About the 981 Boxster GTS

We have a 981 Boxster GTS at home. I have written several articles praising the Boxster before, but today I want to share some concerns about the Boxster GTS.

Heater Takes a Long Time to Warm Up

First of all, I want to say that the heater takes a very long time to start working. On cold winter days, even after starting the engine and driving for about 20 minutes, the heater doesn’t really warm up. So on really cold days, I quickly turn on the seat heater and manage to get by with that for a while.

The other day, I drove the Boxster to swap it with the Panamera parked a little further from home, and I only arrived at the parking lot just as the heater finally started to warm up, lol.

Of course, once it starts warming up, it gets comfortably warm, so it’s no problem to drive with the top down after that. But the delay is really noticeable. Sometimes when I switch from the Boxster to the Nissan Note NISMO S, I’m amazed at how quickly the heater warms up in the Note.

On the other hand, with our 911 GT3 (991.2) and Panamera Turbo (971), I don’t feel the heater is slow to warm up (though it’s probably slower than Japanese cars), so I think this is something specific to the 981 Boxster GTS. My husband says about this point:

Unlike other trims, the GTS has an extra radiator in the front center, which might be affecting this. Anyway, the water temperature, especially the oil temperature, takes a long time to rise. That’s probably good for circuit driving where stable temps matter, but on regular roads in winter, the heater barely blows warm air for 15 to 20 minutes. Among Porsches, I think this model has by far the slowest heater warm-up, lol.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Seats Can’t Recline

This isn’t really a Boxster-specific issue but a limitation of two-seater cars: the seatbacks can’t recline. It’s fine while driving, but for example, if you stop at a convenience store and want to rest inside the car, you can’t recline the seat and have to sit upright all the time.

Of course, the passenger seat can’t recline either, so if your wife or passenger wants to lean back and relax a bit, they can’t, which might be tough on long trips.

Poor Visibility to the Rear Diagonal

When driving with the soft top closed, visibility to the rear diagonal is very poor. Our Boxster is left-hand drive, and when merging onto the highway from an interchange or changing lanes, it’s almost impossible to see by looking directly, which is quite scary.

Of course, you can see to some extent by checking the mirrors, but you want to confirm by direct sight as well, so not being able to do that is a bit inconvenient. Well, this might be common to sports cars in general compared to regular cars…

That said, the Cayman has a window in that area, while the Boxster has a soft top, so the Boxster is probably much harder to see out of.

718 Cayman S

981 Boxster GTS

My husband says,

The poor rear diagonal visibility in the Boxster is hopeless. I’ve had many close calls. It’s no problem with the roof open because you can see clearly, but when the roof is closed, I tend to lean out a bit on the passenger side to check when merging. The 718 offers lane change assist as an option, so especially for the Boxster, it’s worth getting. Also, if I had to mention another downside, sometimes there’s a faint creaking or rattling noise from the interior. Lately, I occasionally hear a faint chirping sound near the left rear soft top hinge. People used to the quiet interiors of Japanese luxury cars might wonder, ‘Why does such an expensive Porsche make noises?’ But I think Porsche often has some interior noises. The Panamera and GT3 also have small noises if you pay attention. (Personally, I don’t find it bothersome at all.)

If you’re used to the comfortable features of Japanese cars, you might find some dissatisfaction with Porsche. But if you enjoy driving so much that it outweighs these minor issues, then you can fully enjoy your Porsche.