My impressions of 718 Boxster S versus e89 z4 2.8

[Squiddie]

Thought this might be of interest. I finally got to drive a 718 Boxster, a S model with PDK and full leather (no adaptive suspension, no sports chrono, no sports exhaust). I drove to and from in my Z4 and my wife tagged along.

My e89 has a square set of 245mm 18" PSS tires on light wheels. I don't use the OEM runflat crap. It has the adaptive suspension.

The primary impressions:

• The 718 S model is silly fast. Really no other way to put it. Bonkers fast.
• But it sounds bad to me and, even without PSE, was very loud, had a lot of burble and fart. Wouldn't have been an issue if we liked the sound but we didn't and then the loudness becomes an issue.
• A full leather Porsche is something else. Leather quality is better, too. Ventilated seats were nice after 4th of July (can't have in the e89).

The sound matters to some and not to others. An acquaintance of mine drove the literal same car before me and loved it immensely. He goes "a bit" faster than me. For me the BMW clearly sounded better (I have the fuse for the stereo amp pulled to rule out artificial sound).

The big surprise was how similar these two cars are in some ways:

• Engine characteristic is so similar. 4-cylinder turbos. Apart from the stupid throttle map in the BMW in sport mode they felt similar. The BMW was much more powerful of course.
• The steering with both cars having electric power steering support felt similar. Leather on Porsche steering wheel is better. Balance seemed to be similar, which about matches the weight distribution numbers, and the e89 gets where it needs to be with the square tires. I did not push the Boxster hard enough to judge that the weight, although equally balanced, is concentrated much more in the middle of the car than in the BMW.
• The 14-way Porsche seats did not seem unsimilar to the BMW sports seats with width adjustment and lumar support. Again, better leather matters here.

Storage was about comparable, counting the e89 rear shelf. Roof open a bit more for the BMW and roof closed a bit more for the Porsche.

The 8-speed sports automatic in the BMW feels so quick and tight and non-slushy after driving any other car, but the PDK. Hah. That 2017 incarnation of the PDK is really good. Porsche also cut out the BS and has proper paddle shifters only, and +/- on the console shifter are in the right direction since the 991 gt3.

BMW is paint king. Paint quality on my 2015 is outstanding and IMHO better taste is exercised picking colors.

[Squiddie]

reserving for more remarks as I remember them

[mr wilks]

Enjoyable read but needs a conclusion

[Squiddie]

Enjoyable read but needs a conclusion

When buying the Z4 costs a similar price (with less options). Not a chance for the BMW. The sound might be a dealbreaker. If not I couldn't resist getting the Porsche, and forking over cash for full leather.

However, BMW's aggressive lease pricing is turned into the polar opposite when trying to lease Porsches right now. Not a chance to pay that much for a car I don't fully love.

I have never seen an e89 with the optional nappa leather package, but then you are limited to 1 color (in the US).

[john-e89]

Balance and steering feel felt similar..??? Did you actually drive the porker or just start it, rev it then turn it off?

Interesting read though, thanks for posting.

[mr wilks]

Balance and steering feel felt similar..??? Did you actually drive the porker or just start it, rev it then turn it off?

a true Yorkshireman

[techathy]

Boxster similar to the E89?... have Porsche messed up the Boxster 718 THAT badly?

I know that in the slow turn in, load up the rear on the throttle powering through and out in brutal fashion a remapped E89 35iS eats the 987 Gen II Boxster S alive. But given a clear road the Boxster can out-corner the E89 to more than make up for the difference.

[Squiddie]

That Boxster would be much faster than my 28i either way.

I specifically mentioned steering feel is similar and that I did not push out of corners fast.

Later this summer I will go to Atlanta to push the thing on their track but that didn't happen yet.

[Rathean]

I did 100k in a Boxster 2.7 2003-reg and it was the single most well engineered motor I've ever had the pleasure to drive.

Comparing it to my z4 now is like comparing apples with bananas... ok they're both fruit but they have been engineered to have different personalities. I think the z4 is a harder car to drive but its so much more engaging and rewarding when you get it right.

