Boxster S 981 Test Drive - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Does it actually stop with those tiny brakes at the back? Looks nice, though I'm not sure I would go for the red interior either - I think you did right going black?

OPC also had an Agate Grey car with Black roof and Luxor Beige interior sitting in the showroom. Very shiny and clean and the Agate Grey looked great under the showroom lights, a very nice colour. However when I looked at the photo's most of them showed how much brown is in the colour. I've posted a few here for those of you interested in the colour. I was not fond of the beige interior but one of the guys looking at it was very keen, much preferring it to a black interior. Obviously a subjective thing, the beige seemed more likely to provoke a reaction either of like or dislike. This car was much less well specced than the demo car, in fact it had very little on it. PDK but just the default steering wheel without MF or paddles, no Sport Chrono, no PCM, and only partial leather. It did have the 20" Carerra S wheels and PASM, and the Sport button was there as expected, without the Sport Chrono. I kind of missed the SC clock from the dash, even though it is a pointless thing. It also had the 14 way electric seats. Porsche seem very fond of these seats and the Carerra S wheels and appear to spec most of their cars with them. I was quite interested in the partial leather (as I have gone for a partial black leather interior) as all the launch cars had full leather. The "plastic" dash looked fine to me, even in the light beige colour and I would guess it would be better in black. I would say as good as the materials used in other expensive cars I have experienced, so I don't have too many regrets at passing up the full leather. There is no denying that the full leather is very nice, especially on the doors, but it is also quite expensive. The lower spec car was still a very nice looking motor, and probably at least £6K cheaper, but I'd still go for the better specced car if you can afford it, the difference is around 10%. More pictures of the Agate Grey car here ... http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg557/gbrownze... All in all, a fun morning on a grey miserable day! Cheers, Geoff

Tks , very comprehensive. Have to spec my car by end of week so reading every review ,article etc in order to make my mind up. I tested a 991 on the same day as the Boxter and thought the interior of the Boxter was better , especially the way the dash curves. I think the space is the same in the front of the Boxter you just feel more cocooned because there is no open space behind you. Also thought the Boxter steering was way better than the 991. Was quite prepared to swap my Boxter order for a 991 order but in the end felt the Boxter was the nicer car. Did your test car have the tourque vectoring or did salesman make any comment about whether it was a worthwhile option ?

nsm3 said: Does it actually stop with those tiny brakes at the back? Looks nice, though I'm not sure I would go for the red interior either - I think you did right going black? Seemed to stop OK, would need to give it a dry road and a few more miles on it to really try it. I forgot to mention, the auto stop/start was a pain and I suspect I will quickly turn it off. In stop start traffic it was forever stopping just as I wanted to go again. In stopped traffic it was OK, especially as it was easy to restart just by relaxing the brake in preparation for pulling away. However, the restart was better than a couple of BMW X3's I drove last week, which took a little too long to restart, making a louder and longer starting noise. The Porsche auto stop start was quicker and quieter and a little less intrusive, it is just that you often slow in traffic and just stop for a split second before wanting to pull away again, just as the damn thing turns off. Perhaps we'll get used to it? Also, I hated the electric parking brake. I kept looking for the handbrake before getting out of the car, and it felt wrong just leaving it without a reassuring tug on the usual lever. Another thing to get used to, I expect. The one thing I didn't really notice was the electric steering. Just seemed fine! Geoff

