Porsche Boxster S: The dream drive

WHEN it first arrived onto the scene Porsche's Boxster was labelled with just as many derogatory comments as it was lavished with praise.

Cynics felt that it was a 'poor man's Porsche' while some curious onlookers glanced at it and quipped "it doesn't know if it is coming or going".

For those of us who care not for the story behind the scenes, it is difficult to appreciate what the little Boxster has done for Porsche. It was a masterstroke. It shares a lot of its engineering DNA with the more glorious 911. Sharing parts and design cues with its older and bigger brother meant that costs could be kept down. For more obvious benefits, the styling is unmistakenly Porsche. Headlights in the first 986 edition Boxster was of the same tear duct-shaped cluster found in the 911. Even today, it takes a second glance to realise that it is not a 911, but a Boxster which has passed you by. Inside the cockpit, the switchgear and finish continue, distinctive in its quality underpinnings. So why the early gripes?

When first introduced to the world, the Porsche Boxster, uniquely named because of its virtues as a Boxer-engined roadster, only had a 2.5 litre six cylinder boxer engine, which produced 205 brake horsepower. A sprint to 100km/h was achieved at 7.0 seconds, meaning that it was a fairly common target for hot hatch heroes that aspired to spoil a Porsche driver's day. It was put to bed, however, with the marvellous agility and magnificent dynamics afforded by a superbly designed chassis.

The mid-engined configuration also meant that it was a rewarding drive, despite being driven by the rear wheels. It is very rare to hear of driver's error accidents in a Boxster, so responsive is the car's handling capabilities.

After driving one through the twists and turns of Jalan Kota Batu, I can vouch that it has been one of the most pleasurable roofless driving experiences in my life. The four pot calipered breaks on each corner of the car gives even the most fainthearted driver confidence to cajole even more thrills from the sublime drive. Despite being a roadster, the Boxster can outhandle the majority of sportscars in Brunei. The original car has been around for more than a decade.

In 1999, Porsche introduced two further models to the Boxster lineup. The Boxster would now be powered by a 2.7 litre engine, shaving almost half a second of its straight line acceleration time, giving it the extra poke everyone was clamoring for. The top of the line Boxster S is endowed with a bigger 3.2 litre version of Porsche's boxster engines. With 228bhp and 252 respectively, it easily trounced its rivals and contemporaries, whilst at the same time being more fuel efficient despite having larger engines than its first incarnation.

Eight years on and Porsche unveiled its newer 987 Boxster, marking a new era for the mid engined roadster in 2005. The cabin quality was improved again, this time with a Cayenne influenced interior. Further engineering tweaks saw improved acceleration and driving dynamics, the headlight cluster this time is shared with its fixed roof stablemate, the Cayman. While few can be spotted in Brunei, the new car has continued where the former left off.

I urge those in Brunei who love driving with the rooftop down, and want it without compromising the drive of their cars, to not look past the Boxster. With newer engines available, the Porsche Boxster will even embarrass older 911s at the traffic lights. Of course, you'll have to be handy with a manual gear to achieve that haughty milestone, but I have been assured that it comes with its own rewards.

This is all made possible with the 3.4 litre engine of the Boxster S. Porsche has cleverly engineered a powerplant which has the characteristics of three of its engines. It has taken the original Boxster S engine and increased the bore, while it combines the cylinder heads with Vario Cam from the 3.6 litre engine of the 911 Carrera.

What this all means is that the Boxster when tricked out can hit the km/h ton in 5.4 seconds. The figure equals the older time posted by a 996 Porsche 911 Carrera. It also means that if you were in the market for a Porsche and wanted to be sensible about it, the Boxster presents a unique proposition. Nothing less than a Porsche 911 Carrera S in the realm of all things Porsche would shame a Boxster S in terms of performance. Furthermore I will leave the reader to discuss the merits of the purchase of a Boxster instead of the more expensive 911 cabriolet.

When you try to find the flaws of the original Boxster S, it will be extremely difficult. What was once the belittled Porsche has now become Porsche's unsung hero. Objectively, it could even be Porsche's finest.The Brunei Times