Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!

AMG Power · 30th September 2018, 08:04

Introduction:

What you'll like:

1. Attention guaranteed from the opposite sex or your money back. Porsche could give this guarantee and not have to pay a single claim.

2. Good power to weight ratio that makes an otherwise not so powerful 300 bhp (from a sports car perspective) seem like a lot more.

3. Convertible makes the car look super hot even when it's standing still. Drive it with the top down and you run out of adjectives.

4. Go kart feel makes the car appear to be going a lot faster than it actually is - you may like this or you may not.

5. Amazing colour choices that suit the shape and size and enhance the sporty effect.

6. The sound in Sports and Sports Plus mode - Wake up the neighbours - Check, Play the bad boy - Check, Scare the hell out of your co passenger - Check, Get that very elusive hot girl you've been eyeing to agree to a date - Check.

7. Tail wagger par excellence. Donuts and Drifts can be induced a lot easier than most other cars.

8. Designed for pure unadulterated driving pleasure on the right roads - a rarity however in India. Depending on your skill levels it will allow donuts, drifts and other sideways moves given the right roads.

9. Excellent car for a track day outing. You get to enjoy the full potential of the car.

What you won't:

1. Bumpy ride makes the car move around a lot. This also reduces high speed stability and traction and you tend to back off the power not because of your limits but because you sense the car's limits as you realise you could be caught out if you're not careful. Surprising this in a German!

2. Feeling of going faster than you actually are is quite a dampener when you're used to fast cars or you like driving fast. In other words, the car just doesn't mask speeds enough. Surprising for a German again.

3. Handling on Indian roads at serious speeds could be a bit of a hit and miss because of reduced traction - while the car goes around corners easily, you would have to provide for an extra margin of safety. This does reduce from the fun factor.

4. With the heat, dust, grime, dirt and pollution on Indian roads a soft top is not exactly on the top of a list of must have features.

5. The car demands more of you in terms of attention, skill levels and control all the time (something that enthusiasts will love) so it may be a bit difficult to have an argument with the wife while driving. An M2 Competition on the other hand would allow you that luxury.

6. In Sports and Sports Plus mode the gears shift up early! It's the first car I've driven that short shifts in Sports Plus mode. This could catch you out in fast overtaking manouvers.

7. You wouldn't want to use this for shopping, errands or picking up the kids from school. It is a car that is made only for the purpose of enjoying your drive. To that extent it would have NIL utility value.

8. The 718 is a purpose built sports car with low ground clearance and that reduces from its practicality. You can't just jump in and go on a holiday as you might with your other cars. You would need to plan ahead, check out that the roads don't have any surprises and more as this car doesn't take kindly to being treated roughly and it could bite you back with huge bills if you do.

9. The earlier 6 cylinder engine was a lot more smoother and sounded a lot better. Purists would think that a 4 cylinder turbo flat four was a mistake by Porsche although it is faster but maybe doesn't sound too good.

10. The unbeatable logic of the Indian car buyer - for 1/10th of the price of the Porsche 718 he can buy a Maruti D'zire that has two more doors, substantially larger boot, a back seat, a hard top and better GC. Difficult to argue with such clarity of thought.

Background:

This isn't the Porsche 718 you've known.

It's not the 718 came with that lovely 3.6L Flat 6 engine. The engine that generated 315 BHP and 360 Nm of torque. It had that lovely exhaust note that only a 6 cylinder could give you. It was smooth and, of course, powerful enough. It was the Boxster S.

With the world in the throes of downsizing, can Porsche be left behind? The new 718 for India isn't the Boxster S but just the Boxster. It has a 4 cylinder turbo charged engine that generates 300 BHP and 380 Nm of torque. The engine however is nowhere as smooth as the earlier one nor does it sound anywhere as good.

However it's just as fast as the 3.6L flat, in fact it's even marginally faster till 200 kmph. It does have a bit of turbo lag below 2000 rpm.

Back in the day (mid 1990's) if you wanted a not too outrageously expensive sports car with a reasonably good engine, your options were the BMW Z3 or Mercedes-Benz SLK. This was before the Porsche Boxster came knocking.

The Boxster gave customers more "sports car" for their money. Porsche gave customers the advantage of handling that only a mid-engined car could give and used the learnings from this to their various other models such as the Cayman GT4.

Porsche fitted the Boxster with various engines from 2.5 to 2.7 to 3.2 litre and even a 3.8 litre engine giving customers more of what they wanted - power.

So when you look at the current Boxster we have far less engine capacity - a 2.0 litre turbo flat four. To reduce lag, Porsche "pre-conditions" the turbo by retarding ignition timing and increasing throttle position.

For the purists, the top of the line 718's (not available in India) will continue with six cylinder engines.

Engine, Performance and Handling:

It's early morning and I'm in the back of beyond. A desolate stretch of road that winds and twists to seemingly nowhere. The road is wide, smooth with lots of area for run off as on a track. It's the break of dawn and there are no houses, shops, people or traffic for miles around. Why would anyone want to be here at such an unearthly time??

The answer lies next to me - wrapped in red - looking very desirable and beckons to me. I enter the low slung object gleaming away to glory and check her out.

This is the Porsche 718 with its top down.

I get into the car and power her down that road, going sideways and drifting away and enjoying her in a away that is not possible with most other cars. I even damaged a tyre by the end of that drive.

Fun can also be expensive.

That was a deserted back road - something very difficult to find in India so now lets see how she fares in regular real life scenarios:

You drool over the car. You admire her figure. You realise she looks fast even while she's standing still. You know she's got to be good. Or rather you think she's got to be good.

It's all a matter of perspective. You change your driving styles according to the cars you drive and the roads you drive them on. Given Indian road conditions and traffic, my preference is for cars that have very good high speed stability, an ability to mask speeds and an ability to take corners at very fast speeds. The 718 doesn't do too well on all 3 counts. It doesn't have the high speed stability of even the humble Octavia 1.8 TSI, it doesn't mask speeds and in fact increases the feeling of speed SUBSTANTIALLY. (Hypothetically speaking, imagine you were doing 170 kmph and got the feel of doing 240 kmph - that's a WHOPPING 70 kmph increase in the feel of speed and quite a dampener if you're used to driving fast). Compare this with the RS 7 where, given the right closed roads, it would allow one to take corners in excess of 200 kmph. Check out the review of the RS 7 here: With the Audi RS 7 - A Monster with a 4.0 L TSI engine (With the Audi RS7 - A monster with a 4.0L TSI, 552 BHP & 700 Nm torque) . This increase in the feel of speed in the 718 is in part due to 1. The go kart effect 2. The soft top which brings a lot more noise, vibration and harshness into the cabin and 3. The limited travel suspension which gets twitchy and fidgety at high speeds on Indian roads that makes the car lose traction easily.

