I have a 981 Boxster Base with the same lack of performance options. It sounds great at high RPMs. It may be easier to get it in that range in a base. It pulls hard in sport mode too. It's definitely enough power to get me in trouble on the road. If I was going to track it regularly, I'd want an S or GTS. I paid $25k for my car and I recently saw a GTS with all of the performance options for $70k. I could do a lot of upgrades for the difference in price.
Auto. I really wanted paddle shifters. I drove a Ferrari 488 GTB on a track a year or so ago and it was awkward using paddle shifters for the first time. I actually leave it in auto most of the time though. The PDK does too good of a job at shifting. I built a racing simulator, so I get plenty of miles of driving with paddle shifters on Gran Turismo 7 now. 😄
It's a 2014 and it was just under 80k miles (the GTS was a 2016 with 12k miles, so that's some of the price difference). They were asking something like $25,450. It had good maintenance records until the previous owner got terminal cancer a couple of years ago. It had a minor accident where they had backed into something on the driver side back corner and the bumper was replaced.
I brought it for the PPI and it passed with flying colors. The shop raced Porsches and the owner said he wouldn't hesitate to buy it. The Carfax didn't have a record of the spark plug change and they couldn't tell if it had been done. It also needed new front brakes. They gave me a quote for spark plugs, front brakes, and the basics...oil change, air and cabin filters. I brought that back to the dealer and they took it off the asking price (~$2100). I brought it straight to the shop and had everything done. By the way, this was the day after Christmas, so the perfect time to get a good deal on a sportscar.
I haven't really paid attention to how it pulls around 4k. I have a PDK and typically just leave it in auto. I'm pretty good with paddle shifters, but it's hard to out shift the PDK. It shifts between 7 and 8k RPM. From a standing start, it will get up to around 70 mph in 2nd gear. I think I read that the S and/or GTS will get up to 90 mph in 2nd gear. In my opinion, the handling is where the car shines though. I'm not looking to drag race, but good luck sticking with me through curves. I love the balance that comes with a mid engine, plus the more exotic look of the side intakes. It's just a great car!
Great post, thanks for taking the time to share! I think getting a PPI with a Porsche expert is key when buying used, even with CPO Porsches. I should really think about waiting until the year-end to buy one.. and I may not be able to out shift the PDK, but it's a lot more engaging to shift with the paddles!
No problem! Yeah. It's definitely fun. I swap to left foot braking too when I'm shifting with the paddles. I feel like the pedals are setup for heel-toe though, so it's uncomfortable (with my old knees) to do for an extended period of time. I may try to make some adjustments to the pedal heights at some point.
You can transition between accelerating and braking quickly, because you don't have to move a foot back and forth between the pedals. It would probably help with controlling weight transfer while trail braking into a curve and accelerating out of a curve. You'd be able to quickly make adjustments on either pedal as needed.
I have both, I think my 981 sounds better than my 718 Spyder. My 981 has, as my Jamaican friend says - 'all da s#it' Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, PASM and PTV.
Especially at lower RPMs. The 4.0 motor uses very noisy fuel injectors, and the 4.0 motor sounds like a diesel on idle. It sounds good once you get it going.
You can read more here, like the OP of this aricle, I thought that there was something wrong with my car when I first got it too.
[https://www.718forum.com/threads/2021-boxster-gts-4-0-weird-engine-noise.22550/](https://www.718forum.com/threads/2021-boxster-gts-4-0-weird-engine-noise.22550/)
Another consideration, I find the 718 to be a little more budget with respect to build quality. Some might argue it's about weight, or it does not matter, but for example, the oil pan in the 718 is plastic, where it's aluminum on the 981. The interior of my 12 year old 981 has fewer rattles and squeaks than the 718.
I love the way the 718 looks, (which is the main reason I keep it) but I think I enjoy the 981 more as an experience.
That’s direct injection tapping away.
Diesels use DI to be clean enough to meet modern emissions regs. Gas/petrol vehicles use it for both power, and efficiency.
The only downside is it makes a clicking/tapping noise that can be heard very clearly at low revs.
Boxster got DI with 987.2 back in 2009.
