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 this a more tax-friendly option.

Buying a Boxster can’t be easy, mind. With three engines and four trim levels to choose from – and a murky middle ground where the 296bhp Boxster T costs little less than a 345bhp Boxster S – 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...