Advan said: Tks , very comprehensive. Have to spec my car by end of week so reading every review ,article etc in order to make my mind up. I tested a 991 on the same day as the Boxter and thought the interior of the Boxter was better , especially the way the dash curves. I think the space is the same in the front of the Boxter you just feel more cocooned because there is no open space behind you. Also thought the Boxter steering was way better than the 991. Was quite prepared to swap my Boxter order for a 991 order but in the end felt the Boxter was the nicer car. Did your test car have the tourque vectoring or did salesman make any comment about whether it was a worthwhile option ? I also prefer the dash in the Boxster, it curves the right way! The best thing about the 991 Cab was the electric wind deflector, perhaps a little trivial but being able to raise and lower it so easily was great and would help with rear visibility, as it would fold down automatically as the roof was raised. Unfortunately on the Boxster it is necessary to remove it manually, although this can be done with the roof up. I suspect I will try and drive without it to improve rear visibility unless on a long drive with the roof down. The sales guy said he didn't think the car had PTV, it is one of the few options you can't really see any evidence of, but I doubt it did. Certainly, I didn't have a chance to try really agressive cornering or acceleration out of corners to see what happened. As I have chosen PTV I would really like to compare with and without to see what I got for my money, but I have to say moderate driving in an unfamiliar car and poor weather I didn't miss it. Cheers, Geoff

rear discs are the same size as 987. front discs are 12mm bigger than 987 (330 v 318). 981 also 35kgs lighter than 987. therefore, braking performance should be better. driving in the rain is the best way to clean the red roof .. that's what I did on my RS60's red roof. In 29k miles, I cleaned it once. However, it was garaged. electric parking brake is easy .. just drive off, it automatically releases.

SFO said: driving in the rain is the best way to clean the red roof .. that's what I did on my RS60's red roof. In 29k miles, I cleaned it once. However, it was garaged. electric parking brake is easy .. just drive off, it automatically releases. Yes, that did seem to work well, when we got back the roof was cleaner than when we swapped over half way. The parking brake did release as I pulled away, and also the hill hold worked well, it just lit up HOLD on the dash when stopped on a hill and did not roll back when the brake was deliberately release, just pulling away up hill without fuss. One thing I would advise anyone is to get the front parking sensor, as I nearly caved in the front of the demo car turning out of a drive, got within a few inches of the wall opposite as I find it very hard to judge where the fron bumper is. Luckily my freind was guiding me and yelled stop. I have form here, as I damaged the front bumper on my 987 about a week after I got it new, so front parking sensors were the first thing on my spec! Cheers, Geoff

Thanks Geoff. Great write up. I agree with more or less everything you've said. Thank you also for the pictures of the GT Silver/red/red combo. £3750 for that combo over a car with a 'free' colour and non-leather interior. It's a lot of wedge...

Thanks Geoff I still can't get a demo.........

535dBoy said: I still can't get a demo......... I guess if they have your money, they might be less inclined. I suggest a strop with your supplying dealer. Like I said, I've been to three dealers now and there were demo 981s lying around at two of them (Hatfield and Guildford). ETA: Having said that I have been chasing the salesman today and yesterday to put down the bloody deposit. They must be selling loads!

Mutt said: I guess if they have your money, they might be less inclined. I suggest a strop with your supplying dealer. Like I said, I've been to three dealers now and there were demo 981s lying around at two of them (Hatfield and Guildford). ETA: Having said that I have been chasing the salesman today and yesterday to put down the bloody deposit. They must be selling loads! I went to Guildford today to look at the grey one. They had two demos sat there, both the black one and the blue one in my pics posted on separate thread I know mid Sussex car was out at some event today which probably also accounts for you not getting anybody too!

Mutt said: I guess if they have your money, they might be less inclined. I suggest a strop with your supplying dealer. Like I said, I've been to three dealers now and there were demo 981s lying around at two of them (Hatfield and Guildford). ETA: Having said that I have been chasing the salesman today and yesterday to put down the bloody deposit. They must be selling loads! I went to Guildford today to look at the grey one. They had two demos sat there, both the black one and the blue one in my pics posted on separate thread I know mid Sussex car was out at some event today which probably also accounts for you not getting anybody too!

nsm3 said: Does it actually stop with those tiny brakes at the back? They hardly do any work, and certainly go beyond the tyres' inherent traction under braking so any bigger and it would be more unsprung weight for no benefit. I am sure Porsche think of those things.

