IT may be the baby of the stable – but the Boxster is everything that a Porsche should be. The German marques’ mid-engined roadster has all the qualities the purists could want in a sports car – it’s highly desirable, furiously fast and, above all, fun. In fact, from the moment I put my right foot down I was hooked. The roar that immediately comes from the 255 horses under the bonnet is more akin to 255 lions and leaves you in no doubt that you are piloting a serious piece of engineering hardware. The 2.9-litre, six cylinder power pack even in this, the basic model, is capable of catapulting you from 0-62mph in a snap under six seconds and propelling you to a top speed of 163mph. But this is so much more than just a speed machine and to tear around the roads with the pedal to the metal like Jenson Button on speed would be to miss the point entirely – as well as risk piling up the penalty points! No, this is a car for real drivers, a car that you are more than happy to take out for a spin solely for the sheer pleasure of being behind the wheel rather than any need to get anywhere in particular. Before you even slip into the sports seats (a £299 option) you can’t get away from the fact that the Boxster just looks the part. No sooner had the car been delivered than my neighbour, a self-made businessman who knows his motors and drives BMWs and Jags, was over to take a longer look and lament the fact that he had always plumped for the more practical options when he could have owned one himself. The sleek, distinctive lines are easily the equal of any soft top on the market and the latest generation looks even leaner and meaner with its bulging rear wheel arches and bigger, more accentuated air intakes on either flank. The suspension has been tweaked too, and there are wider alloy wheels fitted with newly developed tyres which, on the rear wheels, run at lower pressures and increase comfort. But don’t worry the Boxster is not going soft. This is still a class-leading sports car and everything is set up to give you a ride befitting that status. It’s wide track, those massive wheels and the balance afforded by being a mid-engined car ensure that you are glued to the road when you open the throttle but at the same time manoeuvring through traffic around town at lower speeds is trouble free. The optional Porsche Active Suspension Management system included in this car offers the driver the option of setting up for comfort or for a slightly more hair-raising ride at the touch of a button, but it will set you back an extra grand or so. You can also choose to have the company’s PDK seven-gear system fitted which is fully automatic or operated via steering wheel paddles. I had to settle for the standard manual six-speed box but, personally, would always pick this option in a performance car. The whole point, after all, is the thrill of taking control of this incredibly quick machine and working in tandem with the engineering – not letting the car do it for you. Steering wheel paddles may be fine on the race track, but if I’m swooping around the country lanes I like to feel the gear stick in my hand and be able to change, rightly or wrongly, up or down when I think I need to. Just call me old fashioned! The Boxster’s manual box is very smooth and instinctive, anyway. And aside from the sheer joy of driving it, the Boxster is also as refined as you can get for a soft topped roadster. Obviously you will always get road and wind noise in such motors but it’s never unbearable here and the soft hood just means you get to hear that monstrous engine roar more clearly! The standard stereo can be upgraded to a full touch screen satnav and entertainment system for around £2,000 and other standard features include heated seats, the Porsche Stability Management system incorporating ABS and traction control, twin front, side and curtain airbags and climate control. The roof is fully electric and can be opened and closed at speeds up to 30mph and, when down, does not intrude into the generous, by roadster standards, storage compartments at either end of the car. And while the Boxster may not be cheap to buy once you’ve added up all the little extras you might want to add – they even want £70 for the floor mats – the running costs are competitive within it’s class. You’ll get just over 30 miles per gallon on average and emissions are 221g/km. Residual values are also rock solid and with Porsche’s reliability there should be little to worry about, should you invest in a Boxster, other than enjoying that great drive! FAST FACTS Porsche Boxster Price: £33,704 Mechanical: 255bhp, 2,893cc, 6cyl petrol engine driving rear wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox Max Speed: 163mph 0-62mph: 5.9 seconds Combined mpg: 30.1 Insurance group: 18 CO2 emissions: 221g/km BiK rating: 32% Warranty: 2yrs/ unlimited miles | 
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