The Gazette (Montreal) (Enlarge photo)

Enter the cockpit and the surroundings, the dials, gauges and switches seem to connote an authoritative calm. Turn the key (thankfully, still a key) and the bark from the exhaust sends the twittering blackbirds fleeing from the trees, especially when your Boxster is equipped with a sport exhaust system ($2,940) that increases - with the press of a button - the decibel output by an amount just enough to let you know this car is the genuine article.

In fact, the sound of that premium-combusted CO2 rumbling through the sculpted stainless exhaust tip is a gentle reminder there's a 3.4-litre flat-six engine putting out 295 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque resting midship behind the two comfortable seats. That's an amount that makes the Boxster and Cayman models equal in terms of power.... // The Gazette (Montreal)