I test drove the new 718S today......

[PowerMalc]

18 hours ago, boxsternoob56 said:

I have a test drive next Wednesday too...retrospectively I wish I had asked for  manual (easier to compare to mine) and bet money I get a PDK  

Stuart

 

If it is OPC Silverstone I was told both their demos are PDK

I'm in the 'S' on the 18th May

 

I have just done 600 miles in the last two days driving to West Wales and back.

Top down and I was revelling in the sound that the flat 6 makes. It was one of the reasons I wanted a Porsche

In reading the OP's test report does not fill me with excitement and anticipation like I had when I tested two 981's in 2013

 

[bodster2008]

Seems strange reading this have had my 986 for over 8 years.....have never sat in another Boxster ever......should I?

[Denizl]

Today I had a spare couple of hours today and looked into Aberdeen to see if they had a demo available. No S available with short notice so the 'base' version it was. I also have a GTS, Sports suspension and GTS interior. PDK

Wish I could describe my thoughts as well as you but heres my summary.

Demo, manual, carbon trim sports chrono, To me quality inside was as good as the 981  'base' model. I agree compared to the GTS interior it didnt have a 'look in' as the stitching, alcantar, leather dash etc in the GTS takes the quality level up a few notches, but like for like I would say its as good. 

Noise was very whiny and muted and I could hear the radio/music a lot clearer than I can in mine especially once the spirited drving started, saying that, when I am in my car I tend to drive like a knob and turn the music off to concentrate and enjoy the GTS music.Once I got out of town and floored it the noise was still cr*p but jeez that thing can shift, and the manual box was brill. The roads were fairly empty and and had plenty opportunity to throw it around the bends as best I could, this didn't have PASM but the handling was very good and soon found confidence,  I wish I could talk technical about he sports suspension of the GTS but its simply brilliant and doubt I will drive anything better for feel and confidence. 

The lag, well yes there definitely is low down but get it over 3k revs and holy shyate it shifts and on tight twisty roads it didnt feel like it needed more power. I almost always drive in 'manual' mode and iI think the GTS has a lag as well if you find yourself in 2nd gear below 2/3k revs, If Im below this and doing my best racing driver I stick it into first and it gets the engine spinning and I found this soon sorted out the lag today.

I really enjoyed the test drive and will be going back to drive the S. Would I buy 1?? Well I would need to hear the sports exhaust 1st, Is it better than a straight 6 definitely not, I have never loved a car like I do my GTS, I find it noisy on bad roads, suspension in town seems to annoy passengers, but out on the road, WOW, I wont be keeping my car forever so will either have to like this turbo thing or find summit else.

I did 49 miles and managed 17.3mpg.

 

[Denizl]

Forgot to say I really don't like the side vents, I feel they stick out of the car and spoil the line a bit, first thing I noticed

[gstev]

I drove the 718S pdk version Aberdeen OPC has today, I currently have a boxster 987.2 pdk as comparison: 

- the handling is way better, best I've experienced 

- it is actually quite refined and docile in normal drive mode

- has serious torque and found it effortless to drive and overtake in normal mode 

- I do think it is much better car in sport mode, much more 'alive' and closer to my 987.2

- the sport plus mode and 20sec boost appear superfluous in normal road driving, it simply dropped a few gears and 'screamed', on track would be a different proposition though

- I found the engine noise pleasant in the low to mid rev range ie normal road situations, however high end rev engine noise not so  appealing 

In summary it is a far better handling car than my 987.2 however I could not justify the price to change just now but if circumstances were right would buy one, in the future a 3 year old car would be a tempting option.   

[topradio]

54 minutes ago, Denizl said:

Forgot to say I really don't like the side vents, I feel they stick out of the car and spoil the line a bit, first thing I noticed

+1

It looks like it's been Barried up with the addition of some body parts from Halfords.

[Jon61]

1 hour ago, Denizl said:

Forgot to say I really don't like the side vents, I feel they stick out of the car and spoil the line a bit, first thing I noticed

+2 though I think it's just that for some inexplicable reason they've made the plastic surround much more prominent than it is on the 981 which gives it the Halfords plasticky look - it couldn't surely be that they're going to try to sell an option for "air intake surround painted in body colour £x00.00"

Not identical angle or lighting but 981:

718:

[topradio]

It's not obvious from your pictures but it is very obvious/ugly from the three quarter angle.

