RE: MX-5 30th Anniversary vs. Porsche Boxster (981)
Discussion
Since I own a 30th Anniversary MX-5 you can guess which team I'm on.
I've only driven a 718 Boxter (when cross-shopping it for an MX-5) and I found it to be very good but not worth the price premium over the Mazda.
The thing that swung it for me is that the Mazda feels really fun and cheeky all of the time on account of its size and ridiculous orange colour, while the Porsche felt like a very normal albeit high-quality car for the majority of daily driving tasks.
I believe for this reason I'd always choose something with a lot more character than the porsche (i.e Mazda, Lotus, Alpine) over the porsche.
Sorry porker fans!
I've only driven a 718 Boxter (when cross-shopping it for an MX-5) and I found it to be very good but not worth the price premium over the Mazda.
The thing that swung it for me is that the Mazda feels really fun and cheeky all of the time on account of its size and ridiculous orange colour, while the Porsche felt like a very normal albeit high-quality car for the majority of daily driving tasks.
I believe for this reason I'd always choose something with a lot more character than the porsche (i.e Mazda, Lotus, Alpine) over the porsche.
Sorry porker fans!
I had this choice and i went for an Evora instead for 2 big reasons.
Firstly i already had a cayman and whilst it is a great car i was a little bored of it.
secondly the Evora prices have bottomed out at around 30k mark and will still be worth similar money in 3 years.
For example i bought an elise 8 years ago for 14.5k and today it would be worth 14k. If i had bought a newish MX5 8 years ago it would be worth a fraction of price i paid for it. A second hand Lotus makes for one of the safest cars to buy in terms of depreciation.
Firstly i already had a cayman and whilst it is a great car i was a little bored of it.
secondly the Evora prices have bottomed out at around 30k mark and will still be worth similar money in 3 years.
For example i bought an elise 8 years ago for 14.5k and today it would be worth 14k. If i had bought a newish MX5 8 years ago it would be worth a fraction of price i paid for it. A second hand Lotus makes for one of the safest cars to buy in terms of depreciation.
Edited by lotuslover69 on Monday 4th November 11:13
Sharon-coizu said:
A1VDY said:
MX5 compared to a boxster.. Haha. There's no comparison in their entirety, the Porsche will come out tops every single time.
Tbh I don't see the two alike in anyway whatsoever.
Those wondering about IMS issue, the MA1 engine introduced in 2009 did away with the IMS shaft and in 2.7 and 2.9 is pretty much bomb proof.
Absolutely! No comparison. A new Boxster is £54k, complicated, detached and dull at legal speeds. It might detract from a manhood deficiency but the MX5 driver will have more fun, keep their license and not cry at every service.Tbh I don't see the two alike in anyway whatsoever.
Those wondering about IMS issue, the MA1 engine introduced in 2009 did away with the IMS shaft and in 2.7 and 2.9 is pretty much bomb proof.
Firstly, the 981 Boxster is a fabulous thing. Unlike the previous bar of soap, it is genuinely good looking and with the 'right' wheels and -20mm suspension option it just looks spot on.
With the PSE, it also sounds sensational with the roof down (although the overrun pops are contrived and borderline irritating), and the weighting of the controls are just lovely.
These things add up as easily enough justification to buy one and enjoy for years.
But.
On a British road, the Boxster is doing everything for you. There is a ton of mechanical grip and you need to be going a silly speed for you as a driver to be doing anything besides pointing and shooting; you are kidding yourself if you believe otherwise.
Meanwhile, the MX5 is like going back in time. It is way more immersive as a driver's car because you are very much in control of the car's balance at relatively low speeds. They are soft, giving you time to indulge even if not particularly experienced. it is fast neither in a straight line or around corners, but in isolation there is nothing more you need.
For me, there is no argument on that, especially in the UK, if you are buying a car to have fun in the MX5 doesn't have an equal outside the more compromised Caterfields (or an old Elan, of course!).
As an only car though, the Boxster is a far nicer thing to live with. Nothing wrong with the MX5 interior, and it's not like you can't get the luxuries, but the cabin is very small and space limited in general - they are tiny! The Porsche is a better choice if you have to drive on the motorway (for me, not every journey is a B road thrash), taking calls and, you know, all the boring stuff.
I suppose what I'm saying is that I'd take the Boxster, but I am aware that is because I have made a decision based on compromise. I am fully aware that the MX5 driving I'm following will be having a better time on the right road.
thelostboy said:
As soon as I opened this thread I was anticipating this kind of argument!
Firstly, the 981 Boxster is a fabulous thing. Unlike the previous bar of soap, it is genuinely good looking and with the 'right' wheels and -20mm suspension option it just looks spot on.
