Post by alf on Jun 2, 2021 16:03:39 GMT
So, my first Porsche (and first real exposure to them) - what have I learned?
Firstly I find all brands have a real family feel to their products, that you only learn through time - owning, driving, washing, perusing them. The Porsche has a real engineering quality and - more surprisingly to me - lightness of touch to it that I applaud. I suppose they come from a motorsport/sports car background, but its interesting how much they have fitted into every nook and cranny - there is a lot going on with little covers here and cup/CD/pen holders there - but it all feels no stronger/heavier than it needs to be. Not very Audi, who I have come to appreciate for sheer engineering quality, but it can be inefficiently located and made like a tank at times. This one is in quite superb condition, and I've never seen a 986 Boxster look this tidy, which was one reason I upped the budget.
I'm very fond of the driving position, and relatively high dash with the classic triple dials with tacho in the middle. Especially now I have prescription sunglasses for my ageing eyes and can read it all perfectly. There are quite a few buttons but it's very logical, and seems to have more in common with BMW/Alfa/Jaguar than the VAG/Ford/GM/PSA products I can struggle with. The slowish steering / thin steering wheel / loads of feedback takes some getting used to as well, though journos would seem to suggest you come to like it... It has so much feel I often wonder if I have a puncture, when it was just a weird road surface. It's brimming with feel like nothing but pure race/track cars I have ever driven. It's also, like I said before, a proper sports car with quite heavy controls, that rewards pressing on. It's really easy to heel/toe, the gearchanges beyond 1st to 2nd are super slick, but it can be a bit of a pig in traffic, not especially easy to modulate away from a standstill with a very responsive throttle, or shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd.
I'm nowhere near learning it's true dynamic potential. It has huge limits, and no real vices. The engine is very responsive (which, on the wet test drive, made me think it was quicker than it is) and in the dry or wet it basically just does what you tell it. It's hard to slide the front or rear, or lock the brakes up, and I find I'm not hanging on waiting for it to bite as I sometimes am when pushing the XFR. Flat out, it doesn't feel that quick (recall that I'm broken as a measure of speed after 6 years with 506 supercharged bhp) but the speed piles on fairly impressively - something I also noted in the 156GTA and other smooth NA engined cars. Its low on drama, but not hanging about, and the gearing seems set to hit its top speed (166, higher that it feels like it would go) at 7000rpm in top, which you would never find on modern manual cars, which means there is a real joy to be had swapping cogs on twisty roads or roundabouts. I'd like more engine noise - it weirdly makes more noise (and variety of sound) with the hood up than top down, I suppose it gets lost behind you. It's no shrinking violet, and makes a great noise from about 3500rpm and up, but in normal driving it's a lot quieter than the Jag - except you'd need to drop a window in the Jag to realise how antisocial it really is...
I'm loving driving it with the hood down, where it remains usefully practical with less buffeting than any other soft-top I've tried at speed, but stops you getting into license-losing territory without realising you are going fast. I do wish the hood was fully auto and could be used when moving, like with the other two cabs we've had in recent years, but that's not a biggie - its a quick action and only needs a brief pause. I'm more than a bit bored of the groundhog day of life in the last year and having this car on the drive, available for some of the many great little local road loops, has been a real pleasure. Sometimes I've felt pretty flat in recent months and driving has been one of the few things that has perked me up, on that front, mission accomplished.
Now I need to track it. Yes it's mint, but I do think it's up to some days each year without needing mods, and hopefully without stacking it or blowing it up. It has the handling and brakes to take it, and as a car from after the IMS issues, but ahead of direct injection and the (still very low in %) bore scoring issues the 3.4's can have, it should be OK. Trackday forums seem mixed on them, but there are people who have done massive track miles in them and suggest just sticking to road tyres to avoid oil starvation, and some say to limit the revs as well. They also recommend modding bloody everything they discuss car wise on track forums, and I was specifically looking to find something that worked OK on track stock, for an experienced track driver, and was also a decent road car - not much fits that bill. I'm happy to shift at 6k or 6500 rpm, the engine has a pretty steady delivery for the last few thousand rpm and the aforementioned close gear ratios so it won't make much difference. I'm now at the point I need to get it out there before deciding its too much of a minter. Yes its a lovely thing in near new condition, but it's there to be used, and it's not a life changing amount of money if something does go wrong (though Porsche engine rebuilds appear to be something to avoid...).
All in all I am very happy indeed with it, and also with the combination of qualities on offer from the pair of cars I feel lucky to own - they really do have most bases (and all the ones I care about) covered, which is a great thing. It's nice to have a sports car, and to be able to have as my main car something with decent refinement, rather than feeling obliged to get something trying to do everything.
