Porsche 718 Boxster review

It’s a great car to own: solidly built, talented at both long distance drudgery and B-road blasting and with two large luggage compartments – front and rear – which completely embarrass a BMW Z4, Jaguar F-Type or Alpine A110 when it comes to packing for a long weekend. Separate storage areas provide a good way of keeping mucky outdoors gear separate from nicer stuff, too.

On paper, fuel economy has improved markedly, but in reality, it’s less of an improvement – you’ll probably get a couple of mpg extra, maybe around 30mpg, although the CO2 cut over the old 6cyl does make the 4cyl versions a more tax-friendly option.

Buying a Boxster can’t be easy, mind. With three engines and four trim levels to choose from, picking the car best suited for you will involve several journeys through the online configurator, much like a PlayStation adventure game which needs multiple plays through different routes to fully complete its story. The addition of the 4.0-litre GTS has just made picking a Boxster a heck of a lot easier for old fusspots like us, though.

Porsche has a bit of a reputation when it comes to spec, though. Don't sign-off on your configuration without carefully going through what's standard and what isn't, because you may be surprised. Cruise control? That's extra. So too are electrically-folding mirrors, dual-zone climate control and on many models, parking sensors and heated seats. Don't get caught out...

In terms of pricing, you can pick up a bog-standard entry-level Boxster for £53,800 . If you want the Style Edition – which arrived in 2022 – with its excellent Ruby Star Neo paint and contrast 20-inch wheels/graphics, that’ll be £58,000.

For the larger 4cyl Boxster S you’ll be charged from £63,800, but why not go the whole hog and spend from £75,300 on the proper 6cyl GTS 4.0?