Besides getting better at drifting this year, the other thing I wanted to do was to rent a sports car to broaden my driving horizons.
This last weekend was perfect for this. My GT86’s clutch died after a dynamic session and I was stuck at home. So on Thursday, I opened a local rental car app and booked a 2019 Porsche Boxster GTS. To my pleasant surprise, the car was free and I had it booked from Friday noon to Sunday.
This is the infamous four-pot Boxster, albeit the more powerful 2.5 in GTS form. The car looks really good in this silver, though the black wheels get a bit lost from only a few ten meters away, and on absolutely all photos.
I haven’t driven that many cars to be able to properly compare the car, so my thoughts are mostly related based on how the car feels compared to my GT86.
The first impressions were not amazing. But over the course of the few days, the car has grown on me, a lot.
Engine & Gearbox
Mornings in the garage were pretty awesome. Roof down before start, then this:
A great way to start the day. 🙂
Since I haven’t driven previous versions of Boxster, or a 911, I did not mind the four-cylinder sound. It has a lot of pops and bangs that make it fun to listen to, especially with the roof down and when you find a nice tunnel. 😀
The engine itself works best between 3k and 5.5k. Below that, there is turbo lag, and revving it higher doesn’t really make a big difference in sound or push. Not to mention, it’s already fast at those RPM. Really fast. For me, it was bordering on too much for our roads. I could’ve easily done with 50 HP less.
The PDK suits the engine and character of the car really well. I haven’t really missed the manual, though it would give a bit more to do between shifts. When you have an automatic, you drive a bit faster just because there is not much distraction and you can have your hands constantly on the wheel.
Handling
I drove it to my regular spots around LJ where I also drive my GT86. The Boxster feels way more like a GT than a small sports car on these corners. It feels a lot heavier though still planted.
Feedback is also missing – from the steering wheel and from below the butt. The car doesn’t move a lot (I also didn’t want to get it to move because rental), and when it does, you barely feel it.
It feels like a proper, grown-up car. It’s perfect for long-winded roads and cruising, but, at least for me, it felt a lot less at home on closed twisties where you’d want to trash it around.
Fun Factor
I really enjoyed the roofless driving. It’s a ton of fun and way more than expected. When the sun goes down and you turn for the mountain roads, it’s just pure joy.
A special occasion was also driving around town, even though Ljubljana is a very small one so the enjoyment there was pretty short-lived. Would love to drive it in a bigger city and just enjoy the surroundings.
One great thing about driving a roadster is that you don’t have to push that much to get enjoyment from the car. The roads where I trash my GT86 were fun at much lower speeds.
Summary
I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. I got to drive one of the current benchmarks in sports cars. I would love to take it to a longer trip to the seaside with my significant other, but I will keep the GT86 for attacking the corners. 🙂