This twitching also happens on fast cornering, so if you're taking a fast corner, you need to provide for the possible loss of traction and the tail wag if you hit a bump or if the road is uneven and accordingly slow down well beiow your limits as you may not have the space to reel the back in. While this is actually an enjoyable feature for the enthusiast, under Indian conditions and on expressways, a tail wag could mean you don't have the leeway to bring the back in as you would have a car or a truck or two right next to you. On expressways, autobahns or country roads that have sparse traffic as found in some regions abroad, you could have the time of your life drifting away through all corners.

As this car just isn't made for Indian roads and conditions, you cannot exploit anywhere close to its full potential on most roads. At speeds at which I would be accelerating hard or even cruising fast in the humble Octavia 1.8 TSI I was actually backing off WELL BEFORE I reached those speeds. On one of the drives there were a few small rumble strips, I didn't slow enough but took it at a speed I would take an Octavia - the Porsche was all over the place showing how easily it would lose traction under Indian road conditions. This was just one instance, there were many. It's the fidgety nature that plays spoil sport in Indian conditions and doesn't allow you to exploit the potential of the car. Corners that I take at fast speeds in other cars this car showed its fidgety nature and made me a LOT more careful.

This is a car meant for drifts, donuts and sideways fun and is engineered to push its tail out easily on roads that suit the car - read flat well paved roads, sparse traffic, sweeping corners that aren't blind - which is why its a misfit on Indian roads. So if you have any idea of using the car on our expressways - don't tick that box - you would reach your destination a lot faster in an Octavia 1.8 TSI.

It's best as a city street racer - think of it as a cafe racer in the form of a car (for the boy racer types)- you want to drift while taking a U turn in the city at a relatively low speed when there is no traffic? - this will allow you to do that with ease. You want to close gaps in traffic easily with special effects ? This will allow you to do that with ease. You want to be noticed in that happening hot spot in town? Done. You want to be photographed from the front, side and rear whenever you're in the city? No problem, this feature comes standard with this car. If you like unbridled attention this car gives it to you. I was being videographed and photographed almost every moment in city traffic.

If you want to enjoy anywhere close to the limits of the car you should find some lonely, deserted winding road in the back of beyond to revel in the fun that this car can provide. It's also a good car for a track day outing. You can have quite a bit of fun on a track.

This isn't a car in that is forgiving if you make mistakes like most other cars would though by its sheer looks you might mistake it for one especially with the top down. It is a car that can be enjoyed by a serious well-experienced driver on lonely deserted roads - check out most of the videos of the Porsche's - they are all on good deserted roads or tracks. There are a lot of other cars that can get you far more driving pleasure at a fraction of the price. However what it can do better than most other cars is Donuts, drifts and sideways fun if you can find the right roads. The problem is very few deserted good roads, if at all, exist in India.

The engine of the 718 is a 2 litre flat four turbo charged one that develops 300 BHP and 380 Nm of torque. Acceleration is pretty linear upto the red line. Given the power to weight ratio this power is good enough but doesn't get to serious performance levels which is obviously not the intention being an entry level Porsche. The engine has 4 performance options - Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. Sport and Sport Plus increase the performance and improve the steering feel and harden the suspension. Individual helps you fine tune the steering, suspension and engine performance levels between Normal, Sport and Sport Plus. There is also a Sport Response button that boosts power for 20 seconds which comes in handy when if you have to overtake or just need a fast short sprint. The exhaust note becomes louder with Sport and Sport Plus modes. I have to say that the sound of this engine is pretty disappointing and it comes across like one of those low quality after market exhaust fitments. At low revs there is nice bass rumble but that disappears when you accelerate and the car starts to sound like a very down market exhaust fitment has been fixed. This is especially apparent in Sport Plus mode when the exhaust note is quite loud. Porsche would have done better to have had a exhaust note of an upmarket exhaust system.

The gear box is , of course, Porsche's PDK seven speed dual clutch transmission with lovely aluminium paddle shifts. The gear box is very responsive to manual inputs and car control through gears is an integral part of driving this gear. The auto blip works well but again, doesn't sound too good. A hugely surprising feature of the gearbox is that it upshifts in Sport and Sport Plus even while you're accelerating and you need to quickly use the paddle shifts to bring it back down into the gear you want. This can be quite tricky while doing a very fast overtaking manouver. It's only in pedal to metal mode that the car realises that you are in a hurry and holds on. If you are in part acceleration mode, around 50% or less which is enough for most overtaking, the gear box will shift up early and in some situations can even shift up twice in immediate succession. This happens in Sports Plus mode too. Pretty dimwitted feature actually.

There is no engine bay as this is a mid engined car and the engine can only be accessed through service lifts - quite a dampener for the DIY guy.

Interiors:

I'm taking a little detour here.

The last Ferrari to be approved by Enzo Ferrari was the F40. Enzo had a desire to leave a legacy in his final supercar and wanted the car to be truly special. In the words of the Ferrari marketing department - "We wanted the car to be very fast sporting in the extreme and (this is the important bit) - Spartan. Customers had been saying our cars were becoming too plush and comfortable.. The F40 is for the 'most enthusiastic' of our owners who want nothing but sheer performance".

And so accordingly was the final car to be approved by Enzo Ferrari signed off into production.

It had plastic windshield and windows, no sound system - ICE thread followers to note , no power windows, no glove box, no leather trim and, heck, even no carpets. The only concession was air conditioning. The first 50 cars produced only had sliding windows but the later cars were accorded the "comfort" of wind down windows.

That was Enzo Ferrari's idea of a car that would appeal to the true enthusiast and leave a lasting legacy in his name.

