Test Drive: Boxster S vs. M Roadster vs. Z4 3.0i (long)
04-02-2006, 04:31 PM
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Test Drive: Boxster S vs. M Roadster vs. Z4 3.0i (long)
So anyway, I did test drive the Boxster S, M Roadster and my Z4 3.0i back to back to back on the same road test with slaloms and acceleration tests (even uphill acceleration)... My impressions? Here you go...
ACCELERATION
M Roadster wins this hands down with no surprises. But I'm a little disappointed in the sound. Believe it or not, my Z4 sounded BETTER under full acceleration than the M Roadster. What's up with that? On a normal day to day cruising (shifting within 2.5k to 3.5k), I thought that both cars felt very similar. In day to day driving, I actually prefer my Z4 due to the sound. The M Roadster pulls the same exact way (due to flat torque curve) to redline as my Z4 - but harder. Again, no surprise there.
The 987 Boxster S like the previous generation Boxster S I had driven, felt SLOW in the day to day driving. Where it is or not is irrelevant. It “felt” slow when shifting between 2.5k to 3.5k rpms. I believe this may be due to the torque dip as shown in their dyno plots. The BMW engines have no such dip and they feel smooth throughout the entire rpm range. In fact, the M Roadster engine (330hp, 262 tq) makes the Boxster S’s max torque (236 ft-lbs) at about 2500 rpms! My Z4 3.0i (225 hp, 215 tq) makes the same torque as the Boxster S in the lower rpms, but my Z4 feels like it pulls harder in the lower rpms. When revving past 4k rpms, the Boxster S feels and sounds like a monster. You get the feeling like it pulls and pulls and pulls and it’s just not going to stop! Mind you, the M Roadster may have been faster with the clock, but the whole experience with the sound was better in the Boxster S, in my opinion. The Boxster S weighs less, so the actual timed difference between the two may be splitting hairs. The M Roadster’s sound was disappointing.
SLALOM / TURNS / ROADHOLDING
The M Roadster felt a lot more stable than my Z4. This is probably due to the non-run flats in the M. While doing slaloms, you could feel the weight of the M Roadster when compared to my Z4. Believe it or not, on a smooth surface, my Z4 actually felt BETTER than the M Roadster. But once the road imperfections come into place, my Z4 started getting “darty” due to the run flat tires. My Z4 suspension also felt stiffer than the M Roadster.
The Boxster S really shined in the slaloms. I didn’t think I would be able to appreciate the difference, but driving the cars back to back to back really pointed out a lot of things… Mainly, the M Roadster and Z4 are way behind in steering feel. The Boxster S felt THAT good. It was significantly more confidence inspiring than either BMW’s. In fact, it felt like a heavier Miata – my all time favorite handling/fun car. Of course, the Boxster S is light years more refined than the Miata. But I’ve owned a Miata and it still breaks my heart when it left my hands.
The Boxster S’s road handling was firm, but compliant. I can’t fully describe it, but it just felt better than either the M or my current Z4. The test drive was on the same roads so I was really looking for the difference among the three cars.
BRAKING
The M Roadster has massive cross drilled rotors as does the Boxster S. Both of them felt really good. But I would give the Boxster S the slight edge in feel. I’m sure both would have similar stopping ability, but the Boxster S’s felt better.
INTERIOR
The M Roadster’s fat steering wheel was really, really nice. It felt like one of those “squeeze *****” and it made you want to grip it over and over. It felt therapeutic! The M seats were really nice as well. The side bolsters kept you in place and this was really lacking in my Z4. The shifter felt great – exactly as my Z4. All else was exactly the same as my Z4. The sport button response was the same. I really like the on/off sport button in that it made “tooling around” much easier with the lighter steering feel when off. Call me lazy, but sometimes I just don’t feel like putting both hands on the steering wheel and I just want to use 1 finger to steer. Of course, this is not possible with the Boxster S.
The Boxster S steering required both hands to steer. It’s not light in any manner. Although the shifter of the Boxster S was good, it was slightly less smooth than my Z4 and M Roadster. The standard seats are not as good as the M Roadster’s, but are still better than my Z4. The rest of the interior of the Boxster S is awesome. It’s more suited to my taste than the M or my Z4.
STEREO
No contest. The Boxster S stereo with/without Bose is an absolute joke compared to the HK/Carver system in the M Roadster and my Z4. Bose should be ashamed. I don’t care if Porsche spec’ed out the stereo and Bose simply “gave them what they wanted”. Bose has a reputation to uphold and they should recall all the Bose stereos in the Boxsters… Please, no comments about “it’s a convertible and the sound is compromised to begin with” yada yada yada yada. When I’m sitting in a parking lot or sitting in traffic, I want to be able to appreciate my music.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
There are no fog lights in the M Roadster. What’s up with that? Further, to add insult to injury, I looked at where the air vents (the previous location of the fog lights) were pointing to. Looking through the vents, you will see that they point to the tires and not the brakes!!! This is ridiculous. The vents on my 1999 M3 point to the brakes where they are supposed to. The only way I could see those air vents cooling the brakes is when you are turning left or right. Maybe they are not supposed to cool the brakes? Then give me my fog lights back!!! I saw no such nonsense in the Boxster S.
