Mk3 Audi TTS or Boxster/Cayman 987.2 S 3.4
Discussion
Has anyone got a view on this choice. The Audi makes more sense in many ways, but would be keen to hear some other views, or hear if there is anything else for this price range.
Budget: upto £22,500, but the 18-20K range is the ideal.
Important:
Coupe or convertible
Sporty seating position, agile handling, easy to drive in stop-start inner London traffic
Decent residuals (Low depreciation)
Reasonably comfortable to do longer journeys in it occasionally
ULEZ compliant (live in inner London)
Reasonable servicing costs, and nothing with high chance of 4 figure bills
I’ve whittled the options down to the Audi TTS or Boxster/Cayman 987 S 3.4. I would love a 981, but budget doesn’t allow for it.
Audi TTS (about £22k for 2016)
Pros: Awesome interior and tech, good seating position, quick off line, decent handling, good gear box. There is a deal with Audi where you pay £800 and get 2 years warranty, servicing and breakdown cover. Lower tax bracket (£210). Turbo so more usable powerband.
Cons: Hairdresser image, handling not as good as Porsche.
Boxster (£18k) or Cayman (£20k) 2009/10
Pros: best handling machine in budget, proper 6 cylinder Boxster engine, lower depreciation
Cons: much older car for the price which is looking dated, seriously old tech and interior looks old fashioned, £600 tax, higher chance of big bills,
Budget: upto £22,500, but the 18-20K range is the ideal.
Important:
Coupe or convertible
Sporty seating position, agile handling, easy to drive in stop-start inner London traffic
Decent residuals (Low depreciation)
Reasonably comfortable to do longer journeys in it occasionally
ULEZ compliant (live in inner London)
Reasonable servicing costs, and nothing with high chance of 4 figure bills
I’ve whittled the options down to the Audi TTS or Boxster/Cayman 987 S 3.4. I would love a 981, but budget doesn’t allow for it.
Audi TTS (about £22k for 2016)
Pros: Awesome interior and tech, good seating position, quick off line, decent handling, good gear box. There is a deal with Audi where you pay £800 and get 2 years warranty, servicing and breakdown cover. Lower tax bracket (£210). Turbo so more usable powerband.
Cons: Hairdresser image, handling not as good as Porsche.
Boxster (£18k) or Cayman (£20k) 2009/10
Pros: best handling machine in budget, proper 6 cylinder Boxster engine, lower depreciation
Cons: much older car for the price which is looking dated, seriously old tech and interior looks old fashioned, £600 tax, higher chance of big bills,
Have you looked at the 370Z Nismo?
Pro's: You get a newer car (2014) great handling with a cracking 6 pot with sensible depreciation & very sensible running costs, you can also add a warranty onto these.
Cons: They're a rare car so you may have to travel to find one.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009093...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105212...
Pro's: You get a newer car (2014) great handling with a cracking 6 pot with sensible depreciation & very sensible running costs, you can also add a warranty onto these.
Cons: They're a rare car so you may have to travel to find one.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009093...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105212...
How important is the handling if you live in inner London - do you take many road trips out of town?
There's no comparison between the two as driver's cars - Porsche more involving any day - but I suspect the TTS will be much easier to live with. Also much more modern, so it really depends what your priorities are.
FWIW, I would ignore any points relating to image - who cares what others think, it's you that will be driving the car.
There's no comparison between the two as driver's cars - Porsche more involving any day - but I suspect the TTS will be much easier to live with. Also much more modern, so it really depends what your priorities are.
FWIW, I would ignore any points relating to image - who cares what others think, it's you that will be driving the car.
The Porsche 987.2 is ultimately, a better drivers car. It will also very likely be worth more in a few years if you wanted to sell. The 987.2 3.4 engine isn’t £600 to tax, only the 987.1 3.4.
It doesn’t cost much to add a nice modern stereo to the Porsche and shouldn’t really be a consideration in which car you should buy. If it is, you’re on the wrong forum.
The TT-RS perhaps, but definitely not the TTS.
It doesn’t cost much to add a nice modern stereo to the Porsche and shouldn’t really be a consideration in which car you should buy. If it is, you’re on the wrong forum.
The TT-RS perhaps, but definitely not the TTS.
I would vote for the Boxster/Cayman. Like said before, go for the 987.2 with the 2.9 engine. It's still powerful enough and does without many of the reliability worries. It handles brilliantly and has bags of character.
It is a little dated, but the 987.2 does have the modern LED rear lights which helps with the image.
It is a little dated, but the 987.2 does have the modern LED rear lights which helps with the image.
fido said:
M3 E92/3 is a contender. Audi TT is good all-rounder but lacking in RWD thrills.
Personally, I wouldn't choose the m3. Just feels too large, given its size and weight. As such it doesn't feel very agile and ultimately, you can rarely use all of its potential especially in the city (arguable for any car granted). But the M3 needs to be rev'd out to get the most from the v8. So for the odd road trip aside, its just going to feel like a big 3 series most of the time and i would discount it on that alone. I would perhaps, if going towards BMW choose the z4M.
