Porsche Boxster 987 test drive since 2008 Cabriolet

Cowardly Porsche test with a cap

Three hours before the aircraft departure, I went and bought myself an insurance policy for four days. I paid a little more than 3 euros, by the way, not a joke. But then, in which case, they will be treated in the amount of 30,000 euros! I flew to the test of the new Porsche Boxster.
Don't be afraid. You, most importantly, are brakes before turning and all, most importantly, brakes - for some reason, for some reason, my friend named Ruslan decided to give me such advice when I heard that I would have to go to the new Porsche Boxster to Sicily. And he was right, because I was really afraid of this car. And what else do you want, because legends go about Porsche cars. They say they really do not like the insolents. You will imagine yourself a steep driver and all no contrasting systems will help. In general, I won’t be afraid to lie.
However, before telling what neurotic I am, it is worth explaining to the readers what is at stake. So, Porsche Boxster. Surely you know this model with an emerging cloth-cap and a motor in the base, which in the mid-90s actually saved Porsche from ruin. And these are not my words so according to Dr. Vnelin Videking, the head of Porsche. Remember the car dealership in Detroit in 1993 when we presented the Boxster concept. We showed it in the farthest corner of the exhibition, very modestly. We simply did not have money then. From an economic point of view, our company was then on the edge of the abyss. It was necessary to radically rebuild the structure of the enterprise. And the situation did not tolerate delay. We then put a lot on the con. We had only one chance if we missed it, then the entire update project would be buried, ”Dr. Videking said at a press conference on the occasion of Boxster's presentation.
And Boxster, which was invested in the last money of the company, went just with a bang. Immediately after his appearance in the market in 1996, he began to be in very high demand, the plant could not cope with incoming orders. It even came to the point that Porsche was forced to negotiate with the Finnish company Valmet about the organization of a new assembly conveyor in the country of Suomi. And now, 12 years after the start of production, Porsche decided to once again deeply upgrade her Boxster. Yes, it is to modernize, since it is still impossible to talk about the new generation in this case. The body of the cars remained almost the same (small changes in design at first glance are invisible), but there are much more innovations inside the machine.
Let's start with the most important thing in Porsche. From the opposite engines that are in the base immediately behind the driver and passenger chairs, due to this, by the way, Boxster has two trunk at once. From now on, the most modest if such a word is generally suitable for cars of this brand, Porsche Boxster has an unit with a volume of 2.9 liters (it used to be 0.2 liters less), which produces 255 hp. (plus 10 hp) and 290 nm (plus 17 nm). And the BOXSTER S version is already characterized by an unit with a volume of 3.4 liters with direct injection, 310 horses (plus 15 hp compared to the old version) and 360 nm (plus 20 nm). At first glance, an increase in power by 10-15 hp. - this is bullshit. But there is one small nuance. Motors became not only more powerful, but also more economical. Just think about the 255-horsepower Porsche in the mixed cycle for every 100 km takes 9.1 liters of gasoline! And this is given that the motor complies with the ecological norms of Euro-5.
And in Russia, Boxster will be even more economical (approximately 0.2 l). The fact is that the Euro-5 standard requires new gasoline with lower heat of combustion than fuel corresponding to the Euro-4 standard. Therefore, the consumption with the same ejection CO2 for Euro-5 engines is slightly higher than with Euro-4 (according to Euro-4 Boxster in a mixed cycle, it spends only 8.9 liters).
In addition to the nuances with environmental standards, the fuel consumption also depends on the gearbox. Are you probably sure that the most economical transmission in the world is the old kind mechanics? Until recently, we also believed in it. But Porsche engineers managed to prove that automation can be better than the human brain! A 7-speed box with two clutches called Porsche Doppelkuplung here is the answer to all skeptics. We understand that it is hard to read Porsche Doppelkuplung each time, so we will call a new transmission in three PDK letters (we note that Audi, Volkswagen and a number of other companies are already used by two clutch design).
PDK is essentially a mechanic with a new hydraulic control unit and two wet multi -disabilities. One clutch is responsible for odd transfers and reverse, and the second for even ones. The main advantage of PDK is that, in comparison with a mechanical or traditional automatic box, the change of transmissions here occurs 60% faster, because when switching to the next transmission it is already turned on! In addition, PDK was easier than the old Tiptronic S box for 10 kg. A trifle, but nice.
PDK The thing is really very good, because it allows you to reduce fuel consumption compared to the usual mechanics by 0.2-0.4 liters. But for owners Porsche is more important than something else. PKD cars allow you to accelerate faster! And there is nothing to say about convenience. If you want - calmly Katya in automatic mode, and if you want, you yourself switch the programs, and this can be done both by the usual selector and the keys on the steering wheel. Looking ahead, I will say up the speeds turn on without any problems. Simply and clear, pressed a plus with a plus and that's it. But turning on the lowered is not too convenient. To do this, you have to move your hand with the most optimal position with an active position without fifteen -three (not to mention without ten two) a little lower.