With the PSE, it also sounds sensational with the roof down (although the overrun pops are contrived and borderline irritating), and the weighting of the controls are just lovely.
These things add up as easily enough justification to buy one and enjoy for years.
But.
On a British road, the Boxster is doing everything for you. There is a ton of mechanical grip and you need to be going a silly speed for you as a driver to be doing anything besides pointing and shooting; you are kidding yourself if you believe otherwise.
Meanwhile, the MX5 is like going back in time. It is way more immersive as a driver's car because you are very much in control of the car's balance at relatively low speeds. They are soft, giving you time to indulge even if not particularly experienced. it is fast neither in a straight line or around corners, but in isolation there is nothing more you need.
For me, there is no argument on that, especially in the UK, if you are buying a car to have fun in the MX5 doesn't have an equal outside the more compromised Caterfields (or an old Elan, of course!).
As an only car though, the Boxster is a far nicer thing to live with. Nothing wrong with the MX5 interior, and it's not like you can't get the luxuries, but the cabin is very small and space limited in general - they are tiny! The Porsche is a better choice if you have to drive on the motorway (for me, not every journey is a B road thrash), taking calls and, you know, all the boring stuff.
I suppose what I'm saying is that I'd take the Boxster, but I am aware that is because I have made a decision based on compromise. I am fully aware that the MX5 driving I'm following will be having a better time on the right road.
Great comment. We are in a position where the MX5 can be our only vehicle as we both work from home and live in rural Devon where every journey is a B road blast! My other half is 6ft and 16 stone and only just fits in it - he says it's much better with the recaros. So our compromise is on the rare occasions we go on a motorway or any great distance. Firstly, the 981 Boxster is a fabulous thing. Unlike the previous bar of soap, it is genuinely good looking and with the 'right' wheels and -20mm suspension option it just looks spot on.
With the PSE, it also sounds sensational with the roof down (although the overrun pops are contrived and borderline irritating), and the weighting of the controls are just lovely.
These things add up as easily enough justification to buy one and enjoy for years.
But.
On a British road, the Boxster is doing everything for you. There is a ton of mechanical grip and you need to be going a silly speed for you as a driver to be doing anything besides pointing and shooting; you are kidding yourself if you believe otherwise.
Meanwhile, the MX5 is like going back in time. It is way more immersive as a driver's car because you are very much in control of the car's balance at relatively low speeds. They are soft, giving you time to indulge even if not particularly experienced. it is fast neither in a straight line or around corners, but in isolation there is nothing more you need.
For me, there is no argument on that, especially in the UK, if you are buying a car to have fun in the MX5 doesn't have an equal outside the more compromised Caterfields (or an old Elan, of course!).
As an only car though, the Boxster is a far nicer thing to live with. Nothing wrong with the MX5 interior, and it's not like you can't get the luxuries, but the cabin is very small and space limited in general - they are tiny! The Porsche is a better choice if you have to drive on the motorway (for me, not every journey is a B road thrash), taking calls and, you know, all the boring stuff.
I suppose what I'm saying is that I'd take the Boxster, but I am aware that is because I have made a decision based on compromise. I am fully aware that the MX5 driving I'm following will be having a better time on the right road.
A Bootbag solves any issues with luggage capacity, which is actually quite good compared to our old MR2 - and we did a 6 month camping trip in that with a boot rack and bag!!!
As you say it's horses for courses and inevitably a compromise. Personally I have always gone for a fairly extreme option example if whatever type of car I am going for. When we needed an estate, we went for the most estatey estate - Honda Accord (aka the hearse). Now we only need 2 seats, we have the MX5. If I needed one car to do motorway miles in the week and top down fun at the weekend, I would probably take a Boxster.
lotuslover69 said:
For example i bought an elise 8 years ago for 14.5k and today it would be worth 14k. If i had bought a newish MX5 8 years ago it would be worth a fraction of price i paid for it. A second hand Lotus makes for one of the safest cars to buy in terms of depreciation.
I have to admit that i've been peeking at Elise's on Used Cars websites - my only problem is it fails what I call the 'ASDA test'. The supermarket is down the road from me and handy for late-night shopping trips. I am not keen on parking there for any great length of time. For me at least (and maybe i'm just not hard core enough for the Elise) is that it's a bit too extreme to either the Boxster or MX-5; even as a weekend car The latter can be easily made quicker with some aftermarket packages but still retain it's stealthy hairdresser image. In summary the 981 might be the size 6 lingerie model, but i'd be happy with the more frugal car-next-door.I had a similar decision to face recently and bought a new MX5 (not the 30th AE though). I've had the Mazda official lowering springs fitted (it's an Eibach kit) and they do improve the performance of the car significantly but I am inclined to say they do rather take away from the silly fun of the standard setup rolling around so approach with that in mind if you're thinking of doing it.
