I've driven a lot of cars over the last five years. Yet not one of them has been a Porsche. In fact, the only Porsche I've ever driven was an early 1970s 911 owned by my uncle. A very unique experience owing to the rear-mounted air-cooled flat six.

Given that Porsche is the most esteemed manufacturer of sub-exotic sports cars, this gap in my experience requires an explanation. Well, it goes like this. On first thought, I tend to only drive cars I might in some (sometimes far-fledged) scenario actually buy. And Porsches are pricey. However, I also drive cars my father might buy, and he's expressed interest in the Boxster. And we did once go to a dealer to drive one, but they were too snooty for his taste. So we left. A second problem with this explanation: used Boxsters easily fall within the realm of financial possibility. And I have driven the car's main competitors.

So that explanation isn't working. Let me try another. I tend to prefer going against the grain. While BMW and Mercedes make some very good cars, each make has its detractors. On the other hand, everyone and their senile great-grandmother will readily attest that Porsches are great cars.

A derivative of this wide appeal is that conventional wisdom holds that many people buy Porsches for the brand, not because they can truly appreciate the cars. I traveled about the country in 1989, and in Eugene, Oregon, learned of a guy by the name of Frog who sold joke books on the university campus. (Might still be there.) I remember one of these jokes: "What's the difference between a horse and a Porsche?" "With the horse, the a-hole is on the outside."

The upshot: I must admit to a not entirely rational prejudice against Porsches so strong that it has prevented me from even driving the cars.

One other factor might be in play here: if I drove one, and fell in love, then what?

All of this said, my top priority is handling, and as the Boxster has evolved I've read more and more about its superior handling. The other day I was in the mood to test a sports car. When the Lotus dealer had no unsold Elises in stock (maybe in a week) I drove a little further to the Porsche dealer and took a Boxster for a spin. Just in case I fell in love I sampled the relatively affordable base model and not the S.

Styling

When the Boxster first appeared in the late 1990s I thought it an ungainly looking car. A weak rear end contributed to awkward lines (made even more awkward when Toyota knocked off the car for the MR23 Spyder). Well, Porsche has updated the styling a few times since, most notably adding some visual mass to the haunches. So it looks pretty good these days. Still doesn't get me drooling, though.

Many different wheels are offered. The base 17s don't look good on the car. Spend the extra $1200 for the 18s.

Boxsters have suffered from interiors with a cheaper look and feel than most expect in a $50,000 car. For 2005 Porsche has finally upgraded the interior enough to dispel this criticism. That said, the current interior is blandly styled and does little to make driving the Boxster a unique experience.

Accommodations

The Boxster is fairly roomy for a sports car, especially compared to less expensive fare from Mazda and Toyota. I didn't feel pinched about the shoulders by the door panels or closed in by the erect soft top. The Z4 and SLK are perhaps a little tighter, and the Corvette notably beamier. The driving position is low relative to the instrument panel, but is aided by a reasonably expansive, fairly upright windshield. Unlike in a Miata, the header isn't overly low. Visibility is poor to the rear quarters with the top up, though. The low driving position does make viewing the well-designed instruments a snap. The only thing better would be a head-up display.

The seats aren't terribly sporting, at least not in the base car. The bolsters are on the small side. Luckily, what size they have is deployed as effectively as possible through close spacing and firm padding. They are in fact so close together that larger adults might be displeased. They fit me well, though.

Now for my first surprise: the Boxster contains two deep, usefully sized cargo areas, one in front and one in back. Together then provide nearly ten cubic feet of space. Though the Z4 and SLK also offer this much volume, a Miata, MR2, S2000, or 911 provides only half as much. The upshot: the Boxster is more practical than it first appears.

On the Road

As I mentioned earlier, the only other Porsche I've driven was a 1970s 911. That was a very elemental sports car with feedback to spare. Though I knew the Boxster would be considerably more refined and luxurious, I still expected a very visceral experience. Well, I didn't get one. No doubt to suit the tastes of the average premium car buyer, driving the Boxster has very little in common with driving that old 911.

I'll begin with the engine. The cabins of mid-engine cars like the Boxster tend to be flooded with engine noise. Not this one. I could barely hear the engine. The throaty exhaust, certainly, but not the engine. Before I had a chance to voice my surprise the salesperson explained that buyers had complained of too much engine noise. They wanted to hear the exhaust, not the engine. And for 2005 that's one of the "improvements."

As I see it, your run-of-the-mill car can be tuned to provide a throaty exhaust. Little in the way of engineering sophistication is required here. Now to provide a pleasing song from the engine itself, that requires some slick bits inside. If an engine is truly excellent, I want to hear it come on cam, especially in a sports car like this one.

I did drive the car a bit with the top lowered. The engine was a bit more audible in this mode.