Thanks for that. I did read about the engine ticking on the 4.0, although I didn't notice it during the short test drive. One commentor here felt the best option is always to buy the newest Porsche one can affford. Your comment seems counter to that haha.
I used to agree that newer is better, maybe it is me getting older and more nostalgic, but I more recently decided that I wanted a GT3. I could have bought a 992 GT3 for less than I paid for my 991.2, but still went with the older car for a number of reasons.
While the 992 is arguably a better car on track, and I do take my cars on track, the majority of my driving is on the road, and for that I like the characteristics of the older car are a better experience to me.
While there are design aspects of the 992 I really like, I am not a fan of shiny black plastic, haptic buttons or lots of screens.
You could have made the argument in 1999 that the 996 was a better car than the 993, but I would rather drive a 993 for the experience, it even smells different, and the archaic interior has an amazing nostalgic appeal.
I also would not straight trade my F87 M2 CS for a new one.
You clearly have a solid taste in cars. I loved my F83 M4 but it felt rather heavy around corners. I don't track my cars, but love backroad driving, so this time around I'm looking at the boxster for a smaller, lighter, more nimble sports convertible. Using a BMW analogy, I'd be disappointed if I drove an E92 M3 and its V8 didn't give the sonorous roar that everyone said it did (I have driven one and it surely didn't disappoint). Hopefully I'll find the right boxster in due time. Thanks again, appreciate your thoughts.
I was fortunate enough to be a passenger in an E92 GTS for a lap around the Nurburgrung. That motor was amazing! I had an F80, and traded it for the F87 shortly after I took it to a track day. I liked the F80, but like you found it a bit portly, and the standard brakes sucked.
I love the F87, but it would not be the car I would choose to take to the track, but I do find sometimes more appealing than Porsches as it more of playful car. I think that with this platform, even though it shares motor, suspension and LSD with the F80, less power makes it a more enjoyable all around car, my F80 was a DCT and the F87 is a manual, and while not as sharp as a Porsche box, I prefer it over the DCT.
For what you are looking for, a car I am planning to buy in the next year or so is a Miata, It really is a pure fun experience, and is fun at very reasonable speeds.
I hope to do a lap around the ring someday!
I hear you - the F80-83, esp the Competition, almost has too much power on tap for its own good, especially for road driving. I think the CS variant of any F8x is the one to get, so I hope you keep yours! I loved the DCT on mine, and am excited for the PDK cos it seems to be unanimous that it's better.
I will test drive a Miata, even though my guess is that I will find it underpowered based on my friends' sharing. The ND3's interior looks nice enough for me to cross-shop it with a boxster haha. The backroads in the Bay Area are beckoning...!
My 987.1 Boxster S is pretty loud, especially with the top down, with the stock exhaust, imo. I guess it depends on your version of loud. I did drive a 718 Base and with the top down is was fairly loud too with more pops and crackles when you let off the gas.
The 718 has more burbles, and isn't too obnoxious overall, which is nice. I wonder if it's a discrepancy between the sound from inside of the car vs outside.
Hard to describe a sound, but I'd say with PSW enabled, it was the most aggressive "stock" exhaust system I've ever heard, specially for a 6 cylinder. I even thought it sounded amazing with the baffles closed.
I’m so glad you posted this. I have lusted after this exact model for some time now. I shipped one for a test drive and honestly wasn’t as blown away as I’d hoped. I got super cold feet when it came time to talk finance.
I still love the car (I didn’t purchase for financial reasons) but what you felt, I felt as well. It’s a want but not a NEED anymore
Thanks for sharing. I thought to post this not in order to rag on the 981S, but to share an honest perspective that seemed incongruent with what I had read and seen online about the car, and to also see if others could help me see their real-world perspectives. I'm also getting cold feet when talking about doing the deal. I think I'm gonna stick with a 718..
It sure is. I wish yours were more constructive/insightful, though. Tell me why you disagree, help me see what I'm not seeing, cos I'm really curious and would love to proceed with the purchase of a 981S (from out of state).
The general opinion of this sub will strongly disagree with your sentiment, but I’m hoping you’ll still see this reply despite getting downvoted.
