Drove a 987S and a 986S back to back

[JST]

...but I can't really make a comparison; the 986S had been ridden hard and put away wet, and pulled alarmingly when you got on it.

The 987 is a really nicely set up car. This was an '06, so it was a 3.2; they didn't have any 3.4s yet. Even the 3.2 is fairly powerful. Though it doesn't have much in the way of low-end torque, the car is light enough that it gets moving pretty well. It's been so long since I'd driven a Boxster that I'd forgotten how slick the handling/steering set-up is. Also revelatory was the lag-free throttle and perfectly natural clutch take-up, which made it second nature to drive smoothly.

The 987 is world's better inside than the 986. The 986/996 had one of the nastiest interior setups ever devised by a German company; the shifter looks like something out of a Geiger painting, and the switch gear took all the wrong lessons from the 1996 Taurus. Ovoid blobs are everywhere. The 987, in contrast, is fairly unremarkable but seems like a pleasant place to do business. I'm not a fan of the Samsung cell phone plastic color that's used as an accent, but everything else is nice.

Demerits are assigned for huge sticker price, the ultra-base spec (which renders things that are standard on Kias spendy options), the lack of iPod/Bluetooth/sat-rad integration, and...well, that's about it. Oh, one further demerit for the fact that it's difficult to find Porsches in anything but silver, for some reason. Who wants a silver sports car, for crying out loud?

[lemming]

no one really understands what people mean when one says that the 996 is indeed horrible inside --because most people who are doing the objecting have never really seen any other type of 911 before and the 996 is their first introduction to a porsche.

lot of money, as you wrote, for something where you'd actually (easily) find situations where you could use more power. and for me, that's always a dealbreaker.

[FC]

I came away feeling the 987S had good low-end torque. Not V8-torque but significantly more and lower rpms (~2K) than the ZHP. I suppose the 3.4L will help out some more.

[John V]

The 986/996 had one of the nastiest interior setups ever devised by a German company; the shifter looks like something out of a Geiger painting, and the switch gear took all the wrong lessons from the 1996 Taurus. Ovoid blobs are everywhere. The 987, in contrast, is fairly unremarkable but seems like a pleasant place to do business. I'm not a fan of the Samsung cell phone plastic color that's used as an accent, but everything else is nice.

Silver Boxsters are everywhere, which is absolutely why I didn't want one. I hate white cars (look like appliances to me), can't keep black clean, and the blue and green that were available didn't do anything for me. So it was between yellow and red. I love Speed Yellow. Such a nice color to my eye.

I don't think anybody will argue with your statement about the interior. It definitely is ugly. Mine is a bit of a step up because it has the full leather, so at least it FEELS nice on the dash, doors, etc. To me the most infuriating part is that the parts that aren't covered in leather - the console and door sills - have such a poor painted finish on them that they're easily scratched by an errant fingernail. :irate: I was in a 987 not too long ago but I wasn't about to go trying to scratch the guy's plastics with my fingernail. :lol:

I was also looking at Z06s back when I was car shopping. It's the only way getting into a 986 felt like a massive interior upgrade ;)

[equ]

On my 996, I had power & heated seats but not full leather (which seemed ridiculously spendy at the time). When I first owned the car I didn't pay attention to the interior :) but over time it got to me. The shiny plastic switches strewn about randomly... On my first night drive I couldn't find some things because the switches weren't lit a la bmw/audi. A pinnacle of porsche design was the intermittent wiper where you had to put into that mode by the stalk and then find the knob on the dash somewhere to adjust :toetap: PSM right next to lock/unlock and on and on...

In the beginning savanna beige looked OK (especially looking in as a contrast to lapis exterior) but I didn't like it from the inside. Also did not like how the top of the dash was shiny and reflected on the windshield to obscure vision on sunny days.

However I'm not a fan of the many buttons on the 997 dash. I vaguely think the 987 is simpler? Driven neither yet.

[lemming]

Silver Boxsters are everywhere, which is absolutely why I didn't want one. I hate white cars (look like appliances to me), can't keep black clean, and the blue and green that were available didn't do anything for me. So it was between yellow and red. I love Speed Yellow. Such a nice color to my eye.

I don't think anybody will argue with your statement about the interior. It definitely is ugly. Mine is a bit of a step up because it has the full leather, so at least it FEELS nice on the dash, doors, etc. To me the most infuriating part is that the parts that aren't covered in leather - the console and door sills - have such a poor painted finish on them that they're easily scratched by an errant fingernail. :irate: I was in a 987 not too long ago but I wasn't about to go trying to scratch the guy's plastics with my fingernail. :lol:

I was also looking at Z06s back when I was car shopping. It's the only way getting into a 986 felt like a massive interior upgrade ;)

:lol:

the c6 isn't much better. ;)

but the interior is only part of the calculus. there have to be other redeeming values to offset that (ever sit inside an F40 going 140mph on a NASCAR straight right before a 90 degree left hand turn into the infield....? you don't really notice the interior). because of the higher cost of Porsche products, a slightly nicer interior (or not) combined with typical german power characteristics still means hard thinking to me.

but, at the same time, if a 987 (not an S) showed up in my driveway, would i object? of course not. but it wouldn't have anything to do with me.

