2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder first drive

There are at least a couple of ways to dissect the 2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder(with Car Dvd Player). Depending on your point of view, it’s either a ludicrously high-dollar take on Porsche’s entry-level roadster or the latest shot at a hot rod by way of Zuffenhausen -- the purest, most analog embodiment of what we might call the Porsche spirit offered new on the market today. Thing is, you’re not wrong either way you slice it. The newest Boxster Spyder is both expensive enough to give you pause and so good that you probably won’t care. It’s the sort of car that hits all the right notes with the purists and seems destined to mine new brand fanatics on its way up the scale. But before you accuse us of gushing, take a look at the specs; they never tell the whole story, but in this case, they say a lot. For one, you’re shoving what may be one of the 911’s last naturally aspirated gasps -- the 3.8-liter flat-six yanked from the first-gen 991 Carrera S and also found in the Cayman GT4 -- into the lightest platform in its stable, and pairing it exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. Here, it’s good for 375 hp and 309 lb-ft of torque and a stated 0-60 mph of 4.3 seconds. Would a PDK be quicker around a certain German racetrack? Almost certainly, but that’s totally not the point of this car. The Spyder also ditches the standard-issue top in favor of an even less-substantial roof that’s not only 24 lbs lighter than the regular Boxster’s canvas (no sound insulation here!), but also significantly easier to deploy than the one on the last Spyder. It took 15 steps to put in place and/or tuck away the previous Spyder’s canvas cover, all of them said to be somewhat awkward; this time around, it takes just six to execute either procedure, and it’s all been significantly streamlined (read: idiot-proofed). What about install Android Car Gps? The barely-mechanized process isn’t as simple or fluid as the new Miata’s stoplight-length solo effort, but neither is it a philosophical departure like the slick-but-over-engineered Transformer top of the new 911 Targa. It’s a nod to practicality and a happy compromise, one of the very few found on the car. Plus, you can leave it in place all the way up to the 180 mph top speed -- not advisable on the previous car -- and it's also carwash-safe. Like the engine, the steering setup has been borrowed from elsewhere in the Porsche lineup (in this case, the 911 Turbo) and the brake calipers and rotors come from the 911 Carrera S. The Boxster GTS’ optional sport suspension, standard here, drops ride height 0.79 inches, but Porsche is quick to tell you that this is a two-seat tourer built for the road first and foremost; the setup is less harsh and track-oriented than, say, the Cayman GT4’s. 20-inch wheels are Spyder-exclusive, and the 10.5-inch rears are the widest ever installed on a Boxster. In the interest of saving even more weight and projecting an appropriately hardcore image, the Boxster Spyder’s interior door handles have been replaced with cloth pulls and the radio and air conditioner do not come standard (they are, however, no-cost options). If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!