Porsche 718 Boxster Convertible (718) 2.0 2d PDK Owner Review

I bought the 718 Boxster just before the start of the first covid lockdown as part of an ongoing 'mid-life' crisis from my local Porsche dealership. Like many other 'normal' income people I was worried about the ownership costs and how it would perform as a daily driver. I spent hours and hours watching online reviews and tried to learn as much as I could before taking the plunge and the research was well worth the effort.

I have developed a process when buying cars from dealerships and try to do as much as I can in terms of part exchange valuations and cost to change over the telephone. This seems to be more acceptable post covid and most dealerships will go all the way to the point of emailing the finance illustrations. I always make enquiries on multiple similar cars where possible and try to establish what a good deal really is by a process of triangulation.

The car was purchased on a PCP arrangement and by going through Forza Finance I was able to save myself £150 per month. The Porsche PCP finance rate is currently at 10,9% APR and rising but Forza came in at 6.4% and dealt with the dealership directly which was very professionally handled. I asked why more people don't use an independant broker and they seemed to think it was because most people feel safer dealing with the main dealerships but the savings are so significant its worth exploring. The PCP arrangements are just same as a maindealer arrangement.

I drove the car home on the day of collection with the roof down, the sun shining and the sports exhaust button illuminated. I agreed the four cylinder, turbo charged, two litre engine sounds a little lack lustre at tick over but once you raise the pressure the sound emulates the previous six cylinder models perfectly. You also get the pops and crackles at overrun which was a nice surprise.

The 718 looks great in black with Carrera S 20" alloy wheels and I also asked Porsche to swap the chrome single oval exhaust end pipes for the double black ceramic which they did. Nothing against chrome but it does tarnish quickly whereas the black exhaust remains as new.

Performance feels quicker than the 4.9s to 62mph stated but that is a feature of Porsche as they tend to understate significantly. My own tests returned 4.6s consistently without any modifications.

The large Pirelli P Zero Porsche tyres are essential and after 2 years of ownership they became hard and slipped easily even in the dry. I am told this is a common feature even if there is plenty of tread on the tyre. Worth bearing in mind as I replaced all four tyres at a total cost of £950 when I felt they had started to loose their ability to grip the road.

Servicing costs are surprisingly reasonable but I always call multiple dealerships to drive down the quote. Servicing is every two years with an A service coming in at about £650 and a B service being about £1100 after negotiation. If you are thinking of buying a Porsche privately I would arrange for the car to go through a Porsche Approved Centre MOT and they give you a breakdown of everything from disc depths to engine software information. Its a comprehensive health check for the price of an MOT.

When the car has the roof down it looks incredibly beautiful and I have had numerous people pay compliments when filling up a the petrol stations. Most people ask me what model it is as I removed the 718 badge from the rear. Its easily done with slight heat from a hairdryer and lots of patience. It is the only car I have owned that hasnt lost value in almost three years. I have recently traded the car in at another dealership and it returned the same valuation as my purchase cost, incredible, but partly due to the UK used car market shortages.

The car is very well balanced and I have driven the same moedl on a track at high speeds. I feel more confident in the 718 than I do in the 911 or other well established performance cars due to the mid engine and razor like steering arrangement. The car does 'crab' at low speed turning which is odd when first experience but 'normal' for Porsche 718s and 911s'. It basically means one front wheel jumps fractionally when on full lock to keep up with the other.

Throttle performance is beyond expectations both off the line and mid range speeds for overtaking. In sports mode the gear mapping changes and I would advise the use of the paddles to control the changes although the PDK gears seem to predict your everyone move in auto mode. The cabin is solid, of high quality materials, but feels very anaogue compared to the new 992s. I like the simple leather and aluminium look but there are other options. One word of caution, my window buttons developed hairline fractures which eventually caused them to snap completely and the cup holder which folds cleverly into the dashboard rattled and needed a warranty fix. The cupholder is flimsy ,doesn't like the large cardboard cups, and will protest by splashing your troussers if you go over a dip in the road surface. I soon developed the ability to predict this and swiftly took cup in hand when a pothole appeared.

My car didn't come with cruise control which surprised me and I have to admit didn't realise until a week later. I assumed it was a standard feature so asked the dealership to retrofit which they did at a cost of £450, again negotiated down from £600.

I suppose you need to drive the 718S or GTS to gauge the performance of the standard 718 engine but I would suggest there is more power available than you would imagine reading the top trumps stats. This is magnified by the low driving position, small dimensions and the engine being nestled directly behind your ears. The overall experience of driving with the roof down is joyous and I would ask anyone with a dim view of the 718 to drive one first before they jump on the 'sounds like an Impreza', 'cant believe the got rid of the 6 cylinder', 'do men drive them too' bandwagons.