
There's a moment when, top down, pulling hard in third gear, sweeping onto a freeway in Sport Plus mode that you begin to realise how much character the 981's entire drivetrain package has. The engine has a "moment" from 4000 rpm - having already gone through octaves in pitch before then - after which you're aurally assaulted by the most glorious flat six wail that one could ever expect from anything at this price point. This car has the Sports Exhaust option and it makes for a wonderful, visceral and potentially anti-social motoring experience. In Sport Plus, manual mode for gear selection, pulling back on the right gearshift paddle gives a perfectly damped yet oh-so-satisfying thump in the back. As a long-time car nut deprived of such sensory overloads this is a life-affirming experience - a joy to drive.
Moreover, what broadens the drive's appeal is the difference in performance modes from Normal, Sport (Sport Exhaust defaults to open) to Sport Plus with Manual. This makes for such a multi-faceted driving experience which, regardless of whether you're pootling about or pressing on, is always an event imbued with a genuine sense of occasion.
Handling - every bit as good as it says on the tin
PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) is missing an "S" because it's rather PASSM for Porsche's Actually Spooky Suspension Management. Sure, you'd expect a low slung roadster with low mounted Boxer engine affording a low centre of gravity (you guessed it - it's low) to handle well and the 981 does so beautifully. But it's the ride that's so darn impressive for what the car is. The relationship between primary and secondary ride characteristics is so beguiling that simply mooching about on unevenly surfaced tarmac is an event in itself. It's only when the black stuff turns so lumpy and ridged with lateral scars - where only large SUVs remain relatively unfazed - that the 981 becomes unsettled and a smidgen of body flex is perceived (something that you don't experience in a comparable Cayman).
So, besides poor road surface quality in extremis the Boxster S is every bit as nimble, darty and accessibly agile as one would expect whilst being totally comfortable and usable on a daily basis. In short, a revelation - even more so that it's a six year old car. The steering is so nicely weighted and accuracy cannot be criticised yet I still feel that, no matter the accolades heaped on that helm, electrical systems still have a certain silkiness which removes the sensation of texture in steering feel.
The Good, The (little) Bad and (less) Ugly
No matter how satisfying any purchasing experience will be, it's human nature to look for flaws, nitpick and find fault in anything, no matter how good. From an interior perspective the front dashboard and centre console have worn well and aged very little. The impression of solidity from the driver's vantage is clearly apparent. My particular car, whilst only having 27 000 km on the clock, appears to have had some clumsy prior owners. There are some minor scars in the door cards and specifically the scuff plates on the side sills - small stuff really but sheesh people, take a little care.
Right now my biggest gripe is that the plastic trim where the roll-overs and roof mechanism panels intersect rattle and buzz annoyingly on occasion. This particular example appears to be an exception as other cars I've looked at have much tighter fitting plastics. I've booked the car in for the dealer to look at but I'm not holding my breath.
The lack of a USB port or Bluetooth audio connection, whilst not unexpected in a car of this age, is a pain in the ass. Amazing how spoilt we've become just by having the latest user interfaces in our daily drivers.
Here are some additional pics and I hope to keep you posted in time. Just please don't ask me to draw up a fuel consumption schedule...
My tennis coach interjected with "It's not a mid-life crisis - it's a good life crisis!" when I reverted to the only clichéd justification I could come up with upon showing her my irrational and downright unnecessary acquisition. She's a wonderful, kind and much wiser person than I am, to whom I attribute many profound life lessons - both on and off court - so her nice way of putting it made me feel less uncomfortable about my recent loss of blood to the head.
Back in mid-November, in the middle of a sleepless night, I remember thinking "what the hell am I doing?" after I'd signed on the dotted line and transferred a substantial down payment to the dealer for a six year old 981 series Porsche Boxster S. I didn't even have a place for the car at home, so this, clearly, amounted to an impulse purchase. Truth be told, affordability is much less the issue compared with practicality and logistics. So, mantle of irresponsibility duly borne and psychologically offset against fake life-affirming sayings such as: one life - live it, life's too short and my absolute best (not) YOLO, I took the plunge and bought that third, weekend car I'd been yearning for. It also helped to have a kind, fellow Porsche-loving mate offering free use of a vacant garage just a few clicks over the hill.