I took a Demo out yesterday for an hour and a half - Agate grey - It looked mean. Salesman said it didnt have PTV but when I quizzed him about it when I got back he checked the chassis number and it did have it. I didnt really notice it on the normal left right corners but around 90 degrees and roundabouts especially it held like a dream. Chris harris was right about the front wheels sprooling up on the old 987 but with the PTV it just seemed as tho it wanted to go around and around the corner and that you had to pull it away from the cornering as the tyres were planted firmly on the tarmac. I noticed the car was inside braking Immediately on the bigger corners which is why i questioned the Sales man. Steering was absolutely precise in wet and dry as it lashed it down for 10 minutes while I was out - No problems there at all.

Geoff great review - thanks for that. Love the GT Silver and full red combination - I think that is what I would go for.

Thanks so much for the in depth write up Geoff. Looking forward to your thoughts when you take delivery

OK, my demo booked for SAturday and/or Monday - I now have two slots ! It will probably end up being our actual car ! Weather looks ok for both days

Not Ideal said: Geoff great review - thanks for that. Love the GT Silver and full red combination - I think that is what I would go for. That is exactly what porsche would have hoped for. Seems like the stars are aligned for that trade.

Not Ideal said: Geoff great review - thanks for that. Love the GT Silver and full red combination - I think that is what I would go for. It is a lovely combination, but seriously pricey.

I love the Agate & tan car, I like lighter colour interiors. My Boxster is Storm blue (special order) & Savannah, we love it, but a few don't. Whilst I like red interior the red hood doesn't do it for me TBH.

