ASSOCIATE WEST COAST EDITOR BLAKE Z. RONG: Another day, another Porsche, another entirely predictable opinion from us. And yet, it's almost always well-deserved. Just take away the large options list and ludicrous base price as Porsches have always been historically overpriced. However, we did pick it as our winner for the Best of the Best car award for 2013, which is excellent because the 2013 Porsche Boxster S earned it. And who am I to argue against my colleagues?
It's almost exactly the same length of the original Boxster, this one only happens to look longer, lower, wider, and less gawky than its predecessors. A beautiful tromp l'oeil if there ever was one. With the top up it no longer looks like it's wearing a cafeteria lady's hairnet. With the top down it looks ever so slightly aggressive -- it's not confused anymore, it's assertive, and yes, those are 20-inch wheels on a sports car; want to fight about it?
The Boxster derives its unfair comparison from its overshadowing older brother, the 911, the Peyton to its Eli. (That's a metaphor I heard somewhere. Rearrange at will, sports fans.) “The Porsche for those who haven't made it in life,” say the jokesters.
Indeed it is because compared to the 911, the Boxster actually has a sense of humor. Step on the power and the rear end will walk away from you -- first with fair warning, then a bit more as if to tell you, “Welp, you've earned it, pal.” The traction control system is a willing accomplice and will let you get away with everything short of tax evasion. Lively, dead-accurate steering commands the rear back to attention like a world-weary police chief who's done with playing games. Steer, gas, rinse, repeat. The 911 is a “Stepford Wife” in its eerie purity, but the Boxster? A fellow conspirator.
The 3.4-liter, 315-horsepower flat-six engine barks attentively all the way to a 7,500 rpm redline, delivering acceleration far greater than the sum of its horsepower figures. It is, in a word, intoxicating. The PDK seven-speed transmission isn't a manual, to the dismay of so-called “purists,” and there are enough cheap gags at its unyieldingly German name, but it is damn near telepathic: it will read your mind at every shift, blip the throttle accordingly, nail the perfect rev, and more importantly it will do so every single time without fail, with the utmost precision. Like most modern sports cars, the Boxster will outdrive you and everybody you know. More importantly, it'll make you look good.
Looking good, with the top down, weather be damned -- there's actually some joy to be found in the blustery New England cold. Joy is what you make of it, friend, and nowhere is there more joy than wringing that beautifully resonant engine nestled behind your shoulder blades, flicking the solid metal paddles for that perfect downshift, directing the Boxster along a winding New Hampshire road, the sunlight flickering off the lake and through the trees.
There are niggles, as always. The exhaust sounds great when it's snap, crackle and popping but drones on the highway. The suspension is stiff for Boston's weathered roads; the difference between its Normal and Sport modes is, like the label “artisan”: useless. And of course, if driving a Porsche is less than egalitarian, must it be a reminder at every intersection?
Then, there's the price. Our Boxster S starts at $61,850. But this one costs $90,175 -- or half its base price in options. That's right. Such niceties as the PDK transmission and the sport chrono package are worth it, but the full-leather interior can be skipped. Or can it? That's how Porsche gets your proverbial goat, after all, through an options list as long as the owner's manual.
2013 Porsche Boxster S
Base Price: $61,850
As-Tested Price: $90,175
Drivetrain: 3.4-liter H6; RWD, seven-speed dual-clutch sequential manual
Output: 315 hp @ 6,700 rpm, 266 lb-ft @ 4,500-5,800 rpm
Curb Weight: 2,910 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 21/30/24 mpg
AW Observed Fuel Economy: 19.9 mpg
Options: Premium package adaptive Sport Seats ($5,265); infotainment package with Bose surround sound system including navigation, SiriusXM satellite radio receiver, HD radio receiver, online services, Bose surround sound system ($3,860); espresso natural leather interior ($3,535); Porsche Doppelkupplung PDK ($3,200); 20-inch Carrera Classic wheels ($2,730); sport chrono package including dynamic engine mounts, analog and digital stopwatch ($2,370); Porsche active suspension management ($1,790); Porsche torque vectoring ($1,320); ParkAssist ($860); ventilated seats ($730); platinum silver metallic paint ($710); six-disc CD changer ($670); SportDesign steering wheel ($490); light design package including LED ambient lighting on overhead console, door handles, door storage compartments, front footwells, vanity mirrors, luggage compartments ($340); power steering plus ($270); colored wheel caps in Porsche crest ($185)
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