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981 vs 993

highway

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8 Nov 2007
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1,805
I'm using a 981 Black Edition at the moment. It's impressive. Only the base car and, as I understand it, the black edition is a parts been run out special before the introduction of the 718.

The 20 inch wheels look really good. I'd go as far as to say they are a signature feature of the car. When viewed in side profile the wheels look enormous in the arches and aesthetically,it's a good look. The ride quality they have achieved given the diameter of these wheels and the liquorice profile tires is amazing.

The 981 seems to feel comparable to my 993 power wise. The 981S I used a while ago was and felt definitively quicker and more powerful. This is another exposure to PDK for me and again it's so impressive. This black edition car has the big alloy paddles behind the sports steering wheel. No buttons on this wheel either. You can engage neutral whilst on the move by engaging both paddles and coupled with the essential PSM the car has a voice. Albeit perhaps a pit too similar to an F type but a voice and thus some character.

Enjoying these cars more seems linked to the options you spec from new. I love the big and unstrained Bose system, the heated seats, cruise and PSE. Anything less than the 20's ruins the visuals and you'd want PDK now it's evolved to be this good.

This car has the 18way sports memory seats which are nice but I'd prefer the buckets though I'm not sure you can get them with heating. On the M23 yesterday the car was showing 38 mpg at m way speeds which I think impressive. I'm averaging 23mpg at present over about 350 miles.

I really like the Boxster. I've had a 986 and 987. The 981 came to market ( I think) in 2012? Does that not give it, like 997 gen 2, a similar lifespan to 993?

I can see these late 981 Boxsters with 6 cylinder engines being the ones to have in a few years. Last 'proper' Boxster with a 6. Safe long term bet residual wise?
 
Steve ....... the 981 Boxster with PDK and PSE is definitely on my list of wants before the Grim Reaper comes calling ....... :)
 
Such a great, rewarding car to drive. I don't know how many 993 owners have had opportunity to drive a 981 Boxster or Cayman but, should you have opportunity, give one a try. I've read that some consider the Cayman the true heir to the 911 which has, allegedly, become more of a GT ( whatever that means?!) they are properly good to drive.
 
highway said:
I really like the Boxster. I've had a 986 and 987. The 981 came to market ( I think) in 2012? Does that not give it, like 997 gen 2, a similar lifespan to 993?

I can see these late 981 Boxsters with 6 cylinder engines being the ones to have in a few years. Last 'proper' Boxster with a 6. Safe long term bet residual wise?

Great post Steve. I love these real world comparisons. :thumb:

Early cars are starting to become available for really sensible money.

I found the base 981 to be like my wife's GT86 on steroids and all you need for 99% of the time, especially on UK B roads.

Performance wise the S car reminded me of my 996C4 and would be, for most people, the only car they'd ever need.

Personally I'd always go for a Cayman over a Boxster and one day, especially if my wife gets her way, that's what I'll end up in.
 
I never understood how or why Porsche priced the Boxster blew the Cayman. The convertible version of any car always carried a premium. My good will towards the car boosted by yesterday's excellent weather. I've also noticed the quality of the mats (all about details me) are considerably inferior to the OEM mats on my 20 year old.

The dual zone climate clearly struggles as well. Roof down with AC off the Mrs wants that heater set to somewhere close to Chernobyl on meltdown. I prefer it a little less toasty. Decreasing the temp my side clearly also lowered on her side as well rendering the dual zone bit an option I could live without.
 
Terry ........ I would not be saying no to a Cayman GTS ........ or even an R ....... and when I was in SA just recently I saw quite a few GT4s ....... now that is one helluva of a car.

I just go to get the convertible "wind in the hair thingy" out of the way first ....... I know that doesn't matter to you ...... you being a bit challenged in that area ....... ;)
 
highway said:
Such a great, rewarding car to drive. I don't know how many 993 owners have had opportunity to drive a 981 Boxster or Cayman but, should you have opportunity, give one a try.
My wife has a 981 S, has the PDK with paddles and a very nice Alcantara steering wheel, leather everywhere and also the 20" alloys etc etc.
For all its charms, and there are many, we both gravitate towards the 993 for a blast through mid Wales, (she is now allowed to drive it) if its motorways and towns it is less fussy than the 993. But for me, its just more white goods built by a robot, undoubtedly dynamically quite brilliant, but not a car you can come to love.
For me, it has too much grip so you have to be going at quite silly speeds to explore its handling envelope. I would prefer the new MX5 . . .
There will be no tears from me when Mrs HPNer calls it a day on its services, (she now seems to have taken a fancy to an Aston) :dont know:
 
Phil, I'm amazed you don't rate it. You can throw it into a roundabout pulling those paddles for your downshifts and making the PSE blart and pop. The car has a real voice when you wind it up. The S feels properly fast as well. I think Boxsters all suffer from that ridiculous 'poor mans 911' tag that Clarkson coined and the proletariat adopted as their own opinion.