Just been down to the local OPC and taken out their demo Boxster S 981 for a test drive, just over two hours in total. Weather was foul but it gave a good first idea of how the car drives and the interior feel, and we still got the roof down for a while. Not sure if it was a great idea as my car is due in only 2-3 weeks, but at least I've now driven one and I'm not worrying that I've made a mistake as I did very much like the car (phew)! The demo car was GT Silver with a red full leather interior and red roof, and had 20" Carerra S wheels, PASM, SC, PDK with MF wheel, PCM, Phone Module, Sound System Plus, 14-way electrical seats, seat heating, rear park, auto aircon and wind deflector. No Power Steering Plus so steering felt quite heavy as we set off but lighter than I remembered the 991 steering and I quite like the steering as it feels like a "Sports Car". The interior is really quite nice, remeniscent of my 987 but nicer. The ride immediately felt more composed than the non-PASM in my old car, but still quite stiffly sprung, just less chrashes and thumps over poor road surfaces. The PDK was great, the main reason for my changing, although the buttons are not to my liking and I look forward to getting mine with the paddles. Surprisingly, my friend and I both quite liked the red interior, it grows on you and is "fun". It is a little more subtle than it appears in some pictures, but I am still happy to have ordered a black interior. Not so sure about the red roof, in weather as poor as it was today a black one might need less looking after. The first thing I noticed, with the roof up, was the rearward visibility was quite poor. The rear view mirror gives a very letter box view and with the wind deflector in place this is through quite a thick mesh. It was a little better with the deflector removed. The door mirrors are also not that large. With the roof down the rear visibility was obviously improved. I guess most of the time I will have the roof down, but remembering to take out the deflector before setting off on a long drive with the roof up will be a problem. The noise of the engine was great, without a sports exhaust, quite enough for me. On the dual carriageway the main noise was the engine, road noise was quite subdued unless on a section with a very noisy surface and the roof was really very good. The front section was solid and the sound proofing was very good and there was very little wind noise at 70 mph. Chatting was quite easy at motorway speeds and I would guess listening to the radio or a podcast would also be fine. The 981 is definitely a better prospect for a long boring motorway drive than the 987, from a comfort, noise and economy point of view. Opening and closing the roof was quick and also worked well from the key fob. The rear boot definitely seemed to have lost a little depth to the roof, but I expect will still get golf clubs in, I understand that the front has gained a little space. Quick video of roof closing, click to play ... I left the car in normal and played with the coasting function a little but found it would not coast for long without slowing unless on quite a steep decline, however once forgotten about I did not notice it much and it would coast a little and kick back in to gear without too much drama. We reset the fuel computer and cruised with the traffic (in very heavy rain) and just about got 30 mpg, not bad on such a new car, I assume this would improve with more miles on the engine. As soon as we pulled off onto the back roads and used a few more revs the economy noticeably declined and we ended up around 24mpg average, so I guess driven enthusiastically it will be around 20 mpg, perhaps 10-20% better than my 987.1. Putting the car in sport and giving it a bit more revs certainly made a nice noise and the car remains very composed even on very wet roads. We couldn't really open it up, partly as it was new but mainly because of the danger of coming round a corner and finding a flooded road. Tried putting the PASM in sport but it just semmed a little too hard and it was fine in normal. The auto PDK was quite clever and especially in Sport mode it would hold a gear longer if you were driving more aggressively but it did still sometimes seem I was waiting for it to move to the gear I wanted when it would be easy to just put it there, so I preferred fully manual mode, even with the counter intuitive buttons. When driving in traffic it was very nice to just put it in auto and forget about it, and since the main reason for me to change cars was to get rid of the clutch I have no regrets in ordering the PDK and paddles. While my friend had a drive I had a play with the PCM and pairing my iPhone was a 2 minute job, it transferred the phonebook quickly amd the whole process was painless. It did show that the phone had the A2DP profile but I couldn't figure out the process to stream music from the iPhone, although I now understand that you have to go to the DISC screen for some counter intuitive reason. The whole PCM system is much nicer than the Gen 1 version and seemed quite easy to use, although it took a while to find stuff like average fuel consumption (CAR button). The display next to the Rev counter would show much the same screens and was controlled from the MF wheel, although the backward and forward wheel was awkward as it was not easy to rotate a single click without it skipping a screen or more. The separate stalk on the non MF wheel might actually be easier, as back and forward will be single pushes. The Sound System Plus sounded as buzzy and soft as it did in a 991, so I still think the BOSE is a worthwhile upgrade for anyone wanting to listen to the stereo much. Sitting in the passenger seat driving back on the dual carriageway was quite a pleasant and comfortable place to be, perhaps not quite as roomy or comfortable as the 991 cab, which would perhaps make a better GT car, but certainly close enough for the £30K difference in price. If money were no object I guess I would choose a 991 cab for the roomier feel and the small back seats, even if only because it is easier to chuck your coat in the back than put it in the boot. The 991 S certainly felt faster when revved but for me the 981 S may have more accessible performance on public roads. Being used to a Boxster I found the 981 felt smaller and more composed on the windy country roads, with perhaps a small amount less presence. But there was no doubt that the 981 is a fabulous car, good looking, well built and equipped, it felt and sounded great and promises to be a fast and fine handling car any owner can be proud of. Got a few more pictures so if anyone wants to see them all they are here ... http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg557/gbrownze... Edited by gbrownzen on Wednesday 9th May 18:30 Edited by gbrownzen on Thursday 10th May 15:36

lumpystew said: I noticed the car was inside braking Immediately on the bigger corners which is why i questioned the Sales man. Steering was absolutely precise in wet and dry as it lashed it down for 10 minutes while I was out - No problems there at all. Good to know as I am worried I may not be able to tell if they fitted it or not! Geoff

gbrownzen said: I think we've stood on the same floor tile! Interesting that the white Panamera doesn't appear to have moved - my pic is from January. gbrownzen said: I was not fond of the beige interior but one of the guys looking at it was very keen, much preferring it to a black interior. Obviously a subjective thing, the beige seemed more likely to provoke a reaction either of like or dislike. It (and the red) would be much better in my opinion if it wasn't so all encompassing. Some contrast would be nice, especially on the steering wheel and upper part of the dashboard.

