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]

Originally Posted by JST

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. 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.

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 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]

Originally Posted by John V

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. 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.

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

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]

Originally Posted by equ

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

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 )

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]

Originally Posted by lemming

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]

Originally Posted by JST

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

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