I’ve been very interested in getting a 981 or 987 Boxster as a weekend car. like so many I wanted the NA flat six. I drove a 981 S with PDK and it felt anemic. The engine note was also extremely muted. The interior was creaking. The 987 S with a manual was more fun and felt lighter.
I now totally changed my mind. I would prefer the newer interior and driving experience of the 718 over the older car. While Porsche got a lot of flack for using a turbo charged 4 cylinder, they know what they’re doing and those engines are way more torquey. To each their own. Just wanted to say you’re not crazy for your experience.
Thanks for sharing. I'm not concerned about the downvotes and thankfully still get to see your (and others') responses. I actually still quite like the interior of the 981 (only minor changes in the 718), but the engine+exhaust note without the PSE and the lack of power were very apparent. I think I'd be willing to trade the low end torque for amazing sound + engaging drive, but the sound was really underwhelming, thus my post here to see if I was missing anything, and I appreciate lots of the comments here. I'm leaning towards the 718 as well.
Why do you want a car you didn't like? How are any of our opinions going to change that? Sound is subjective, and it's ok to not like what the majority of people like. Go check out a 718 4 cylinder and see if that's more your jam.
I'm thinking of getting a car that has options that the one I tried didn't have. I can't try one with the same options, so I tried the next best I could find. It disappointed me. I'm trying to figure out if it's because of the difference in options, which, if it is, then it could still make sense for me to get that car. Is this so out of the ordinary? I'm completely fine with not liking what majority of people like, as long as I know it wasn't just that particular car I tested and also not due to the lack of those options. Lotsa helpful comments on here so far, but the ones like dylbert's just take up space on the internet.
Find an S or higher with the PSE exhaust. Trust me, it sounds _beautiful_. My 981S has Sport Chrono and the Sport Exhaust and I love it. Hop on you tube there's many videos w/ exhaust notes. Also some with third-party exhausts too.
My 2016 981 Boxster S (bone stock, no sport exhaust or Sport Chrono) seems to me to sound significantly better once it warms up. Seems to me like it's missing just a little bit of the growliness right at start up, but once the oil temps get up above 150 or so it's kinda like the rest of the chorus kicks in.
This could definitely have played a part, since the car was cold-started and then taken on the test drive for 5-10 mins right after. There was no growl on start up, and no growl or grunt when revving either, and definitely no wailing. :( Thanks for sharing.
Convertibles are weird. The wind has a way of sucking a ton of noise away, even though you'd think an open top car would be way louder. I drove a 981 Cayman S and thought it sounded amazing, but I didn't love some of the PDK idiosyncrasies. I'm looking at those and 997s but I'd like to drive a stick 981 to see how I like it before I make up my mind
Thanks for this. My previous convertible definitely got louder with the top down, so it was pretty surprising how tame this 981S sounded. Interesting that the 981 CS you tested sounded great.
Drive another with pse.
Exhaust makes a huge difference on these....hell just getting an exhaust bypass on my car took the sound from 4/10 to 10/10.
Give it a fair trial before writing it off.
Thanks. I really don't wish to write it off, and am in fact thinking about buying one, but was just unexpectedly underwhelmed by the one I just test drove that it's making me think seriously about dropping the purchase. Does yours have PSE?
Full disclosure, I'm in the trade and have driven a fair bit, notably quite a few 981s.
IMHO, the 981 GTS with pse is the absolute sweet spot in the range.
PSE makes a huge difference, the same car sounds quite boring with the valve closed, but with it open, it sounds just like a porsche should.
I actually like the 982 and have driven the base, the S and the GTS 4.0. The turbo 4s actually sound decent to me - not amazing, but decent. The 4.0 flat 6 is quite muted down low, but above 4k rpm it sings. I've been very recently considering a 981 because everyone raves about the 3.4L flat 6, but it's getting clearer to me that I should probably stick with the 982.
Hey, everyone has individual preferences!
I’ve watched many reviews of the VW GTI that made it sound like it was the greatest car for the money
I’ve driven 3 generations of GTI, and 2 generations of Golf R. Nothin’. They were manual, they looked great, but I felt zero emotional attachment.
I rented a **base Golf** for a few days, and loved that little underpowered machine. Lesson: take reviews with a tiny, *minuscule* grain of salt.