The trunk of the M Roadster is compromised due to the battery and air pump. Still, I was able to fit my “roll-aboard” suitcase right next to it such that I could still fit two roll-aboard suitcases. The Boxster S still has more trunk space.
I can’t order the M Roadster with an all “beige” interior! Also, the “Imola Red” exterior is too dark for me. I like the “Bright Red” of my Z4 and the “Guards Red” of the Boxster S. I see that the regular Z4 can still be ordered with a full beige interior (beige mats, carpet, footwells, door trim, etc.). On the M Roadster, if you order the “full leather” option, only the center tunnel is the same color as the seats. The carpet, footwells, door trims, etc. are still black. Yuck.
LOOKS
You know, I’ve always liked the Z4 body style. It just looks good to me from every angle. I love the uniqueness of it. The dual exhaust on the M even looks better. People who used to bash it, give me credit once they actually see it in person. I’ve always bashed the looks of the Boxster ever since it came out – joking that I never knew if it’s coming or going since the front looked like the back. In Guards Red with the Carrera S wheels, it looks good…
So between the M Roadster and the Boxster S, these are what I liked:
M Roadster: seats, steering wheel, engine, looks, sport button, stereo, price
Boxster S: engine sound, steering feel, suspension, brakes, interior, luggage space, color combinations
So what am I ordering? I’m going with the Boxster S! It was a tough call. I had to factor in that I wouldn’t feel that I had a new car if I ordered an M Roadster due to my familiarity with my Z4. But the Boxster S felt so good that I am certain I would have more fun with it. I think that it would really be much more fun to drive than the M Roadster.
ACCELERATION
M Roadster wins this hands down with no surprises. But I'm a little disappointed in the sound. Believe it or not, my Z4 sounded BETTER under full acceleration than the M Roadster. What's up with that? On a normal day to day cruising (shifting within 2.5k to 3.5k), I thought that both cars felt very similar. In day to day driving, I actually prefer my Z4 due to the sound. The M Roadster pulls the same exact way (due to flat torque curve) to redline as my Z4 - but harder. Again, no surprise there.
The 987 Boxster S like the previous generation Boxster S I had driven, felt SLOW in the day to day driving. Where it is or not is irrelevant. It “felt” slow when shifting between 2.5k to 3.5k rpms. I believe this may be due to the torque dip as shown in their dyno plots. The BMW engines have no such dip and they feel smooth throughout the entire rpm range. In fact, the M Roadster engine (330hp, 262 tq) makes the Boxster S’s max torque (236 ft-lbs) at about 2500 rpms! My Z4 3.0i (225 hp, 215 tq) makes the same torque as the Boxster S in the lower rpms, but my Z4 feels like it pulls harder in the lower rpms. When revving past 4k rpms, the Boxster S feels and sounds like a monster. You get the feeling like it pulls and pulls and pulls and it’s just not going to stop! Mind you, the M Roadster may have been faster with the clock, but the whole experience with the sound was better in the Boxster S, in my opinion. The Boxster S weighs less, so the actual timed difference between the two may be splitting hairs. The M Roadster’s sound was disappointing.
SLALOM / TURNS / ROADHOLDING
The M Roadster felt a lot more stable than my Z4. This is probably due to the non-run flats in the M. While doing slaloms, you could feel the weight of the M Roadster when compared to my Z4. Believe it or not, on a smooth surface, my Z4 actually felt BETTER than the M Roadster. But once the road imperfections come into place, my Z4 started getting “darty” due to the run flat tires. My Z4 suspension also felt stiffer than the M Roadster.
The Boxster S really shined in the slaloms. I didn’t think I would be able to appreciate the difference, but driving the cars back to back to back really pointed out a lot of things… Mainly, the M Roadster and Z4 are way behind in steering feel. The Boxster S felt THAT good. It was significantly more confidence inspiring than either BMW’s. In fact, it felt like a heavier Miata – my all time favorite handling/fun car. Of course, the Boxster S is light years more refined than the Miata. But I’ve owned a Miata and it still breaks my heart when it left my hands.
The Boxster S’s road handling was firm, but compliant. I can’t fully describe it, but it just felt better than either the M or my current Z4. The test drive was on the same roads so I was really looking for the difference among the three cars.
BRAKING
The M Roadster has massive cross drilled rotors as does the Boxster S. Both of them felt really good. But I would give the Boxster S the slight edge in feel. I’m sure both would have similar stopping ability, but the Boxster S’s felt better.
INTERIOR
The M Roadster’s fat steering wheel was really, really nice. It felt like one of those “squeeze *****” and it made you want to grip it over and over. It felt therapeutic! The M seats were really nice as well. The side bolsters kept you in place and this was really lacking in my Z4. The shifter felt great – exactly as my Z4. All else was exactly the same as my Z4. The sport button response was the same. I really like the on/off sport button in that it made “tooling around” much easier with the lighter steering feel when off. Call me lazy, but sometimes I just don’t feel like putting both hands on the steering wheel and I just want to use 1 finger to steer. Of course, this is not possible with the Boxster S.