It's a great car, and a lot less "serious" than a used Boxter. I'd rather it had six cylinders (for the sound and power delivery, the actual power output is fine) and the pedals aren't very well setup for heel and toe. Beyond that it absolutely nails it's brief.
To counter a point that's been raised; I'm not sure many people are buying the ND just to ponce around in as it's just too compromised for anyone to want one unless they really want one, if you see what I mean. I think the mincing about in a small convertible without caring about how it drives market is much more into diesel SLKs, Mini convertibles, 2 series convertibles, Audi A3s, that kind of thing. You give up a lot of usability with an MX5, more so in the ND than the previous generation.
It's a great car, and a lot less "serious" than a used Boxter. I'd rather it had six cylinders (for the sound and power delivery, the actual power output is fine) and the pedals aren't very well setup for heel and toe. Beyond that it absolutely nails it's brief.
To counter a point that's been raised; I'm not sure many people are buying the ND just to ponce around in as it's just too compromised for anyone to want one unless they really want one, if you see what I mean. I think the mincing about in a small convertible without caring about how it drives market is much more into diesel SLKs, Mini convertibles, 2 series convertibles, Audi A3s, that kind of thing. You give up a lot of usability with an MX5, more so in the ND than the previous generation.
I love my 30th Anniversary.
Must admit I didn't entertain any other candidates when shopping. A test drive in the regular ND was enough, with the only faults I found were the standard seats were not as hugging as they could be and the brakes felt a little lacking, both of these were rectified in the 30th.
I am sure the Porsche is a fantastic car. But I must admit to being drawn to small light cars, low running costs and a lovely manual box. Was a win win for me.
Not a single piece of buyers remorse. Oh and we all know the RF is way more sexy than the soft top
Must admit I didn't entertain any other candidates when shopping. A test drive in the regular ND was enough, with the only faults I found were the standard seats were not as hugging as they could be and the brakes felt a little lacking, both of these were rectified in the 30th.
I am sure the Porsche is a fantastic car. But I must admit to being drawn to small light cars, low running costs and a lovely manual box. Was a win win for me.
Not a single piece of buyers remorse. Oh and we all know the RF is way more sexy than the soft top
Interesting conundrum. As the owner of an NA MX5 and a 981 Spyder I have comparable experience, all be it at extreme opposite ends of the spectrum, of both cars.
For me I would take a very nice, low miles, £5k, NA MX5 over the ND any day, just on looks. Likewise with the Boxster I would take a Gen 1 986 with some upgrades (similar to an RPM CSR build) over the 981 and make it my own. Both these cars can be hot rodded to your own desires.
The NA and I assume the ND are so much fun. You can have a hoot at legal limits, rev the car out and really drive it at 10/10ths. My Spyder is an amazing car, unbelievably good to drive but most of the time it has to be at 6 or 7/10ths. Of course, subjectively, the 981 is better but in terms of fun? Even my NA is on a par with my 981. The Mazda is so small you don't have to yield on country lanes or worry about kerbs, oncoming traffic and even cameras (as you won't be going fast enough). I guarantee you will be having as much fun in a £3k MX5 as an £80k Spyder and I guess the same applies to the ND and base 981.
If I was forced to make a decision between an ND MX5 and a 981 base Boxster I guess, for my usage, it would have to be the 981 an the basis that it's better for taking on long road trips to the Alps 2 up with luggage, stretches of autobahn and alpine driving. Also it's already done quite a bit of depreciation so over 3 years it may actually (don't quote me) cost less in depreciation. On a 1hr blast on my favourite country lanes, if the ND is anything like the NA I think the ND would win based on size and agility. For the same reason I prefer A Polo GTi to a Golf R or a Lotus Elise to any supercar, but I accept I may be in the minority on this.
For me I would take a very nice, low miles, £5k, NA MX5 over the ND any day, just on looks. Likewise with the Boxster I would take a Gen 1 986 with some upgrades (similar to an RPM CSR build) over the 981 and make it my own. Both these cars can be hot rodded to your own desires.