Aside from its near silence, the Boxster's 240-horsepower 2.7-liter flat six offered little in the way of surprises or disappointments. For punch down low you'll want the S, or even a 911. The engine starts putting out a good amount of power around 3500 RPM, with the power peak at 6400. Don't expect an S2000-like rush, because you won't find one. Porsche claims a sub-six-second zero-to-sixty time for the car. It doesn't feel that fast. Not that I suspect Porsche cheated the numbers. Refinement always detracts from the sense of acceleration, and the Boxster has been refined to the nth degree. If you want to feel like you're accelerating very quickly (and not just quickly) you need either more power (especially down low) or less refinement (as in the similarly quick but much quicker feeling S2000).

Don't get me wrong. The Boxster is still plenty of fun to run through the gears. There is a certain amount of pleasure to be gained from the throaty exhaust, which grows louder and louder as engine speed rises. But the experience is just not very visceral.

The clutch and shifter deserve at least equal credit for the fun to be had from exercising the engine. The clutch travel is short, especially for a car with well over 200 horsepower. Combine this with a standard-for-2005 short-throw shifter and shifting could not be easier. (I expected considerable more difficulty in this area.) I never came close to botching a shift, even when aiming for the redline with the pedal to the floor. I did stall the car a couple of times at rest. Credit a nice, light flywheel (good for engine responsiveness) and my personal preference for stalling a car over feathering a clutch.

Ah, but what about the handling? Here, I'm afraid to say, refinement has also taken its toll. I do not doubt that the Boxster is capable of some very impressive lap times. Technically the chassis approaches perfection, with a mild tendency to understeer (when not deep into the throttle) that belies the car's tail-heavy weight distribution. Combine this with the nearly silenced engine, and based on the experience of driving the Boxster I'd likely have guessed the engine was actually in front of me. Safe? Yes. Capable of fast times on a track compared to similarly powerful cars? Likely. But thrilling? The effect on my pulse was not nearly that of driving the Honda.

The steering doesn't help. Though very accurate and a decent communicator, the steering is unexpectedly heavy for a 2900-pound mid-engine sports car despite the standard power-assist. Under 40 MPH this heaviness totally disguises the agility of the car, making it seem averse to turning. Why? The steering in an Audi TT 3.2 I drove recently felt similarly heavy, but then that was a much more massive, nose-heavy, all-wheel-drive car. I've criticized the Corvette for feeling larger and heavier than it is, only to find that the Boxster similarly suffers, if not as much. Consider my bubble burst.

I suspect that, like BMWs, the Boxster is truly thrilling to drive on a track, where its high limits can be thoroughly explored. Problem is, I don't drive on a track. And at reasonable speeds on public roads this car will rarely come within a stone's throw of its limits. Maybe if I lived in the mountains...

The flipside of the overly staid driving experience is, well, a refined driving experience. The Boxster rides much more smoothly and quietly than I expected it to. I wouldn't think of using a Miata, MR2, or S2000 as a daily driver. The Boxster, on the other hand, provides more than enough cush for this role. Long trips? No problem. Even with the top down buffeting and wind noise are readily bearable. A very livable car.

Prosche Boxster Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Boxster starts around $44,000 and readily reaches $50,000. Add about $9,000 for the S. I haven't entered the Boxster into the truedelta.com database, so cannot provide thorough comparisons. But figure about $10,000 less for a comparable Z4 and $5,000 less (compared to the S) for the SLK. Personally, I'd buy none of these cars. I'd save at least $15,000 by buying a Honda S2000, if I wanted a part-time sports car, or a Mazda RX-8, if I needed my sports car to have some refinement and practicality.

Last Words

As should be clear from my review, I was thoroughly surprised by my test drive of the Boxster. It was much more refined and much less thrilling than I expected. It used to be that American sports cars excelled at brute power, while the relatively underpowered foreign jobs were prized for their agility. But over the years the imported cars have gotten more and more powerful, and less and less the minimalist machines they used to be. The Boxster is just one example of an overall trend. In terms of engineering and objective measures of performance, today's Porsches likely cannot be beat. But many less expensive cars are more fun to drive on your typical suburban road.

I can see the point of the Boxster. Its astonishing combination of performance and livability is no doubt exactly what many premium sports car buyers are looking for. But I've got to believe that there's still room for a Porsche with the character (if not the outright at-the-limit precariousness) of a vintage 911. Porsche has shown it can do a high-performance SUV. But can it still do a true sports car for those with less than $50,000 to spend?

A Note on Porsche Boxster Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Boxter rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Porsche Boxster reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Boxster--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
BMW Z4 review
Chevrolet Corvette review
Honda S2000 review

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 50000
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: Base with 18-inch wheels, heated seats, upgraded audio, etc.