2022 Porsche 718 Boxster

The volume 718 Boxster runs the 2.0L turbocharged flat-four at 300 hp — unchanged for 2022 and unchanged since the 982 arrived for 2016. It is a modest headline number in a class where a Mustang GT convertible makes 450 hp and a Corvette convertible 495 hp for similar or less money. The 718's argument has never been peak output but mass, balance and specific output (151 hp/litre, the highest in the range); the flat-six cars that do have the power are low-volume and priced well above the $62,600 base roadster.

280 lb-ft is mid-band in raw terms, but the delivery flatters it: peak arrives at 1,950 rpm and holds flat to 4,500, so the base roadster pulls hard through the mid-range where the naturally aspirated flat-fours it replaced were thin. Against a sub-3,000 lb curb weight (2,944 lb with the manual) the specific figure does more work than the absolute one, though it still trails the big-displacement American convertibles by a wide margin.

Porsche quotes 4.9 seconds to 60 for the base car with the six-speed manual that is standard across the 2022 range and 4.7 with the optional PDK, dropping to 4.5 with PDK and Sport Chrono. The PDK figure is used as the representative value: it is the quicker and far more commonly ordered US configuration, and it became the standard transmission for 2025, so scoring the manual here would read as a year-over-year swing the car never actually had. Quick rather than remarkable in a segment where a base Corvette convertible is under 3 seconds, but the mid-engine layout makes the figure repeatable rather than a once-per-session launch-control trick.

The 2.0T is a responsive turbo engine — Dynamic Boost keeps the throttle plate open through brief lifts so boost is still there on the way back in, and mid-range thrust is strong and linear from 1,950 rpm — but it is not a smooth or a tuneful one. There is real hesitation below about 2,000 rpm, and the flat-four's coarse, thrashy voice at load is the single most criticized aspect of the 982, exactly the 'coarse notes under load' the middle band describes. The roadster exposes it more than the Cayman does, since with the roof stowed there is no glass between the driver and the engine bay. The naturally aspirated flat-six in the GTS 4.0 and 25 Years edition is a far more refined engine by this measure; the volume car simply does not get it.

Both gearboxes are benchmarks. The 7-speed PDK shifts imperceptibly fast, picks the right gear without hunting, and unusually for a dual-clutch is genuinely smooth at parking speeds. 2022 offers the most generous configuration the 982 ever had: the six-speed manual is standard on every trim in the range including the limited 25 Years edition, and PDK is a paid option on every trim — a wider choice than the 911's, where the volume Carrera has no manual at all, and wider than the 718's own 2025 lineup, where PDK became standard. Held just below the 911's 8-speed PDK, which is a generation newer with an extra ratio.

There is no all-wheel-drive 718 and never has been — every 2022 Boxster from the base car to the 25 Years edition is rear-drive only, so unlike the 911 there is no '4' model to step up to at any price. The mid-engine layout puts roughly 55% of the mass over the driven axle, which buys real traction off the line and makes the car far less compromised in the wet than a front-engine RWD convertible, but this item measures availability and that is a hard zero. Scored alongside the other RWD-only sports cars in the set rather than below them.

Three distinct engines in four states of tune are on sale under one nameplate for 2022 — two turbo flat-fours of different displacement and the naturally aspirated 4.0L flat-six in 394 hp form (GTS 4.0 and the 25 Years edition built on it) — spread across six trims including a 1,250-unit worldwide special edition, and layered over a genuine transmission choice with the manual standard and PDK optional on every one of them. That is more mechanical variety than most rivals offer and well clear of a one-engine convertible like the BMW Z4 M40i. What caps it in the middle band is that nothing in the range is electrified: no hybrid, no PHEV, no EV. The flat-six cars are also low-volume and priced far above the base roadster, so the practical choice for most buyers is narrower than the trim sheet suggests.

2022 is a carry-over year within the 982 generation — the 300-hp 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four is unchanged per Wikipedia, and the EPA combined figure is identical to the 718 Cayman coupe's, confirming the fabric roof costs nothing on the EPA cycle. 24 MPG is genuinely strong for a 300-hp mid-engine roadster, but the convertible band runs 22–60 MPG because it also holds economy soft-tops like the Mini Cooper Convertible, so a figure two MPG above the floor scores near the bottom.

21 MPG in town sits a single mile per gallon above the convertible band's 20 MPG floor. Auto stop-start is standard and the 2.0-litre displacement helps, but with no hybrid assist there is nothing to recover in traffic, so the city figure is close to the car's worst case.

27 MPG on the highway is where the downsized turbo four pays off — a tall seventh PDK ratio and a curb weight barely over 3,000 lb make a cruising Boxster more frugal than most family sedans of a decade ago. It still lands only a mile per gallon above the convertible band's 26 MPG floor, that band being calibrated against economy soft-tops rather than sports cars.

EPA publishes 341 miles of total range for the volume PDK car, which lands low in the 280–650 mi convertible band purely because the 718's mid-engine packaging leaves so little room for fuel — a 911 Carrera goes further on worse economy simply by carrying more gallons. That is a real weakness in a car whose best use is a long road trip with the roof down.

EPA's $3,150 a year sits above the $2,800 ceiling of the convertible band, so the item bottoms out — that reflects the mandatory premium grade more than consumption, since at 24 MPG the Boxster burns fewer gallons than most rivals but buys every one of them at the most expensive pump.