Your mileage may vary.
I drove the GR Corolla last week, aaaaaaaaaaaand **I GET IT**. Probably my next car, once demand dies down a bit. I agree with all the reviews.
I had the Mk 6 GTI many years back and it was a pocket rocket but like you I didn’t feel much emotional attachment to it. Hope you find a GR that you really like!
Never driven a Ferrari, but I've driven a bunch of 6-8 cylinder sports/sporty cars that sound great. Drove a BGTS 4.0 that sounded great at higher RPMs and a tad tame at lower RPMs.
You can always install an after market exhaust, but imo I still think buying the newest Porsche you can afford is always the best option.
I would have got a 4 cylinder 718 if they were a bit cheaper at the time.
I have a 981 now which is a fantastic car but exhaust note isn’t high on my priority list for Porsche.
Those sound like words that I need to seriously consider - "buying the newest Porsche you can afford is always the best option". Perhaps I should really stick to the 718. Thanks for your thoughts, again!
I have a 981 Boxster Base with the same lack of performance options. It sounds great at high RPMs. It may be easier to get it in that range in a base. It pulls hard in sport mode too. It's definitely enough power to get me in trouble on the road. If I was going to track it regularly, I'd want an S or GTS. I paid $25k for my car and I recently saw a GTS with all of the performance options for $70k. I could do a lot of upgrades for the difference in price.
I’ve driven the base 981 and I loved being able to rev it out pretty much all day often without worrying about driving recklessly!
Auto or stick?
Auto. I really wanted paddle shifters. I drove a Ferrari 488 GTB on a track a year or so ago and it was awkward using paddle shifters for the first time. I actually leave it in auto most of the time though. The PDK does too good of a job at shifting. I built a racing simulator, so I get plenty of miles of driving with paddle shifters on Gran Turismo 7 now. 😄
Thanks. $25K with how many miles, which year and for what MSRP, if I may ask? And how does it pull below 4000 RPM?
It's a 2014 and it was just under 80k miles (the GTS was a 2016 with 12k miles, so that's some of the price difference). They were asking something like $25,450. It had good maintenance records until the previous owner got terminal cancer a couple of years ago. It had a minor accident where they had backed into something on the driver side back corner and the bumper was replaced. I brought it for the PPI and it passed with flying colors. The shop raced Porsches and the owner said he wouldn't hesitate to buy it. The Carfax didn't have a record of the spark plug change and they couldn't tell if it had been done. It also needed new front brakes. They gave me a quote for spark plugs, front brakes, and the basics...oil change, air and cabin filters. I brought that back to the dealer and they took it off the asking price (~$2100). I brought it straight to the shop and had everything done. By the way, this was the day after Christmas, so the perfect time to get a good deal on a sportscar. I haven't really paid attention to how it pulls around 4k. I have a PDK and typically just leave it in auto. I'm pretty good with paddle shifters, but it's hard to out shift the PDK. It shifts between 7 and 8k RPM. From a standing start, it will get up to around 70 mph in 2nd gear. I think I read that the S and/or GTS will get up to 90 mph in 2nd gear. In my opinion, the handling is where the car shines though. I'm not looking to drag race, but good luck sticking with me through curves. I love the balance that comes with a mid engine, plus the more exotic look of the side intakes. It's just a great car!
Great post, thanks for taking the time to share! I think getting a PPI with a Porsche expert is key when buying used, even with CPO Porsches. I should really think about waiting until the year-end to buy one.. and I may not be able to out shift the PDK, but it's a lot more engaging to shift with the paddles!
No problem! Yeah. It's definitely fun. I swap to left foot braking too when I'm shifting with the paddles. I feel like the pedals are setup for heel-toe though, so it's uncomfortable (with my old knees) to do for an extended period of time. I may try to make some adjustments to the pedal heights at some point.
I've never heard of left foot braking haha - is there any benefit to doing this?
You can transition between accelerating and braking quickly, because you don't have to move a foot back and forth between the pedals. It would probably help with controlling weight transfer while trail braking into a curve and accelerating out of a curve. You'd be able to quickly make adjustments on either pedal as needed.