[Kevin G]

46 minutes ago, Jon61 said:

+2 though I think it's just that for some inexplicable reason they've made the plastic surround much more prominent than it is on the 981 which gives it the Halfords plasticky look - it couldn't surely be that they're going to try to sell an option for "air intake surround painted in body colour £x00.00"

Not identical angle or lighting but 981:

718:

Interesting point on the paint issue. On the 981 painting the intakes in the body colour was an option which I took as I think leaving the original black is unattractive (nb I do not say ugly?) However I can't spot in the 718 configurator the same option because I agree the 718 intakes are even more unattractive.

[topradio]

It probably depends on the colour of the car. I think having them painted in Lime Gold on mine would have been just too much.

[Jon61]

I do think the visible black plastic part of the air intakes is one of the least (possibly the least) satisfactory aspects of the 981 design - the silver picture above is my car - but I do think they've made it much worse on the 718.  It's strange (and un-Porschelike) that they're not even offering the chance to have it body-coloured.

Topradio - surely the obvious colour to have yours painted was red? 

 

[topradio]

I did look at red seat belts but they were the wrong shade of red compared to the roof.

[Simo_UK]

3 hours ago, Denizl said:

 saying that, when I am in my car I tend to drive like a knob

 

Haha, love the honesty here! ?

[Ashley James]

15 hours ago, RBD914 v2 said:

  Quote

Well having worked in the motor industry for many years I think I know induction intake roar when I hear it, and this was not that! This was engine/exhaust drone, pure and simple! 

There was a distinct lack of power at low revs, typical in all petrol turbo engines in my 40 years experience of driving, as for practice, I have owned and driven E320 and E350 Mercs with 7 speed autos and a BMW 640 with an 8 speed auto, so I think it's safe to assume I know how to drive an automatic car!

Until you have actually driven the car, perhaps you should reserve judgement?

My 987 has lots of intake roar and lacks torque if you're not gentle with the throttle, but if you are, it pulls well from 25 in top, so I guessed that you'd probably not sorted out how to get the best from it in the time you had. I'm assuming that amongst the many reviews that have appeared for the car, someone else would have noticed what you describe and mentioned it otherwise. As it is, everyone seems to like it and simply state that it sounds different.

Jeremy Corbyn has had more than forty years "experience" in politics. ?

[ians]

Borrowed a Boxster 718 PDK from Tonbridge yesterday. Lovely day for top down driving. The car was in a new colour of graphite blue which did nothing for me. First thing is that the howl has been replaced by growl from the engine. My wife described the sound as more of a roar. That said, I wouldn't say it was terrible, etc and gives it personality. It is a change after having owned a 986 for 14yrs. The car I borrowed did not have PSE. When I returned the car at the end of the day I was unaware of any drone. The dynamics of this car are among the best I've ever experienced in 52 years of driving. The car was so planted on the road that I just don't know what I would have to do to lose it. The steering did not talk to me as my 986 once would have, but was very responsive to any input. The power was a large hike above my 986 and also to a lesser extent the 2.7 981 I tested recently.  I thought the build quality was first class and the full leather made the interior a pleasure to be in. Sad about the howl, but the pluses on the side of this car to me are massive. I shall look forward to delivery in July.

[Stuart21UK]

On 5/4/2016 at 7:09 AM, Duffy3074 said:

I think late 981's are going to be much sought after 

yey 

maybe I can trade up for zero cost to a 911 C4S (actually not sure I would TBH)

[Stuart21UK]

19 hours ago, PowerMalc said:

Stuart

If it is OPC Silverstone I was told both their demos are PDK

bugger

[Stuart21UK]

15 hours ago, Jon61 said:

I do think the visible black plastic part of the air intakes is one of the least (possibly the least) satisfactory aspects of the 981 design - the silver picture above is my car - but I do think they've made it much worse on the 718.  It's strange (and un-Porschelike) that they're not even offering the chance to have it body-coloured.

Topradio - surely the obvious colour to have yours painted was red? 

 

I don't like the external black plastic on any part of the 981, I think it looks cheap..

[temporarychicken]

The significantly larger side-vents on the 718 as compared to the 981 are not supposed to be an aesthetic improvement. They are intended to supply more cold air for the turbo engine air intake.