To get back on track - in comparison, Porsches aren't exactly spartan. But you don't get keyless entry and go in any variant. And for that matter the cars aren't too luxurious either. Yes, they've given a concession to currently acceptable creature comforts but they haven't gone overboard.

You'll find the Audi TT with better finish and Merc's and BMW's too would give you a much better finish and feel on the inside. Of course, the central rev counter and Porsche badge on the steering is more than enough to get your pulse racing. But if you want to a touch screen large enough to watch Shah Rukh Khan movies you could be a bit disappointed.

Lovely aluminium paddle shifters, Alcantara seats, all black interiors are what you get. I didn't get the perfect seating position - it was about 90 percent okay and not an absolute 100. There is a lap timer built into the centre of the dash.

You get a kitty of 6 lakhs to accessorise your car. This is the maximum limit and you cannot fix factory options above this amount. Of this about 4.5 lakhs would go for the Sports chrono pack. You are then left with just enough for a reverse camera and other minor accessories.

The knob to the bottom right of the centre is what you turn to activate the Sports chrono modes -Normal, Sports, Sports Plus and Individual. In the centre of this knob is the Sport Response button.

Being mid engined the car has luggage space under the bonnet and the boot - the Boxster has 280 litres and the Cayman has 405 litres. In the Boxster the soft top stowage area reduces some of the boot space.

AMG Power · 15th October 2018, 10:22

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-1image.jpeg

Designed to get your pulse racing even when stationary.

Getting ready

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-8image.jpeg

The key to excitement - Aluminium paddle shifts

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-2image.jpeg

Relatively minimalist but yet a LOT more than adequate

Alcantara leather seats

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-5image.jpeg

Passenger side view of the dash

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-6image.jpeg

The lap timer: Porsche provides an app called the "Porsche Track Precision App" that enables you to collate lap times and driving stats on your smartphone and share them with other drivers for comparison. The App uses GPS and data from the onboard computer to help you better your driving performance. Graphical and video analyses display every millisecond of your lap to help you improve lap times. This really is where the 718 comes into its own. It just tries to be a road car too.

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-4image.jpeg

Centre console - not full of gadgets and gimmickry because you have stuff for serious fun otherwise

Boots - 150 litres in the front

130 litres in the rear

AMG Power · 7th November 2018, 11:03

Exterior:

Check out which one's got the ring to it:

(a) I drive a Audi
(b) I drive a Merc
(c) I drive a Beemer
(d) I drive a Porsche

It's not for small reason that you pay a king's ransom to get yourself a Porsche when you can get far more powerful Beemers, Mercs and Audi's that are better finished, handle equally well and in a price to power ratio can thrash a Porsche. But all that pales when you drive up in a Porsche and throw the keys to the valet. It spells class like none of the other three can ever hope to match. Yes, a R8 looks cool, an M5 looks hot and a RS 7 is a monster but none of them can come close to the sheer pedigree and class of a Porsche.

The design is timeless and you don't need the help of after market fitments other than the original to make it look special. Some of the exterior after market originals include the the colour of the top in maroon, blue, brown or black. The coloured tops are not at an extra cost.

The horizontal air intakes in the front appear quite wide by design and give the car its family look as do the wings and headlights (and don't miss the cow in the background)

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7237.jpg

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7235.jpg

The side profile announces its mid engined layout - the wheel arches are designed wheels upto 20".The contouring on the doors are intended to direct and force air into the large air intakes on either side of the door. This helps improve the flow of air into the turbo charged engine:

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7240.jpg

The rear of the car announces its sporty nature while the tail lights are slim with an accent trim between the two. The rear wing extends automatically at 120 kmph:

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7239.jpg

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7241.jpg

Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds!-img_7238.jpg

Suspension:

The 718 comes with an electromechanical steering and the ratio has been improved to provide a better turn in and response. You can also opt for the PASM (Porsche Adaptive Suspension Management) which continuously adapts the damping force on each wheel based on road conditions. In addition the car sits 10 mm lower.

All 718's come standard with Porsche Stability Management (PSM) - a suspension control system that supposedly maintains stability under acceleration on inconsistent road surfaces - this is something I didn't find to be working too well.

Wheels are 18 inchers with an option to upgrade to 20 inchers if you are nuts or a novice. You also get to customise the wheel design and opt for Porsche badges in the centre of the wheels for a kings ransom.

AMG Power · 1st January 2019, 21:41

Should you buy one?

People buy cars for different reasons - some for the office commute, some for doing long distances, some for shopping, errands, mall hopping aka beater car. The Porsche 718 isn't fit for any of these requirements. It just isn't a car that can be used for the usual routine other than the thrill of driving or as a track car. In India, the limitations are even more given our road conditions and the drawbacks of a soft-top in our tropical climate.

Effectively, you could have a lot more fun with a lot less money with an AMG C 43, or even a GTI as they handle much better on Indian roads.

B U T

you aren't going to have the thrill of all the attention you get when you play boy racer on the city streets nor the thrill of drifting with ease on almost any street corner nor the thrill of doing donuts nor of stating "I drive a Porsche" nor the thrill of throwing the keys of a Porsche to the valet at a 5 star hotel nor the thrill of a car designed for the hard core enthusiast nor..I could go on and on..

To be able to do all of this you would need upwards of 1.25 crores and that's without options. Even then you can't be a noveau riche novice and take the plunge as this car would teach you a lesson, rather several lessons, the hard way. It would however work well for the well heeled enthusiast who knows his onions.

And did I mention about the date with that elusive hot chick?

There are some things in life money can't buy. That's where a Porsche 718 comes in handy.

Aditya · 28th February 2019, 08:41

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Sahil · 28th February 2019, 09:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Exterior:

Check out which one's got the ring to it:

(a) I drive a Audi
(b) I drive a Merc
(c) I drive a Beemer
(d) I drive a Porsche

It's not for small reason that you pay a king's ransom to get yourself a Porsche when you can get far more powerful Beemers, Mercs and Audi's that are better finished, handle equally well and in a price to power ratio can thrash a Porsche. But all that pales when you drive up in a Porsche and throw the keys to the valet. It spells class like none of the other three can ever hope to match. Yes, a R8 looks cool, an M5 looks hot and a RS 7 is a monster but none of them can come close to the sheer pedigree and class of a Porsche.

.