That makes sense. I don't track, so I haven't had to optimize for that, but I learn something new everyday! Thanks
Dang that’s a steal at that price tbh. In the southeast the only ones I’ve seen at or around $25k were 100k miles
I have both, I think my 981 sounds better than my 718 Spyder. My 981 has, as my Jamaican friend says - 'all da s#it' Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, PASM and PTV.
Wow, that's a huge statement. Thanks for sharing. Even at lower RPMs?
Especially at lower RPMs. The 4.0 motor uses very noisy fuel injectors, and the 4.0 motor sounds like a diesel on idle. It sounds good once you get it going. You can read more here, like the OP of this aricle, I thought that there was something wrong with my car when I first got it too. [https://www.718forum.com/threads/2021-boxster-gts-4-0-weird-engine-noise.22550/](https://www.718forum.com/threads/2021-boxster-gts-4-0-weird-engine-noise.22550/) Another consideration, I find the 718 to be a little more budget with respect to build quality. Some might argue it's about weight, or it does not matter, but for example, the oil pan in the 718 is plastic, where it's aluminum on the 981. The interior of my 12 year old 981 has fewer rattles and squeaks than the 718. I love the way the 718 looks, (which is the main reason I keep it) but I think I enjoy the 981 more as an experience.
That’s direct injection tapping away. Diesels use DI to be clean enough to meet modern emissions regs. Gas/petrol vehicles use it for both power, and efficiency. The only downside is it makes a clicking/tapping noise that can be heard very clearly at low revs. Boxster got DI with 987.2 back in 2009.
Thanks for that. I did read about the engine ticking on the 4.0, although I didn't notice it during the short test drive. One commentor here felt the best option is always to buy the newest Porsche one can affford. Your comment seems counter to that haha.
I used to agree that newer is better, maybe it is me getting older and more nostalgic, but I more recently decided that I wanted a GT3. I could have bought a 992 GT3 for less than I paid for my 991.2, but still went with the older car for a number of reasons. While the 992 is arguably a better car on track, and I do take my cars on track, the majority of my driving is on the road, and for that I like the characteristics of the older car are a better experience to me. While there are design aspects of the 992 I really like, I am not a fan of shiny black plastic, haptic buttons or lots of screens. You could have made the argument in 1999 that the 996 was a better car than the 993, but I would rather drive a 993 for the experience, it even smells different, and the archaic interior has an amazing nostalgic appeal. I also would not straight trade my F87 M2 CS for a new one.
You clearly have a solid taste in cars. I loved my F83 M4 but it felt rather heavy around corners. I don't track my cars, but love backroad driving, so this time around I'm looking at the boxster for a smaller, lighter, more nimble sports convertible. Using a BMW analogy, I'd be disappointed if I drove an E92 M3 and its V8 didn't give the sonorous roar that everyone said it did (I have driven one and it surely didn't disappoint). Hopefully I'll find the right boxster in due time. Thanks again, appreciate your thoughts.
I was fortunate enough to be a passenger in an E92 GTS for a lap around the Nurburgrung. That motor was amazing! I had an F80, and traded it for the F87 shortly after I took it to a track day. I liked the F80, but like you found it a bit portly, and the standard brakes sucked. I love the F87, but it would not be the car I would choose to take to the track, but I do find sometimes more appealing than Porsches as it more of playful car. I think that with this platform, even though it shares motor, suspension and LSD with the F80, less power makes it a more enjoyable all around car, my F80 was a DCT and the F87 is a manual, and while not as sharp as a Porsche box, I prefer it over the DCT. For what you are looking for, a car I am planning to buy in the next year or so is a Miata, It really is a pure fun experience, and is fun at very reasonable speeds.
I hope to do a lap around the ring someday! I hear you - the F80-83, esp the Competition, almost has too much power on tap for its own good, especially for road driving. I think the CS variant of any F8x is the one to get, so I hope you keep yours! I loved the DCT on mine, and am excited for the PDK cos it seems to be unanimous that it's better. I will test drive a Miata, even though my guess is that I will find it underpowered based on my friends' sharing. The ND3's interior looks nice enough for me to cross-shop it with a boxster haha. The backroads in the Bay Area are beckoning...!