I'm sure you can have them painted body colour at great expense (in the aftermarket) if you don't like them in black!

Does anybody on the forum actually like the 718 engine sound? - I've not heard a single good thing about it yet. I just hope for Porsche's sake is that there core buying group aren't the enthusiast segment - as the enthusiast segment are currently anything but enthusiastic...

[Duffy3074]

I've no issues with the looks but, as with others, the whole flat 6 noise is a huge thing for me.

I've already got something that sounds like an Impreza, don't want another!

[Paul N]

Point of order here required. Reviews in Evo and Autocar highlight the fact that there is very little torque in the 718 ahead of the Turbo kicking in at 2,800rpm when things start to happen suddenly. This is consistent with the members test drive experience that started this thread.  I had a 2.7 987 which was very torque light but my 3.4s gen 2 987 is linear with strong torque all the way through the rev range.  The 718 as far as I can make out from everything I have read including the start to this thread reminds me of my Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo I had in the 90's. Nothing much happens until the turbo's kick in. You would have thought Porsche could have over come this 18 years later. I suspect its down to space constraints in the Boxster which ruled out the bi turbo possibility seen in the latest 911. However I haven't driven a 718 yet ......

[Ashley James]

As I said, I believe this relates to how the throttle is used. Porsche have explained in great deal how the turbo deals with this situation, just as my wife's Galaxy and my Merc do. 

[Pothole]

On 5/4/2016 at 1:48 PM, Jon61 said:

As far as the engines go, my understanding is that this is spot on - it's all dictated by the US market (not UK tastes), and Porsche suffers compared to other manufacturers from not having lots of supermini sales to offset the consumption/emissions of their cars, so sadly the Boxster had to be sacrificed to bring the average back down.

The standard of the interior trim is a different matter though; it's harder to understand why they should have cut corners there (I didn't notice it at the launch event but only very briefly sat in the car there). It will be a great shame if that's been pared back. 

 

If it was dictated by the US market, it wouldn't need to go F4T as they aren't nearly as sensitive to emissions as we Euros.

Ultimately, it comes down to two things.

First, pretty much all markets demand that each new model has more power and performance than the last.

Second, some markets (most notably Europe) demand that the emissions get no worse and preferably improve.

This problematical, to say the very least. Basically, Porsche had picked all the low hanging fruit with the nasp flat six. That had to go - there was no way to improve emissions and performance with the nasp F6. So, the choice was turbo F6 as per the new 911 or this F4 lump.

The problem with the F6 is likely twofold. First, it's an expensive engine. It's basically the same engine as the MA1 from the 987.2 and 981, but with turbocharging. Pricey! Tolerable on the 911 with it's huge margins, less so in the cheaper Cayster models.

Second, since it's really a turbocharged MA1, the engine case has those same external dimensions but with added turbo bits. So physically fitting it to the mid-engine cars was also problematical.

So when you add all that together:

1. Need more performance

2. Need better emissions

3. F6T is expensive

4. F6T is big

The result? The new F4T.

What interests me most about this is whether and to what extent car buying punters will care. Will they swallow anything so long as the numbers on the spec sheet are better and it feels fast? Or is there a point at which they gag? And if there is, it this F4T engine that point?

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. If you look at the broader car market, you would tend to assume that the car will do well. People have no problem paying £50k for a four-pot Evoque on a glorified hatchback platform, in fact the queue up for them. Generally, the association that used to exist between cylinder count / a cultured engine note and premium status has broken down with the market obsession with emissions and taxation to the point where the only six-pot Mercedes E-Class you can now order in the UK a single diesel engine.

And yet I am not totally sure one can assume the same psychology will apply to the 718. It might. But maybe it's a step too far for a model that was in many ways defined by the character of that nasp F6.

[temporarychicken]

I don't care if its got 4 cyinders. I merely dislike a 4 pot in a 6cyl chassis though.

Remind me of BMWs with the huge gap at the front of the engine bay - where's the other  2 cylinders?

But apparently the turbo lump only just fit..Must be a big old lump then!

[Pothole]

The lump itself is smaller than the old F6 - it's the same engine architecture with two cylinders removed, so the case is shorter, but otherwise the same as the outgoing engine. But obviously all the turbo gubbins, pipes, manifolds, rads etc need to live somewhere.