I'm a convert to sports cars - advice on Boxsters please

Soldato
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For the last few years I've been very happy with my CL500 as it suits what I thought was my driving requirements perfectly. Plenty of torque, auto box, big comfy seats and lots of toys. I don't do all that many miles in the car and when I do it is often on the motorway.

Last weekend I was bored and thought I would go to an independent dealer to try driving something different for fun. With the weather being so nice I thought it would be interesting to drive a soft top as I have very little experience of wind in your hair motoring. This particular dealer had a number of Boxsters, a Saab 9-3T Hot Hirsch upgraded thing and an Audi S4 Cab. Now I wasn't really going with the intention of buying a car, but made all the right noises to allow me and the wife to take them out. I was surprised by the results.

The Boxster S (2002 3.2l model) absoloutely blew me away with how much fun it was to drive. I hadn't really thought of myself as man who likes a keen drive (too much effort) but this was a revelation. Then I took one out with a tiptronic box. While I understand this is probably sacreligious to some, for me it would prove rather useful and makes the car a more enticing proiposition as an every day car (that admitedly I wouldn't use every day). My wife prefers an auto and frankly so do I probably. I also didn't feel that much of a performance difference compared to the manual. I was impressed with how much confidence the car gave me and also by how little wind noise was intruisive. At 65mph my wife and I were able to hold a conversation without having to really raise our voices.

I have some questions that might be better asked on a specialist forum, but I reckon you guys might have a few valid opinions.

1. Running costs. The CL is pretty expensive to run. 18mpg, £500+ regular servicing bills at times and when something goes wrong it can be expensive. For instance a set of non-MB cats were £1,000 fitted. The Porsche has better fuel economy but what are servicing costs like in comparison and if something does go wrong, is it likely to be as expensive like for like as the Merc? I'm guessing it is a pretty reliable car on the whole?

2. What performance difference does the tiptronic make in terms of acceleration? Perhaps it is my failing interweb skills but I can't even seem to Google it

3. Should I consider another sports car with similar driving characteristics? I hadn't really even thought of a sports car before, prefering I guess what i would think of as a GT. The BMW Z4 seems an obvious one to take out that I haven't tried. I once had a brief session in an S2000 which was painful. I had to rev the nuts off it to get anywhere with pace. Budget is up to £20K. It has to be reliable as it will be the only car that gets a reasonable amount of use so that rules out TVRs and such like. I also am unable to physically get in and out of a Lotus Elise without looking like a twerp so couldn't drive one of those. Precticality can take a little step back, but I do need to get my golf clubs in (which the dealer was happy to show me I could do in the boxster!!)
 
I can't offer any advice on the Boxster but I put a deposit down on a Z4 3.0 on behalf of my Mum last week, and test drove it extensively.

Like you, I was rather suddenly and suprisingly converted to the concept of a sports car. I didnt really see the appeal - but after a decent test drive, wow. Different to anything I've driven before and the no roof thing was absolutely great. Even sitting in traffic with the roof down was fun.

As for the Z4 - it handled well but was not night-and-day difference to the 5 Series, so I suspect the Boxster might have a dynamic edge. 0-60 was 5.9 seconds but again it felt not really any different to the 530i which is 6.5 seconds so I'm not sure how accurate those figures were. It sounded great, was reasonably well built (3 series levels of quality) and brilliant fun.

So yea, I'd test drive one of those. I was grinning from ear to ear when I got out.

I think I'll be borrowing it on a regular basis once it arrives :p
 
:confused: not sure where I said it wasn't any better :confused:

It clearly was - but with it being my first proper sports car experience I guess I was expecting more of a difference. Like I said, the difference was not like night and day.. I thought that was pretty clear myself. Don't forget, the Z4 is E46 based, a car which itself is merely slightly better rather than a transformation over a 5.
 
[TW]Fox;11681605 said:
:confused: not sure where I said it wasn't any better :confused:

It clearly was - but with it being my first proper sports car experience I guess I was expecting more of a difference. Like I said, the difference was not like night and day.. I thought that was pretty clear myself. Don't forget, the Z4 is E46 based, a car which itself is merely slightly better rather than a transformation over a 5.
Have you driven an mx-5 the difference between that and the 5er really is night and day. :p

For your running costs problem, if you take your car to a porsche dealer, they can inspect it and offer a decent warranty, I am unsure of the drawbacks and limitations of this, something you may want to research.

There is also the merc SLK, merc SL (would be the old one though)
Honda S2K (not sure about motorway work)
Lexus SC is another solution to the running costs thing, but you should drive one as I hear they are rubbish.
 
Nope, only other cabrio I've driven was the A4 3.0 and that was rubbish - complete boat, slow and rattled like a Renault. No idea why they are held in such high regard
 
Got to admit after seeing a few S2000s going about recently and having a quick test drive in one I quite fancy soft top motoring for the summer was very surprised I enjoyed it so much, pick one up as a 2nd car and garage it over the winter so I don't kill myself. Certainly got me thinking !
 
[TW]Fox;11681605 said:
:confused: not sure where I said it wasn't any better :confused:

It clearly was - but with it being my first proper sports car experience I guess I was expecting more of a difference. Like I said, the difference was not like night and day.. I thought that was pretty clear myself. Don't forget, the Z4 is E46 based, a car which itself is merely slightly better rather than a transformation over a 5.

sorry. from your post, i'm assumed you meant it wasn't any different to the 5 series handling wise. That how I interpreted it when I read it.:confused:
 
Boxster S with manual box is about as pure as it gets, more so than a Z4 which has 'odd' steering that feels over assisted to me. Both cracking cars of cours and you need to drive both and form your own conclusions, but to I would choose the Boxster if it were my money.

Ensure you buy a good one with a full OPC history and idealy, though more difficult at this price level, a full OPC warranty. If you can push the boat out a bit more then a Cayman is even better but both are truly excellent cars.

Having said that of course, poor mans 911 ;)
 
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