So, as some of you already know and logistical inconveniences disregarded at this stage, I now have the good fortune of experiencing a neat little 981 Boxster S with a normally aspirated flat six engine and PDK transmission. You'll notice the repeated mention of those three numbers - 981 - primarily because they denote what must be the last of Porsche's entry-point sportsters without forced induction and therein lies the cornerstone of the allure.
Nickname's "Aggie"
The car's painted in Agate Grey hence the name "Aggie" given to her by my mate's children. Yip, as it turns out, it's a "she" and the name's stuck so to hell with bestowing personality to inanimate objects. Anthropomorphism aside, this car really does have a personality.
That powertrain: what you've read and watched - it's true
There's a moment when, top down, pulling hard in third gear, sweeping onto a freeway in Sport Plus mode that you begin to realise how much character the 981's entire drivetrain package has. The engine has a "moment" from 4000 rpm - having already gone through octaves in pitch before then - after which you're aurally assaulted by the most glorious flat six wail that one could ever expect from anything at this price point. This car has the Sports Exhaust option and it makes for a wonderful, visceral and potentially anti-social motoring experience. In Sport Plus, manual mode for gear selection, pulling back on the right gearshift paddle gives a perfectly damped yet oh-so-satisfying thump in the back. As a long-time car nut deprived of such sensory overloads this is a life-affirming experience - a joy to drive.
Moreover, what broadens the drive's appeal is the difference in performance modes from Normal, Sport (Sport Exhaust defaults to open) to Sport Plus with Manual. This makes for such a multi-faceted driving experience which, regardless of whether you're pootling about or pressing on, is always an event imbued with a genuine sense of occasion.
Handling - every bit as good as it says on the tin
PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) is missing an "S" because it's rather PASSM for Porsche's Actually Spooky Suspension Management. Sure, you'd expect a low slung roadster with low mounted Boxer engine affording a low centre of gravity (you guessed it - it's low) to handle well and the 981 does so beautifully. But it's the ride that's so darn impressive for what the car is. The relationship between primary and secondary ride characteristics is so beguiling that simply mooching about on unevenly surfaced tarmac is an event in itself. It's only when the black stuff turns so lumpy and ridged with lateral scars - where only large SUVs remain relatively unfazed - that the 981 becomes unsettled and a smidgen of body flex is perceived (something that you don't experience in a comparable Cayman).
So, besides poor road surface quality in extremis the Boxster S is every bit as nimble, darty and accessibly agile as one would expect whilst being totally comfortable and usable on a daily basis. In short, a revelation - even more so that it's a six year old car. The steering is so nicely weighted and accuracy cannot be criticised yet I still feel that, no matter the accolades heaped on that helm, electrical systems still have a certain silkiness which removes the sensation of texture in steering feel.
The Good, The (little) Bad and (less) Ugly
No matter how satisfying any purchasing experience will be, it's human nature to look for flaws, nitpick and find fault in anything, no matter how good. From an interior perspective the front dashboard and centre console have worn well and aged very little. The impression of solidity from the driver's vantage is clearly apparent. My particular car, whilst only having 27 000 km on the clock, appears to have had some clumsy prior owners. There are some minor scars in the door cards and specifically the scuff plates on the side sills - small stuff really but sheesh people, take a little care.
Right now my biggest gripe is that the plastic trim where the roll-overs and roof mechanism panels intersect rattle and buzz annoyingly on occasion. This particular example appears to be an exception as other cars I've looked at have much tighter fitting plastics. I've booked the car in for the dealer to look at but I'm not holding my breath.
The lack of a USB port or Bluetooth audio connection, whilst not unexpected in a car of this age, is a pain in the ass. Amazing how spoilt we've become just by having the latest user interfaces in our daily drivers.
Here are some additional pics and I hope to keep you posted in time. Just please don't ask me to draw up a fuel consumption schedule...
Excellent write up as well.
