Wine.o

Definitely go sit in both. I'm a slim guy, athletic build and 5'11". Just as you assumed, I was all signed up for the sport plus 18 way. Just after my order was placed, I had an opportunity to sit in both for a bit and immediately called to change to the regular sport seats (14 way). Just liked them better. Don't assume based on your reading... too expensive an option to guess at.

manifold danger

Not a stupid question. Model designation is just what's written on the back of the car (e.g., 718 Boxster GTS). I would choose to leave this on but that's entirely a personal taste decision.

So on to the alcantara... if you want alcantara, then you absolutely want to go with the GTS; however, in your build list you selected leather seats, which automatically selects "deletion of Alcantara"; I bolded/italicized/underlined for clarity:

Here is my Primary build ,
Model 2019 718 Boxster GTS
Jet Black Metallic
Roadster Top in Black
Standard Interior in Black i.c.w. Leather Sport Seats Plus
Premium Package i.c.w. Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way)
"Automatically Dimming Mirrors with
Integrated Rain Sensor"
2-Zone Automatic Climate Control
Seat Heating
7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
Power Steering Plus
20" Carrera S Wheels
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
Lane Change Assist (LCA)
Steering Wheel in Leather
Deletion of Alcantara®
Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way) with Memory Package
Seat Belts in Racing Yellow
Voice Control i.c.w. Navigation including Porsche Connect
BOSE® Surround Sound System
Apple CarPlay™
Navigation including Porsche Connect $

So this makes me think the configurator has misled you a bit, especially since you seem to want to keep the Alcantara. I dug around a bit more in the configurator. If you want to keep Alcantara with the same options, it comes out to $98,630 (http://www.porsche-code.com/PKX4CFX7 )- which is about $2000 less than if you chose to switch to leather seats. This still doesn't include the GTS interior package, which adds a full leather dash and contrast stitching, and a few other things but is VERY expensive (I think $5k more because you have to get the leather package for the dash).

Same options, but with an S, including the performance options included as standard in a GTS AND leather seats (PTV, SC, PASM, black carrera s wheels), comes to $96,620 (http://www.porsche-code.com/PKXNQFU9). Still cheaper, but close enough to justify the jump up to a GTS, especially if you want Alcantara.

TL;DR, make sure you thoroughly evaluate what interior you want, especially the seats, because it's a couple thousand dollars difference and it's where you'll be spending all your time in the car! If you don't just HAVE TO HAVE the 18-way seats, then settle for the 2-way and save yourself over $3000.

A couple more things, just suggestions so take them however you want:

- I honestly never use the navigation in my car. I always use the Waze app on my phone. I've found the traffic and route predictions are just better than what comes in the car, even with an active Sirius subscription. A solid phone mount that you can stick in one of the vents can be had for $30; if you use your phone for navigation now consider nixing the $2300 Nav package.
- Unless you already are used to a car with Adaptive Cruise Control AND frequently take long trips, consider nixing that option and saving yourself $1700.

The Porsche options game is fun, isn't it?

There has been a lot of contention over best practices for winter driving. The rule of thumb is that in colder climates, it's wise to switch to winter/snow tires... basically, if you're ever going to drive in snow, it is an absolute necessity.

That said, I live in a climate with all four seasons (DC metro), and I drove on my summer tires all winter. I did NOT drive in snow/ice, but I did drive in cold. I avoided extreme cold (the car basically stayed parked all January when temps hovered between 5 and 15 degrees F), but I didn't notice any significant traction loss in temps ~20-30 degrees F. I also didn't drive like an idiot, for what it's worth. The weather will flip flop in my area so frequently that it really makes no sense to swap tires constantly, or run into situations where it's 70 degrees in February and you're on Winter tires. I have the luxury of choosing not to drive my car when it's extremely cold or snowing, so I opted not to swap out tires and suffered no ill effects. That's my .02, I'm sure someone will come right behind me and suggest that you absolutely have to have winter tires if you drive below 50 degrees F.

vasudev gawde

85Gold

If you are thinking at all of tracking the Alcantara seat bottoms are really grippy over the leather seat bottoms.

Peter

vasudev gawde

Wine.o

Like I say, sit in both (preferably driving). Grippy can be great. It can also be less comfy on longer rides when you shift in your seat (i.e. you move and your pants don't). Fortunately, I don't think you've any bad options to consider here. It's just about making sure you get what's (in the end, marginally) better for your personal use and tastes.

I won't be tracking either, just commuting to work and driving through twisty mountain roads at unsafe speeds. So for me, it was ventilated leather 14-way seats. As much as I've complained about how the options jack the price of these cars through the roof, crikey the customization is fun.

gartzspeed

Interesting take on the seat situation for large or smaller people.

For what its worth, I am 5'10" 235lbs, not athletic at all and have no problems with fitting comfortably into my LWB's for 4+ hours of driving.

Like has been said above, you need to sit in them while driving.

vasudev gawde

rdmustang

If the S is too powerful then the GTS will be even more so.

As for discount it depends on the size of the dealership. If he offered you 4% without asking then I'm guessing it's a decent size dealer and you could probably get 6-7%.

manifold danger

Maybe consider the base car. If you've never driven a sports car before the GTS is almost surely overkill; the base model is actually faster than the previous gen S (and maybe even GTS...).

Some people have complained about turbo lag but I didn't get that when I drove a base Cayman for a few days as a loaner a couple weeks ago. That will surely knock the price down and you could buy a LOADED base Boxster for ~$75k.

vasudev gawde

manifold danger

That's actually awesome, almost seemed like you were underwhelmed when you first drove it. So you basically upgraded to the GTS interior package and the sport suspension... honestly that's the way to go with these cars IMO, and I think the red contrast stitching is going to look amazing with the black exterior. It's a great spec sheet! Pretty much exactly how I'd spec it, except I'd go manual.and skip the navigation (I'd prob get carmine red too but blacked out is always a good look). Went the opposite direction with the price but hopefully you get a good discount- and at the end of the day, life is short. Get what you want; when you're already spending this much money I guess it doesn't make too much sense to compromise for a grand or two. In fact you'll probably appreciate the car more and the money will feel better spent; assuming you're not stretching your budget.

Next step after you get the car and break it in, I strongly recommend to get out to an autocross and/or HPDE. The car will transform again once you start getting more familiar with it and be even more enjoyable, if you can imagine that.

vasudev gawde

vasudev gawde

Hello Guys,
I am planning to add Heated Multi function Steering wheel 480$ option
How good is it with alacantara steering wheel which i am planning to opt?

Thank you

GregWormald

The GT multi-function heated wheel is great--especially on cold mornings!
I can't comment on the alcantara, I have leather.