I hate to say it but a Boxster is a Boxster and a 911 is a 911.
If I could drive to work in a 911 Cab, I would have taken one instead of the Boxster.
Also, over here where I live, 90% of the Boxster drivers I see on the road are...women.
Furthermore, the little benefit the Boxster S offers over the 911 Carrera in handling and performance, is really not worth writing home about. I also like the drive feel of the 911 much more but I guess I am a little bit biased.
I'm afraid some Boxster lovers want to see more in the Boxster than there is and please don't misunderstand me. I am driving a Boxster S as a daily driver but I would exchange it with a 911 Cab in a heartbeat. This doesn't mean I don't like the Boxster, I do like it but in my opinion, this car gets from people more credit than it deserves. Even if the 981 is the most mature Boxster Porsche has developed and put on the road.
Feel free to have a different opinion (I know many do) but there is a reason why the Boxster has been positioned where it is right now in the Porsche model family, like it or not.
We can argue all day long if Porsche has artificially "limited" Boxster performance for the sake of the 911. I doubt it. The Boxster has a pretty clear position in the Porsche model range hierarchy and Porsche is acting on it. Nothing more and nothing else. Actually, I think the Boxster has become quite expensive (not that I have a different opinion about the 911). My Boxster S costs aprox. 88k EUR new and it could have easily be specced to 100k EUR and more with PCCB and some other minor goodies. A fully loaded 991 Carrera Cab would still be at least 30k EUR more.
Some of you are young or younger than me and I can understand the desire of a small, light and powerful car but the 911 is Porsche, like it or not, the whole brand has been defined by the 911. Why would Porsche be that stupid to position the Boxster closer to the 911? This just doesn't make sense.
Last but not least, I see many 911 in the hands of Porsche employees but not many Boxster. So if the mentality at Porsche is the one I mentioned before, why would they want to change things?
Let's face it: The Boxster is a great fun car but it is an entry level Porsche sports car and not a 911 competitor. I would always choose the 911 over the Boxster and even my wife, she could care less about performance or tradition, would choose the 911 Cab over the Boxster. Sadly, she had no choice because I need to use the car as a daily driver to work. Which actually makes another point: If I can drive a Boxster to work but not a 911, what does this tell you? Right, the Boxster is an entry level Porsche sports car and this is how most people perceive it.
Does this fact make the Boxster a "bad" Porsche? No way. However, we should stay realistic and not try to put the Boxster at a level where it just isn't.
Oh boy, I can see a similar discussion start with the Macan and the Cayenne at some point, especially since the Macan is 200 kg lighter than the Cayenne. Still, this won't change anything in the model hierarchy, even if I personally believe that the Macan Turbo is actually the best deal from Porsche in the SUV segment.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), BMW X3 35d (2013)