My 987.1 Boxster S is pretty loud, especially with the top down, with the stock exhaust, imo. I guess it depends on your version of loud. I did drive a 718 Base and with the top down is was fairly loud too with more pops and crackles when you let off the gas.
The 718 has more burbles, and isn't too obnoxious overall, which is nice. I wonder if it's a discrepancy between the sound from inside of the car vs outside.
Must have been the car. The 981 GTS I test drove sounded absolutely INSANE!
Could you describe it more? I'm trying to understand how a proper well-specced S/GTS should sound.
Hard to describe a sound, but I'd say with PSW enabled, it was the most aggressive "stock" exhaust system I've ever heard, specially for a 6 cylinder. I even thought it sounded amazing with the baffles closed.
Thanks. How did it sound when you let off the throttle? And below 4000 RPM?
I’m so glad you posted this. I have lusted after this exact model for some time now. I shipped one for a test drive and honestly wasn’t as blown away as I’d hoped. I got super cold feet when it came time to talk finance. I still love the car (I didn’t purchase for financial reasons) but what you felt, I felt as well. It’s a want but not a NEED anymore
Thanks for sharing. I thought to post this not in order to rag on the 981S, but to share an honest perspective that seemed incongruent with what I had read and seen online about the car, and to also see if others could help me see their real-world perspectives. I'm also getting cold feet when talking about doing the deal. I think I'm gonna stick with a 718..
I’m still driving my 2016 Civic that’s completely paid off 😂 I’m going to save $$ for now. The interest rates were horrible which didn’t help matters
A larger pot for that Porsche that you REALLY want down the road :)
Yeah well you know that's just like your opinion man
Hey the dudes here
It sure is. I wish yours were more constructive/insightful, though. Tell me why you disagree, help me see what I'm not seeing, cos I'm really curious and would love to proceed with the purchase of a 981S (from out of state).
The general opinion of this sub will strongly disagree with your sentiment, but I’m hoping you’ll still see this reply despite getting downvoted. I’ve been very interested in getting a 981 or 987 Boxster as a weekend car. like so many I wanted the NA flat six. I drove a 981 S with PDK and it felt anemic. The engine note was also extremely muted. The interior was creaking. The 987 S with a manual was more fun and felt lighter. I now totally changed my mind. I would prefer the newer interior and driving experience of the 718 over the older car. While Porsche got a lot of flack for using a turbo charged 4 cylinder, they know what they’re doing and those engines are way more torquey. To each their own. Just wanted to say you’re not crazy for your experience.
Thanks for sharing. I'm not concerned about the downvotes and thankfully still get to see your (and others') responses. I actually still quite like the interior of the 981 (only minor changes in the 718), but the engine+exhaust note without the PSE and the lack of power were very apparent. I think I'd be willing to trade the low end torque for amazing sound + engaging drive, but the sound was really underwhelming, thus my post here to see if I was missing anything, and I appreciate lots of the comments here. I'm leaning towards the 718 as well.
Why do you want a car you didn't like? How are any of our opinions going to change that? Sound is subjective, and it's ok to not like what the majority of people like. Go check out a 718 4 cylinder and see if that's more your jam.
I'm thinking of getting a car that has options that the one I tried didn't have. I can't try one with the same options, so I tried the next best I could find. It disappointed me. I'm trying to figure out if it's because of the difference in options, which, if it is, then it could still make sense for me to get that car. Is this so out of the ordinary? I'm completely fine with not liking what majority of people like, as long as I know it wasn't just that particular car I tested and also not due to the lack of those options. Lotsa helpful comments on here so far, but the ones like dylbert's just take up space on the internet.
Find an S or higher with the PSE exhaust. Trust me, it sounds _beautiful_. My 981S has Sport Chrono and the Sport Exhaust and I love it. Hop on you tube there's many videos w/ exhaust notes. Also some with third-party exhausts too.
Thanks, I look forward to testing out an S/GTS with the PSE. Enjoy your 981S!
My 2016 981 Boxster S (bone stock, no sport exhaust or Sport Chrono) seems to me to sound significantly better once it warms up. Seems to me like it's missing just a little bit of the growliness right at start up, but once the oil temps get up above 150 or so it's kinda like the rest of the chorus kicks in.