The turbocharged flat-four requires premium unleaded across the whole 2022 718 range — no regular-fuel option, no E85/diesel flexibility, and no home-charging alternative since there's no electrified variant. The one mitigation is the small 14.2-gallon tank, which keeps an individual fill-up modest even as the per-mile cost stays high.

NHTSA has never run an NCAP test on the 982-generation 718 Boxster, and 2022 is no exception — the agency's own vehicle detail page for the 2022 Porsche 718 Boxster (C/RWD) carries no crash-test rating, and the broader 2022 Porsche Boxster listing shows the same absence across every configuration (base, S, GTS 4.0). carcomplaints.com's 2022 safety page confirms NHTSA has not conducted NCAP tests for this model year. Estimated at the segment-typical 4 from the car's Porsche Side Impact Protection airbag complement, reinforced windshield frame and dual roll-over bars, but there is no tested figure behind the number.

IIHS has never crash-tested any model year of the 718 Boxster, including 2022 — Consumer Reports' 2022 overview lists every IIHS metric (front moderate overlap, front small overlap, side crash) and every NHTSA metric as "NA", and carcomplaints.com's 2022 page confirms no IIHS test has been run. That is untested with no known structural deficiency, not a poor result, and Porsche backs the body with dual-stage front, knee, and door-mounted side airbags, side-guard door beams, a reinforced windshield frame and retractable front/rear roll-over bars. Scored below the two four-seat luxury convertibles in this run's calibration set (Mercedes CLE Convertible 74.5, BMW 4 Series Convertible 72.9, both benefiting from tested and awarded crashworthiness) and roughly level with the other untested two-seat sports convertibles (BMW Z4 61 overall, Mazda MX-5 Miata 56.8 overall) once their tested/rated crashworthiness components are stripped out.

Of the five features this item measures — AEB, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic — the 2022 718 Boxster has none standard, and only two of the five exist anywhere on its order sheet. Consumer Reports' 2022 assessment states Blind Spot Warning is optional, while AEB with pedestrian detection, highway-speed AEB, and Rear Cross-Traffic Warning are all "not available" at any price. Porsche's own 2022 assistance-systems literature lists exactly three items for the 718 range: adaptive cruise control including Porsche Active Safe (optional, gated to PDK), Lane Change Assist (optional, alert-only), and standard ParkAssist front/rear with a reversing camera. That is the thinnest ADAS provision among this run's convertible calibration set — well below the Mercedes CLE Convertible (74.5) and BMW 4 Series Convertible (72.9), and behind the BMW Z4 (61), Mazda MX-5 Miata (56.8), Ford Mustang Convertible (53.6) and Mini Cooper Convertible (51.3), all of which pair a two- or four-seat convertible body with a materially fuller standard or optional driver-assistance suite.

The only collision-braking function on the 2022 718 Boxster is Porsche Active Safe, bundled exclusively with the optional adaptive cruise control, which Porsche restricts to the PDK transmission — order the 6-speed manual (a no-cost option on every trim but the GTS 4.0) and there is no forward-collision intervention available at any price. Consumer Reports' 2022 data classes both pedestrian-detecting and highway-speed AEB as "not available" on this car, and PAS itself is a warning-plus-brake-jolt system, not a full modern AEB stack. IIHS has never run front crash prevention testing on the 718. Well below every convertible in this run's calibration set.

Blind-spot coverage on the 2022 Boxster is Lane Change Assist — radar-based, mirror-panel warning only, non-intervening, active above roughly 19 mph — and it is optional, not standard safety content; it was folded into the Premium package on GTS-adjacent 2022 configurations alongside LED PDLS Plus headlights and other convenience items. Rear cross-traffic alert is not on the 718's option list at all: Consumer Reports lists it as "Not available" for 2022. Optional alert-only blind-spot monitoring with no cross-traffic function lands in the top of the bottom band — below the BMW Z4 (61) and BMW 4 Series Convertible (72.9), which share BMW's broader parking/cross-traffic suite, and below the Mercedes CLE Convertible (74.5).

The 2022 718 Boxster has no lane assistance of any kind — no lane departure warning, no lane keep assist, no centering — on any trim, at any price. Porsche's 2022 assistance-systems literature for the 718 runs to three entries (ACC/PAS, Lane Change Assist, ParkAssist) and none touches lane position; Lane Keep Assist is sold elsewhere in Porsche's 2022 lineup (Panamera, Cayenne, Taycan) but not on the 982-generation 718. Floor of the band, well below every convertible in this run's calibration set.

Adaptive cruise control on the 2022 718 is a competent full-speed-range radar system — roughly 650 ft of forward scan, coasting permitted while active, PAS distance warning layered on — but it is optional and gated to PDK, so a buyer taking the no-cost-option 6-speed manual gets plain fixed-speed cruise and nothing more. No highway assist exists because there is no lane-centering function to pair with it, and Porsche InnoDrive is not offered on the 718. A capable option a large share of buyers cannot even order sits in the basic-cruise band rather than above it — below the BMW 4 Series Convertible (72.9) and Mercedes CLE Convertible (74.5), and below the Z4 (61), whose shared BMW ACC is standard-adjacent and transmission-agnostic.