On their own merits, proper cars. The vaguely whiffy image is not the fault of the car at all
 
highway said:
........ I've read that some consider the Cayman the true heir to the 911 which has, allegedly, become more of a GT ( whatever that means?!)

A lot of people seem to think that the 911 has suddenly become massive and that the Cayman/Boxster is much smaller.

What they don't seem to realise is that the 981 Cayman/Boxster is only 4.5" shorter than a 991 and only 0.25" narrower.

It's only when you compare the 21st Century cars (including the 996/997) with the 20th Century cars that there's actually any real difference in size. e.g A 981 Boxster/Cayman is 5.5" longer and 2.5" wider than a 993.
 
If you like the 981 just see if you can get a drive of a 991.2 CarerraS with PDK, PSE and Chrono+. The current car with the PSE switched to Sport+ the willingness of the engine, ability to 'prime up the turbos' and the sound of the exhaust especially on the over-run is outstanding :worship:

:hand: Now if it was only £60k it would be my only Porsche AND my daily driver :grin:

Not sure I'd want a Boxster. I've had a cab before and whilst the open top experience is OK, I'm mindful of my 'syrup of figs' (which in modern aerodynamic cars seems to flick it off into the footwell rather than on the road) and in bright sunshine it's not all that pleasurable.

It would have to be a Cayman with PDK and climate. When I was looking it was hard to find a Cayman with Climate as most people dont think about it (or dont undertand it in the 21st Century) and order AC only which means you're manually fiddling with the controls and can't sustain a set temperature :pc: I wouldn't buy any modern car without full climate control
 
highway said:
Decreasing the temp my side clearly also lowered on her side as well rendering the dual zone bit an option I could live without.

zingari said:
It would have to be a Cayman with PDK and climate. When I was looking it was hard to find a Cayman with Climate as most people dont think about it (or dont undertand it in the 21st Century) and order AC only which means you're manually fiddling with the controls and can't sustain a set temperature PC.

I'm fairly sure you have to order the "dual zone" bit these days in order to get climate control in the Caymans, otherwise you just end up with the bog standard AC. Must catch out a few people as it's not especially obvious when on the configurator.
 
I'm in full Boxster Appreciation Mode at the moment.

I have a 3.2 S with paddle shifts and a Hollamby bypass which snorts, crackles and pops. I tell you, it's bloody good fun.

It has more than enough power for any real world driving.

With the top down, wind deflector on and windows up, the exhaust is the centrepiece and sounds like a Ferrari. (You can't hear a coupe's exhaust properly with the windows down - all you hear is wind noise.)

Everything works properly and it's a delight to drive, race or relax in. All-round, probably the best car I have ever owned.

And all for under £5000.
 
I had a 981 Cayman S loaner when mine was in for a service recently. I found it to be surprisingly dull but I think a lot of that was due to the vast amount of pale grey in the interior. :nooo: It felt like the whole car had been ordered to OAP spec.

The other thing I really disliked compared to my 987 was the lack of feel from the brakes. The brake pedal was like an on/off switch with way too much servo assistance for my liking.
 

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Highway, I would sum it up exactly as you have; so much so I voted with my feet on it, sos to speak.

As has been said, the AC vs climate box tick catches a lot out. In fairness Notts OPC did explain on the configuration, so another £600 option IIRC.

However the 981 is a sublime, real world package. Even the GTS isn't the torqueist of motors, but that aside, the word I always come to is "balanced"

Great post to compare :thumb:
 
I would add the sport plus option is real world useless. You are driving on the rev limited and the car head butts the redline too frequently. The sport mode sharpens throttle response up nicely to the point where I assume that setting isn't default due to emissions. We drove back from seeing the (better than I anticipated) BVS movie earlier. Pissing with rain, dark and generally unpleasant. Climate controlled, auto wipered, radio 2'd with glutes warmed to a nice simmer. Properly real world useable. Biggest flaw for me is the two seats. Why didn't the maclaren F1 seating layout get copied? I could get away with three seats.
 

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