Porsche Boxster 2016 Review

Porsche 718 Boxster and Boxster S roadster
First shotgun ride
Marseilles, France

Unsurprisingly, Porsche says the Boxster's new downsized powerplants are the world's best sounding four-cylinder engines, which is a big call in an era of beefy AMG turbo fours and when you consider 2.0- and 2.5-litre horizontal turbo fours have been staple diet of Subaru's iconic WRX for decades.

But after a day of learning about them and listening to them at a Michelin tyre test track in southern France – both from outside the car and from the passenger seat – we're inclined to agree.

Similar in configuration to successive Subarus they may be, but the highly oversquare, high-revving boxer fours sound nothing like a WRX or, for that matter, any six-cylinder Porsche.

From the meaty burble at idle, to the sophisticated metallic bark in the midrange and the high-tech, hairy-chested rasp at revs, even the standard Boxster's 2.0-litre engine sounds different from anything else.

No, it doesn't quite rev as hard as the old 2.7-litre boxer six it replaces (7800rpm) and, yes, the optional sports exhaust's smaller muffler liberates a more muscular timbre, with the same system making the bigger-bore 2.5-litre noticeably more bellowy at engine speeds.

But both engines spin to a still-heady 7500rpm and present a symphony of induction noise as their bigger side air intakes gulf in the atmosphere, and their exhaust crackle on the overrun and during gearchanges in the lightning-quick PDK dual-clutch auto is something to behold.

Sure, the diminutive force-fed boxers don't have the spine-tingling mechanical quality of, say, a 3.8-litre 911 Turbo, but they're far enough removed from a WRX or an A 45 AMG to make them worthy of Porsche's entry-level sports car.

Throttle response is also an attribute not normally associated with turbo engines, but one the new 718 Boxster ticks unequivocally. Although we didn't drive it, even the 2.0-litre base roadster was responsive enough to allow its engineers to provoke and hold precise, full-lock power slides on the wet track.

The Boxster S, meantime, effortlessly power oversteered its way out of a high-speed banked turn lap after lap, before repeatedly blasting to 250km/h on the short straight. And all of the Boxsters on hand did so all day for five days straight without missing a beat.

Both cars benefit from acres more torque – 100Nm more in the base car – and both deliver a pancake-flat curve everywhere between 2000 and 5000rpm. Even from the passenger seat the extra beefiness right across the rev range is apparent, and it's proven by vastly improved 80-120km/h and 100-200km/h acceleration figures.

Icing on the cake is fuel consumption, with the base car now hovering around 7.0L/100km and the Boxster S now under 8.0L/100km in significantly more efficient PDK form.

Another figure you can't argue with is a 7:42-second lap time at the Nurburgring for the Boxster S with Sport Chrono and 20mm-lower PASM sport chassis (both of which are options), which is no less than 16 seconds quicker than before.

Porsche says only 25 per cent of that improvement comes from the extra engine performance, with the remaining three-quarters due to the Boxster's significantly reworked chassis, which Porsche says retains its class-leading dynamics.

First there's a 10 per cent quicker steering ratio (15.0:1) from the 911 Turbo, a new rear axle brace from the Cayman GT4, half-inch wider wheels and tyres, bigger front brakes, greater slip threshold in PSM Sport mode and improved rear-axle torque vectoring for all models.

Like its chassis upgrades, design changes for the four-year-old 981 Boxster (which is so new it goes by a different 982 codename; the 718 nameplate is more than a marketing gimmick and is now part of the Boxster's rear badge) are significant and far more extensive than you'd normally expect for a mid-life makeover.

Every exterior component is new, except for the front and rear lids and the folding soft-top. That means more muscular quarter panels designed to look like sinews stretched over bones, broader headlights with the latest 911's trademark four-point LED DRLs, deeper side scalloping leading into oversized side scoops, a chunkier front bumper with bigger air inlets and a near rear-end with full-width signature bar linking two narrower, clear-lens tail-lights.

Inside, like the facelifted '991.2' 911, there's a smaller new 918 Spyder-inspired steering wheel with Sport Response button (PDK only) and a big new colour touch-screen with Porsche's latest Apple CarPlay-compliant PCM infotainment system.

There's extra standard equipment too, taking the Boxster's base weight up by 5kg to 1355kg and for Australia will include bi-xenon headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), auto-dimming mirrors, digital radio, mobile phone preparation, navigation and voice control.

We're yet to drive it ourselves, but even from the passenger seat it's clear Porsche's Boxster is a significant notch up on the model it replaces in terms of dynamics and performance – because of, not despite, its downsized four-pot boxer engines.

It's quicker, more manly looking, better equipped and even better handling, but the 718 Boxster's biggest surprise is its brawny new turbo boxer four.

2016 Porsche 718 Boxster and Boxster S pricing and specifications:
On sale: June
Price: From $113,100 and $143,400 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0- and 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder boxer
Output: 220kW/380Nm and 257kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.9-7.4L/100km and 7.3-8.1L/100km (NEDC)
Safety Rating: TBC