No hands-free highway driving system is offered on the 718 Boxster for 2022 or any prior year, and Porsche sold no BlueCruise or Super Cruise equivalent anywhere in its 2022 range — the 718's assistance list tops out at hands-on adaptive cruise. Floor of the band across this run's convertible set.

In 2022 the 718 Boxster still left the factory on Bi-Xenon HID headlights paired with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) — adaptive, auto-leveling, with LED daytime running lights and cornering lighting — one generation behind the LED-standard norm most rivals in this price class had already reached. The mitigation is a paid one: LED headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus, adding camera-based automatic high-beam dipping and intersection illumination, sold as an option (and bundled in packages on GTS-adjacent trims). IIHS has never rated 718 headlights on either configuration. Below the tested/rated luxury convertibles in this run's calibration set.

Visibility on the 2022 Boxster is two different cars. Roof down, the mid-engine layout gives a short nose, a low cowl, slim A-pillars and nothing above shoulder height behind the seats — over-the-shoulder checks are trivial. Roof up, the fabric top's wide rear quarters and shallow heated glass create real over-shoulder blind zones, which is exactly why the optional blind-spot monitor is worth having and why Porsche offers no surround-view camera on the 718 to compensate. Standard front/rear ParkAssist sensors plus a standard reversing camera cover the parking case well. Netting the two states lands mid-band, a shade behind the fixed-roof 718 Cayman and below the four-seat convertibles in this run's calibration set that carry more standard camera coverage.

The mid-engine layout puts the engine immediately behind the seat backs and the folded fabric top stows where a rear bench would go, so every 2022 718 Boxster is a strict two-seater — which clamps this item to the floor of the 4–5 seat convertible band.

Porsche does not publish US interior dimensions for the 982 and every aggregator carries the field blank for 2022, so this is estimated from the roadster's 50 in overall height and its very low seat mounting. KBB's 2022 review notes plenty of room for tall drivers, so it lands just below mid-band rather than at the bottom.

Also unpublished, and identical in packaging to the 718 Cayman — same 97 in wheelbase, same footwell, same seat rails — so the estimate carries across. KBB's 2022 review specifically calls out "plenty of legroom even for tall drivers and passengers," supporting a mid-band placement for convertibles.

Two compartments front and rear are the mid-engine dividend, but the roadster gives up more than a third of the Cayman's luggage space because the folded fabric top eats into the rear compartment — 9.7 cu ft against the coupe's 15.0. It is still generous for an open two-seater (a Miata carries 4.6), yet it falls below the 10 cu ft floor of the convertible normalization band, so the item scores zero on an absolute measure.

The dual-trunk layout is the clever part and two carry-ons still fit up front, but the rear compartment is shallow and sits under the stowed roof, so the roadster loses the Cayman's genuinely useful rear hold. Inside the cabin the provision is thin and unchanged since 2017: narrow door bins, a shallow lidded console cubby, a small glovebox and the fiddly pop-out dash cupholders — with no rear seats and no parcel shelf, there is nowhere to put anything that will not slide around top-down.

The driving position is among the best in the segment and the partial-leather sport seats are firm but well shaped, holding up over long stints; the option book runs to 18-way adaptive sport seats and carbon buckets, and the limited-run 25 Years edition adds standard 14-way power Sport Seats in Bordeaux Red leather. What keeps the volume car below the 911 and Corvette is that its standard two-way seats are comparatively basic — the adjustment range and lumbar support most owners want are paid-for upgrades on the mainstream trims.

For a car this focused the Boxster rides remarkably well — the standard passive steel setup is firm but supple over broken pavement and body control is exemplary, which is why a Boxster works as an everyday car. It sits a notch under the 911 because PASM adaptive damping is a paid option on the volume trims (standard only on the 25 Years anniversary edition), and a hair under the Cayman because the open body is marginally less rigid over expansion joints.

The 718's clearest comfort weakness, and the roadster body makes it worse than the coupe. The volume car's turbo flat-four sits directly behind the bulkhead with a coarse, boomy voice the motoring press criticized almost universally, and a fabric roof cannot match a steel one for road and powertrain isolation. Wind sealing is genuinely good for a soft top and buffeting is mild, but road roar on coarse asphalt is intrusive and the engine is never out of earshot.

Two-zone automatic climate control and heated front seats are standard on the base 2022 Boxster, and the power fabric roof cycles in about nine seconds on the move with a heated glass rear window — real everyday convenience in a convertible. The score is capped because ventilated seats and the heated steering wheel are Premium Package extras on the mainstream trims (the 25 Years edition adds a heated wheel standard), and the two-seat gasoline packaging rules out any rear climate zone or remote pre-conditioning.

The entry 2022 718 Boxster opens at $62,600 before Porsche's $1,350 destination charge — well past the top of the convertible pricing band, so this item bottoms out. 2022 is a carry-over year within the 982 generation (the base car, T, S and GTS 4.0 trims and the turbo flat-four/flat-six lineup are unchanged from 2021), with the limited-run 25 Years Edition added as a 40th-anniversary special.

TrueCar's 2022 718 Boxster trim overview identifies the S as the most popular model year trim (over base, T, GTS 4.0 and the 25 Years Edition), mirroring the same finding for the mechanically identical 2022 718 Cayman. Like the base MSRP, the S's sticker sits far above the convertible band's ceiling, which is calibrated to mainstream convertibles rather than six-figure-adjacent sports cars.

