久しぶりのボクスター

The other day, my mother-in-law kindly offered to watch the kids, so my husband and I took the Boxster out for the first time in a while and enjoyed about three hours behind the wheel.

The weekly weather forecast had been predicting rain all week, but just before the day, the morning forecast changed to “cloudy.” Checking the rain radar confirmed no sign of rain until the afternoon, so trusting that, we headed first to the Royu Driveway.

With the top down, I once again savored the Boxster with all my senses and was reminded just how wonderful this car truly is.

Along the way, the engine and exhaust sounds were so intoxicating that I couldn’t help but shout,

I want to drink this engine sound (ﾟдﾟ)!!

But thinking about it calmly afterward, that was a pretty weird thing to say… (-_-)

Later, we arrived at the lookout, but due to the weather, there were far fewer cars than usual. Then, after a while, raindrops started falling, so some cars left the lookout, some people chatted outside under umbrellas, and others waited inside their cars until the rain stopped. Everyone seemed to be passing the time in their own way.

While waiting, my husband drove us back along the Royu Driveway, and when the rain stopped, we decided to return to the lookout.

Then, I had the pleasure of meeting some blog readers and Twitter followers for the first time. Everyone seemed to be practicing and researching daily to improve their driving skills, deepen their knowledge of cars, and master their Porsches. Just listening to their conversations was incredibly educational.

By the way, regarding my driving skills with the Boxster (manual), sure, I’ve improved since before, but I still haven’t fully become one with the car.

I find myself thinking things like, “Don’t run over the cat’s eyes,” or “It’s scary if I go too fast downhill,”

and before I know it, when descending the mountain, I sometimes just drive without shifting at all. I’m sure it would feel even better if I could drive more smoothly and fluidly. My husband also said,

You need to drive more rhythmically—press the accelerator, release, press, release… It feels great, like skiing through corners.

But sadly, I can’t ski… (Though that’s not really the point, haha)

While we were chatting, my husband asked,

Since we’re at it, want to try driving the Boxster on the highway?

That’s right… I realized I had never driven the Boxster on the highway before. So we took this opportunity to hit the highway and head to Kobe.

First Highway Drive in the Boxster

What surprised me most about driving the Boxster on the highway for the first time was its “supple and smooth” ride quality. Being a Porsche, I expected amazing “handling,” “road feel,” “braking,” and “acceleration,” but I didn’t expect it to be this smooth and comfortable.

I thought driving the Boxster on the highway would feel like being in full battle mode the whole time, but it didn’t. I felt that long-distance highway driving wouldn’t be tiring at all.

I was also amazed by the strong acceleration from 6th gear. Traffic was quite heavy that day, so I didn’t push the speed too much, but it felt like the Boxster was saying, “This isn’t even close. I can still go faster!(Why the Kansai dialect? Haha)”

With the PDK in normal mode, it apparently shifts up to 7th gear quickly, so this is probably the “thrill unique to a manual without an overdrive 7th gear.” Honestly, this kind of acceleration is something I could never imagine in my BMW 320i (MT).

My husband said,

But you know, when we first got it, it wasn’t this smooth. It used to pick up tiny vibrations and felt a bit rough. At the first inspection, we even wondered if the wheel balance was off. Also, the tires were different back then, so that probably had a big impact. But after trying a few new Porsches, one thing’s clear: the more you drive it, the more supple the suspension becomes, and the engine really comes alive. It’s got about 39,000 km now, and it’s way better than when it was new. From my experience, compared to other brands, Porsches degrade less with mileage and actually feel better after some distance. So when buying a used Porsche, you don’t have to be too strict about the mileage.

I see.

The Charm of the Boxster

We took turns driving, and my husband shared his thoughts about the Boxster:

I really think the Boxster GTS is designed more for street driving than the track. Even in situations where the GT3 picks up a lot of noise from small stones, the Boxster barely transmits that sound inside. You can drive it for hours without getting tired, you don’t have to worry much about ground clearance, and it has decent cargo space. Also, in stop-and-go city traffic, the Boxster is definitely easier to drive. It’s not that the GT3 is hard to drive, but compared to it, the Boxster is just more manageable. Especially the 2nd gear range in the Boxster is perfect, covering very low speeds smoothly, which makes it easier. The GT3’s 2nd gear can be tough at very low speeds. On tight mountain roads like the Royu, a powerful car like the GT3 can be a handful, but the Boxster is just right for having fun. Plus, the roof opens. It’s really the perfect touring car. Well, there is quite a bit of wind buffeting when the top is down, and I wish the seats would recline more, but that’s about it.

He was muttering all this. When I said, “Then I guess a 911 Cabriolet must be amazing,” he replied,

Yeah, I think it’s really great. I even tried configuring one, but just adding options to the base model pushed it up to 18 million yen. Super expensive. And they don’t even offer a manual anymore. The Targa is nice too, but it feels a bit heavy.

Sounds like he’s always playing with the configurator, haha.

Once the season gets a bit nicer, I’d love to take the Boxster on a longer touring trip.