The Boxster S steering required both hands to steer. It’s not light in any manner. Although the shifter of the Boxster S was good, it was slightly less smooth than my Z4 and M Roadster. The standard seats are not as good as the M Roadster’s, but are still better than my Z4. The rest of the interior of the Boxster S is awesome. It’s more suited to my taste than the M or my Z4.
STEREO
No contest. The Boxster S stereo with/without Bose is an absolute joke compared to the HK/Carver system in the M Roadster and my Z4. Bose should be ashamed. I don’t care if Porsche spec’ed out the stereo and Bose simply “gave them what they wanted”. Bose has a reputation to uphold and they should recall all the Bose stereos in the Boxsters… Please, no comments about “it’s a convertible and the sound is compromised to begin with” yada yada yada yada. When I’m sitting in a parking lot or sitting in traffic, I want to be able to appreciate my music.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
There are no fog lights in the M Roadster. What’s up with that? Further, to add insult to injury, I looked at where the air vents (the previous location of the fog lights) were pointing to. Looking through the vents, you will see that they point to the tires and not the brakes!!! This is ridiculous. The vents on my 1999 M3 point to the brakes where they are supposed to. The only way I could see those air vents cooling the brakes is when you are turning left or right. Maybe they are not supposed to cool the brakes? Then give me my fog lights back!!! I saw no such nonsense in the Boxster S.
The trunk of the M Roadster is compromised due to the battery and air pump. Still, I was able to fit my “roll-aboard” suitcase right next to it such that I could still fit two roll-aboard suitcases. The Boxster S still has more trunk space.
I can’t order the M Roadster with an all “beige” interior! Also, the “Imola Red” exterior is too dark for me. I like the “Bright Red” of my Z4 and the “Guards Red” of the Boxster S. I see that the regular Z4 can still be ordered with a full beige interior (beige mats, carpet, footwells, door trim, etc.). On the M Roadster, if you order the “full leather” option, only the center tunnel is the same color as the seats. The carpet, footwells, door trims, etc. are still black. Yuck.
LOOKS
You know, I’ve always liked the Z4 body style. It just looks good to me from every angle. I love the uniqueness of it. The dual exhaust on the M even looks better. People who used to bash it, give me credit once they actually see it in person. I’ve always bashed the looks of the Boxster ever since it came out – joking that I never knew if it’s coming or going since the front looked like the back. In Guards Red with the Carrera S wheels, it looks good…
So between the M Roadster and the Boxster S, these are what I liked:
M Roadster: seats, steering wheel, engine, looks, sport button, stereo, price
Boxster S: engine sound, steering feel, suspension, brakes, interior, luggage space, color combinations
So what am I ordering? I’m going with the Boxster S! It was a tough call. I had to factor in that I wouldn’t feel that I had a new car if I ordered an M Roadster due to my familiarity with my Z4. But the Boxster S felt so good that I am certain I would have more fun with it. I think that it would really be much more fun to drive than the M Roadster.
04-02-2006, 06:18 PM
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I have never driven an M Roadster, but I find them marvellous looking cars. Would you say, apart from looks ( I understand you like your Z 4' looks very much), that it is a better car than the Z4?
04-02-2006, 07:03 PM
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Nice write-up and great choice 
Also, don't forget that you can easily (but not necessarily cheaply) replace/upgrade the seats, steering wheel, and stereo in the Boxster. When the 997 GT3 comes out, there should be some really nice race seats and Alcantara steering wheel/etc. available. It would have been a lot harder to add steering feel and luggage space to the M Roadster.
Also, don't forget that you can easily (but not necessarily cheaply) replace/upgrade the seats, steering wheel, and stereo in the Boxster. When the 997 GT3 comes out, there should be some really nice race seats and Alcantara steering wheel/etc. available. It would have been a lot harder to add steering feel and luggage space to the M Roadster.
04-03-2006, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Miguel
I have never driven an M Roadster, but I find them marvellous looking cars. Would you say, apart from looks ( I understand you like your Z 4' looks very much), that it is a better car than the Z4?
04-03-2006, 11:50 PM
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Wow. I was surprised by the result! As I read it, I was sure this was just a cut and paste of a posting on a BMW board. I too really like the looks of the Z4. To me, it has those great swoops like the long fenders of the 40s and 50s cars like MG TCs, Jaguar SS100s, then XK120s. I almost got one but ended up with the Boxster S too. I think many of the points that moved you were the same ones that moved me: engine sound, "firm, but compliant. I can’t fully describe it," and I liked the responsiveness to steering input better. (That said, I did end up ordering the factory sport exhaust and love the car even more because of it). I also have the full leather interior which I think adds quite a bit to the earlier Boxsters.
So welcome to the club.
So welcome to the club.
