How Reliable Is The 2019 Porsche 718 Boxster S?
This 718 Boxster S came to us in April 2017, its rich Sapphire Blue paint a shade of sky we hadn't seen in months. The Porsche's arrival, like the annual return of robins and construction barrels, signaled that the dark days of winter were finally behind us. As we rowed doglegs through the six-speed's gates and pressed the steering wheel into long sweepers, the Boxster's foldaway roof allowed fresh spring air to fill our nostrils. Life was brighter than a laundry-detergent ad. We didn't need 40,000 miles to know that the 718 was a chassis-dynamics hero in either Boxster or Cayman form. A 10Best award had already established that. But a stint in Car and Driver's long-term fleet is even more enlightening when the enlisted is widely regarded as a part-time, fair-weather plaything. This tour of duty would eventually include the indignities of commuting through Michigan's thickest slush, grayest days, and the third-world road conditions brought about by our annual freeze-thaw season. Plus, at the time of delivery, we were still working out unresolved feelings about Porsche's latest engine controversy. Our therapist says it's important we talk about these things.
When Porsche launched the current generation of its junior sports cars for 2017, it traded naturally aspirated flat-sixes for turbocharged flat-fours. It wasn't the pure fuel-economy play you might expect. The prior Boxster S actually beat this new one by a single mpg on the EPA highway cycle, with city and combined ratings unchanged. The 718 averaged 22 mpg in our hands, while the prior-generation flat-six-equipped Cayman S did 23 mpg over its 40,000-mile test. The pressurized fours deliver greater output with minimal efficiency penalty. The Boxster S's 2.5-liter four-cylinder grunts out 350 horsepower and 309 pound-feet of torque, gains of 35 and 43 compared with the old 3.4-liter six. During the initial visit to the test track, our long-termer touched 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and closed the quarter-mile in 12.6. The former metric meant this Boxster S was just 0.1 second quicker than the car it replaced. That was due, at least in part, to the new car's more restrictive rev limiter, which caps the engine at 4500 rpm when the vehicle is at a standstill.
But by the time we returned to the proving grounds 38,000 miles later, we'd dialed in a launch technique to work around the governor. Our hesitation regarding the engines had nothing to do with numbers, though. This was about the subjective experience. We've chronicled the slow, steady erosion of turbo lag for what seems like decades now, but the lazy throttle response of Porsche's 2.5-liter feels like a throwback. It's flat-footed if you don't slip the clutch just so off the line or downshift aggressively and early as you decelerate, and the tall gearing (the car will hit 80 mph in second) only exacerbates the sluggishness. The seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission mostly hides these transgressions, but choosing it would mean trading away a great six-speed manual transmission. The new engine's torque curve is certainly better suited to traffic and suburban driving than the old flat-six's. It charges ahead relentlessly when the tach needle points anywhere between 2500 rpm and the 7500-rpm fuel cutoff. And while it's not as melodic as the old 3.4-liter six, the four blats and snorts a mechanical rawness that's been edited out from the internal-combustion lip-sync so many modern cars perform.
The engine won over a few converts as the miles piled on, but for most of us, time couldn't erase fond memories of days spent with two additional pistons and only atmospheric pressure underfoot. 69,450, the Boxster S also earns the unhappy distinction of being the most expensive way to buy a new non颅hybrid series-production car wrapped around a four-cylinder engine. 81,630, and yet none of our drivers were moved to complain about the price. Consider it a testament to just how vivid the steering, suspension, and brakes are. The 718 bounds through the countryside with a retriever's enthusiasm and noses toward corners as if it were on the scent. The 718's masterstroke is in the balance and predictability of how it responds to the driver's every intention. The controls, weighted just so, hard-wire the driver to the action at the opposite end. You don't just spin a steering wheel; you point the tires toward the apex.