Steering precision

This is it. Total perfection. No tramlining at all, total stability at speed and inch perfect road positioning. On a twisty road, the Boxster will make even the most cack-handed driver feel like he's done a good job. I love it (!). Trying to analyse why it feels good is tricky; there is no obvious dead area in the centre of the steering and it turns exactly the amount you expect, given the wheel input. I didn't bother with the sports suspension and I'm not in any way disappointed with the way it is. Both the 968 and 911 are tramliners and I've always accepted this as one of those things you have to live with if you have huge tyres and firm suspension. Wrong!

The feel of the 996 is very similar to the Boxster, at first. But once you get going, you realise that the 996 turns in from the front, then the back follows. It's just a little different to the "all 4 wheels are steering" feel you get when cornering the Boxster. It gives the illusion that the 996 wouldn't change directions as quickly, but I'd like to reserve judgement until I got to the track.

Steering feedback

Initially feels like you're not getting much back through the wheel., but this is another re-written rule. In my book, you need as much weighting info as possible when you're cornering, so you can feel tyre slip, and then slide. With this info comes a fair amount of wriggling in normal driving - but not in the Boxster. So, climb in and drive the first few miles admiring the precision but getting depressed about the feedback. But turn into a few really fast corners, and there's no problem, it's all there. The really clever bit is the fact that at straight on there is less feedback than when cornering even slightly. This makes cruising very relaxed (take note, 911 owners!)

The feedback is identical to the Boxster. Great!