Let me rephrase this and let’s see what has a better ring to it now:

1. I drive a RS7/R8
2. I drive a C63s
3. I drive a M5
4. I drive a Boxster

I’ve picked most cars you have made comparisons with.

With all due respect, I would pick any of the above 3 over #4. However, this is highly subjective -each to their own.

reignofchaos · 28th February 2019, 09:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil

With all due respect, I would pick any of the above 3 over #4. However, this is highly subjective -each to their own.

You don't even need to go that far! In the indian context, I'd rather take an M2 Competition pack over this 4 cylinder boxster any day of the week. No offence to any Porsche fans but a 4 cylinder in a 1cr sports car seems meh

.

AMG Power · 28th February 2019, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil

Let me rephrase this and let’s see what has a better ring to it now:

1. I drive a RS7/R8
2. I drive a C63s
3. I drive a M5
4. I drive a Boxter

That should read:

1. I drive a RS7/R8
2. I drive a C63s
3. I drive a M5
4. I drive a 911 GT 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

In the indian context, I'd rather take an M2 Competition pack over this 4 cylinder boxster any day of the week.

An M2 Competition would win hands down any day in terms of far better driving pleasure, handling and performance. And it comes at almost the same price.

It's only the exclusivity and that's a point of view.

GTO · 28th February 2019, 10:56

Superb report - thanks for sharing! This one is going straight to our homepage

.

Big fan of the Boxster & Cayman here - these cars have a driving purity that is unmatched by any in the same segment, or even segments above. I was recently reading a Jalopnik thread where a lot of members posted they'd pick the Cayman over the 911 Turbo. And that's in the USA with better roads + more race tracks. These cars are just PERFECT for India where 500 BHP Super Cars simply cannot be high-revved, or their limits exploited as they're a bit too much for our driving conditions.

Don't like the move to turbo-4s though. While it brings a better torque spread, the aural symphony of the old 6-cylinders was really something else. But the price

. Well, all I can say is these make awesome pre-worshipped buys. Lots & lots of choices in the used market.

If you haven't driven a Boxster or Cayman, borrow / buy / steal one for a TD. It'll make you a fan for life.

Sahil · 28th February 2019, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMG Power

That should read:

1. I drive a RS7/R8
2. I drive a C63s
3. I drive a M5
4. I drive a Carrera GT 3

An M2 Competition would win hands down any day in terms of far better driving pleasure, handling and performance. And it comes at almost the same price.

It's only the exclusivity and that's just a point of view.

My list was based on the cars you mentioned in your post and compared the Boxster with, it was an unfair comparison made then so now don't change it to be even more unfair since the GT3 is more than double the price of these

I beg to differ, your whole argument made in the post that a Boxster is "exclusive" and a "Porsche is a Porsche" mentality is very old school. I highly doubt any petrol head is putting down money on a boxter over an M2 or may other such cars in the price range.

Turbanator · 28th February 2019, 11:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Introduction:

Good short review

I was checking something in this and a segment above, just adding my comments on your observations

Quote:

1. Attention guaranteed of every person on Earth or your money back. Porsche could give this guarantee and not have to pay a single claim.

Guaranteed, people just stop cannot looking, I was driving a Yellow Boxster and the attention from the public was unmentionable, actually too much for my comfort.

Quote:

What you won't:

1. Bumpy ride makes the car move around a lot. This also reduces high speed stability and traction and you tend to back off the power not because of your limits. Feeling of going faster than you actually are is quite a dampener..Handling on Indian roads at serious speeds could be a bit of a hit and miss because of reduced traction
The limited travel suspension which gets twitchy and fidgety at high speeds on Indian roads that makes the car lose traction easily. Corners that I take at fast speeds in other cars this car showed its fidgety nature and made me a LOT more careful

I could do some unmentionable speeds with ease. I think if you drive it regularly then you should get used to, I drove this on 3 different occasions, first time it was crazy managing the car but I was able to handle it better on subsequent drives. It surely is not comfortable at low speeds but I am not sure about high speeds, perhaps I should take another test drive, did you checked the tyre pressure of the car you were driving and the condition of the tyres or just some bad roads?

Quote:

so it may be a bit difficult to have an argument with the wife while driving. An M2 Competition on the other hand would allow you that luxury.

Mostly to take your Girl friends- right? I have driven M2 as well but can safely tell you that 718 compares favorably with M2.

Quote:

You get a kitty of 6 lakhs to accessorise your car. This is the maximum limit and you cannot fix factory options above this amount. Of this about 4.5 lakhs would go for the Sports chrono pack. You are then left with just enough for a reverse camera and other minor accessories.

Yes, this is due to the 40,000 USD limit for the lower duties. For MY 2019, Porsche has done the Sports Exhaust as Standard which used to be an option earlier (Rs 4-5 lac value)

Quote:

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

You don't even need to go that far! In the indian context, I'd rather take an M2 Competition pack over this 4 cylinder boxster any day of the week.

M2 does 0-100 in about same time and for some reasons, I felt it struggling beyond 150 on the Track. May get an opportunity to check 718 at same place next month for better comparison

. I don't think 4 cylinder vs 6 cylinder difference matters in the practical context. They have done a good job with smaller engine.

rohitoasis · 28th February 2019, 11:20

May i offer a view to explain why Boxster is Boxster and should not be compared to the overpowered behemoths of similar price range in India.

The Mid Engined, rear wheeled drive beauty does not need any numbers in its arsenal to offer maximum smiles per mile. The delicate steering poise of Boxster is yet to be matched by any of the Germans listed. BMW M2 Competition is the closest anyone has come to recreating the joy comparable to the Boxster. BMW would have last done it in probably the E46 M3 CSL.

PS: Yes i know the OP mentioned "Porsche" and not "Boxster" in the statement. But since we have since changed the discussion to specific models and Boxster does still offer pure driving nirvana like no other, i felt the need to defend the car. I hope nobody takes offense to this justification.

karan561 · 28th February 2019, 11:25

Nice report AMG Power, thanks for sharing

I too believe the 718 has enough & all the power you'll need to have fun on Indian roads for an entry level Porsche only if you could ignore the 4cyl config.