The 2022 718 Boxster shares its 982.2-generation running gear, warranty terms and dealer service pricing with the 2022 718 Cayman, so the same estimate applies: the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty absorbs most repair exposure through year four, after which the owner carries it alone. At roughly $22,000 it is far past the top of the convertible band, so the item scores zero — the single largest running-cost penalty in the category.

The 718 Boxster is one of the strongest-retaining vehicles in the US market, though it trails the fixed-roof Cayman and the 911 — the usual coupe-over-convertible depreciation pattern in this generation. Projected well above the top of the convertible band (35-65%), so the item maxes out.

Porsche's New Vehicle Limited Warranty is 4 years / 50,000 miles, matching the German luxury norm and Lexus and beating the 3/36 that Ford and Chevrolet give the Mustang and Corvette convertibles. Mid-band, and unchanged across the whole 982 generation including 2022.

Porsche does not offer a standalone extended powertrain warranty in the US — drivetrain components are covered by the same 4-year/50,000-mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty and nothing beyond it. That falls below the 5-year floor of the band, so the item scores zero: the turbo flat-four/flat-six is out of warranty at four years while a Mustang's Coyote V8 is covered for five.

Porsche includes exactly one scheduled service — the first one, generally due at 1 year/10,000 miles — and bills every visit after it, which at $1,200-$2,500 a stop is one of the more expensive versions of that policy in the segment. Alongside it is 24/7 roadside assistance for the full 4-year/50,000-mile warranty period. That is a genuinely 'short included-maintenance period' rather than the no-coverage floor, but only just.

$75,950 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (75% retained, or about $56,963) leaves about $18,988 in depreciation. Add the projected $22,000 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $40,988 in total.

This is the rare model year where an actual, not merely projected, dependability verdict exists: J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study surveyed original owners of 2022-model-year vehicles after three years of ownership, and Porsche placed third among premium brands (186 problems per 100 vehicles), behind Lexus and Cadillac. That is real 2022-cohort data, not a segment estimate. Consumer Reports has no published reliability score for the 2022 718 Boxster — its subscriber survey sample for this low-volume nameplate is too small for a statistically confident result, a gap that also applied to the 2025 CR page for this model. RepairPal rates the Boxster nameplate 2.5/5.0, 15th of 17 luxury compact cars. The 2022 model year sits inside the documented 2018–2022 window for the power-fabric-roof top motor/microswitch malfunction that is the most common owner complaint on this generation, which caps the score below the mid-80s a clean powertrain-only record would otherwise support. Placed below the Mazda MX-5 (81.6) and just under the BMW Z4 (77.2 is lower, so actually above it) reflects a genuinely mixed 2022-cohort picture rather than brand reputation alone.

Brand-level judgment, held identical to every other Porsche scored in this dataset. Porsche ranked third among premium brands in J.D. Power's 2025 VDS (186 PP100, the study covering this exact 2022 model-year cohort) and third again in the 2026 VDS (182 PP100), took the top spot overall in the 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study (138 PP100), and was named best premium brand in J.D. Power's APEAL study for a third consecutive year in 2022 itself. Consumer Reports has placed Porsche in its top tier for brand reliability in recent analyses. Materially better than BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi as scored elsewhere in this dataset.

Clean record for this exact model year. NHTSA's vehicle detail search and Cars.com's recall lookup both return zero recalls specifically against the 2022 Porsche 718 Boxster. The nearby connecting-rod campaign (21V200000, filed March 2021, 193 units) is scoped to the naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre GTS 4.0/Spyder variants of the 2021 model year, not the turbocharged base engine this volume-trim scorecard covers, and not the 2022 model year. The later PDK shift-cable campaign (24V343000) and center-lock wheel bolt campaign (24V809000) are both scoped to 2024-and-newer builds. The one 982-era campaign that does reach back to older Boxster/Cayman S product (22V656000, headlight adjustment-screw caps) is scoped to 2003–2020 vehicles and does not include the 2022 model year. Not marked higher because no public TSB database was found to corroborate a clean bulletin history the way the recall data is corroborated.

Proven but not spotless. The volume 2022 Boxster's 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four has been in continuous production since the 718's MY2016 launch (Wikipedia, Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman (982)) with no systemic recall against the base engine, and the 7-speed PDK dual-clutch is among the most durable in production, carrying none of the IMS-bearing or bore-scoring history that dogged the earlier M96/M97 Porsche flat-sixes. What keeps this out of the high 80s is a well-documented, forum-corroborated wear item specific to this turbo engine: the low-mounted wastegate actuator corrodes and develops play, producing the metallic rattle that is the most common 718 owner complaint, generally resolved under warranty with a superseded part. Direct injection also brings the usual intake-valve carbon-buildup pattern on higher-mileage cars. The connecting-rod issue that hit the naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre GTS 4.0/Spyder variants in this same model family (NHTSA 21V200000, MY2021) does not touch the base turbo-four this scorecard represents, so it is not counted against this item.

