{"id":37624,"date":"2020-10-03T06:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37624"},"modified":"2021-06-01T23:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:16:00","slug":"for-the-first-time-in-two-months-boxster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/for-the-first-time-in-two-months-boxster\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Felt Driving the Boxster (981, Manual) Again After Two Months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back Behind the Wheel of the Boxster<\/h3>\n

Lately, my husband has often said things that make him sound like a saint:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll watch the kids. Go take the car out for a drive. It\u2019ll be a nice change of pace.<\/p>\n

Of course, he often goes out for a solo drive himself on his days off. But now, when he gets home, he\u2019ll say, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take the car out?<\/strong>\u201d before I even have a chance to bring it up. I\u2019m truly grateful.<\/p>\n

So the other day, I got to drive our Boxster GTS (981, manual) for the first time in a while. I\u2019d been staying with my parents before and after giving birth, so I hadn\u2019t driven during that time. When I counted it up, it had been two months.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Two months without the Boxster also meant two months without driving a manual. I couldn\u2019t help wondering: \u201cCan I really still drive it? I finally learned to drive a manual\u2014what if I\u2019ve forgotten how while I was away and end up stalling over and over?<\/strong>\u201d I was a little nervous\u2026<\/p>\n

When I asked my husband, \u201cAre you sure I\u2019ll be okay?\u201d he laughed and said:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like riding a bike. Once you know how to drive, your body remembers, even if you haven\u2019t done it for a while. And if you\u2019ve forgotten, you can always buy your 320i back and practice<\/a>! (laughs)<\/span><\/p>\n

I mean, that\u2019s taking it a bit far\u2026!<\/p>\n

The Boxster and the 992<\/h3>\n

Getting back into the Boxster, I was greeted by that familiar Boxster scent. It\u2019s funny: the GT3 has its own unmistakable smell, and when I get into an air-cooled 911 (964), I think, \u201cWow, this really smells like an air-cooled Porsche!\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not exactly sure where these scents come from\u2014maybe the seats (when I wrote about the smell of air-cooled Porsches<\/a>, I got lots of comments from readers)<\/span>. Whatever the source, each one feels nostalgic and comforting, and I love them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I settled into the driver\u2019s seat, took hold of the steering wheel, carefully adjusted my seat position, and started the engine.<\/p>\n

Vroom!<\/span><\/p>\n

I love the sound of the engine starting. It\u2019s as if the car is waking up from a nap, practically announcing, \u201cAll right, let\u2019s hit the road!<\/strong>\u201d Then I let instinct take over instead of thinking through every move, and I drove just fine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It turns out that once you\u2019ve learned something, your body really does remember. I didn\u2019t need to worry so much after all.<\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019ve got the hang of it, though, I find myself wanting to try an older manual Porsche\u2014or a manual car from another manufacturer with a heavier clutch and a more demanding feel. (I do have a habit of getting carried away.)<\/span><\/p>\n

What I felt driving the Boxster again was a little different from before. The day prior, I\u2019d had the chance to drive a newly delivered 911 Cabriolet (992), and the experience had made a powerful impression.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I used to think, \u201cThe 981 Boxster GTS feels very planted. Its suspension is supple, but still firm and composed.<\/strong>\u201d But after driving the 992 911 Cabriolet, the 981 Boxster felt a little less connected to the road.<\/p>\n

The 992 gave me a strong sense of its tires gripping the pavement, and it felt solid in every way. At the same time, it was supple\u2014\u201csolid yet supple<\/strong>\u201d is the best way I can put it (I can\u2019t think of a better description)<\/span>. By comparison, the Boxster\u2019s ride felt very soft.<\/p>\n

The Boxster\u2019s handling is certainly not lacking. It turns exactly where I want it to, which feels fantastic. But the 992\u2019s handling is even more precise: it stays planted through tight corners, with no hint of deviation<\/strong>. Compared with that, the Boxster felt as though it drifted a little wider.<\/p>\n

Though, to be fair, my driving ability probably has a lot to do with it\u2026<\/p>\n

Even so, when I find my rhythm on a road full of sweeping curves, it feels as exhilarating as skiing. Driving the Boxster is an absolute joy, and I found myself thinking, \u201cIt would be amazing to explore all kinds of roads across Japan in this car.<\/strong>\u201d (So far, I\u2019ve only driven it on Royu and the Thunder Dull Circuit.)<\/span><\/p>\n

After a while, I put the top down and drove along Royu Driveway. The sound of this 981 is still incredible. Compared with older Porsches, it sounds less mechanical and more deliberately engineered for effect\u2014but personally, I absolutely love it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It stimulates all my senses, and I can feel the adrenaline rising. Driving a manual convertible that sounds this good\u2014being the one in control\u2014is so much fun that I can hardly find the words.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just pure fun.<\/p>\n

Of course, a PDK would be smoother, and I\u2019d probably drive it better. My manual-driving skills still have a long way to go, and I imagine the Boxster uses more fuel than a PDK-equipped car. But still\u2014still\u2014it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n

I was enjoying the drive when my eldest, who tends to send me a string of messages whenever I go out, started texting:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe baby\u2019s awake.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m holding the baby, but they\u2019re crying.\u201d \u201cI think they\u2019re hungry.\u201d \u201cMom, come home soon!\u201d<\/p>\n

So I headed home earlier than planned.<\/p>\n

Still, even a short drive close to home gave me a chance to enjoy myself, reset, and remember all over again how special a sports car can be.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cars change as they accumulate miles. And when we drive the same car after experiencing others, we may find ourselves feeling differently about it. A car is an industrial product, yet it changes almost like a living thing<\/strong>\u2014which is what makes cars so fascinating and endlessly rewarding.<\/p>\n

And yes, by ordinary standards, a mother driving a manual convertible just one month after giving birth might seem a little unusual. But having time like this helps me enjoy time with my family, too, and makes me even more grateful for them.<\/p>\n

Now that I have more things that matter to me, I hope we can keep enjoying our own kind of Porsche ownership while being mindful of how we balance it all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back Behind the Wheel of the Boxster Lately, my husband has often said things that make him sound like a saint: I\u2019ll watch the kids. Go take the car out for a drive. It\u2019ll be a nice change of pace. Of course, he often goes out for a solo drive himself on his days off. But now, when he gets home, he\u2019ll say, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take the car out?\u201d before I even have a...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":19920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=19907","footnotes":""},"categories":[72,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testdrive","category-aboutboxster","en-US"],"yoast_head":"What I Felt Driving the Boxster (981, Manual) Again After Two Months - \u30dd\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7\u304c\u308f\u304c\u5bb6\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u304d\u305f - \u30aa\u30fc\u30ca\u30fc\u30ba\u30d6\u30ed\u30b0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What\u2019s it like to drive a manual Porsche Boxster GTS (981) again after two months? 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