Porsche 718 Boxster S: driving test and video
Posted on 11-04-2016 to 16:00 by CasperH – 84 Comments”
The addition 718 means the omission of 2 cylinders: from now on, the Boxster is a four-cylinder turbo. We were looking out or the vlinderknuffelmovement has ensured that the Boxster is a lot less fun become, or maybe more fun?
[ First look, then read? Watch the video HERE! ]
The first impression when I read the press release of the Boxster a while back saw was not fantastic. Porsche wanted a wider look, and so it was with this redesign selected for lines that support it. The most striking of these are the larger koelopeningen in the front bumper and the black job under the rear spoiler. If you think that this is not really a brilliant choice: it really works better than on the photos. The 718 Boxster has a more mature appearance than the previous generation. Just as there are more things matured.
718: a history lesson
The 718 Boxster and Cayman will be named after the 718 RSK, Porsche racer from the ’50s and ’60s that the brand a lot of success brought. The basic recipe: a mid for the rear axle. The were other times: 142 bhp in a car with the weight of a can of food. And in the instance that Porsche had brought to the introduction also has a windshield wiper on the inside (!) of the heated windshield.
Gallery: Porsche 718 RSK
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Closer to the 911
Also the interior is a step more mature. Anyone who has the interior of a modern 911 from within has seen, the 718 as a Porsche recognize. More than ever, seems to be the interior to that of big brother. The bells, the centre console, the seats. Everything, including the Sport Chrono dial on the steering wheel, seems to be a 1-on-1 copy of the 911.
And about that steering wheel said, it is the connection between your hands and the steering of the Porsche 911 Turbo S. It is the most tangible change to the ondertrein of the Boxster, but the entire chassis was redesigned for more stiffness and a better balance. Not all of the goodies from the 911 were actually taken: the four-wheel steering, which we know as an option on the 911 has been considered and tested, but proved too heavy and expensive to apply.
But everything added together give the basic ingredients to us the impression that the 718 Boxster (and later the Cayman closer to the 911 may come than ever. The numbers support that thought, because a Boxster with less than 300 hp is no longer available. The 718 Boxster features a 2.0 four-cylinder turbo with 300 hp and the Boxster S we drove for this review has about 350 hp. Both engines are to your liking, incidentally, is available with a manual gearbox or PDK. Choose the PDK and the Sport Chrono package then shoot you with a Boxster S in 4.2 seconds to a hundred kilometers per hour. That is as fast as the recently redesigned 991 Carrera, and just 0.3 seconds slower than a 991 Carrera S.
In short: the differences with the 911 are very small. And this creeps me immediately to the question: do you, as a petrolhead still a 911? It is something that we in the coming hours will begin to experience it, because I have the keys of the most expensive specification Porsche 718 Boxster in my hands: a manual Porsche 718 Boxster S with Sport Chrono pack. After cameraman Martijn and I put our stuff in the baggage compartments have laid, we take place. I do the roof open before I start the engine, because more than ever I’m curious about the soundtrack of a Porsche. The roof folds away quickly, I turn the key.
Soundtrack
With a small (engineered) kuchje the motor to life. My first thought: “this is not brilliant”. I put the zesbak in first gear, release the clutch and we begin in city traffic. It does not take much longer than a few minutes before the comparison with a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. It is not a wrong sound, but it does take getting used to.
Somewhere, it is surprising that Porsche now only a four-cylinder engine in its entry-level athletes depends, because it has a rich history with viercilinders. The 912, the 924 and 944, the 914 and so we can still go further. But by the last 20 years (in August it was twenty years ago that the Boxster came on the market) consistently to hold on to zescilinders we may be spoiled hit. And if you’re a spoiled child his toys take away you should not be surprised if you have a pruillipje get to see. And that pout is not even competitive: the increase in horsepower and torque make a lot of good.
The only thing (yet?) not get used, is that engine noise. With the hood closed it resonates a little in the cabin, we are very excited about that Cayman will soon be better. But the basic sound is not only different, it is also made use of a special valve at the turbo, which ensures that no pressure is lost when the driver is off the accelerator. Nice technique, but every time the gas is then touched, you get a kind of micro-DSG-fart to hear, probably due to the fact that valve is open. It is all a bit restless, and just not as tasty as the sound of a six cylinder.
Next level, fantastic
What easier it appears to get used to, is the dynamics. After a minute or fifteen, we leave the built up areas behind us, towards the hills of Southern Portugal. Narrow roads with many bends stretch for us, and I turn the Sport Chrono button is already in the direction of Sport+, while I had the ESP on the somewhat freer position, without the safety net all the way off. Have a look at what we can be, and how hard the systems to intervene in gripverlies. I turn back to the first real turn and hear the engine tussengas before I make the second gear turn.
Turn out I go hard on the gas in second gear and I feel the rear tires bite into the asphalt. Despite the dusty roads and the 350 hp that I then release it, the bands are not directly entice gripverlies. Helped by the engine to the rear axle, there is a very neutral balance in the car, with a lot of grip. The block does not live very much under the 2500 rpm, but the direction of the 3000 is the ability to release it. The next turn, I decide to have something more aggressive in diving, something very precise to do with the redesigned steering. From all the manufacturers that today electronic power steering is Porsche one of the brands that the best for each other. It still can’t match the feel of a hydraulic assistance, but it comes close. Turn out I go a bit earlier on the gas. I feel the back slightly to slip off, but that is fine to catch. If I here helped by the ESP, was so subtle that I won’t of noticed. So we drive for a minute or twenty, with an immense amount of fun. The previous generation Boxster was already very good, but the chassis of the 718 is next-level amazing!
It remains a little tricky to get the Boxster in a drift throw. To the neutral balance of this mid-engine roadster to break through will have quite a bit of force, but if you see the ass than to get you to respond very quickly, otherwise you stand backwards. A challenge, but life is no fun without challenges.
From puberty
The Boxster and Cayman were always the days the kids in the Porsche family, but the lover of really send must be seriously wondering whether he is still a 911 will. The 718 Boxster is mature enough to make it a 911 particularly hard to make. Due to its compact dimensions, lower weight, great chassis, and more favourable pricing (you can Boxster drive from €67.800) is a must for the petrolhead or a huge audiophile if you still get the 911 going to choose. Or you need that back seat without legroom, very hard need. Movie!
Gallery: Porsche 718 Boxster
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