Although if, in addition to PDK, order a Sport Chrono Plus package, which allows the driver to transfer the box from the usual mode to sports or super -sports (Sport Plus), then manual gear shifts will simply not be needed (there is an even simpler Sport Chrono package). When the magic Sport Plus button is pressed, the PDK switches the speeds very quickly and sharply, and the engine works with the maximum load. There are no problems even with reduced on overtaking. Just pressed the gas pedal and the whole transmission almost instantly jumps through two or three steps down! Great. And, most importantly, quickly, very quickly. Porsche Boxster S with a 3.4-liter engine and PDK gearbox in Sport Plus mode allows you to anneal to the whole coil. It is not for nothing that when installing the Sport Chrono Plus package, the car is immediately equipped with a very stylish stopwatch on the track, it will be very useful.
You can get a buzz (and you need) from the very start. To do this, the car has another Launch Control Launch. To turn it on, you need to squeeze the brake pedal, properly click on the gas, wait until the engine begins to frantically roar at 6500 rpm, and then sharply drop the brake pedal. If Launch Control was not there, then a light rear -wheel drive relatives would start to slip so much with the rear wheels that it would not seem enough. But electronics acts smarter. It allows you to realize the entire power of the opposition engine. As a result, Boxster with the Launch Control involved is accelerated from a place to 100 km/h 0.2 C faster than without it (and if you compare the car with ordinary mechanics, the difference will be already 0.3 s). And this is a pretty decent difference in this case.
Actually, I guessed about the harsh character of Boxster even before the test. Therefore, he was afraid. But on Avtoban, Porsche and I quickly found a common language. The machine perfectly holds the trajectory, instantly reacts to the movement of the steering wheel. And how it accelerates ... I'm not talking about the start from the place with Launch Control, this is generally a separate song. I mean acceleration with 120 km/h. Even when you are traveling at such a decent speed of Boxster S with 310 horses sitting right behind your back allows you to not just quickly gain speed. This is a real shot when the driver presses into the chair. And this, I repeat again when you are already rushing 120 km/h!
But on the old Targa Florio highway, near Palermo, I, frankly, were afraid to press the accelerator. What else do you want? I sat in one of the fastest relatives in the world, and there was a 72-kilometer track ahead, which Porsche itself describes as follows: Targa Florio was rightfully considered the most complex race in the world. Small paths with various types of coatings, narrow bridges and cramped streets of villages, blind turns and ligaments of studs, steep rises and descents all this made Targa Florio the most difficult test for road sports cars. And moreover, here, unlike other races of this type, the track did not overlap so that the riders had to be prepared for any surprises. Do you understand? To any surprises! And here Nikita Gudkov from the author, with whom we conquered Targa Florio, rubbed his foot and warned the asphalt here special, they add something to it, and it turns out quite slippery, you have to be careful, the road is in many places Wet, sand and dirt often come across
In general, I followed the advice of my friend and slowed down. He drove to the turn at speed, understood that it was possible to turn without taking off his leg from the accelerator, but slowed down. And at first, by and large, I was only engaged in the fact that I had the work of the active suspension PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), which is in the list of options. The thing is actually quite interesting. In normal mode, the Boxster suspension turned out to be quite comfortable, allowing without physical and moral suffering to drive along not even -stroke paths (on Sicily, especially if we talk about secondary routes, the quality of asphalt is far from perfect, and there are enough pits and joints). But it was worth switching the shock absorbers to the Sport position, the character of the car immediately changed, and significantly. Boxster became truly dental, from any unevenness the car began to tremble with his whole body, not allowing the driver or the passenger to relax. Moreover, the latter when driving Sport on not too flat roads can not be envied at all. If the driver is behind the wheel and is completely immersed in the process of driving, then the sitting on the right has no choice but to feel each pothole on the asphalt with his spine. But, in any case, the PASM system must be recognized as a useful and desired option. After all, it is she who, when switching to a sports regime, will allow, if desired (and, most importantly, the ability) to show everything that Boxster is capable of.
Gradually, fear passed. And when I had to drive several times the same bunch of turns, I realized what a fool was. 50 km/h, then 70 km/h, 90 km/h faster, even faster, Boxster allows this. He begins to excite the blood, which in horse doses receives adrenaline. Scary? Yes, how! But the leg refuses to press on the brake. Let it happen to be. In the end, it was not for nothing that I spent more than three euros on insurance. Only in the last few high -speed turns did I understand how really Boxster is really good, what excellent feedback is, how clearly the machine reacts to any gas pedal.
Damn, how much time I lost, fearing the Porsche Boxster S power and the dangers of the Targa Florio highway, how many turns did not pass at the desired speed. Although maybe it is for the better? Maybe such cars as Porsche, you need to drink like expensive cognac, a little bit, small siples. So that during the next meeting this car showed you that it is capable of much.
Denis Smolyanov
   
 
 

Source: Auto.mail.ru