The Boxster is so well balanced any average driver can feel like a World-beater. The z4 needs far more respect but actually I think it asks to be driven harder to get the same rewards.

On balance I'd take my z4 above the Boxster any day. The more I drive the z4, the more I want to

[techathy]

The 35iS takes more effort to get to 6/10ths, which is about as fast as you can go on public roads, where as the Boxster/Cayman are easy to get to 7/10ths. This means when doing fast road driving it makes the Z4 more involving in a lot of ways ways. However, taking it to 10/10ths in the Zed you're basically learning how to drive around the limitations of the car. When you do the same thing in the Porsche you're exploiting the chassis which is far more rewarding and involving.

To my mind this is totally correct. The Z4 and Boxster/Cayman aren't direct competitors per-se, they're complimentary competitors giving very different outlooks on small open-top 2 seater motoring.

[Squiddie]

Folks, I didn't come out "e89 and 718 are the same car".

What I expressed is a surprise about how similar these two are in how many ways.

Keep in mind that the price isn't that different anymore either.

[Twin Turbo]

I agree with squiddie, normal driving you are not going to hit the limitations of the E89 - or take advantage of Boxter more advance suspension.

The key element when comparing cars - what everyone misses is the driver.

I had experience on track days that I i was quicker through the twistiest than a E92 V8 M3. Does this mean the E89 is a better track car - not all all - it was purely down to the driver.

Normal driving you are not going to hit the limitations of the car driving on UK roads

Dont get me wrong, I an still a N000b at track days - but the M3 driver must have been a bigger one.

But regarding turn in - you forget the 28i has 100KG lighter engine and it is further back - and is reported to been a better handling car than the 35i and the 35is due to these facts.

[techathy]

N54 turn in is fine as long as you accept you can't grab the car by the scruff of the neck, you can place the front with great precision from the moment you start to turn. The E89's problem is not the front end of the car, it's most definitely at the rear end where the problem exists; It's got too much longitudinal grip compared to lateral grip. This is exposed when the rear end is squatting down, the chassis has to be under longitudinal rotation around the rear axle (simply lowering the car won't help), while under moderate cornering roll. This gets both rear tyres flat and rammed down into the road surface. Less weight at the front will mask this issue, but to resolve this issue you need to change the rear geometry which sacrifices it's epic baby-GT temperament.

First came across this on a car control day with a 986 driver (can't remember if it was a Cayman or Boxster). Slow entry speed turn in feed in the power & the Porsche was delivering beautifully balanced & controllable drifts. In contrast the Zed hooked up the rear end and launched it's self through the corner on an absolute mission, this resulted in massive understeer or oversteer. Try to catch the slide and you'll constantly be flip-flopping between oversteer & understeer. The Porsche driver & I swapped our cars through-out the day & we both agreed that it wasn't a case of which was better, rather it was what type of driving experience you wanted.

[Squiddie]

I agree with squiddie, normal driving you are not going to hit the limitations of the E89 - or take advantage of Boxter more advance suspension.

Well, I dunno. All Boxsters ever, including the 718, still lack the multi-link suspension in the rear. BMW front and Boxster both ends have simple struts.

In the Porsche world that is the reason why people often come out with the 911 performing better in bumpy curves (raiding the curbs on a track a bit). There is a youtube video comparing 991 and 981 shot on the end of an "S" where you can clearly see how the 911 rear wheel still points in the correct general direction on the load of the second part of the S, and the Boxster is all over the place.

Simple struct is fine as long as you don't compress it. Once you do you you use up some grip (friction) in rolling the outer tire in a way that isn't aligned with the direction of the body of the car.

Personally I think this is also a problem for BMWs. If you bend v8-powered sedans into sharp curves an Audi holds up significantly better than a BMW, at least for mid-2000s cars. I experienced that just recently.

I think it is rare that you can make the simple front suspension turn into a disadvantage since the imperfections of steering misalign the wheel either way. But the back wheel of the Boxster can easily be tested to be a disadvantage by compression the suspension.

[New2Zed]

Am I the only person who thinks that most Porches are but ugly? Bit shallow, I know.