It hasn't the poise perhaps of the Cayman and yes its an older car, but the engine is lovely and full of character. Its a much better drive than the TTS/RS. In fact, its a bit of a hooligan when you need it to be and whilst older and not as modern i think it ticks more of the boxes than the m3. Its a nice driving machine. You can really feel the chassis working in and out of the corners and it has a nice feel and adaptability to it, learning how to drive it quick is a lot of fun. Add to that, it very much has much more of an "occassion" feel to it than the TT and perhaps arguably the Cayman.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201810261...
Whilst its not "modern" and doesn't have all the toys of an Audi or a 14 year old BMW for that matter - for a driving machine, and a car where every drive is an occasion. You can't go very wrong with a Lotus Elise and you can pick one up well under your £22k budget -
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105253...
Another option not yet mentioned i think is the MB SLK 55 AMG
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105142...
Definitely a sense of occasion, much more so than then TTS. You can get a fairly well equipped low mileage car within budget. Its got bags of character and is a very decent steer. Often get overlooked i think but certainly comparable to anything already mentioned.
A few more options for you to consider.
stevekoz said:
fido said:
M3 E92/3 is a contender. Audi TT is good all-rounder but lacking in RWD thrills.
Personally, I wouldn't choose the m3. Just feels too large, given its size and weight. As such it doesn't feel very agile and ultimately, you can rarely use all of its potential especially in the city (arguable for any car granted). But the M3 needs to be rev'd out to get the most from the v8. So for the odd road trip aside, its just going to feel like a big 3 series most of the time and i would discount it on that alone. I would perhaps, if going towards BMW choose the z4M.
It hasn't the poise perhaps of the Cayman and yes its an older car, but the engine is lovely and full of character. Its a much better drive than the TTS/RS. In fact, its a bit of a hooligan when you need it to be and whilst older and not as modern i think it ticks more of the boxes than the m3. Its a nice driving machine. You can really feel the chassis working in and out of the corners and it has a nice feel and adaptability to it, learning how to drive it quick is a lot of fun. Add to that, it very much has much more of an "occassion" feel to it than the TT and perhaps arguably the Cayman.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201810261...
For ease of use I'd put the TTS top, I liked how small and nimble it felt and I preferred the punchy engine over the Z4M/M3. In the Z4M/M3 they only really felt quick(to me) right up close to the redline, and you needed a lot of space to exploit the performance.
As the best drivers car of the 3 I'd go for the M3, it has a wonderful chassis and it rides and soaks up the roads so well. The Z4M is a terrible car to push on in for me and the ride/suspension has no give in it whatsoever. The Z4M is a wild ride though and it does entertain in a very uncouth manner, so it is a fun(if a little scary) thing to drive in that regard.
cerb4.5lee said:
I've had all 3 of those(Z4M/E92 M3/Mk2 TTS).
For ease of use I'd put the TTS top, I liked how small and nimble it felt and I preferred the punchy engine over the Z4M/M3. In the Z4M/M3 they only really felt quick(to me) right up close to the redline, and you needed a lot of space to exploit the performance.
As the best drivers car of the 3 I'd go for the M3, it has a wonderful chassis and it rides and soaks up the roads so well. The Z4M is a terrible car to push on in for me and the ride/suspension has no give in it whatsoever. The Z4M is a wild ride though and it does entertain in a very uncouth manner, so it is a fun(if a little scary) thing to drive in that regard.
I haven't had the TTS but the other two. You hit the nail on the head for the Z4M for its "hooligan" nature and i think that is why i liked it. I wish i would have found the M3 as likeable as you, as its hard to ignore when you are looking for something like this and ticks so many boxes. I can't disagree. Just wasn't the right car for me. Mine was manual - did you have the DCT? I've since learnt that its the gearbox to have, so may be i should go back and try again?? It could be the right car for the OP though. For ease of use I'd put the TTS top, I liked how small and nimble it felt and I preferred the punchy engine over the Z4M/M3. In the Z4M/M3 they only really felt quick(to me) right up close to the redline, and you needed a lot of space to exploit the performance.
As the best drivers car of the 3 I'd go for the M3, it has a wonderful chassis and it rides and soaks up the roads so well. The Z4M is a terrible car to push on in for me and the ride/suspension has no give in it whatsoever. The Z4M is a wild ride though and it does entertain in a very uncouth manner, so it is a fun(if a little scary) thing to drive in that regard.
Best thing is to get out there and start testing some i guess.
stevekoz said:
I haven't had the TTS but the other two. You hit the nail on the head for the Z4M for its "hooligan" nature and i think that is why i liked it. I wish i would have found the M3 as likeable as you, as its hard to ignore when you are looking for something like this and ticks so many boxes. I can't disagree. Just wasn't the right car for me. Mine was manual - did you have the DCT? I've since learnt that its the gearbox to have, so may be i should go back and try again?? It could be the right car for the OP though.
My M3 was a manual, but I'd definitely argue that the DCT probably suits the engine better though(although there aren't many cars out there now with a V8 engine and a manual gearbox so the manual could be the one to have perhaps). I've currently got a F82 M4 with the DCT and I have to say that it does seem to suit the car well to be fair.
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