[Jeff Higgins]

I bought a 2002 Boxster S from my son about eight years ago. It was always going to be no more than a stopgap while my '72 911 was torn apart for rust repair and paint. Well, I still own that Boxster...

They are wonderful cars. Mine now has over 160k on the clock with very few issues along the way outside of just your basic maintenance. It's been pretty darn trouble-free. It's easy to work on, most parts are cheaper than the equivalent on my '72, and Wayne even has a 101 Projects book for them. Handling is superb, much better than my 911, with brakes to match. Maybe a bit down on power, but I'm a bit spoiled in that regard because of my 911. Most folks seem pretty happy with the power, though, at least with the 3.2 in the S model.

It has made for a fantastic GT car for my wife and I. Far better than my overly track focused 911, that's for sure. We love the versatility of the convertible top. Funny, though, we joke all the time that we wonder if it even runs with the top up, choosing to go top down most of the time even up here in the soggy Pacific Northwest. Just today, for example, we went north to our world famous tulip fields and got caught on the freeway in a driving rain storm on the way home. As long as I kept the speed up we stayed dry.

It does get pretty darn claustrophobic with the top up. Rearward visibility sucks, with the "B" pillars afforded by the soft top being huge, resulting in equally big blind spots. That's my only real complaint. Put the top down, though, and that all goes away. That's really how it's meant to be driven.

I would not hesitate to recommend an early Boxster, 986 or 987. Simple enough to DIY, relatively inexpensive parts, and a real joy to drive.