2009 Porsche Boxster

Inside, testers find the partial- to full-leather seats all-day comfortable. Critics generally praise the high-quality interior, but some complain that the pricey Boxster charges extra for common features such as power seats and automatic climate control. (Porsche uses manual seats as standard equipment because they weigh less.) The Boxster's two trunks -- one fore and one aft -- provide more ample cargo space than other roadsters, although one source notes that neither will hold a bag of golf clubs.

Testers tend to forget all complaints once the driving begins. The base Porsche Boxster's (*Est. $46,600) 255-horsepower, 2.9-liter flat-six sounds great, but "may seem a bit underpowered" for the price, Edmunds.com says. The Porsche Boxster S (*Est. $56,700) solves that problem with its 310-horsepower, 3.4-liter flat-six.

Experts rave about Porsche's new seven-speed PDK automated gearbox, which uses two computer-controlled clutches to shift faster and more smoothly than humans can. You can also control it yourself, using either the regular shift lever on the center console or buttons placed on the steering wheel. Testers find the buttons fiddly, and drivers who find the whole setup "a bit too Xbox-y" will prefer the regular six-speed manual transmission, Edmunds.com says. Either gets good gas mileage for a sports car, reviews say. Expect 24 mpg combined from the base Boxster with automatic transmission (20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway) or 22 mpg combined with the manual transmission (19 mpg city and 27 mpg highway). Mileage is almost identical for the Boxster S: 23 mpg combined with the automatic (20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway) and 22 mpg combined with the manual (19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway).

If you prefer a retractable hardtop convertible, you'll find it on two competing luxury two-seaters: the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (*Est. $45,950 to $65,950) and BMW Z4 (*Est. $45,750 to $51,650). Both are powerful, but experts say they don't handle as well as the Porsche. If you need to seat four, critics say the BMW 3 Series convertible (*Est. $44,550 to $50,700) offers its own brand of precision and style. Also note that the Porsche Boxster comes in a coupe version (also beloved by critics), the Porsche Cayman.

Although reviewers note the Boxster's standard traction, stability control and front, side and head airbags as pluses, we found no U.S. government or independent crash tests of either the Porsche Boxster or Cayman. The Boxster gets above-average reliability scores in major consumer surveys and carries four-year, 50,000-mile basic and powertrain warranties.

Car and Driver conducts the best head-to-head test of the Porsche Boxster, pitting it against three similarly priced rival performance convertibles. Edmunds.com and Autoblog.com cover just about every aspect of the Boxster in their well-written reviews; Autoblog.com's is particularly entertaining to read, with striking photography. Experts at ConsumerReports.org judge the Boxster's performance, plus practical matters like resale value and fuel economy. Write-ups at Road & Track and MSN Autos are brief, but they come to the same conclusions as longer reviews. FuelEconomy.gov is the place to find official fuel-economy estimates, and J.D. Power and Associates offers valuable reliability ratings.August 2009

The Porsche Boxster may be the perfect roadster, reviews say. It looks beautiful, feels comfortable even on long trips -- and it balances, brakes, steers, shifts and handles so ideally, Car and Driver calls it "one of the world's best cars."

The secret is in the horizontal boxer engine, which Porsche places in the middle of the car. Experts say this low, centered weight means the rear-wheel-drive Boxster convertible stays exceptionally stable in corners. Add the best brakes one major testing organization has ever encountered, plus "God's own steering response," as Car and Driver puts it, and critics say you could spend twice as much on an exotic luxury sports car and still not enjoy it as much as the Porsche Boxster.

The Boxster's glass-windowed power soft top folds in a scant 12 seconds, and you can operate it while driving at low speeds. Reviewers say it's well insulated against noise, and Autoblog.com says it shrugged off buckets of rain during a press launch in Sicily.

Inside, testers find the partial- to full-leather seats all-day comfortable. Critics generally praise the high-quality interior, but some complain that the pricey Boxster charges extra for common features such as power seats and automatic climate control. (Porsche uses manual seats as standard equipment because they weigh less.) The Boxster's two trunks -- one fore and one aft -- provide more ample cargo space than other roadsters, although one source notes that neither will hold a bag of golf clubs.

Testers tend to forget all complaints once the driving begins. The base Porsche Boxster's (*Est. $46,600) 255-horsepower, 2.9-liter flat-six sounds great, but "may seem a bit underpowered" for the price, Edmunds.com says. The Porsche Boxster S (*Est. $56,700) solves that problem with its 310-horsepower, 3.4-liter flat-six.

Experts rave about Porsche's new seven-speed PDK automated gearbox, which uses two computer-controlled clutches to shift faster and more smoothly than humans can. You can also control it yourself, using either the regular shift lever on the center console or buttons placed on the steering wheel. Testers find the buttons fiddly, and drivers who find the whole setup "a bit too Xbox-y" will prefer the regular six-speed manual transmission, Edmunds.com says. Either gets good gas mileage for a sports car, reviews say. Expect 24 mpg combined from the base Boxster with automatic transmission (20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway) or 22 mpg combined with the manual transmission (19 mpg city and 27 mpg highway). Mileage is almost identical for the Boxster S: 23 mpg combined with the automatic (20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway) and 22 mpg combined with the manual (19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway).

If you prefer a retractable hardtop convertible, you'll find it on two competing luxury two-seaters: the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (*Est. $45,950 to $65,950) and BMW Z4 (*Est. $45,750 to $51,650). Both are powerful, but experts say they don't handle as well as the Porsche. If you need to seat four, critics say the BMW 3 Series convertible (*Est. $44,550 to $50,700) offers its own brand of precision and style. Also note that the Porsche Boxster comes in a coupe version (also beloved by critics), the Porsche Cayman.

Although reviewers note the Boxster's standard traction, stability control and front, side and head airbags as pluses, we found no U.S. government or independent crash tests of either the Porsche Boxster or Cayman. The Boxster gets above-average reliability scores in major consumer surveys and carries four-year, 50,000-mile basic and powertrain warranties.

Car and Driver conducts the best head-to-head test of the Porsche Boxster, pitting it against three similarly priced rival performance convertibles. Edmunds.com and Autoblog.com cover just about every aspect of the Boxster in their well-written reviews; Autoblog.com's is particularly entertaining to read, with striking photography. Experts at ConsumerReports.org judge the Boxster's performance, plus practical matters like resale value and fuel economy. Write-ups at Road & Track and MSN Autos are brief, but they come to the same conclusions as longer reviews. FuelEconomy.gov is the place to find official fuel-economy estimates, and J.D. Power and Associates offers valuable reliability ratings.