Excellent materials wrapped around an architecture that was already several years old by 2022. Reviewers are consistent that surfaces, switchgear weighting and craftsmanship are exemplary, with leather throughout and Alcantara, carbon-fiber and brushed-aluminum upgrades available, but the cabin layout, switch panels and PCM 4.0 infotainment hardware date to the 982's 2016 launch and read as a generation behind the 911's newer cockpit. The base car ships with partial leather and more hard plastic in low-touch zones than its price implies, with the richest finishes gated behind options. Identical to how this item is scored for other 718 model years in this dataset, since the cabin did not change materially across 2022.

A strong item, ahead of where this scorecard lands for later 718 model years. By 2022 the 982 had six model years of production refinement behind it, still built exclusively at Porsche's own Zuffenhausen plant — the move of 718 overflow production to Volkswagen's Osnabrück facility did not begin until mid-2023, so the 2022 car carries none of that split-plant question mark. Porsche was named best premium brand in J.D. Power's APEAL study for the third consecutive year in 2022, and the brand's Initial Quality Study performance has been consistently strong in every year measured. The one recurring deduction, shared with every 718 in this dataset, is the fabric roof: the tensioning mechanism brings the fabric into direct contact with the side frame through every open/close cycle, producing chafing with use, and an open body shell is inherently less rigid than the hardtop Cayman's, so minor cowl shake over broken pavement is a real if small complaint.

Quality over coverage. Porsche's US network sat in the neighborhood of 200 dealers in this period — the thinnest network among the German luxury brands, well behind Mercedes-Benz (~380), BMW (~350) and Audi (~300) — so owners outside major metros travel real distances for scheduled service. Offsetting that, Porsche consistently ranks at or near the top of luxury brands in J.D. Power's Customer Service Index, and the 718 shares its service infrastructure, trained technicians and parts channel with the far higher-volume 911 and Cayenne/Macan lines, unlike a standalone low-volume nameplate. No 2022-specific dealer-count figure was found; the ~200-dealer estimate is corroborated across multiple recent-year sources and the network's size does not swing meaningfully year to year.

Expensive to keep. Consumer Reports' brand-level maintenance-and-repair-cost analyses have consistently placed Porsche near the bottom of all brands, and RepairPal rates the Boxster nameplate 2.5/5.0 for reliability — 15th of 17 luxury compact cars — with average annual repair and maintenance cost running well above the class norm, noting that both the frequency and severity of repairs run higher than typical. Parts are Porsche-priced and largely dealer-gated, and the mid-engine layout makes clutch and several driveline jobs engine-out labor. A power fabric roof eventually needs a four-figure fabric or mechanism repair a hardtop Cayman owner never faces. RepairPal does not publish a model-year-specific cost figure for the 2022 Boxster, so this leans on the nameplate-level data corroborated across adjacent model years.

2022 is a carry-over year within the 982 generation (launched MY2017, refreshed to 718 branding in 2016) — no mid-cycle screen change occurred. Every 2022 718 Boxster trim, base through GTS 4.0, ships the same 7.0-inch PCM 4.0 display, which sits at the absolute floor of the convertible normalization band.

PCM 4.0 is responsive and logically laid out, and Porsche keeps a full row of physical climate controls and hard shortcut keys alongside the touchscreen, so day-to-day usability is genuinely good. It still trails contemporary rivals on raw graphics and screen size — a 7-inch display was already modest by 2022 infotainment standards — but it reads slightly less dated in 2022 than it does later in the generation's run.

Apple CarPlay is standard on the 2022 718 Boxster but wired only, and Android Auto is not offered at all, on any trim, at any price. Half the phone market gets no native projection and iPhone owners must plug in — below the wired-standard band since Android Auto is a total absence rather than just missing wireless.

Native navigation is an extra-cost module on the 2022 Boxster rather than standard equipment, and Porsche Connect (live traffic, connected search) is bundled to that same navigation option — so the typical 2022 car has no built-in maps and no connected services. Voice control is the older PCM 4.0 command-word system rather than a natural-language assistant; most owners default to Siri/Google through CarPlay instead.

The strongest tech item on the 2022 car: the optional Burmester system and the 10-speaker Bose upgrade are both genuinely excellent, but the standard system is a modest six-speaker, 110-watt Sound Package Plus — weaker than the hardtop Cayman's eight-speaker setup, since the Boxster has no rear parcel shelf to mount extra drivers, and the fabric roof is a worse acoustic environment than a steel one. Both upgraded systems cost extra, keeping this below convertible rivals that ship branded audio standard.

The 2022 Boxster keeps the classic three-dial cluster: an analog central tachometer flanked by an analog speedometer, with a single 4.6-inch TFT screen on the right for trip computer, navigation and phone info. It's mostly analog with one small auxiliary display, and Porsche never offered a full-digital cluster on the 982 generation at any point in its run, including 2022.

No meaningful over-the-air update path exists on the 2022 718's PCM 4.0 electronics. Software and map updates are dealer-installed or side-loaded from downloaded media rather than pushed to the car; the 982's architecture predates the OTA capability Porsche later built into PCM 6.0-equipped models.

Connectivity is optional rather than built in — Porsche Connect rides on the extra-cost navigation module, so a typical 2022 Boxster has no app pairing at all. Where fitted, the My Porsche app covers vehicle status, remote lock/unlock and vehicle finder, but there is no remote engine start, no remote climate, and no phone-as-key on this generation.