5pen said: I think we've stood on the same floor tile! Interesting that the white Panamera doesn't appear to have moved - my pic is from January. Groovy! Did you see the cobalt blue Boxster S that sat there during March? That was my 987.1 that I traded in for a 981 S at the start of February. It was quite strange to see it sitting right where it had been nearly five years earlier when I picked it up, and cleaned and polished it didn't look much older. The red interior has it's attractions (not the price) but I'm not fond of the contrast with the black centre console and screen. Perhaps with a black dash and wheel but red leather seats? But then that would make it subdued and kind of spoil the fun factor. It's one of those colours I love to see but am happy not to own, if you know what I mean? Cheers, Geoff

I didn't see your old car - I'm not a frequent visitor as they're not my local dealer. My one and only visit to Exeter was to pick up the Boxster pictured - bought unseen! Hope you enjoy the new one. I've enjoyed reading the 981 buying threads - hopefully in a coule of years they'll be some nice lightly used examples about (and very high-spec if PH buyers are any indication).

Had my test drive Didn't like it Cancelled order

Only joking Very much liked it Only had it for 25mins or so but he knew I didn't necessarily need it for long Not at all disappointed Biggest thing for me was the noise without PSE and it is absolutely fine I agree on rear visibility Didn't play with any toys, literally just got in a drove it like I stole it If I had only one complaint and it was the PDK, it would still kick down or change up if it was in manual which I was hoping it wouldn't. For those that didn't know I have an RS4 due in Sep/Oct and have driven a few RS5s. That S-tronic will not change up and will bounce off the rev limiter. Here is the car we drove Our car has left the factory, and is waiting at the docs Apparently the boat leaves on Tuesday so he is hoping end of next week beginning of next Cheers J PS Mutt, I know you were hoping for a better write up than that

535dBoy, would love to see a write up with pics once your 981 arrives

Why is your car with the national Health Service? Interesting about S-tronic. Mine always changed up at the red line and changed down if it 'thought' it was lugging.......................same as PDK, which is not surprising as they have the same DNA...........

Maersk said: Why is your car with the national Health Service? Interesting about S-tronic. Mine always changed up at the red line and changed down if it 'thought' it was lugging.......................same as PDK, which is not surprising as they have the same DNA........... Very good! Can't be bothered to edit it now Agreed which I understand in a shopping trolley car but in an out and out sports car I would like ultimate control like a manual The box in the RS5 allowed this both up and down

Haha, short but sweet. Glad you like the car! I've got another drive this weekend as we wave goodbye to our RS60

Mutt said: Haha, short but sweet. Glad you like the car! I've got another drive this weekend as we wave goodbye to our RS60 There is a chance that ours maybe there on Saturday so feel free to ask mark to see it if you want-I wont be collecting until Monday at earliest if it is there.

535dBoy said: There is a chance that ours maybe there on Saturday so feel free to ask mark to see it if you want-I wont be collecting until Monday at earliest if it is there. I got a phonecall this morning saying Porsche have just called for all boxsters to be quality checked again and they are being held at the port in Germany. My car has been waiting for a boat since the 2nd and have just been told I will probably get it on the 22nd (conveniently in time for me to be out of the country for 2 weeks...crap)

smoores said: I got a phonecall this morning saying Porsche have just called for all boxsters to be quality checked again and they are being held at the port in Germany. My car has been waiting for a boat since the 2nd and have just been told I will probably get it on the 22nd (conveniently in time for me to be out of the country for 2 weeks...crap) He did warn me that this may happen but he said the boats leave on Tuesday's!?

smoores said: I got a phonecall this morning saying Porsche have just called for all boxsters to be quality checked again this is worrying .. is the quality that bad? what are they checking for?

Didn't get any extra information about what was actually being checked for but with regards to boats I'm not sure, i'm pretty sure mine was originally going to be on a weds/thurs boat at one point.

latest CAR magazine has a group test of Boxster S v new SLK55 v Z4 35iS. Chris Chilton, in counterpoint, says of the Boxster: "Right now, it's one of the greatest new cars money can buy."

SFO said: latest CAR magazine has a group test of Boxster S v new SLK55 v Z4 35iS. Chris Chilton, in counterpoint, says of the Boxster: "Right now, it's one of the greatest new cars money can buy." Checking that out tomorrow

Lovely one listed today with £20K worth of options! https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16782282