Perhaps one of the most surprising things about Porsche’s 718 Boxster is that, for a car that’s just 4,379 mm long (2,475mm between the axles), 1,801mm wide and 1,281mm tall, how darn practical it is.

When I picked my test car up from the Porsche HQ in Reading the first thing I did was open the froot – the front boot for the uninitiated – to stow my rucksack and cold weather gear (turns out I didn’t need that) and I was pleasantly shocked at how capacious it was. One hundred and fifty litres of capaciousness in fact.

Plus, because of its mid-engined layout, there’s another 125 litres of boot space. For the record that 275-litre total is more than twice as much as a Mazda MX-5.

The Boxster, and its Cayman cousin, has been around in its current form since 2016. Some purists might be aghast at the prospect of driving a Porsche with anything fewer than six cylinders but the 718 designation is a nod to Porsche’s sports cars of the Fifties and Sixties that enjoyed race-winning success powered by flat four-cylinder engines and, now, here we are again.

This Boxster has a 2.0-litre power plant producing and 380Nm of torque, which is a quite astonishing gain of 100Nm over the previous model.

Though the changes might, at first, appear quite subtle compared to the previous model Porsche's designers have, in fact, been quite busy. For a start the front end has been given, according to the German firm, a more sculptural form in order to lend it a broader, more masculine appearance. The narrow front lights just above the air intakes and the two horizontal fins reinforce that effect.

From the side and, without doubt, harder to spot the new model can be distinguished by redesigned wings and side sills, door handles that are absent their add-on shells and two louvres in each of the air intakes ahead of the rear wheels.

The rear has been given a bit more character with the addition of an accent strip with an integrated Porsche badge running the width of the car between the lights.

Climb behind the optional (£194) GT sport steering wheel, which at just 360mm in diameter is deliciously compact, and the first thing you’ll notice is that it is totally devoid of buttons. The leather-bound rim and slim satin-finish metal spokes are delightfully minimalist. This is a steering wheel that, if it came in a tin, would do exactly what it said on it. Nothing more, nothing less.

After a couple of minutes searching for the engine start button – it’s got to have one, right? – I found the ignition and inserted the key fob. A quick twist and the 2.0-litre turbocharged flat four quietly burbles into life. In this, the base model, it produces 300hp and that 380Nm of turning force which is delivered to the rear wheels via a six-speed transmission.

The gear lever is short, with a wonderfully precise, deliberate action and it sits high on the transmission where your left hand can easily and quickly find it.

Squeeze down on the throttle – all the controls feel necessarily meaty – and you’ll be doing 45mph (where allowed) and approaching 7,500rpm before you have to start thinking about slipping into second. The Boxer engine delivers a suitably rorty note as the revs rise – though you can up the ante, and the volume, with the press of a button on top of the transmission tunnel – but despite the sensory clues it’s all too easy to misjudge just how quickly you’re going.

And it is possible to go very quickly. The sprint to 62mph takes a sprightly 5.1 seconds, 99mph just 11.3 while in-gear acceleration (50-75) impresses with the transition taking just 3.2 seconds. Top speed is 170mph.

The cabin is a pleasant comfortable and well-constructed space from which to enjoy the thrills – and there are many – on offer but I did find some of the controls, namely the air con rocker switches – to be both a little fiddly and uninspiring. That impression wasn’t helped by the white on black low-rent-looking LCD display that appears entirely out of place in the 718’s otherwise immaculately conceived cabin.

The list of standard equipment reads just like that, standard. There’s nothing there that you wouldn’t expect, no surprises, so if you want additional toys to play with you’ll have to pay a visit to the long, and often expensive, options list.

The Boxster comes equipped with Porsche Communication Management as standard, which includes mobile phone preparation and an audio interface, as well as Porsche’s Sound Package Plus that adds an audio system of six speakers and 110 watts of power.

The touchscreen interface is crisp, clear and intuitive.

The sports seats are a delight. The engine bulkhead just behind them limits adjustment but there remains enough flexibility to find the perfect driving position and they are a great deal more comfortable then their slim construction would suggest. They’re snug and supportive too, keeping you and your passenger facing straight ahead despite physics’ best efforts.

The Boxster is built using a lightweight monocoque body made of a combination of aluminium and steel. The doors, the bonnet and the rear boot lid are all made from aluminium.

It sits on McPherson-type struts at each corner and gas-filled dampers – twin-tube at the front – are paired with anti-roll bars front and rear. My test car was equipped with Porsche Active Suspension Management (£1,010) that does precisely as the name suggests and uses sensors to continually monitor road conditions and adjust the damping force at each wheel accordingly. You also get a 20mm reduction in ride height and much tighter tuning in Sport mode.

Porsche Torque Vectoring, which includes a mechanically locking rear diff (£926) was also added to the options list. The new electromechanical steering is designed to offer more direct response while the rear subframe has also been beefed up.

The optional PASM system provides a seemingly underwhelming, but very welcome, two driver-adjustable settings, Normal and Sport. However, once firmly ensconced behind the wheel, any concerns that I may have over that apparent lack of choice quickly proved to have no merit.

In Normal mode the Boxster makes a mockery of even the most unforgiving roads. Its wonderfully supple and forgiving ride belies its sporting DNA, even suggesting that maybe it might be found wanting when the forward momentum rises and the corners become a little more challenging.

What that forgiving ride does mean is that this particular two-seater is just as capable over long distances as it is for a quick run down to the supermarket where you can mesmerise fellow shoppers with the 718’s capacity for grocery stowage.

Still, this is a sports car and that requires precise, dynamic handling, excellent grip and thrilling performance. That the Boxster delivers unerringly across all metrics is, perhaps, not its greatest feat, but that it manages to do so and still be so civilised most certainly is.

The electric steering plays a huge role in making rapid progress both possible and enticing. Feedback is generous and front-end grip prodigious. Turn into a corner and there is never any doubt that the rear end of the beautifully balanced chassis will follow perfectly the arc prescribed by the front, but what surprises is that it does so while dispatching surface imperfections with total indifference.

Power delivery from the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is linear and measured – though a little lag is obvious until you hit the 2,000rpm marker – and it’s free-revving character encourages a push towards its 7,600rpm red line. As does the ever-increasing volume of a four-cylinder symphony playing just behind your ears. The harder you work, the greater the reward yet rapid progress rarely feels so effortless, so easy.

If you’re a keen driver there aren’t many reasons why you shouldn’t invest in a Boxster. Even the base model offers a level of performance and handling that should be enough to satisfy anyone. It’s possible to argue that once you start to tick the boxes on the options list – and some of them are more necessity than simple luxury – the cost does start to soar but I suspect that most people considering an almost £45,000 two-seater convertible won’t baulk at parting with a few extra grand.

The absence of a six-cylinder engine in the line-up might discourage some but it would be a misjudgement to assume that the Boxster is anything less than of a sports car without it because it is fast, agile and remarkably comfortable. In truth, perhaps the only drawback is that you can’t squeeze the mother-in-law in the back.

Porsche 718 Boxster

Price: £44,758

As tested: £53,720

Engine: 2.0-litre flat-four cylinder turbocharged

Transmission: Six-speed manual

Max power: 300hp @ 6,500rpm

Max torque: 380Nm @1,950rpm

Max speed: 170mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 5.1sec

Urban: 28.5mpg

Extra urban: 47.1mpg

Combined: 38.2mpg

Emissions: 168g/km

For more information visit www.porsche.com/uk