HELP! ~ lady cars for a man's man?

[Gorvid]

Friend of mine wanted car advice today, but I found myself out of my depth and with nothing really to add to his decision making hell....

He's after a little sporty, roofless, fast fun car for summer, budget £8000.

I suggested TVR! (obviously) but he wants something more useable, less noisy, less brilliant really and has "narrowed it down" to a 3.2 Boxster S >OR< a 3.0 Z4.

He was asking me which was best... I have no bloody idea. He's not a member here, so I thought I would throw it to the lions. Etc.

What is best?


or


I've never driven either.
I don't think he cares at all about petrol costs or insurance, more like reliability and driving fun.

Bye!

[Ari]

MX5. Seriously.

[Harry Flashman]

If he's an ultimate handling afficionado and general "wheelman", probably the Porsche. If he's more about modernity and wafting about, enjoying the sunshine, Z4.

I'd have the Z4. Although I'd buy the Z4M, for silly rocketship abilities in a straight line.

[Gorvid]

Harry Flashman said:

If he's more about modernity and wafting about, enjoying the sunshine, Z4.

I thought as much based on nothing but manstinct.

And yeah, I did mention MX5 but apparently he's wanting a bit more grunt, engine wise.

I think Harry has it pinned, wafty Z4ness with a turn of speed is probably right... but the M version would blow the budget by a mile. Stats on the 3.0 look zippy enough though without added running costs.

[anonymous-user]

Just wondered why no Honda s2000?

[TTwiggy]

The Pork is much more practical, if that's a concern (I'm constantly amazed by how much the two boots on mine will swallow).

[Gorvid]

billybob69 said:

Just wondered why no Honda s2000?

Good point - bombproof and similar... lesser engine size might have put him off. Are they bombproof - I imagine the BMW to be a nicer place to be, but that's based on nothing at all.

[Gorvid]

TTwiggy said:

The Pork is much more practical, if that's a concern (I'm constantly amazed by how much the two boots on mine will swallow).

I had no idea - I think he might use it to drive to and from Europe on holidays, so that might be worth mentioning. Thank you.

[bga]

billybob69 said:

Just wondered why no Honda s2000?

Agree. If a Tiv is out of the picture then Boxster S, then S2000 with Z4 bringing up the rear so to speak.

[TTwiggy]

Gorvid said:

TTwiggy said:

The Pork is much more practical, if that's a concern (I'm constantly amazed by how much the two boots on mine will swallow).

I had no idea - I think he might use it to drive to and from Europe on holidays, so that might be worth mentioning. Thank you.

Put it this way, let's assume that he's travelling with a lady friend. He will, of course, have had the foresight to pack all his gear in small bags and stowed them around the car. She then turns up with one of those hard, wheelie 'weekend' bags.

In the Z4, he's going to have to convince her to unpack everything, stuff her clothes into plastic bags and leave the case at home. Good luck.

In the Pork, he just pops open the huge front boot and drops the carry case straight in - happy days.

[XitUp]

I'd go Porsche, or S2000.

[anonymous-user]

TTwiggy said:

Gorvid said:

TTwiggy said:

The Pork is much more practical, if that's a concern (I'm constantly amazed by how much the two boots on mine will swallow).

I had no idea - I think he might use it to drive to and from Europe on holidays, so that might be worth mentioning. Thank you.

Put it this way, let's assume that he's travelling with a lady friend. He will, of course, have had the foresight to pack all his gear in small bags and stowed them around the car. She then turns up with one of those hard, wheelie 'weekend' bags.

In the Z4, he's going to have to convince her to unpack everything, stuff her clothes into plastic bags and leave the case at home. Good luck.

In the Pork, he just pops open the huge front boot and drops the carry case straight in - happy days.

I found that there was ample room in my old Z4?

[anonymous-user]

I would guess that because Honda are not going to make another s, they should become quite collectible in a few years..Maybe retain good resale values?

[TTwiggy]

St John Smythe said:

I found that there was ample room in my old Z4?

For a hard carry case?

I agree that everthing is ultimately possible, but it really is amazing how much stuff a Boxster will hold. I had a TT years ago, so I know how hard it can be packing in a drop-top. By comparison, when I go to my boat, with my girlfriend, in the Boxster, we can get both our overnight bags, coolbox, inflatable kayak, paddles, foul weather gear and other odds and ends in, with room to spare.

[Jayho]

Just throwing in an extra few suggestions, although the current ones I wouldnt complain if I owned any of them.

Nissan 350Z? Dont know if budget would really stretch to the nicer 370Z.

(I know I said few, but I think the other few have actually slipped my mind...)

[Gorvid]

350Z is a good shout, but the convertibles look like st, don't they?

Are they any good?

(I'm STILL telling him TVR... but to be fair I think he wants 100% turn-key-and-go from whatever he gets)

[Jayho]

I dont think they look that bad in convertible. The blue and burnt orange colours look best imo. Don't know about how it is to drive, but been a passenger and it was nice.

Edited by Jayho on Friday 20th April 17:29

[anonymous-user]

TTwiggy said:

St John Smythe said:

I found that there was ample room in my old Z4?

For a hard carry case?

I agree that everthing is ultimately possible, but it really is amazing how much stuff a Boxster will hold. I had a TT years ago, so I know how hard it can be packing in a drop-top. By comparison, when I go to my boat, with my girlfriend, in the Boxster, we can get both our overnight bags, coolbox, inflatable kayak, paddles, foul weather gear and other odds and ends in, with room to spare.

Yep, no problems. Not a massive suitcase mind but a weekend size carry case, sure. What made me pick the Z4 is compared to the Boxster they are a lot cheaper to run and pretty similar performance. Plus all the internet rumours of engine trouble, etc put me off. Boxster is a better drive however.

[ColinM50]

Audi TT.

Can't agree your idea of the TVR though, unless he's keen for a car to spend more time in the garage than on the road. Has any TVR EVER had everything working at the same time? Though same could be said for Ferraris

[NiceCupOfTea]

Never having been in either I feel that I am in the perfect position to add to this thread

I understood that the Z4 was more lairy and tail happy, while the Boxster lends itself to more "precise" driving. Personally I reckon I'd have the Z4 for that reason, and also it looks a lot nicer than the Boxster which, IMHO, looks a little anodyne. Also I believe the Z4s have a fairly unpleasant ride due to the runflats?

Maybe your mate should seek out that Top Gear vid where they test Boxster/Z4/S2000?

Chimaera!