Firstly I find all brands have a real family feel to their products, that you only learn through time - owning, driving, washing, perusing them. The Porsche has a real engineering quality and - more surprisingly to me - lightness of touch to it that I applaud. I suppose they come from a motorsport/sports car background, but its interesting how much they have fitted into every nook and cranny - there is a lot going on with little covers here and cup/CD/pen holders there - but it all feels no stronger/heavier than it needs to be. Not very Audi, who I have come to appreciate for sheer engineering quality, but it can be inefficiently located and made like a tank at times. This one is in quite superb condition, and I've never seen a 986 Boxster look this tidy, which was one reason I upped the budget.
I'm very fond of the driving position, and relatively high dash with the classic triple dials with tacho in the middle. Especially now I have prescription sunglasses for my ageing eyes and can read it all perfectly. There are quite a few buttons but it's very logical, and seems to have more in common with BMW/Alfa/Jaguar than the VAG/Ford/GM/PSA products I can struggle with. The slowish steering / thin steering wheel / loads of feedback takes some getting used to as well, though journos would seem to suggest you come to like it... It has so much feel I often wonder if I have a puncture, when it was just a weird road surface. It's brimming with feel like nothing but pure race/track cars I have ever driven. It's also, like I said before, a proper sports car with quite heavy controls, that rewards pressing on. It's really easy to heel/toe, the gearchanges beyond 1st to 2nd are super slick, but it can be a bit of a pig in traffic, not especially easy to modulate away from a standstill with a very responsive throttle, or shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd.
I'm nowhere near learning it's true dynamic potential. It has huge limits, and no real vices. The engine is very responsive (which, on the wet test drive, made me think it was quicker than it is) and in the dry or wet it basically just does what you tell it. It's hard to slide the front or rear, or lock the brakes up, and I find I'm not hanging on waiting for it to bite as I sometimes am when pushing the XFR. Flat out, it doesn't feel that quick (recall that I'm broken as a measure of speed after 6 years with 506 supercharged bhp) but the speed piles on fairly impressively - something I also noted in the 156GTA and other smooth NA engined cars. Its low on drama, but not hanging about, and the gearing seems set to hit its top speed (166, higher that it feels like it would go) at 7000rpm in top, which you would never find on modern manual cars, which means there is a real joy to be had swapping cogs on twisty roads or roundabouts. I'd like more engine noise - it weirdly makes more noise (and variety of sound) with the hood up than top down, I suppose it gets lost behind you. It's no shrinking violet, and makes a great noise from about 3500rpm and up, but in normal driving it's a lot quieter than the Jag - except you'd need to drop a window in the Jag to realise how antisocial it really is...
I'm loving driving it with the hood down, where it remains usefully practical with less buffeting than any other soft-top I've tried at speed, but stops you getting into license-losing territory without realising you are going fast. I do wish the hood was fully auto and could be used when moving, like with the other two cabs we've had in recent years, but that's not a biggie - its a quick action and only needs a brief pause. I'm more than a bit bored of the groundhog day of life in the last year and having this car on the drive, available for some of the many great little local road loops, has been a real pleasure. Sometimes I've felt pretty flat in recent months and driving has been one of the few things that has perked me up, on that front, mission accomplished.
Now I need to track it. Yes it's mint, but I do think it's up to some days each year without needing mods, and hopefully without stacking it or blowing it up. It has the handling and brakes to take it, and as a car from after the IMS issues, but ahead of direct injection and the (still very low in %) bore scoring issues the 3.4's can have, it should be OK. Trackday forums seem mixed on them, but there are people who have done massive track miles in them and suggest just sticking to road tyres to avoid oil starvation, and some say to limit the revs as well. They also recommend modding bloody everything they discuss car wise on track forums, and I was specifically looking to find something that worked OK on track stock, for an experienced track driver, and was also a decent road car - not much fits that bill. I'm happy to shift at 6k or 6500 rpm, the engine has a pretty steady delivery for the last few thousand rpm and the aforementioned close gear ratios so it won't make much difference. I'm now at the point I need to get it out there before deciding its too much of a minter. Yes its a lovely thing in near new condition, but it's there to be used, and it's not a life changing amount of money if something does go wrong (though Porsche engine rebuilds appear to be something to avoid...).
All in all I am very happy indeed with it, and also with the combination of qualities on offer from the pair of cars I feel lucky to own - they really do have most bases (and all the ones I care about) covered, which is a great thing. It's nice to have a sports car, and to be able to have as my main car something with decent refinement, rather than feeling obliged to get something trying to do everything.