A quick question, the wheels look standard (Boring). Whats the exact size of the tyres on the model pictured ? Also are they staggered ?

awini · 28th February 2019, 16:49

4.5 seconds is bordering SUV acceleration times. not exactly fast by today"s sports car standards, and that too is with launch control, only on cars with sports chrono package. the base boxster that we get here is quite frankly.. Meh! the boxster GTS however is a different story. the top speed on most of these cars is academic, one would be stupid to do it on a public road, and race tracks including the BIC dont have long enough straights to achieve it.
a much cheaper 4 cylinder car that is as fast if not faster, more practical and almost as much fun is the Mercedes GLA45 AMG. for a city like Delhi, a convertible is the most useless bodystyle one could buy, most times its either too hot, too wet or too cold, and its always too dusty anyway.

btw most days i use a 911 for shopping, school runs and errands with absolutely no problems. so id recommend that anyone looking to buy one of these should avoid the performance options like the sports chrono pack and get more luxury items instead (get rid of that alcantara), its a lot of money for a clock on the dash that you will hardly ever look at (there are two more on the cluster and pcm) and a switch on the steering wheel.

quickdraw · 28th February 2019, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMG Power

What you won't:

1. Bumpy ride makes the car move around a lot. This also reduces high speed stability and traction and you tend to back off the power not because of your limits but because you sense the car's limits as you realise you could be caught out if you're not careful. Surprising this in a German!

2. Feeling of going faster than you actually are is quite a dampener when you're used to fast cars or you like driving fast. In other words, the car just doesn't mask speeds enough. Surprising for a German again.

3. Handling on Indian roads at serious speeds could be a bit of a hit and miss because of reduced traction - while the car goes around corners easily, you would have to provide for an extra margin of safety. This does reduce from the fun factor.

6. In Sports and Sports Plus mode the gears shift up early! It's the first car I've driven that short shifts in Sports Plus mode. This could catch you out in fast overtaking manouvers.

9. The earlier 6 cylinder engine was a lot more smoother and sounded a lot better. Purists would think that a 4 cylinder turbo flat four was a mistake by Porsche although it is faster but maybe doesn't sound too good.

I wanted to add my thoughts here since I've spent considerable amount of time driving a friends 718 Cayman.

The handling and ride is fidgety, but it makes it more involving than say a 911. The 911 will cut through bad undulations at 170km/h but this will probably jump and hop around because of the low weight, track and wheelbase. Did the one you drive come with PASM?

Funny the sensation of speed is more relevant in 718 than the 981 Cayman. It's strange because they are supposed to be extremely similar cars.

The handling and stability is extremely rewarding if the roads are good, for example I take know a certain corner which I can do at +~50km/h on the 781 compared to my Mini, its rock solid mid corner stability is mindblowing.

Sports mode is more for making noise and drama on road, Sports+ is for actually going fast on track. The early upshift thing which you noticed is strange, if you're not driving super hard in Sports the car will start to settle down and upshift sooner.

The 4Cy Boxer engine has a distinct brash sound, its rough and doesn't sing like the 981 but I certainly seem to like it. It isn't that bad in my opinion, but nowhere as good as a flat six.

The Cayman is way more hardcore than the 911 in general, more of a purist baby Porsche. Its a shame the S isn't available here. I think the chassis can take so much more. I'm surprised by the 1.25 quoted figure in Delhi it can be had on road for around 100 lakhs.

