Z4 and Boxster

A

AndyJ

Member
 SE. London
Please bear in mind that I've had a lot of Z's over the years (since a new Z3 2.8 ) and spent a lot of time reading forums and car magazines. With the new 35 IS on order I am of course catching up on the gossip :thumbsup:

Today I was looking through here / bimmerfest and was still intrigued to see many of the age old ancient Boxster / Cayman vs Z4 threads and comments / digs. So I did a 10 minute session on the Porsche website spec'ing a Cayman to rival the 35 IS to see if anything had changed since I last drove the porker.

After 10 minutes I had both cars specified fairly closely.

  • Z4 35 IS (my fairly high Spec) - Approx £40k after discounts.
    P Cayman S (similar spec) - £62k and probably not able to negotiate anything substantial off.

Bearing in mind that the Z4 is a convertible (and a very classy one with a hard folding roof) and the Cayman is a far cheaper coupe the difference is even greater. And to put it mildly there were a myriad of Porsche options that I didn't choose I'd have liked. I'm sure I could have got the Cayman close to £70k easily.

Conclusion. I'm still confused that people continue to compare these 2 cars as if they were the same price. And not just people on forums either, I stopped reading Autocar as they are practically owned / sponsored by Porsche. I think the Cayman is becoming a nice looking car (with many options specified) but it isn't remotely in the same price band / comparable on value to a Z. It would make more sense to compare to the Jag F-Types / etc.

For me the baby Porches are so expensive that I'd just skip them and go straight to an F-Type S or Aston Martin.
 
I think you're right the Z4 stopped trying to compete withe the Boxter a while ago , and competes more with the TT and the SLK. the Boxter has moved up market allowing the 991 to go even further up the scale.
 
In the early days it was a fair but the latest version of the Boxster and Cayman have had quite a dramatic price hike, especially when you start adding in the extras you don't get with a Porsche it's no longer a reasonable comparison.
 
AndyJ said:
Conclusion. I'm still confused that people continue to compare these 2 cars as if they were the same price. And not just people on forums either, I stopped reading Autocar as they are practically owned / sponsored by Porsche.
Click to expand...

There was a time that the CaymanBoxster was compared to the Z4 and the CaymanBoxster S was compared to the Z4M
Now that the Z4 range hasn't got a 'Z4M' anymore, there is no car in the lineup anymore to compare the Boxster S(/GTS).

The right comparison would be Z4 35is to a well specced Boxster. That might get pricewise interesting too...

Before anyone starts the BHP arguement: there was a time that the top Z4 had about equal (or even more in a very small overlap) HP than the boxster S.
Money for money the bmw will always win on power, but that is not something porsche is trying.
 
Im planning to change middle of next year and am expecting that the Z4 will have stopped production by then , so have been considering the alternatives (mid sized 2 seater convertables) of which there are not alot , the boxster GTS seems to hit the spot and the 'starting price' doesnt seem to bad but once you start to spec it up :o
 
I think the Z4 will still be in production next summer, so you'll have another last chance to extend the Z4 ownership.

However... If you really do switch to a Boxster from a VO Z4 then you will :-

1) Have a feeling that someone has removed your trousers (along with your wallet). Best specify the heated seats (£5k)..
2) Need to close your eyes when outside the car. Keep them firmly shut. Remember Medussa !
3) Never look in shop windows as you drive by. Even tinted windows won't save you.
 
AndyJ said:
I think the Z4 will still be in production next summer, so you'll have another last chance to extend the Z4 ownership.

However... If you really do switch to a Boxster from a VO Z4 then you will :-

1) Have a feeling that someone has removed your trousers (along with your wallet). Best specify the heated seats (£5k)..
2) Need to close your eyes when outside the car. Keep them firmly shut. Remember Medussa !
3) Never look in shop windows as you drive by. Even tinted windows won't save you.
Click to expand...

I certainly agree on point one and would probaly agree that a Z4 is a better looking thing
 
In the E85 arena, the Z4M and the Boxster S were proper competitors, however the E89 went cruiser direction whilst the Porsche offerings remained code performance / sportscar based so that comparison is no longer the case as they are not similar cars anymore.
 
I just think the one area that any other manufacturer misses out on is precision. They are so advanced in this field, it's hard to explain unless you've driven them.
 
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