[John V]

On my first night drive I couldn't find some things because the switches weren't lit a la bmw/audi.

That's weird. Mine are!

A pinnacle of porsche design was the intermittent wiper where you had to put into that mode by the stalk and then find the knob on the dash somewhere to adjust

:lol: :lol: That is absurd.

As long as I'm griping, why can Volkswagen put a smooth-as-silk electronic throttle in the lowly Jetta 1.8T, but Porsche can't figure out how to make one that doesn't feel like it's binding up? Ken's, Brian's, mine, they all do it to varying degrees. I don't notice it anymore, but I can see how it would bother some people (i.e., Ken :eeps: )

And what's with the indicator stalk that does the "bend-SNAP" thing like a C4 corvette's signal stalk? It's not quite that bad, but it's not up to BMW switchgear standards.

I still love it :)

[lemming]

now i'm motivated to drive a 987 and 986 back to back.

[JST]

now i'm motivated to drive a 987 and 986 back to back.

The more I think about the 987S, the more the word "balance" comes to mind. Not in the way that people say 330is have "balanced" handling to excuse the fact that they are slow, but in the most positive sense of the term. No one feature of the car dominates; the engine is just as competent as the handling, the ride is as fluid as the control inputs; it smooth and nimble in traffic and a bit flingable through the corners; unlike the 986, which is ugly inside and soft and delicate outside, the 987S is nice looking outside and pleasant inside.

I enjoyed that drive, I have to say.

[Plaz]

people say 330is have "balanced" handling to excuse the fact that they are slow

:lol:

Bitter, much? You really do miss the M3, don't you? :lol:

[JST]

:lol:
You really do miss the M3, don't you? :lol:

Only when I press down on the long, skinny pedal.

[lemming]

Only when I press down on the long, skinny pedal.

and relatively speaking, how did the 987S feel compared to your e46m3?

i called a dealership today and they already have the 3.4litre 987S vehicles in stock.

that didn't take long, did it?

[FC]

and relatively speaking, how did the 987S feel compared to your e46m3?

i called a dealership today and they already have the 3.4litre 987S vehicles in stock.

that didn't take long, did it?

If you go to Clair, let me know. I'd like to check it out too.:D

[FT@SGP]

Only when I press down on the long, skinny pedal.
I did not know you sold it, sorry, you looked like you were enjoying the M3 quite a bit :dunno:

[JST]

and relatively speaking, how did the 987S feel compared to your e46m3?

i called a dealership today and they already have the 3.4litre 987S vehicles in stock.

that didn't take long, did it?

Not as fast, but not as heavy and stiff, either. It would be a much nicer car to drive every day (aside from the soft top and no luggage or passenger room). Much better balanced. The M3 always felt to me like the world's most perfectly realized Mustang GT. The Boxster has a lighter touch that makes it feel more like a sports car.

[JST]

I did not know you sold it, sorry, you looked like you were enjoying the M3 quite a bit :dunno:

Lease was up, so I needed something else. The ZHP was a compromise--it was (relatively) cheap, more practical, and is a much better commuter.

[clyde]

The M3 always felt to me like the world's most perfectly realized Mustang GT.

Minus the exhaust noise.

[blee]

Lease was up, so I needed something else. The ZHP was a compromise--it was (relatively) cheap, more practical, and is a much better commuter.
So is there a lease coming up soon, or was this all just for personal edification? :)

[JST]

So is there a lease coming up soon, or was this all just for personal edification? :)

In the JST household, there is always a lease coming up soon.

[equ]

Not as fast, but not as heavy and stiff, either. It would be a much nicer car to drive every day (aside from the soft top and no luggage or passenger room). Much better balanced. The M3 always felt to me like the world's most perfectly realized Mustang GT. The Boxster has a lighter touch that makes it feel more like a sports car.

That has always been my beef with the e46m3. From the gears to the steering, it likes to be driven with a fist (the zhp far less so). To each his own, but I get a greater sense of love when I'm driving with my fingertips (a la rx-8 or s2000). It's been so long since I owned one, I forget where porsche sits in that spectrum. I'm guessing it doesn't better the rx-8/s2000 but it has that singing engine :)

[FT@SGP]

...I forget where porsche sits in that spectrum. I'm guessing it doesn't better the rx-8/s2000 but it has that singing engine :)
I drove S2000 in several auto-x and never got into a RX-8; but I can clearly say that the 997 and 987s I drove have something special about their steering, suspension that gives a tangible connection to the road without sacrificing NVH, especially the 987 platform. I am so darn impressed with it that I do not know, litterally, how to compare it to other cars in the spectrum, may be in a year I might :)

[lemming]

currently looking at 986S and 987 cars.

it's a considerable stretch for the "budget" but for now it's a lot easier to get a feel for these cars than the GXP since dealers don't even have these yet to drive and probably won't allow it, either.