ArcaMax

Arguably, Porsches are overpriced. Or at least, some of them. A new Corvette that costs tens of thousands less can mop the floor with the base $73,500 911 Carerra. Twenty or 30 years ago, the 911 was a true exotic; today it's exotically priced.

But what about the Boxster?  Just as arguably, it is the pick of the Porsche litter - offering both the status that comes with owning a Porsche, as well as race-car handling tenacity. But at a much more reasonable $45,800 to start.

WHAT IT IS

The Boxster is Porsche's entry-level model. It is a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat roadster. Competitors include the BMW Z4, Honda S2000 and Nissan 350Z, among others.   WHAT'S NEW

Porsche doesn't make major changes to its models as often as most other automakers do. This is a plus for buyers, since the car they buy today won't be out of date six months down the road. A five-year-old Porsche is hard to tell, at a glance, from a brand-new one.

In keeping with this philosophy, the 2008 Boxster is largely unchanged from the '07 run, with the exception of a new Limited Edition version that gets some cosmetic tweaks - and the addition to the legendarily lengthy Porsche options list (which is so extensive it's easy to order a virtual one-off/custom-built car) of super-lightweight sport seats made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

The standard Boxster comes with a 2.7 liter, 245 horsepower horizontally opposed flat six; more power is available in the pricier Boxster S ($55,700), which comes with a larger 3.4 liter flat six good for 295 hp. A five-speed manual is standard with the smaller engine, but you can order a six speed manual as an extra cost option. A five-speed automatic is also available. The more powerful Boxster S comes standard with the six-speed manual - with the five-speed automatic optional.

Despite its relatively modest rated output, the standard Boxster is a very quick car, capable of reaching 60 mph in about 5.8 seconds with a top speed close to 150 mph. The S version is even quicker, doing the deed in about 5 seconds flat.

Fuel economy is not half-bad, either. The regular Boxster can almost hit 30 mpg on the highway. (That's only about 5 mpg off the pace of what most of today's economy cars manage on the highway.)

RIDE & HANDLING

The Boxster is a mid-engined sports car, a layout which has the engine behind the driver but not behind the rear axle (as in the rear-engined 911). The mid-engined layout is almost perfectly balanced and delivers unbelievably high levels of grip. Going up and down a series of "S" turns where the normal speed is 40 is easily done at 70 without any sign the car is approaching its limits. There's barely even any tire squeal. The Boxster is so good it almost makes you feel inadequate as a driver (unless you're a pro) because it's not even trying though you're already at or near your own limits.

You'll read reviews of other sports cars that talk about "effortless" cornering, but there really is nothing like a mid-engined Porsche.

There are only two downsides. The first is getting at (and servicing) the engine - if you can figure out where it is. The flat six is buried deep down in the car, and many covers must be removed just to get a glimpse of it. All that's normally visible in the "engine compartment" out back is a fill neck for engine coolant and a dipstick for the oil. The battery is accessed under a plastic cover up front. This is not a DIY-friendly car! But that's the price you pay for the mid-engined layout.

The other price you pay for the mid-engined layout is that when it does finally let go in a corner, it lets go more abruptly (and usually, at higher speed) than would happen in a rear-drive sports car. This is the doubel-edge sword of the Boxster's formidable handling prowess. It really is an expert's car - and not to be taken lightly.

STYLING & UTILITY

Classic Porsche looks define the Boxster; no confusing it with anything from Japan - or anywhere else. Though it costs thirty grand less than the vaunted 911, it still gets the respect due the Porsche nameplate.

Utility-wise, the little Boxster is amazingly well thought-out. For openers, the passenger compartment is extremely roomy, with a 2-3 inches of clearance between the top of your noggin and the soft top - even for very tall occupants. In this respect alone it is superior to most other roadsters on the road today. But that's not the only area where the Boxster shines.

The thing also has room for stuff. More room, in fact, than just about any other two-seat compact roadster out there.

There are two trunks in the Boxster - one up front, the other out back - with a combined capacity of  just over 10 cubic feet. That beats the BMW Z4 (9.2 cubic feet) and absolutely creams the Saturn Sky's pathetic 5.4 cubic feet. The mid-engined Lotus Elise is closest to the Boxster in layout (and price) but it's much smaller and far more cramped - with even less cargo capacity (4 cubic feet) than the handbag-sized trunk of the Sky.

All this room - given the kind of car we're talking about - makes the Boxster a lot more useable as any everyday driver than many (maybe all) other cars of its type.

You'll also find a pair of equally usable pop-out cupholders that tuck into the dash on the passenger's side of the car - and a few storage nooks/cubbies sculpted into the console and elsewhere. Most roadsters are like Saturday Night Special handguns - good for a single purpose and useless for just about everything else. The Boxster's design is remarkably practical - especially for a car that gives up nothing as a sports car.

QUALITY & SAFETY

Porsche paint jobs look liquid - as though the car had been hot-dipped in a vat of PPG's finest. Even the underside of the trunk/engine cover are meticulously finished - with more gloss and depth than the exterior surfaces of lesser cars.     

The Boxster may be the least expensive model in the Porsche lineup but it has the same high-end attention to detail you'll find in the Cayman or 911. It's so good you wonder why people buy 911s - other than to show off what they can afford to spend.

Safety equipment includes outstanding brakes (even on the base Boxster; the S version gets even better stoppers) and Porsche's equally outstanding stability management system (PSM), which combines electronic stability control and traction control. The PSM system gives you a lot of free reign before it cuts in and even then, it does so very unobtrusively. It is perhaps the most driver-oriented "safety net" on the market. 

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

Short of a Lotus, nothing compares - and the $46,270 Lotus Elise is unusable for drivers over six feet tall or who need to take more than what they are wearing with them. The Boxster is a maestro of handling, a PhD of performance - the distilled essence of what a high-performance roadster should be, but almost entirely free of the aggravating downsides. It has a surprisingly compliant ride, virtually nil cowl shake, doesn't leak (rain or wind) has more room up front for the driver and front seat passenger than you'll find in some sport sedans - and a lot more trunk than just about anything else its size with two doors.

The Boxster's engine - base or S - sounds so sweet you'll want to record an MPEG file of it to listen to on your iPod or use for a ringtone. Though all modern Porsche engines are water-cooled now, the distinctive sound remains - its raspberry reverbs calling to mind visions of the Nurburgring, with you at the wheel.

To drive this car is to fall in love - and to understand, immediately, why Porsche owners are such fanatics. And why they rarely settle for anything less again.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though the 911 (and Cayman) are the focus of most of the drooling - at least, by the automotive press-  the Boxster is a jewel that should not be overlooked by anyone looking to experience the Porsche phenomenon where it really counts - out on the road. The rest of the Porsche lineup is equally worthy - but neither the Cayman nor the 911 can offer the exotic car experience without the exotic car price tag.

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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.