30th September 2018, 08:04	#1
AMG Power Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: BLR Posts: 1,065 Thanked: 7,037 Times	Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Introduction: What you'll like: 1. Attention guaranteed from the opposite sex or your money back. Porsche could give this guarantee and not have to pay a single claim. 2. Good power to weight ratio that makes an otherwise not so powerful 300 bhp (from a sports car perspective) seem like a lot more. 3. Convertible makes the car look super hot even when it's standing still. Drive it with the top down and you run out of adjectives. 4. Go kart feel makes the car appear to be going a lot faster than it actually is - you may like this or you may not. 5. Amazing colour choices that suit the shape and size and enhance the sporty effect. 6. The sound in Sports and Sports Plus mode - Wake up the neighbours - Check, Play the bad boy - Check, Scare the hell out of your co passenger - Check, Get that very elusive hot girl you've been eyeing to agree to a date - Check. 7. Tail wagger par excellence. Donuts and Drifts can be induced a lot easier than most other cars. 8. Designed for pure unadulterated driving pleasure on the right roads - a rarity however in India. Depending on your skill levels it will allow donuts, drifts and other sideways moves given the right roads. 9. Excellent car for a track day outing. You get to enjoy the full potential of the car. What you won't: 1. Bumpy ride makes the car move around a lot. This also reduces high speed stability and traction and you tend to back off the power not because of your limits but because you sense the car's limits as you realise you could be caught out if you're not careful. Surprising this in a German! 2. Feeling of going faster than you actually are is quite a dampener when you're used to fast cars or you like driving fast. In other words, the car just doesn't mask speeds enough. Surprising for a German again. 3. Handling on Indian roads at serious speeds could be a bit of a hit and miss because of reduced traction - while the car goes around corners easily, you would have to provide for an extra margin of safety. This does reduce from the fun factor. 4. With the heat, dust, grime, dirt and pollution on Indian roads a soft top is not exactly on the top of a list of must have features. 5. The car demands more of you in terms of attention, skill levels and control all the time (something that enthusiasts will love) so it may be a bit difficult to have an argument with the wife while driving. An M2 Competition on the other hand would allow you that luxury. 6. In Sports and Sports Plus mode the gears shift up early! It's the first car I've driven that short shifts in Sports Plus mode. This could catch you out in fast overtaking manouvers. 7. You wouldn't want to use this for shopping, errands or picking up the kids from school. It is a car that is made only for the purpose of enjoying your drive. To that extent it would have NIL utility value. 8. The 718 is a purpose built sports car with low ground clearance and that reduces from its practicality. You can't just jump in and go on a holiday as you might with your other cars. You would need to plan ahead, check out that the roads don't have any surprises and more as this car doesn't take kindly to being treated roughly and it could bite you back with huge bills if you do. 9. The earlier 6 cylinder engine was a lot more smoother and sounded a lot better. Purists would think that a 4 cylinder turbo flat four was a mistake by Porsche although it is faster but maybe doesn't sound too good. 10. The unbeatable logic of the Indian car buyer - for 1/10th of the price of the Porsche 718 he can buy a Maruti D'zire that has two more doors, substantially larger boot, a back seat, a hard top and better GC. Difficult to argue with such clarity of thought. Background: This isn't the Porsche 718 you've known. It's not the 718 came with that lovely 3.6L Flat 6 engine. The engine that generated 315 BHP and 360 Nm of torque. It had that lovely exhaust note that only a 6 cylinder could give you. It was smooth and, of course, powerful enough. It was the Boxster S. With the world in the throes of downsizing, can Porsche be left behind? The new 718 for India isn't the Boxster S but just the Boxster. It has a 4 cylinder turbo charged engine that generates 300 BHP and 380 Nm of torque. The engine however is nowhere as smooth as the earlier one nor does it sound anywhere as good. However it's just as fast as the 3.6L flat, in fact it's even marginally faster till 200 kmph. It does have a bit of turbo lag below 2000 rpm. Back in the day (mid 1990's) if you wanted a not too outrageously expensive sports car with a reasonably good engine, your options were the BMW Z3 or Mercedes-Benz SLK. This was before the Porsche Boxster came knocking. The Boxster gave customers more "sports car" for their money. Porsche gave customers the advantage of handling that only a mid-engined car could give and used the learnings from this to their various other models such as the Cayman GT4. Porsche fitted the Boxster with various engines from 2.5 to 2.7 to 3.2 litre and even a 3.8 litre engine giving customers more of what they wanted - power. So when you look at the current Boxster we have far less engine capacity - a 2.0 litre turbo flat four. To reduce lag, Porsche "pre-conditions" the turbo by retarding ignition timing and increasing throttle position. For the purists, the top of the line 718's (not available in India) will continue with six cylinder engines. Engine, Performance and Handling: It's early morning and I'm in the back of beyond. A desolate stretch of road that winds and twists to seemingly nowhere. The road is wide, smooth with lots of area for run off as on a track. It's the break of dawn and there are no houses, shops, people or traffic for miles around. Why would anyone want to be here at such an unearthly time?? The answer lies next to me - wrapped in red - looking very desirable and beckons to me. I enter the low slung object gleaming away to glory and check her out. This is the Porsche 718 with its top down. I get into the car and power her down that road, going sideways and drifting away and enjoying her in a away that is not possible with most other cars. I even damaged a tyre by the end of that drive. Fun can also be expensive. That was a deserted back road - something very difficult to find in India so now lets see how she fares in regular real life scenarios: You drool over the car. You admire her figure. You realise she looks fast even while she's standing still. You know she's got to be good. Or rather you think she's got to be good. It's all a matter of perspective. You change your driving styles according to the cars you drive and the roads you drive them on. Given Indian road conditions and traffic, my preference is for cars that have very good high speed stability, an ability to mask speeds and an ability to take corners at very fast speeds. The 718 doesn't do too well on all 3 counts. It doesn't have the high speed stability of even the humble Octavia 1.8 TSI, it doesn't mask speeds and in fact increases the feeling of speed SUBSTANTIALLY. (Hypothetically speaking, imagine you were doing 170 kmph and got the feel of doing 240 kmph - that's a WHOPPING 70 kmph increase in the feel of speed and quite a dampener if you're used to driving fast). Compare this with the RS 7 where, given the right closed roads, it would allow one to take corners in excess of 200 kmph. Check out the review of the RS 7 here: With the Audi RS 7 - A Monster with a 4.0 L TSI engine (With the Audi RS7 - A monster with a 4.0L TSI, 552 BHP & 700 Nm torque) . This increase in the feel of speed in the 718 is in part due to 1. The go kart effect 2. The soft top which brings a lot more noise, vibration and harshness into the cabin and 3. The limited travel suspension which gets twitchy and fidgety at high speeds on Indian roads that makes the car lose traction easily. This twitching also happens on fast cornering, so if you're taking a fast corner, you need to provide for the possible loss of traction and the tail wag if you hit a bump or if the road is uneven and accordingly slow down well beiow your limits as you may not have the space to reel the back in. While this is actually an enjoyable feature for the enthusiast, under Indian conditions and on expressways, a tail wag could mean you don't have the leeway to bring the back in as you would have a car or a truck or two right next to you. On expressways, autobahns or country roads that have sparse traffic as found in some regions abroad, you could have the time of your life drifting away through all corners. As this car just isn't made for Indian roads and conditions, you cannot exploit anywhere close to its full potential on most roads. At speeds at which I would be accelerating hard or even cruising fast in the humble Octavia 1.8 TSI I was actually backing off WELL BEFORE I