I was shrugging into my jacket and looking at the clock as I swallowed the dregs of black coffee. In any other car 12:37am would have been a godless time to be setting off on a 250-mile journey. In a Porsche Boxster, however, it was an adventure.There's no point having a convertible if you don't enjoy the open air. I stopped a mile into the countryside, disengaged the single roof lock-down hook above the rear-view mirror, pulled on the electric button and twelve seconds later my head clearance was extended from a few centimetres to 384,000 kilometres - the distance to the moon.With the heater dumping 30-degree air into my lap and the night air playfully ruffling the top of my hair in the slipstream, I was wide awake. This past few days with the fire-engine red sportscar had been too good. I knew when I got to Heathrow in a few hours, I wouldn't want to give it back.This is the second-generation Boxster - better-looking, better-performing and better-handling than its predecessor, which is amazingly over eight years old now. It's the entry-level sportscar from the marque but if anyone tells you it's a poor man's Porsche, they're simply wrong. It's a thoroughbred.This drop-head two-seater is drop-dead gorgeous. It's an evolution of the old theme, rather than a revolution, but despite appearances Porsche says 80% of the components are different. Visually it just looks a bit more cut and ribbed, and the front lights have been tidied up and rounded off, but it's all to great effect. It looks a lot more serious and masculine than it did. The 19" Carrera S wheels fitted here as a £1736 option boost the looks, but are they really worth that much?Power from the 2.7-litre flat-six engine is up by 12bhp on the outgoing model at 240bhp. Its 0-62mph time is 6.2 seconds and its top speed is 159mph. The most amazing thing is that over three days and about 700 miles of mixed motorway, A, B and unclassified road driving, I managed to get almost 30 miles per gallon from it - and I was far from exercising saintly restraint.That the Boxster will get away from the lights smartly is never in question, and on motorways the rolling acceleration for overtaking is grin-inducing. Weaving through the pearl necklaces of ring-road roundabouts and straights is actually fun, while letting the car loose on open moorland roads is like releasing a leopard into its natural environment. It's so well-balanced and so perfectly poised that even tarmac-ripping getaways never feel frantic.My test car came with the Sport programme package (£1030). It firms up the steering, stiffens up the suspension, tightens down on the throttle response. The standard setting is good for everyday use but this option brings you track-day handling at the stab of a button when you feel the urge for rapier-sharp attack mode. Trust me, it's fun to indulge occasionally.The Bose CD/radio with surround sound (£1030) was very good but I hardly ever listened to it because unless it was raining heavily I'd always have the top down. Despite my love of Kelly Joe Phelps and Joaquin Rodrigo, neither could compete with the blackbirds in the hedges and the warble from the tailpipe.Minor gripes include the lack of storage space in the cabin for anything bigger than a bag of Minstrels, the turning circle of over 11 metres despite the car's limited length and the poor reversing visibility. One other odd thing is that the front windscreen seemed a bit distorting. Every time I looked through that glass I felt my eyes had gone slightly out of collimation. Weird.But ultimately, having passed through the rising dawn and arrived in London, my feelings towards the car were unequivocally positive. I was amazed, when I finally got out, at how comfortable the seats had been over several hours of non-stop motoring. The only feeling of stiffness was in my heart as I watched my perfect travelling companion being loaded onto the transporter for taking away.At a bit over £32,000 for the basic Boxster, you can find quicker cars for less, like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII. You can get soft top cars of around the same price that are more practical, like the BMW 3-Series Convertible. You can even find other quality European roadsters, like the Audi TT.But for me, there's nothing in the bracket to touch this blend of clean and elegant design, legendary reliability, razor-sharp handling, everyday usability and badge prestige. With a projected residual value of 70% of the purchase price after three years, I guess I'm not the only one who feels that way. Engine 2678cc, 6 cylinders Power 240bhp Fuel/CO2 29.4mpg / 229g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.2 seconds Top speed 159mph Price £32,320 Details correct at publication date
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