KBS911

Went to the dealership early this morning with a couple of friends and got a chance to take a new 981 S for a test drive.

Beautiful car. It was a red/black with PDK and there was a red/black 987 S parked next to it for comparison. Very different car, in looks and drive. We all commented that they were going to have a tough time selling the leftover 987. The 981 looks more substantial and the sum of all the seemingly minor differences in photos pale when the cars are side by side. Steering felt tight, the seats were very supportive, and the car felt very quick. Point and shoot handling, in all very nice. They are going to sell a bunch of them.

malexgcab

I was fortunate to autocross the 2012 Boxster S during the Porsche roadshow. It was very precise and well balanced. The instructors were all raving about the Boxster.

Mike in CA

I've yet to see comments from anyone about the new Boxster that didn't like it. Thanks for the post. One thing I'm curious about is that no one has complained about the steering in the 981 (you said it "feels tight") yet it uses the exact same electro-mechanical system as the 991. I've read RL'ers posts where they say that the 991 steering is devoid of feel, unresponsive, and "cr&p", but there are no bad reviews of the new Boxster steering, at least on these forums.

TroyN

Chris Harris talks about the steering in the 981, and compares it to that in the 991 too: http://youtu.be/Gk-6s-ZhlYs

KBS911

Well, the steering is different, certainly from a 997/987, but maybe a better term would be "solid". The car just feels very planted on turn in. Just goes where you point it without a lot of drama. Maybe it's the size and weight of the Boxster versus the 991 that makes the difference, but the cars is very connected, really of a piece, yes the jitters are gone but again for some reason it seemed to integrate better with the Boxster than my experience with my test drive in the 991. With that said i don't think that the steering on either of the new models will keep folks away from either car. Just something we'll have to get used to. One thing for sure is that the new Boxster has a real presence visually. I can't wait to test drive the new Cayman S.

Mike in CA

Thanks for the clarification.

jjwood

How's the interior volume compared to the 986's. I've always wanted a"bit more leg room" in my 986.

ChadF

i test drove the 981S last week. i am 6'1" and fit just fine. i did not have the seat all the way back. i have never driven a 987, so take this for what it is worth.

Domer911

I thought it was an option. On the builder website, there's some kind of electric steering option.

GSIRM3

I am 6'1" also and have never been able to fit into a Boxster or Cayman. My knees were always in the steering wheel. I drove a new Boxster S over the weekend and it has much more leg room. I can easily fit now, and by the way, the new Boxster is great.

fast1

I test drove the Boxster last week and the Boxster S today. The steering wheel feedback is less on the 981 than the 987, but not by that much. The best description I heard about the differance between the two models is that when you drive over a nickel with a 981, you will no longer be able to detect the indentation of the president's head as you could with the 987.
I expect to order a moderately optioned 981S in January when I can hopefully negotiate a decent discount. Also, I don't need the $20K+ in options that are on all of the cars that Porsche shipped to dealers in June.

Leader

The new Boxsters look great. I've yet to drive one, so thanks to all who've posted here about their testdrives.
My wife's 2005 987S is longing to be replaced (or so she says...). Unfortunately, "building" a similarly equipped 981S prices me very near Carrera territory. Tough to justify.
Still a beautiful redesign, though.

mzn50

+1

Was an issue in my wife's Boxster.. Especially long drives..

66mustang

Strange, I am 6'1" mostly legs and couldn't fit in a 986 but fit great in my 987. I don't even have the seat all of the way back.

sjfehr

I'm 6'1 and have no issues, either. I don't even need the seat the whole way back; there's a lot of room, a LOT more than in MR2 spyders, miatas and S2000s of the same generation. I wonder if the complaint was with that stupid map case Porsche put on the steering column in early cars? You can take it off, you know!