reached those speeds. On one of the drives there were a few small rumble strips, I didn't slow enough but took it at a speed I would take an Octavia - the Porsche was all over the place showing how easily it would lose traction under Indian road conditions. This was just one instance, there were many. It's the fidgety nature that plays spoil sport in Indian conditions and doesn't allow you to exploit the potential of the car. Corners that I take at fast speeds in other cars this car showed its fidgety nature and made me a LOT more careful. This is a car meant for drifts, donuts and sideways fun and is engineered to push its tail out easily on roads that suit the car - read flat well paved roads, sparse traffic, sweeping corners that aren't blind - which is why its a misfit on Indian roads. So if you have any idea of using the car on our expressways - don't tick that box - you would reach your destination a lot faster in an Octavia 1.8 TSI. It's best as a city street racer - think of it as a cafe racer in the form of a car (for the boy racer types)- you want to drift while taking a U turn in the city at a relatively low speed when there is no traffic? - this will allow you to do that with ease. You want to close gaps in traffic easily with special effects ? This will allow you to do that with ease. You want to be noticed in that happening hot spot in town? Done. You want to be photographed from the front, side and rear whenever you're in the city? No problem, this feature comes standard with this car. If you like unbridled attention this car gives it to you. I was being videographed and photographed almost every moment in city traffic. If you want to enjoy anywhere close to the limits of the car you should find some lonely, deserted winding road in the back of beyond to revel in the fun that this car can provide. It's also a good car for a track day outing. You can have quite a bit of fun on a track. This isn't a car in that is forgiving if you make mistakes like most other cars would though by its sheer looks you might mistake it for one especially with the top down. It is a car that can be enjoyed by a serious well-experienced driver on lonely deserted roads - check out most of the videos of the Porsche's - they are all on good deserted roads or tracks. There are a lot of other cars that can get you far more driving pleasure at a fraction of the price. However what it can do better than most other cars is Donuts, drifts and sideways fun if you can find the right roads. The problem is very few deserted good roads, if at all, exist in India. The engine of the 718 is a 2 litre flat four turbo charged one that develops 300 BHP and 380 Nm of torque. Acceleration is pretty linear upto the red line. Given the power to weight ratio this power is good enough but doesn't get to serious performance levels which is obviously not the intention being an entry level Porsche. The engine has 4 performance options - Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual. Sport and Sport Plus increase the performance and improve the steering feel and harden the suspension. Individual helps you fine tune the steering, suspension and engine performance levels between Normal, Sport and Sport Plus. There is also a Sport Response button that boosts power for 20 seconds which comes in handy when if you have to overtake or just need a fast short sprint. The exhaust note becomes louder with Sport and Sport Plus modes. I have to say that the sound of this engine is pretty disappointing and it comes across like one of those low quality after market exhaust fitments. At low revs there is nice bass rumble but that disappears when you accelerate and the car starts to sound like a very down market exhaust fitment has been fixed. This is especially apparent in Sport Plus mode when the exhaust note is quite loud. Porsche would have done better to have had a exhaust note of an upmarket exhaust system. The gear box is , of course, Porsche's PDK seven speed dual clutch transmission with lovely aluminium paddle shifts. The gear box is very responsive to manual inputs and car control through gears is an integral part of driving this gear. The auto blip works well but again, doesn't sound too good. A hugely surprising feature of the gearbox is that it upshifts in Sport and Sport Plus even while you're accelerating and you need to quickly use the paddle shifts to bring it back down into the gear you want. This can be quite tricky while doing a very fast overtaking manouver. It's only in pedal to metal mode that the car realises that you are in a hurry and holds on. If you are in part acceleration mode, around 50% or less which is enough for most overtaking, the gear box will shift up early and in some situations can even shift up twice in immediate succession. This happens in Sports Plus mode too. Pretty dimwitted feature actually. There is no engine bay as this is a mid engined car and the engine can only be accessed through service lifts - quite a dampener for the DIY guy. Interiors: I'm taking a little detour here. The last Ferrari to be approved by Enzo Ferrari was the F40. Enzo had a desire to leave a legacy in his final supercar and wanted the car to be truly special. In the words of the Ferrari marketing department - "We wanted the car to be very fast sporting in the extreme and (this is the important bit) - Spartan. Customers had been saying our cars were becoming too plush and comfortable.. The F40 is for the 'most enthusiastic' of our owners who want nothing but sheer performance". And so accordingly was the final car to be approved by Enzo Ferrari signed off into production. It had plastic windshield and windows, no sound system - ICE thread followers to note , no power windows, no glove box, no leather trim and, heck, even no carpets. The only concession was air conditioning. The first 50 cars produced only had sliding windows but the later cars were accorded the "comfort" of wind down windows. That was Enzo Ferrari's idea of a car that would appeal to the true enthusiast and leave a lasting legacy in his name. To get back on track - in comparison, Porsches aren't exactly spartan. But you don't get keyless entry and go in any variant. And for that matter the cars aren't too luxurious either. Yes, they've given a concession to currently acceptable creature comforts but they haven't gone overboard. You'll find the Audi TT with better finish and Merc's and BMW's too would give you a much better finish and feel on the inside. Of course, the central rev counter and Porsche badge on the steering is more than enough to get your pulse racing. But if you want to a touch screen large enough to watch Shah Rukh Khan movies you could be a bit disappointed. Lovely aluminium paddle shifters, Alcantara seats, all black interiors are what you get. I didn't get the perfect seating position - it was about 90 percent okay and not an absolute 100. There is a lap timer built into the centre of the dash. You get a kitty of 6 lakhs to accessorise your car. This is the maximum limit and you cannot fix factory options above this amount. Of this about 4.5 lakhs would go for the Sports chrono pack. You are then left with just enough for a reverse camera and other minor accessories. The knob to the bottom right of the centre is what you turn to activate the Sports chrono modes -Normal, Sports, Sports Plus and Individual. In the centre of this knob is the Sport Response button. Being mid engined the car has luggage space under the bonnet and the boot - the Boxster has 280 litres and the Cayman has 405 litres. In the Boxster the soft top stowage area reduces some of the boot space. Last edited by GTO : 1st March 2019 at 17:48. Reason: As requested
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15th October 2018, 10:22	#2
AMG Power Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: BLR Posts: 1,065 Thanked: 7,037 Times	re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Designed to get your pulse racing even when stationary. Getting ready The key to excitement - Aluminium paddle shifts Relatively minimalist but yet a LOT more than adequate Alcantara leather seats Passenger side view of the dash The lap timer: Porsche provides an app called the "Porsche Track Precision App" that enables you to collate lap times and driving stats on your smartphone and share them with other drivers for comparison. The App uses GPS and data from the onboard computer to help you better your driving performance. Graphical and video analyses display every millisecond of your lap to help you improve lap times. This really is where the 718 comes into its own. It just tries to be a road car too. Centre console - not full of gadgets and gimmickry because you have stuff for serious fun otherwise Boots - 150 litres in the front 130 litres in the rear Last edited by AMG Power : 18th January 2019 at 04:43.
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7th November 2018, 11:03	#3
