The Porsche Boxster has always been a fun-to-drive little roadster, with proper cornering abilities, and a great sound coming from the inline-six engine.
However, the latter is gone in the newer model, which has received the 718 moniker, and two flat-four lumps – the 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter units, which power the Boxster and Boxster S, respectively.
They make for 300PS (296hp) and 380Nm (280lb-ft) of torque, and 350PS (345hp) and 420Nm (310lb-ft) of torque. The latter, which is the model taken out by Chris Harris for a short review, goes from naught to 62mph (100km/h) in just 4.2 seconds, with the PDK transmission and the Sport Chrono kit, with a top speed of 177mph (285km/h).
Despite being fast, the new Porsche 718 Boxster fails to impress with the sounds it makes, and while its predecessor used to produce quite a symphony from its naturally aspirated flat-six unit, the modern four sounds rather disappointing.
And this is something that Top Gear’s host couldn’t get over, but eventually admitted that the ride hasn’t deteriorated, the chassis and brakes are fantastic, the throttle response is brilliant for a turbocharged engine, and the steering is very good, calling it “a great little car, but not as good as the one you could have bought last year”.