The Rees Report | Chris Rees on Porsches

“Porsche has a problem.
I know because someone in my
street has just bought one.
No, not a stockbroker or high-
flying businesswoman —
the latest debutant in the ranks
of Porsche key fob flaunters
is an amateur cage fighter:
he’s aged just 19 and he’s now
driving a Boxster...”

WHICHEVER WAY YOU CUT IT, I'm pretty sure this isn't the sort of person Porsche had in mind when they came up with the Boxster. But it's not the first time that the German car maker has had to face image problems.

Rewind twenty years to the last banking crisis and the car that red-braced yuppies were driving was… a Porsche. It's hard to believe it looking back, but I remember Porsche 911 Targa drivers in the 1980s being almost universally, albeit unfairly, loathed. It took a long time for the brand's image to recover.

Perhaps it's just as well that the current generation of bankers — even more universally despised than those of 1989 — aren't associated with Porsche. Or are they? Last year, Porsche royally shafted hedge fund managers over the sale of VW shares. It's a bizarre twist of fate: the bankers who rode in Porsches twenty years ago getting well and truly taken for a ride by Porsche one more time.

I've just driven the latest range of Porsches, including the new Boxster and 911. This exercise reinforced the reality that attitudes still haven't changed. A colleague was out in the 911 Turbo convertible when the engine fan light came on and he had to pull over by the roadside. The fact he was in a convertible merely enabled him to hear with much better clarity the rich variety of Anglo-Saxon names being hurled at him.

In a way, Porsche has only got itself to blame for this by offering cars such as the 911 Turbo convertible, which in my view is an utterly pointless machine. It's inevitably bought by bouffant poseurs who merely want the most expensive Porsche they can have. Never mind that it suffers from scuttle shake and is approaching the antithesis of what an enthusiast's car should be about.

Proper Porsches have fixed roofs. In my view, the absolute best cars in the 911 range are the entry-level Carrera 2 (simple, pure and magnificent) and the 911 GT3 — focused, lightweight and incredibly involving. They represent everything that makes Porsche such a credible and respected name.

If you must have a convertible Porsche, though, make it a Boxster. I would even go as far as to say that the 911 Carrera 4 convertible I drove back-to-back with the Boxster just isn't as good a car as its 'lesser' stablemate. Admittedly the 911 has more power (385bhp in Carrera form) but it's bulkier, the 4x4 system makes it feel heavier and the steering isn't as good. And it also has more scuttle-shake.

Ironically, the Boxster isn't quite as good a car as the Cayman — the fixed-roof derivative of the Boxster. The Cayman's more rigid structure makes it a much more enjoyable car to drive, although it's more expensive: the only instance I can think of where the coupe costs more than the convertible.

So what's the moral of this rant? If you want a Porsche, buy a coupe not a convertible. That way, you won't be mistaken for a poseur or a pugilist. — Chris Rees

MOTORBAR'S MAGGIE WOODS SAYS: SORRY, CHRIS, I CANNOT AGREE. The last time I drove a 911 convertible I was greeted only with smiles and approbation.

The convertible seemed to make a complete transformation for me into a very desirable lady. A Ferrari driver leaned over at traffic lights to tell me how much he admired the car and a friendly classic Bentley driver gave me a cheery wave.

In a Boxster, respect was the name of the game and a girlfriend and I had a lot of fun 'posing' along the seafront with people stopping to ask about the car. Everyone was nice and polite to me in both Porsches — which I found exhilarating and fun to drive. Females driving Porsches clearly have a more enjoyable experience!

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