Boxster packs power, agility

A $51,000 car is certainly not inexpensive. Yet today's test model, the 2007 Porsche Boxster is so quick, so agile, and so stable that 51-large may not seem like a lot to some car enthusiasts.

It's odd to think that a car with "only" 245 horsepower could thrill the driver's soul these days. But the Boxster does just that.

There are few cars whose tactile feel is so recognizable as a Porsche's. From our base model here, up through the beefier burners in the 911 range, there is a familiarity to any Porsche's handling. We spent a day at Homestead Miami Speedway in Florida, climbing the Porsche ladder from base to boffo. Amazingly, the technique was the same with each car. It's just that at the end of the straight in a Twin Turbo we were going much, much faster than some of the other Porsches.

But back to our Boxster. Drive it hard. Drive it for fun. Play, legally, with sharp corners and highway passes. You can feel its dexterity right through the seat. If a Ferrari or Lamborghini are cars you wear like a shiny and flashy suit, a Porsche is a car as comfortable as multiwashed khakis and your favorite soft shirt. And you do wear this car as you drive it. The car's firmly bolstered leather seats grip tightly and the driver sits low. The clutch, gas, and brake pedals are easy to reach.

It is not, however, a car to pack with luggage for a long vacation. But if driving is a vacation to you, pack light and hit the road.

You will do so under superb control, with standard Porsche Stability Management. Its 2.7-liter, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine puts out power that feels more like the 300 ponies you get from a Ford Mustang than the 245 with 201 lb.-ft. of tugging torque the Boxster generates.

Shifting up and down through all five gears is done crisply -- the way only German builders seem able to do. Click, click, click. Porsche's VarioCam system -- picture different valve openings for different driver demands at a moment's notice -- adds what is seemingly an extra gear between each shift. Push the gas pedal lightly, and you move smoothly forward. Stomp it and an enlarged valve opening turns it into a rocket.

Along with the stability management system, which uses gas and brakes to fix driver mistakes, the Boxster also comes with such standard safety gear as ABS, active brake controls, brake discs nearly a foot in diameter and clamped by four rotors, side impact bags, thorax bags, and head airbags.

Then there is the remarkably quiet power convertible top, a rear spoiler that pops up for stability at speed, halogen headlamps, and a multifunction trip monitor.

The $45,600 base price of our test car was bumped to $50,995 with the addition of silver metallic paint ($690), 19-inch sport wheels at almost $1,000 apiece, automatic climate control, and a wind deflector for when the top is down (another $900 combined).

This isn't a car that will lure gawkers to your driveway in the way a more expensive Italian cruiser would do. But it is just as much fun on the road, and will get you where you are going without breaking down.

2007 Porche Boxter

THE BASICS
Base price/as tested: $45,600/$50,985
Fuel economy: 23.1 miles per gallon in Globe testing (premium fuel)
Annual fuel cost: $1,818 (at $3.23 per gallon, regular, 13,000 miles per year)

THE EARLY LINE
The Boxster line remains a major part of Porsche independence.

THE SPECIFICS
Drivetrain: Rear-wheel-drive
Seating: Two occupants
Horsepower: 245
Torque: 201 lb.-ft.
Overall length: 171.6 inches
Wheelbase: 95.1 inches
Height: 50.9 inches
Width: 70.9 inches
Curb weight: 2,877 pounds

THE SKINNY
Nice touch: The lay-low feeling of driving a car that you seem to be wearing.
Annoyance: The extra $690 for a paint job? At $45,000-plus, paint should be included.
Watch for: A Porsche sedan.

SHOP IT AGAINST:

Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Costs about $30,000, much less than the Porsche.You can get 260 horsepower from its V-6 in the GT, and it's fun to drive.

Mercedes-Benz SLK Class Get ready to drop $45,000-$65,000 on one of the best cars Mercedes has built in some time -- a real sports car, with 228 to 355 horsepower.

Mazda MX-5 Miata With its retractable hardtop and a price nearing $30,000, the Miata is worth checking out, even at only 170 horsepower.

Pontiac Solstice That's right, a Pontiac. With Viper scowl and a turbocharged engine option with 260 horsepower, you can be cool at under $30,000.