Dated even allowing for a strict two-seater with no rear row to serve: the 2022 Boxster has two USB ports, both USB-A rather than USB-C, and no factory wireless phone charging in any form. There is no household outlet or onboard power.

The volume-spec 2022 Boxster uses a traditional key inserted left of the steering column — Porsche Entry & Drive proximity/push-button start is bundled into the optional Premium Package ($4,050 for 2022) rather than standard. There is no phone-as-key on the 982 and no remote start on the gas engine, but the roof can be opened and closed from outside the car via a fob-button hold, a roadster-specific plus.

The strongest convenience item: ParkAssist with front and rear sensors plus a reversing camera is standard across the 2022 718 range, which matters more in the Boxster than the Cayman since the raised fabric roof pinches rear three-quarter visibility. Porsche never offered a surround-view camera or automated parking on the 982 at any model year.

No head-up display is offered on the 2022 718 Boxster at any trim or price. The 982's low cowl and cockpit packaging leave no room for a projector unit, and Porsche never engineered one for this platform — a total absence for the whole generation, not a trim restriction specific to 2022.

Every 2022 718 Boxster — Boxster, T, S, GTS 4.0, and the 25 Years anniversary edition — is a strict two-seater; there is no 2+2 anywhere in the 982 range, so there are no LATCH lower anchors or top tethers in the car. The roadster body is marginally worse than the fixed-roof Cayman for a rear-facing seat improvised in the passenger position, since it sits under open sky with no shade when the top is down, and the split 9.7 cu ft trunk will not take a full-size stroller.

No crash-test evidence exists at all for this model year — NHTSA's own Safety Ratings API returns "Not Rated" across every crash mode for the 2022 718 Boxster, and IIHS has never rated the 718 Boxster in any year. Standard driver aids are thin and the strongest one, adaptive cruise with Porsche Active Safe, requires the PDK transmission — itself a paid option over the standard 6-speed manual in 2022, so the family-relevant safety kit is not something a base-spec buyer gets by default the way a 2025-model-year buyer (PDK now standard) would.

With two seats there is no second row to assess — no rear vents, amenities, or entertainment — so a family trip is physically capped at two occupants. Total luggage space is only 9.7 cu ft split across a front frunk and a small rear trunk shrunk by the folding-roof mechanism, and reviewers note a single carry-on fits in the rear compartment with the rest going in the front.

The 2.0-liter turbo flat-four's torque plateau from 1,950 rpm and the roadster's clear over-the-shoulder sightlines with the top down make this an easy car to place in traffic, but 2022 ships with a 6-speed manual as the standard gearbox and the smoother-in-stop-and-go 7-speed PDK is a separate option rather than standard equipment (as it became for 2025) — meaning the base daily-ease case for a 2022 buyer includes clutch-and-shift fatigue that the automatic-equipped car this same item scored higher for in later years does not have. The fabric roof also lets in more road noise than the fixed-roof Cayman, on top of a flat-four the press has consistently called coarse.

At 24 MPG combined the base Boxster is among the most economical cars in its peer group and its 18-inch base wheels wear cheaper rubber than higher trims' staggered setups, but every mile requires premium fuel and Porsche shop labor rates. The powered fabric roof is a wear item the fixed-roof Cayman does not carry, and the standard manual gearbox does nothing to change the fuel-economy picture versus the optional PDK.

One of the easier cars in its class to park: roughly 172 in long on a compact footprint with a 36 ft turning circle, and front/rear ParkAssist with a reversing camera as standard equipment for 2022. Dropping the roof clears the worst blind spot for a clean over-the-shoulder view, something the fixed-roof Cayman cannot do; the low front splitter still risks scraping steep driveway approaches without the optional front-axle lift.

Porsche publishes no US towing capacity for the 718 Boxster in any model year and sells no factory hitch, and the two-seat cabin with no folding surfaces rules out payload or work-gear duty. Its 9.7 cu ft of lockable trunk space sits well below the Cayman's, and the rear compartment sits directly above a hot mid-mounted engine — this is not a vehicle built to do work of any kind.

The 982 chassis, flat-four/flat-six engines, and manual/PDK gearboxes are proven hardware with a strong track record, so this is no fragile exotic, but nothing about it is built for work abuse: leather and Sports-Tex interiors with no washable surfaces, low bodywork that meets curbs badly, and Porsche parts-and-labor pricing that makes incidental damage expensive. The powered fabric roof adds a failure mode the Cayman does not have — drive motors, microswitches, and a rear window that are all individually serviceable wear items.

There is no 120V household outlet, no hitch, no bed access hardware, and no tie-downs beyond a luggage net in the 2022 lineup. Unlike the Cayman — which can take a factory roof transport system with ski, bike, and roof-box modules — the 982 Boxster has no factory roof carrier in the US catalogue, since the roof itself must be able to fold.

Two-up touring is one of the Boxster's stronger missions — the seats draw long-distance praise and the mid-engine chassis stays settled at speed — and roughly 341 miles of range on the standard 14.2-gallon tank (up to about 406 with the S/GTS's 16.9-gallon tank) is competitive for the class. It loses ground to the Cayman on the quiet a long day needs, with the fabric roof adding road noise on top of an already coarse flat-four (this vehicle's own cat4.json puts cabin quietness at 44), and for 2022 adaptive cruise is not just optional but tied to the optional PDK gearbox, so it is less commonly speced on manual-standard cars than it will be once PDK becomes standard for 2025.