AMG Power Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: BLR Posts: 1,065 Thanked: 7,037 Times	re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Exterior: Check out which one's got the ring to it: (a) I drive a Audi (b) I drive a Merc (c) I drive a Beemer (d) I drive a Porsche It's not for small reason that you pay a king's ransom to get yourself a Porsche when you can get far more powerful Beemers, Mercs and Audi's that are better finished, handle equally well and in a price to power ratio can thrash a Porsche. But all that pales when you drive up in a Porsche and throw the keys to the valet. It spells class like none of the other three can ever hope to match. Yes, a R8 looks cool, an M5 looks hot and a RS 7 is a monster but none of them can come close to the sheer pedigree and class of a Porsche. The design is timeless and you don't need the help of after market fitments other than the original to make it look special. Some of the exterior after market originals include the the colour of the top in maroon, blue, brown or black. The coloured tops are not at an extra cost. The horizontal air intakes in the front appear quite wide by design and give the car its family look as do the wings and headlights (and don't miss the cow in the background) The side profile announces its mid engined layout - the wheel arches are designed wheels upto 20".The contouring on the doors are intended to direct and force air into the large air intakes on either side of the door. This helps improve the flow of air into the turbo charged engine: The rear of the car announces its sporty nature while the tail lights are slim with an accent trim between the two. The rear wing extends automatically at 120 kmph: Suspension: The 718 comes with an electromechanical steering and the ratio has been improved to provide a better turn in and response. You can also opt for the PASM (Porsche Adaptive Suspension Management) which continuously adapts the damping force on each wheel based on road conditions. In addition the car sits 10 mm lower. All 718's come standard with Porsche Stability Management (PSM) - a suspension control system that supposedly maintains stability under acceleration on inconsistent road surfaces - this is something I didn't find to be working too well. Wheels are 18 inchers with an option to upgrade to 20 inchers if you are nuts or a novice. You also get to customise the wheel design and opt for Porsche badges in the centre of the wheels for a kings ransom. Last edited by AMG Power : 27th February 2019 at 12:10.
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1st January 2019, 21:41	#4
AMG Power Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: BLR Posts: 1,065 Thanked: 7,037 Times	re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Should you buy one? People buy cars for different reasons - some for the office commute, some for doing long distances, some for shopping, errands, mall hopping aka beater car. The Porsche 718 isn't fit for any of these requirements. It just isn't a car that can be used for the usual routine other than the thrill of driving or as a track car. In India, the limitations are even more given our road conditions and the drawbacks of a soft-top in our tropical climate. Effectively, you could have a lot more fun with a lot less money with an AMG C 43, or even a GTI as they handle much better on Indian roads. B U T you aren't going to have the thrill of all the attention you get when you play boy racer on the city streets nor the thrill of drifting with ease on almost any street corner nor the thrill of doing donuts nor of stating "I drive a Porsche" nor the thrill of throwing the keys of a Porsche to the valet at a 5 star hotel nor the thrill of a car designed for the hard core enthusiast nor..I could go on and on.. To be able to do all of this you would need upwards of 1.25 crores and that's without options. Even then you can't be a noveau riche novice and take the plunge as this car would teach you a lesson, rather several lessons, the hard way. It would however work well for the well heeled enthusiast who knows his onions. And did I mention about the date with that elusive hot chick? There are some things in life money can't buy. That's where a Porsche 718 comes in handy. Last edited by AMG Power : 27th February 2019 at 08:40.
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28th February 2019, 08:41	#5
Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 17,844 Thanked: 77,081 Times View My Garage	re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!
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28th February 2019, 10:56	#9
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,786 Times View My Garage	Re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Superb report - thanks for sharing! This one is going straight to our homepage . Big fan of the Boxster & Cayman here - these cars have a driving purity that is unmatched by any in the same segment, or even segments above. I was recently reading a Jalopnik thread where a lot of members posted they'd pick the Cayman over the 911 Turbo. And that's in the USA with better roads + more race tracks. These cars are just PERFECT for India where 500 BHP Super Cars simply cannot be high-revved, or their limits exploited as they're a bit too much for our driving conditions. Don't like the move to turbo-4s though. While it brings a better torque spread, the aural symphony of the old 6-cylinders was really something else. But the price . Well, all I can say is these make awesome pre-worshipped buys. Lots & lots of choices in the used market. If you haven't driven a Boxster or Cayman, borrow / buy / steal one for a TD. It'll make you a fan for life. Last edited by GTO : 28th February 2019 at 14:13.
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28th February 2019, 11:20	#12
rohitoasis BHPian Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Palakkad Posts: 608 Thanked: 1,382 Times	Re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! May i offer a view to explain why Boxster is Boxster and should not be compared to the overpowered behemoths of similar price range in India. The Mid Engined, rear wheeled drive beauty does not need any numbers in its arsenal to offer maximum smiles per mile. The delicate steering poise of Boxster is yet to be matched by any of the Germans listed. BMW M2 Competition is the closest anyone has come to recreating the joy comparable to the Boxster. BMW would have last done it in probably the E46 M3 CSL. PS: Yes i know the OP mentioned "Porsche" and not "Boxster" in the statement. But since we have since changed the discussion to specific models and Boxster does still offer pure driving nirvana like no other, i felt the need to defend the car. I hope nobody takes offense to this justification. Last edited by rohitoasis : 28th February 2019 at 11:22.
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28th February 2019, 11:25	#13
karan561 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 5,068 Thanked: 22,246 Times View My Garage	Re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! Nice report AMG Power, thanks for sharing I too believe the 718 has enough & all the power you'll need to have fun on Indian roads for an entry level Porsche only if you could ignore the 4cyl config. A quick question, the wheels look standard (Boring). Whats the exact size of the tyres on the model pictured ? Also are they staggered ? Last edited by karan561 : 28th February 2019 at 11:27.
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28th February 2019, 16:49	#14
awini BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 580 Thanked: 476 Times	Re: Porsche 718 Boxster - 300 BHP, 380 Nm torque, 0-100 in 4.5 seconds! 4.5 seconds is bordering SUV acceleration times. not exactly fast by today"s sports car standards, and that too is with launch control, only on cars with sports chrono package. the base boxster that we get here is quite frankly.. Meh! the boxster GTS however is a different story. the top speed on most of these cars is academic, one would be stupid to do it on a public road, and race tracks including the BIC dont have long enough straights to achieve it. a much cheaper 4 cylinder car that is as fast if not faster, more practical and almost as much fun is the Mercedes GLA45 AMG. for a city like Delhi, a convertible is the most useless bodystyle one could buy, most times its either too hot, too wet or too cold, and its always too dusty anyway. btw most days i use a 911 for shopping, school runs and errands with absolutely no problems. so id recommend that anyone looking to buy one of these should avoid the performance options like the sports chrono pack and get more luxury items instead (get rid of that alcantara), its a lot of money for a clock on the dash that you will hardly ever look at (there are two more on the cluster and pcm) and a switch on the steering wheel. Last edited by awini : 28th February 2019 at 17:05.
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