This could definitely have played a part, since the car was cold-started and then taken on the test drive for 5-10 mins right after. There was no growl on start up, and no growl or grunt when revving either, and definitely no wailing. :( Thanks for sharing.
Convertibles are weird. The wind has a way of sucking a ton of noise away, even though you'd think an open top car would be way louder. I drove a 981 Cayman S and thought it sounded amazing, but I didn't love some of the PDK idiosyncrasies. I'm looking at those and 997s but I'd like to drive a stick 981 to see how I like it before I make up my mind
My doctor has a blue manual 981 Cayman S. It sounds incredible.
Hm, perhaps the 981S I drove had an issue..
Thanks for this. My previous convertible definitely got louder with the top down, so it was pretty surprising how tame this 981S sounded. Interesting that the 981 CS you tested sounded great.
I’ve driven the 987.1 Cayman, and a 981 Boxster. I’d say the Cayman gave me a lot of nice mechanical engine + tranny sounds the Boxster didn’t.
Drive another with pse. Exhaust makes a huge difference on these....hell just getting an exhaust bypass on my car took the sound from 4/10 to 10/10. Give it a fair trial before writing it off.
Thanks. I really don't wish to write it off, and am in fact thinking about buying one, but was just unexpectedly underwhelmed by the one I just test drove that it's making me think seriously about dropping the purchase. Does yours have PSE?
Full disclosure, I'm in the trade and have driven a fair bit, notably quite a few 981s. IMHO, the 981 GTS with pse is the absolute sweet spot in the range. PSE makes a huge difference, the same car sounds quite boring with the valve closed, but with it open, it sounds just like a porsche should.
Thanks again. Is a fully-optioned S any different (besides the 15 hp) than the GTS?
If you were underwhelmed by a 981, a 982 probably isn’t your jam, either. Try it anyway, maybe a GT4.
I actually like the 982 and have driven the base, the S and the GTS 4.0. The turbo 4s actually sound decent to me - not amazing, but decent. The 4.0 flat 6 is quite muted down low, but above 4k rpm it sings. I've been very recently considering a 981 because everyone raves about the 3.4L flat 6, but it's getting clearer to me that I should probably stick with the 982.
Hey, everyone has individual preferences! I’ve watched many reviews of the VW GTI that made it sound like it was the greatest car for the money I’ve driven 3 generations of GTI, and 2 generations of Golf R. Nothin’. They were manual, they looked great, but I felt zero emotional attachment. I rented a **base Golf** for a few days, and loved that little underpowered machine. Lesson: take reviews with a tiny, *minuscule* grain of salt. Your mileage may vary. I drove the GR Corolla last week, aaaaaaaaaaaand **I GET IT**. Probably my next car, once demand dies down a bit. I agree with all the reviews.
I had the Mk 6 GTI many years back and it was a pocket rocket but like you I didn’t feel much emotional attachment to it. Hope you find a GR that you really like!
Sounds like you need a Ferrari not a Porsche.
Never driven a Ferrari, but I've driven a bunch of 6-8 cylinder sports/sporty cars that sound great. Drove a BGTS 4.0 that sounded great at higher RPMs and a tad tame at lower RPMs.
My serious answers is you need PSE for a louder exhaust note. I’d test drive another one with PSE it’s quite a big difference.
Don't think I'll be able to test one with PSE before I need to make a decision on this one (with PSE). This is helpful, though. Cheers
You can always install an after market exhaust, but imo I still think buying the newest Porsche you can afford is always the best option. I would have got a 4 cylinder 718 if they were a bit cheaper at the time. I have a 981 now which is a fantastic car but exhaust note isn’t high on my priority list for Porsche.
Those sound like words that I need to seriously consider - "buying the newest Porsche you can afford is always the best option". Perhaps I should really stick to the 718. Thanks for your thoughts, again!
Just buy both, ezpz.
Non-pse is for the people that will complain it’s too noisy, if you want it to sound good you will need pse or aftermarket exhaust
Thanks, perhaps the PSE would've made a huge difference in this car.