Who Considered a Boxster, but Got a Z4 Instead?

Just as the title says . . . . And if you really researched both, did thorough test drives, and so on... why did you get the Z4 and not the Porsche?

Doug

Hard top.

Originally Posted by mclaren

Hard top.

That's it? Otherwise what.... they're the same?????

I tested both. The Boxster is really dated (looks wise). The Z is more of a roadster where the Porsche is a convertible... imo.

It really came down to personal choice at the end of the day. I preferred a car that was better looking, new, and came better equipped (for the money). The Boxster I wanted to get was getting up there in price and for that I would have much rather paid a bit more and jumped into a base 911 - which is unreasonable for me right now. I also wanted the hard top over the soft top.

There were also a practical consideration, BMW offers free maintenance. This is a major selling point, especially when the Porsche rep was telling me that they have to take part of the engine apart for oil changes. Doing the math made no sense.

Overall, I felt that the Z offers and incredible balance for performance, price, practicality, and usability.

Don't get me wrong the Boxster is a great car (and I'll get flamed for this), it will outperform the Z but I would give that up. At the speeds most of us drive these cars, you'll hardly notice the difference.

Good luck

+1

Originally Posted by gotoschoolhere

I tested both. The Boxster is really dated (looks wise). The Z is more of a roadster where the Porsche is a convertible... imo.

It really came down to personal choice at the end of the day. I preferred a car that was better looking, new, and came better equipped (for the money). The Boxster I wanted to get was getting up there in price and for that I would have much rather paid a bit more and jumped into a base 911 - which is unreasonable for me right now. I also wanted the hard top over the soft top.

There were also a practical consideration, BMW offers free maintenance. This is a major selling point, especially when the Porsche rep was telling me that they have to take part of the engine apart for oil changes. Doing the math made no sense.

Overall, I felt that the Z offers and incredible balance for performance, price, practicality, and usability.

Don't get me wrong the Boxster is a great car (and I'll get flamed for this), it will outperform the Z but I would give that up. At the speeds most of us drive these cars, you'll hardly notice the difference.

Good luck

You won't get flamed for that. BMW did not build the Z4 for the purpose of outperforming the Boxster. Nor do I believe anyone purchased a Z4 over Boxster with that expectation. The Z4 is the superior to the Boxster in other areas, many of which you touched upon.

I also found the Porsche ordering process to be a bit overwhelming. They have lots of configurable options and while choice can be a good thing, to me it was a bit too much to deal with.

Originally Posted by iwanna330cic

Just as the title says . . . . And if you really researched both, did thorough test drives, and so on... why did you get the Z4 and not the Porsche?

Doug

the boxter problem is its aging design (1997) same year of the dating z3

Originally Posted by fwander

I also found the Porsche ordering process to be a bit overwhelming. They have lots of configurable options and while choice can be a good thing, to me it was a bit too much to deal with.

Interesting you say this. We covered this topic in class many, many times. I personally believe that more choices is not always good for the business owner. Often the seller ends up overwhelming the client.

I think when you reduce options, you help focus the customer.

I did considered the boxster and the reason I went with Z4 is pretty much like what already mentioned, the z4 looks sleeker and sexier, much nicer interior.
Porsche looks is two edged sword to me, on one hand I can appreciate the timeless look and just by looking the silhouette you recognize its a porsche right away. On the other hand it started to look very common, especially here in SF Bay where the Porsche is so common.

Well, I never considered the Boxster because its looks w/ the ragtop is not that appealing. However, if it helps, I did seriously consider the Cayman S but in the end it was just too much of a price gap for what one is getting (vs my 35i). Sure, the handling seems more solid and planted in the Cayman, but it has an awkward 'bulby' look about it and I really hate how Porsche intentionally underpowers it and not make it to its full potential, thereby keeping it 'inferior' to the 911, even though I think that it's more of a driver's car vs that stupid rear-engined design the company seemingly must try to keep as its premium sportscar. Truth be told, even if the prices were similar, it would have been a difficult decision since it would be the Cayman's better handling vs the Z4's better looks.

EDIT: the 2013 Cayman (and hence, perhaps Boxster?) appears to be quite the looker though. Not sure if you want to wait for those options.

I find it interesting and a little disappointing that most of you who posted here made your decision based on appearances. What about the handling and performance factors? No one here cares??

Doug

Originally Posted by iwanna330cic

I find it interesting and a little disappointing that most of you who posted here made your decision based on appearances. What about the handling and performance factors? No one here cares??

Doug

I think that was covered pretty well in this thread; most of those who went with a Z4 recognize its handling and roadholding as inferior to the Porsche's, but chose it anyway ... what more are you looking for

If you're looking for the track champ, you go Boxster; if it's value and styling you prioritize, you go Z4.

I agree with what edct said.
The one who prioritize performance and handling bought the boxster. when I bought my z4 I knew I mostly want a balance car and not a track car. I already have an e36 m3 to tackle trackday duty.
I want a car that I can take for a long trip drive and feel comfortable and luxurious.
Both are good car but with different development priorities. I also think the fact that boxster has mid engine and less weight, makes it almost impossible for the e89 to beat its handling.

Originally Posted by iwanna330cic

I find it interesting and a little disappointing that most of you who posted here made your decision based on appearances. What about the handling and performance factors? No one here cares??

Doug

The Cayman/Boxster is better in handling, but the Z4 is no slouch, just that it's hard to match due to the Porsche's setup, as others have already said. Overall, the Bimmer's a better car, imho.