Rear-wheel drive in every 2022 configuration with low ground clearance behind a front splitter, summer performance tires, and no tow rating make this a pavement car, and unlike the Cayman it cannot take a factory roof carrier for skis or bikes. What it does offer is the open-air experience itself plus two lockable, weather-sealed trunks and Porsche winter wheel-and-tire packages — enough for a scenic drive, not for leaving the pavement.

Two lockable, weather-sealed compartments totaling 9.7 cu ft is respectable for a roadster — the deep squarish frunk takes two carry-ons and the rear takes a third — but the folding roof costs the Boxster space against the Cayman's hatch trunk, and that loss is exactly the space bulky gear needs. There is no seat to fold, no pass-through, no hitch, and no roof carrier, so total volume is also total flexibility for this generation regardless of model year.

The 982-generation mid-engine layout puts the mass between the axles, and the rotational balance that produces is still the reference point in the segment for 2022 — reviewers routinely rate it above the front-engine convertibles it competes with and a fair number rate it above the 911 itself. Body control on the base car's passive suspension is exceptional and turn-in is immediate; PASM (10 mm lower) and PASM Sport (20 mm, S and up) widen the comfort-to-agility spread further, and the flat-six 2022 GTS 4.0 / Spyder / 25 Years variants push the chassis even harder. Scored one point under the structurally stiffer 718 Cayman coupe: the roadster body gives up real torsional rigidity, and while Porsche's bracing makes the deficit nearly undetectable on the road, it is not zero at the limit. 2022 is a chassis carry-over year within the 982 generation.

The 718's variable-ratio electromechanical rack remains the benchmark for how good EPAS can be in 2022: quick and linear off-center, weight that builds honestly with cornering load, and enough texture returning to the rim to feel the front tires approach their limit. With no engine over the nose, the 718 arguably reads the road better than the 911 does. It lands just below the handling score only because no electric system fully recovers the granularity of Porsche's older hydraulic racks — a gap contemporary reviews of this generation still note. Steering hardware and ratio are unchanged for 2022.

Four-piston aluminum monoblock fixed calipers at all four corners on 13.0-inch vented and perforated front rotors haul down a car that weighs right around 3,000 lb — the pedal is firm and short-travel, easy to modulate to the last few feet, and road-going fade resistance is a non-issue. Held just under the top band because the base car's cast-iron rotors are the component that eventually complains on sustained track laps (why PCCB carbon-ceramics remain a roughly $7,500+ option, standard only on the GTS 4.0-based 25 Years Edition per some configurations), and the base/S cars lack the outright bite of the GT-badged models. Brake hardware carried over for 2022.

Judged purely on calibration the base 718 Boxster is good but not top-band for 2022. Tip-in is crisp, Dynamic Boost holds the throttle plate open through brief lifts so boost stays on tap, and the optional 7-speed PDK remains the benchmark dual-clutch for shift speed and low-speed manners. Two things keep it out of the top band: genuine hesitation below roughly 2,000 rpm from the single-turbo 2.0-liter flat-four, and the fact that the standard gearbox on the base/T/S 2022 lineup is still the six-speed manual (PDK did not become standard fitment until the 2025 model year), so the representative car exposes the engine's tall gearing and soft bottom end rather than masking it with an automatic's ratio choices. The naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six in the 2022 GTS 4.0, Spyder and 25 Years Edition shares neither trait and would score materially higher.

This remains the base 718's one real failing and the most criticized attribute of the entire 982 generation through 2022. There is no vibration through the wheel or pedals and the engine is mechanically smooth, but the turbo flat-four's voice under load is coarse and boomy, and in a mid-engine roadster it plays directly behind the driver's head with a fabric roof — or nothing at all — between it and your ears. Scored a shade below the equivalent Cayman coupe: dropping the top removes what little acoustic isolation the structure provided, so the objectionable tone is more exposed, not less. It stays out of the failing band because the complaint is tonal character rather than mechanical roughness, and the optional sport exhaust helps — the naturally aspirated flat-six 2022 GTS 4.0 / Spyder / 25 Years Edition cars would score in the mid-90s here. No acoustic changes for 2022.

A 36.1-foot circle is mid-pack for a compact two-seater — respectable in absolute terms but no better than a mainstream sedan despite the 718's 97.4-inch wheelbase and small footprint, because a wide front track and fat front rubber consume the steering lock a short wheelbase would otherwise buy. The 718 was never offered with the rear-axle steering that shrinks the 911's low-speed circle.

One of the best driving positions offered at any price in 2022: you sit very low with the wheel falling straight into your lap, the pedals are squarely aligned for heel-and-toe (which matters when the manual is still the standard gearbox), and seat and column adjust through a wide range. The 982 keeps an analog center tachometer plus physical buttons and rotary controls for climate and chassis functions, so nothing hides in a submenu — an ergonomic edge over newer Porsches. The roadster body buys back the over-shoulder blind spots the Cayman's rear buttresses create, at least with the top down. Points come off for the deep sill and low bucket that make ingress and egress awkward, thick rear three-quarter blind spots with the roof up, and near-zero cabin storage.

