Driving a gorgeous luxury sports car has always felt like a slightly guilty pleasure, but in these turbulent times when environmental solutions are at the top of everyone’s personal and corporate to-do list, it might appear to be downright scandalous

Not so, says Porsche Chief Executive, Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking.  “Porsche Drivers should not feel guilty.  Our track record of reducing fuel consumption – and therefore CO2 emissions – by nearly two percent for the last fifteen years straight leads the industry.  And combine that with the use of lightweight, recyclable materials, it helps make the Porsche one of the greenest cars on the road.”

What the good doctor fails to mention is that this green engineering wasn’t developed for an entirely public spirited purpose.  Increased fuel efficiency means a Porsche will go farther between pit stops and the lightweight construction makes it go faster.  In other words, in Porsche’s world, a green car is a lean and mean car that wins races.

Atlanta Woman recently tested one of the latest examples -- the 2009 Porsche Boxer S.  This two-seat roadster was equipped with the new PDK transmission that offers better performance – and fuel economy – than the manual version.   With a zero to sixty in only 4.9 seconds and an average MPG of 26.5, the Boxster S is truly lean, mean and green.  

It’s luxurious, too.  This model’s interior was completely covered – seats, doors, dash and center console, in a rich cocoa brown leather, complementing the off white exterior.  The Bose 12 speaker array is hooked up to AM/FM/Satellite/MP3/CD system is controlled by a touch screen that also displays the navigation system.  Dual thermostat environment controls and heated seats, combined with the behind the seats windscreen, allow for relatively comfortable open top cruising, even on nippy days.  Sturdy twin rollover hoops behind the seats offer reassuring protection along with a bad boy racer profile.

Getting in any low sports car is a concern in a skirt and heels, but the Boxster’s extra wide door allows for a demure leg swing once your backside is inside.  The steering wheel is small in diameter but quite padded and stitched about with leather, offering a comfortable but secure grip.  Porsche still has the ignition key on the dash to the left of the steering wheel.  It is a nod to the days when races like Le Mans had a “running start” and drivers would, on signal, race to their cars and quickly start them to get a head start.  The Porsche driver would hold the key in the left hand and save valuable seconds.   Today it is a quaint anachronism that is somewhat annoying if you by habit look for the key slot on the right.

The Boxster is a roadster and was meant to be driven topless.   The design makes it easy to drop the top.  One center clamp is released and a button is pushed on the console and it all works in seconds --- windows adjust, the top goes back and the rear lid that covers the soft top compartment raises and then lowers – making the top completely disappear without the need for a tonneau cover.  Putting the top back up is equally easy and on a rainy day the top is secure, tight, warm and insulated with a defrostable glass rear window.

Turn the key and you are rewarded by a burble and a rumble that sounds like something much larger and potent than a 3.4 liter six cylinder.  But 310 horses don’t lie.  And Porsche has obviously taken a cue from the Japanese and the Italians and learned to “tune” the exhaust to sound tough but not rough.  Proud but not too loud.  On the road the steering seems a mite heavy – there is power steering but not overpowering steering.  At  low speeds the big tires weigh heavy.  But with speed the car responds effortlessly.  There is ample torque throughout the power band and with the PDK seven speed automatic, you get the best of both worlds – quick efficient shifts and no clutch either.   Off the line the PDK transmission outshifts the most experienced driver.   Once you get comfortable you can try the two “triggers” on the steering wheel.  The one on the right upshifts and the one on the left downshifts.  Control freaks will enjoy this feature, although after a fifty miles or so the onboard computer has figured out your driving habits and anticipates your need for up and downshifting before you do.  A Porsche mechanic of our acquaintance predicts the PDK transmission will “make the manual transmission as obsolete as the hand crank or rumble seat.”

 

The Boxster S looks good in front of Bones or in the turnaround at Chops. But is most at home on a twisty road.  Anti skid and traction control will help save you at the limits of stability but timid and/or prudent drivers will rarely approach that.  A novice sports car driver can have an exciting roller coaster ride at 3/4 of the limit and have good safe fun on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  The 4 wheel antilock brakes, shining bright red behind the alloy wheels are made by Brembo and can repeatedly haul the Boxter down from 100 mph quickly, evenly and without fade or overheating.

 Cruising on 400 was surprisingly comfortable and secure, for such a diminutive car.   You can fool friends by showing them the trunk in the back – and the trunk in the front!  The engine is mounted transversely directly behind the seats.  The Boxster is a mid-engined car and is perfectly balanced, front to rear.  If you turn the traction control off, you could do some impressive four-wheel drift, just like in the movies, so don’t let your teenager borrow it.  He or she might try.

At around 56 thousand, the Boxster S is not cheap.  But few cars can perform like it for anything close to that price.  And none in that category can come close to the Boxster’s fuel efficiency.

The Boxster S might be an indulgence.  Granted.  But it’s a gorgeous, 170 mph, guilt-free indulgence.  And yes, you can order it in several shades of green.

By Ralph McGill

 I have to admit I tested the 96 horsepower Yaris hatchback immediately following a week in a 560 horsepower Cadillac CTS-V.   Was that going from the sublime to the ridiculous – or from the ridiculous to the sublime?  A little of both actually.

If you are over six feet tall, you don’t exactly sit IN a Yaris, you wear it.  Like a pair of well fitting jeans: snug but comfortable.  One surprise: the back seat passengers have as much rear seat room as a Jaguar sedan. The Spartan interior is mouse gray fabric, with a single instrument pod atop the center of the dashboard.  A large amber backlit speedometer dominates with a tiny thermometer-like fuel gauge and odometer below.  Anything else the computer decides you need to know pops on out of black.  There is a Japaneezy design center console with simple ac and fan controls and a radio/cd player.  Start the ignition and you are greeted with a raspy, tinny exhaust note that announces the fact that the diminutive 4-banger motor goes from idle to overstressed all too quickly.  But it delivers adequate performance around town and the small size and 30 foot turning radius makes urban maneuvers a snap. 

But the minute you take the Yaris out on a freeway, you realize that it is way out of its element.  The acceleration is slower than the average minicar and maintaining a highway speed obviously taxes the motor heavily --  and that is not encouraging over the long haul,  Maybe it was the contrast, coming out of a Cadillac, but freeway commuter traffic in Atlanta, which is dominated by gargantuan SUV’s, was thoroughly intimidating.  

Econocar fans will quickly point out that the Yaris gets good gas mileage.  And that is true.  The figures on the window sticker say 29 mpg in the city, 36 on the highway.  Perhaps they are accurate.  But if your driving requires a heavy foot on occasion (changing lanes, entering a freeway, etc.), then you will never see anything close to that mileage.  An eight-year-old Honda Accord coupe of our acquaintance goes farther on a tank-full.

You have to admit, though, that the Yaris is cute.  Ours was an attractive bright blue  clearcoat.  The hatchback opens to reveal a surprisingly small cargo area that turns into a mini-truck bed when the rear seats are folded flat.

With a base price of around twelve grand and a fully equipped price of nearly fifteen, the Yaris might be an excellent choice for a daughter going off to college.  Or maybe a young guy just starting out in the city.  Others concerned with driving clean and green can get better economy, performance, comfort and long-term value, in a hybrid like a Toyota Prius or a Honda Insight.