After driving a friends 911 Carrera and then a Boxster conv. and then a Z4 3.0 down a steep side mountain pass, I knew the Z4 felt secure and fast enough to run fast on public curvey roads. A small amount of counter steer correction took care of the rear end break-out ( none on the P cars) and was just fun! Also the Z4 spyder is just such a fine looking pc. of sculptured designing that I smile every time I get into it. Ok, I would love to take all three cars out to a race track and have a go at it!

OK - thanks, folks. I didn't mean the performance & handling aspects were being ignored - but I see it came out that way. I was just surprised many of the earlier comments had more to do with appearance issues.

One thing that does give me pause over getting a Z4 is the small amount of luggage space in the trunk; particularly with the top down. I would think that puts a damper on taking a long weekend (or longer) trip with a SO. Yes? No? THe Boxster isn't cavernous, but it has the front and rear trunks that certainly offer more space. Just wondering how you all deal with that?

Doug

Originally Posted by iwanna330cic

One thing that does give me pause over getting a Z4 is the small amount of luggage space in the trunk; particularly with the top down. I would think that puts a damper on taking a long weekend (or longer) trip with a SO. Yes? No? THe Boxster isn't cavernous, but it has the front and rear trunks that certainly offer more space. Just wondering how you all deal with that?

Doug

The trunk is kinda deep and if you have duffle bags, you should be fine. The only prb is w/ the top down, access is difficult. Still, there is surprisingly good space top up/down. I guess you just have to investigate for yourself to see if it's enough.

Originally Posted by iwanna330cic

One thing that does give me pause over getting a Z4 is the small amount of luggage space in the trunk; particularly with the top down. I would think that puts a damper on taking a long weekend (or longer) trip with a SO. Yes? No? THe Boxster isn't cavernous, but it has the front and rear trunks that certainly offer more space. Just wondering how you all deal with that?

Doug

Actually I think Z4 has better trunk space than the boxster, which is one the plus for the z4. If I remember correctly the boxster rear trunk is very shallow.
I've done quite a few 3-5 days trip with my fiancee. We definitely have to be conscious of cargo space but we can always bring the stuff we needed and more.
I have the passthru option(advertised for ski board), that can also be creatively used to maximize cargo space.

--r

Originally Posted by zetmobile

Actually I think Z4 has better trunk space than the boxster, which is one the plus for the z4. If I remember correctly the boxster rear trunk is very shallow.
I've done quite a few 3-5 days trip with my fiancee. We definitely have to be conscious of cargo space but we can always bring the stuff we needed and more.
I have the passthru option(advertised for ski board), that can also be creatively used to maximize cargo space.

--r

Thanks. The Boxster rear trunk is not what I would call shallow, but it does taper off due to the slope of the trunk lid. The front trunk is quite deep. Anyway - good to know the Z4 trunk is decent, and it makes sense that the pass through can help too.

Doug

Well I purchased the Z4 35is for it's performance. I just came out of a R8 and a Lotus Evora.... I thought the R8 was too expensive for the lack of performance, and the Evora... was just cheap feeling. Obviously looking at my signature line, I have a thing for BMW's... but I did purchase the Z for it's performance. First, if you go with ESS tuning for 1k, the car will do 0-60 runs around the 3.4 mark, and second, if you do the ESS tuning mod, the car will do 0-60 sprints in 3.4 second... sorry did I say that twice... I meant it. It is a screamer with the DCT transmission and it is perfectly weighted. I am waiting to take mine to the track in the next month or so.

Regarding looks... that too... Porsche is the only car that looks the same whether it is in reverse or going forward :-)

Test drove a boxster when I first bought the Z4. In comparison, the boxster felt significantly underpowered compared to the Z4. That was the swing vote for my decision to buy the BMW.

Z4 sDrive 20i M-Sport with metallic paint, wood trim, heated sport seats, heated steering wheel, cruise control and the rest of the M-Sport goodies -- £33,880 - £8000 dealer discount = £25,880.

Boxter with metallic paint and no other options - -£38,147.00


That removed the Boxter from consideration.

Boxster S Pros: Loud, handling, storage space (Its got 2 boots :o) , over-engineered cupholders, looks like a mini-911
Cons: New gen around the corner, soft-top, unimpressive interior, looks like a mini-911, expensive to maintain

Z4 35i Pros: Turbo surge, interiors, features, overall quality, looks, better to mod, BMW reliability, its a coupe, its a convertible, DCT
Cons: No cupholders (RHD), handling (feels like understeer as we're too far from the front), HPFP scare (never had one go bad), could do with more storage space

I put down my money on the Boxster but then switched to the Z4, no regrets.

I bought a Z4 because after driving the SLK, Boxster, 911(yes 911), TT, S2000, and Nissan 350, the Z$ gave me the best mix of performance, value, and reasonable maintenance cost/DIY ability.

the boxster is near impossible for DIY engine work, the slk (pre-2012, the 2012 is incredible) is missing something, the s2000 and 350 were immature-ish, and the tt was a joke.

the boxster was the strongest contender, the engine note is unbelievable and the handling is beyond epic. but the luxury feel is not there and the refinement is not there... the boxster is raw and awesome but not the all-arounder.

the z4 seemed to me to be the best mix. i'm very happy and i love doing my own maintenance and coding.

I'm also plotting on upgrading to a new Z4, but i'm waiting to see if there will be a good redesign. i'm seeing the "what if" Z2 and Z4 but i want to wait. if it is not an epic change, i go with a 35i in tit. silver with a black top. i dont want the 35is because it doesn't come in stick (i like to drive my cars, not pose in them).

sidenote: The new boxster design is mind-blowing!