The 718 Boxster is the car enthusiasts reach for when the 911 is out of budget, and plenty of them argue it is the more rewarding chassis regardless of price — then the roof folds away and adds the open-air dimension the Cayman cannot offer, which is why it scores above its own coupe twin here. It is fast enough to be genuinely exciting at public-road speeds rather than needing a track to come alive, it stays playful without ever feeling nervous, and the six-speed manual remains the default rather than a delete option. 2022 is also a landmark year for the nameplate: Porsche marked the Boxster's 25th anniversary with the limited 25 Years Edition (1,250 units, GTS 4.0-based, 400 hp flat-six, unique Neodyme livery), underscoring the model's enthusiast pedigree. It falls short of a perfect score only because the base car's turbo-four soundtrack undercuts the occasion in a way the flat-six cars do not.

$63,950 (destination included) buys a car with a 6-speed manual standard and PDK a roughly $3,730 option — but safety and comfort content stop almost immediately after that: blind-spot monitoring is optional, forward-collision warning with AEB is bundled with adaptive cruise control and only offered on PDK cars, and lane-departure warning/lane-keeping assist are not offered at any price. Heated seats, Bose audio, PASM and even the wind deflector are all separate line items, the same a-la-carte pattern as every other 982-generation year. A 2022 Mustang GT convertible at roughly $43K ships Ford Co-Pilot360 (AEB, lane-keeping) standard with more than half again the horsepower, which is the sharpest available contrast.

The 2022 entry price ($63,950) is the lowest the nameplate would see for the rest of the generation, which helps the value case slightly versus later years even though 300 hp for the money is still modest next to a sub-$45K Mustang GT convertible making 450 hp. The mid-engine chassis remains the class benchmark for the money spent on driving feel, and Porsche's historically strong resale (this generation would go on to post ~60%+ five-year retention) means the money is largely retained rather than burned — a genuine offset to the sparse standard content. Net is fair-to-good value against true rivals (Z4, SLC-replacement-less Mercedes lineup) but not against raw-power domestic convertibles.

2022 is an unusually broad lineup year: Base, T, S, GTS 4.0 and Spyder span roughly $64K to $100K across three engine states of tune (2.0T, 2.5T flat-fours, 4.0L NA flat-six), plus a sixth, limited-run 25 Years Edition ($102,450, based on the GTS 4.0, 1,250 units worldwide) marking the roadster's 25th anniversary with unique Neodyme/GT Silver livery and Bordeaux interior. A manual or PDK choice exists on every trim, and Porsche's options catalog lets a buyer tune the spec from stripped to loaded. The only structural gap is no AWD and no true budget entry point below the low-$60Ks.

Combined US 718 (Boxster + Cayman) sales fell to about 3,485 units in 2022 from 4,656 in 2021 — a roughly 25% decline — during the industry-wide chip shortage and production-allocation crunch rather than a demand collapse (waitlists and dealer markups the same year point the other way). Split between the two body styles the Boxster itself sits at a few thousand units, well below volume open-top rivals like the Mustang Convertible or MX-5. A down year, in a low-volume halo segment, driven by supply rather than desire.

Porsche's brand equity in 2022 was as strong as at any point in the model's life — reflected less by sales volume (constrained by supply) than by demand outstripping allocation, which is what drove the era's well-documented dealer markups on 4.0-liter and Spyder builds. The 718 pair extended its remarkable streak of Car and Driver 10Best wins into the 2022 model year. Held a few points under a ceiling score because 2022's brand story is inseparable from industry-wide supply dysfunction (chip shortage, long order waits) that, while not Porsche-specific, was a real friction point for buyers that year.

2022 sits near the worst point in the model's incentive history: mid-pandemic chip shortages constrained 718 allocations, and dealer forums from that period document additional dealer markups — some threads cite $10,000 to $50,000 over MSRP on desirable GTS 4.0 and Spyder configurations — with essentially no factory cash, subvented financing, or lease specials to offset it. A buyer ordering a base or S car through Porsche's allocation system might avoid markup, but that is the absence of a penalty, not a deal, and inventory cars commanded ADM rather than discounts. Scored on buyer benefit, this is close to the floor.

2022 is the seventh model year of the 982 generation (launched January 2016), squarely mid-cycle: no styling refresh has occurred, the cabin architecture (PCM 4.0) dates to launch, and the GTS 4.0 flat-six drivetrain introduced for 2020 carries over unchanged. It is not yet the terminal year the way 2025 would be, but by 2022 Porsche had already publicly signaled an all-electric successor was in development, so buyers were aware a redesign was on a multi-year horizon rather than a remote prospect. The 25 Years Edition is a genuine, if minor, freshness event for the model year, which keeps this from scoring at the generation's low point.

The 718 Boxster and Cayman won Car and Driver's 10Best for the 2022 model year, both scored a perfect 10/10, continuing an unbroken run of wins dating to the Cayman's 2006 introduction — a streak matched by almost no other nameplate in the magazine's history. The car continued to top or place at the head of essentially every sports-car comparison test it entered that year, praised specifically for chassis balance and steering feel. The one persistent demerit carried over from the platform's 2016 introduction is the turbo flat-four's coarse exhaust note in base and S trims, which reviewers continued to flag in 2022 — the only thing keeping this off a perfect score.