Another Look

2005 Porsche Boxster: One vote for endless summer

All that snow and sleet and Christmas carols and newspapers fat with ads depicting happy people with no money left can mean only one thing: ’Tis the season to be tipping.

This, as you’ve long figured out, is no ordinary auto column. No, we aspire to be your lifestyle guide, your constant consultant, your serious source of truth, justice and the American way. We’ve heard your pleas this holiday season. We know you need to know how much to tip, and we have the answers for you.

Actually, the answers came from The Emily Post Institute by way of MSNBC.com, but given that the alternative was actually doing the work and looking it up ourselves, we’ll take this instead.

Here are some of the important people in your life and how much to tip them: The mailman supposedly can’t accept cash, but any gift up to $20 is OK. May we suggest an American Express gift card. It isn’t actually cash, you know, and you wouldn’t want those racy catalogs accidentally delivered to your neighbors now, would you.

With campaign finance and ethics reform, hot tubs no longer cut it for our politicians, but a brown paper bag filled with small bills - that’s a ticket that gets my vote.

As for your nanny, she deserves a week’s to a month’s salary, they say. That’s a broad range, but I guess you need to figure out how much you like your kid.

Your fitness trainer should get the cost of one session. The alternative is to, like me, ignore the concept of fitness entirely. The money you save can buy an awful lot of fatty, salty foods. After all, who wants to die healthy? That’s such a waste.

What about your newspaper deliverer? Well, Emily Post suggests $10 to $30, depending, I would think, on where your newspaper usually ends up. I would suggest whoever delivers your copy of the Hour deserves at least $50. Just take it out of what you’d give the other guys. They won’t mind.

That should take care of most of the people on your tip list, but you’re right, there is one glaring omission. What does one tip the auto columnist?

The rule of thumb is one does not tip “professionals,” and though anyone who’s read any of these columns would probably choke on that description of this auto columnist, etiquette demands it. One may, however – and by “may” I mean “should” – give a gift to said professional reflecting the high regard in which he or she is held (by himself, if no one else).

May I suggest the 2005 Porsche Boxster.

I’m not a greedy person, I’m not even holding out for the Boxster S, which starts at $53,100. I’m willing to settle for the old garden variety Boxster, which is a mere $43,800 with Porsche Stability Management and those beautiful 17” wheels. (Are you listening, Mr. Valiante?)

I remember my first Boxster. This was when Porsche had just introduced the model eight years ago, and no-one really knew what to expect. I came out of a 911 C4 into the Boxster and the difference was stark.

That model 911 was the last of the real German driving models. You had to be a man to step on the clutch, and a real driver to drive it. The replacement for that is a lot more American, a feeling reflected in the comments of a senior Mercedes engineer when we first saw the new 911 in Phoenix: “There goes a Boxster with a top.”

While the heart of Porsche will always be the 911, the Boxster has opened a new avenue for the legendary Stuttgart brand. That first Boxster was so much easier to drive than the then companion 911, with a much lighter clutch and more forgiving steering. It was, were such sacrilege ever to be uttered in Stuttgart, an American Porsche.

Since then, Porsche has become a lot more American, and sold lots more cars here. After all, what could be more American than an SUV? In the meantime, the Boxster became a victim of its own success. The mid-engine, two-seat roadster not only opened doors for Porsche, it opened up a brand new market for mid-priced performance roadsters, a market rapidly invaded by the likes of BMW’s Z3 and the Mercedes SLK.

Now, eight years later, Porsche no longer needed to reinvent the category, but they did need to freshen up a design that had lasted an eternity in this competitive segment. By and large they have succeeded.

First things first: Forget about looks. The important thing is how does the Boxster handle?

Let’s get real here. Why do you think I’m asking for one as a Christmas present from the publisher?

The new Boxster is simply sublime. This is as close to as perfectly balanced car as you will find in or near this price range. This is a car that calls out for open roads and warm weather, but is willing to handle the challenge of any road and weather and does so with aplomb.

The 2.7-liter, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine that powers the rear wheels of the Boxster pours out 240 horses and 199 lb.-ft. of torque. With that engine, the basic Boxster goes 0 to 60 in 5.9 seconds and tops out at 159 miles per hour. If you need more power, the “S” version comes with a 280 horsepower, 3.2-liter six, taking you to 60 from a standing start in 5.2 seconds and topping out at 167 miles per hour.

Of course, you probably won’t be doing that on Route 7, but I’m sure it’s good to know that if terrorists are about to attack and you have to take Jack Bauer all over the country in 24 hours to save us, you’ll have no problem.

The new Boxster borrows heavily from the 911 architecture, sharing about 55% of its parts with the 2005 911. It is still a very different car from the heavier 911, and different as well from the Boxster it succeeds.

That may not be the easiest thing in the world to tell at first glance. While about 80% of the second generation Boxster parts were not in the first generation model, Porsche chose evolutionary rather than revolutionary styling changes. With the Boxster, it works. An already graceful design has been made even more stylish by some subtle tweaking of the details. For example, wheels and tires are larger, while inside is roomier. The coefficient of drag has been reduced from 0.31 to 0.29. The manual gearboxes (five- or six-speed available) feature shorter throws, and Porsche said it’s also improved the Tiptronic. The stance is wider than the previous model’s, improving cornering as well as adding to the more masculine look of the new Boxster.

Price, though, is actually lower when one considers the addition of items like a trip computer and HomeLink, not to mention the stability management system.

What is larger are the brakes, 11.73” in diameter and .94” thick, cross-drilled for better cooling. Also increased is the braking assist you get. The brake power assist has been boosted a significant 18%. The frame itself is 9% stiffer than the previous version for a tighter ride.

The new Boxsters are the first roadsters to go into production with head airbags. You also get a convertible top that may be raised or lowered at speeds of up to 31 mph.

None of this would matter if the new Boxster didn’t handle like a Porsche, but it does, and that means the fun quotient is almost as high as the engineering competence. The Boxster’s handling invites one to take a long trip to Stew’s – by way of California, perhaps – just so you can hear that engine and feel those tires grip and know what true driving is all about. Unlike some of its competitors, Porsche has not engineered that sheer joy of driving out of its cars. The computer doesn’t rule, you do. Boy, do you.

Now for the downsides. Fuel economy is much improved, but you do still have to use premium unleaded and you’ll get an EPA estimated 20 mpg city, 28 highway. The really bad news is the one thing this has in common with the first generation Boxster.

That’s a slight exaggeration. Things have improved even here. The first Boxster I drove had cupholders popping out from right by the vents. They were these flimsy little afterthoughts that had already been broken, even though I was only the second or third journalist in the car. By those standards, the new cupholders are better. By almost any other standards, they suck.

But I’m willing to put up with them. Heck, I’m willing to give up coffee for the 2005 Porsche Boxster. I sure am glad I have a generous publisher who reads my column every week.

Please sir, may I have one, Mr. Valiante?

Pretty please?

With sugar on top!

posted by Andy Mais @ 12:29 PM