The NA and I assume the ND are so much fun. You can have a hoot at legal limits, rev the car out and really drive it at 10/10ths. My Spyder is an amazing car, unbelievably good to drive but most of the time it has to be at 6 or 7/10ths. Of course, subjectively, the 981 is better but in terms of fun? Even my NA is on a par with my 981. The Mazda is so small you don't have to yield on country lanes or worry about kerbs, oncoming traffic and even cameras (as you won't be going fast enough). I guarantee you will be having as much fun in a £3k MX5 as an £80k Spyder and I guess the same applies to the ND and base 981.
If I was forced to make a decision between an ND MX5 and a 981 base Boxster I guess, for my usage, it would have to be the 981 an the basis that it's better for taking on long road trips to the Alps 2 up with luggage, stretches of autobahn and alpine driving. Also it's already done quite a bit of depreciation so over 3 years it may actually (don't quote me) cost less in depreciation. On a 1hr blast on my favourite country lanes, if the ND is anything like the NA I think the ND would win based on size and agility. For the same reason I prefer A Polo GTi to a Golf R or a Lotus Elise to any supercar, but I accept I may be in the minority on this.
Jester86 said:
I love my 30th Anniversary.
A test drive in the regular ND was enough, with the only faults I found were the standard seats were not as hugging as they could be
I tried the 30th AE, and my arse was too broad for the seats A test drive in the regular ND was enough, with the only faults I found were the standard seats were not as hugging as they could be
Shame, as I love everything about them otherwise. I was a bit surprised they are based on the Sport Nav not the GT Sport Nav so you don't get the intelligent high beam (which is great), reversing camera (which is crap), and a few other safety features.
Bispal said:
Interesting conundrum. As the owner of an NA MX5 and a 981 Spyder I have comparable experience, all be it at extreme opposite ends of the spectrum, of both cars.
For me I would take a very nice, low miles, £5k, NA MX5 over the ND any day, just on looks. Likewise with the Boxster I would take a Gen 1 986 with some upgrades (similar to an RPM CSR build) over the 981 and make it my own. Both these cars can be hot rodded to your own desires.
The NA and I assume the ND are so much fun. You can have a hoot at legal limits, rev the car out and really drive it at 10/10ths. My Spyder is an amazing car, unbelievably good to drive but most of the time it has to be at 6 or 7/10ths. Of course, subjectively, the 981 is better but in terms of fun? Even my NA is on a par with my 981. The Mazda is so small you don't have to yield on country lanes or worry about kerbs, oncoming traffic and even cameras (as you won't be going fast enough). I guarantee you will be having as much fun in a £3k MX5 as an £80k Spyder and I guess the same applies to the ND and base 981.
If I was forced to make a decision between an ND MX5 and a 981 base Boxster I guess, for my usage, it would have to be the 981 an the basis that it's better for taking on long road trips to the Alps 2 up with luggage, stretches of autobahn and alpine driving. Also it's already done quite a bit of depreciation so over 3 years it may actually (don't quote me) cost less in depreciation. On a 1hr blast on my favourite country lanes, if the ND is anything like the NA I think the ND would win based on size and agility. For the same reason I prefer A Polo GTi to a Golf R or a Lotus Elise to any supercar, but I accept I may be in the minority on this.
I enjoyed the driving experience of the 3.2 986 Boxster much more than my 3.4 987 Cayman. The Cayman was far better mannered and could be 4 wheel drifted by my grandmother compared to the 986 that took no prisoners (me included, I had an off) but the 986 was a far more engaging car and engine.For me I would take a very nice, low miles, £5k, NA MX5 over the ND any day, just on looks. Likewise with the Boxster I would take a Gen 1 986 with some upgrades (similar to an RPM CSR build) over the 981 and make it my own. Both these cars can be hot rodded to your own desires.
The NA and I assume the ND are so much fun. You can have a hoot at legal limits, rev the car out and really drive it at 10/10ths. My Spyder is an amazing car, unbelievably good to drive but most of the time it has to be at 6 or 7/10ths. Of course, subjectively, the 981 is better but in terms of fun? Even my NA is on a par with my 981. The Mazda is so small you don't have to yield on country lanes or worry about kerbs, oncoming traffic and even cameras (as you won't be going fast enough). I guarantee you will be having as much fun in a £3k MX5 as an £80k Spyder and I guess the same applies to the ND and base 981.
If I was forced to make a decision between an ND MX5 and a 981 base Boxster I guess, for my usage, it would have to be the 981 an the basis that it's better for taking on long road trips to the Alps 2 up with luggage, stretches of autobahn and alpine driving. Also it's already done quite a bit of depreciation so over 3 years it may actually (don't quote me) cost less in depreciation. On a 1hr blast on my favourite country lanes, if the ND is anything like the NA I think the ND would win based on size and agility. For the same reason I prefer A Polo GTi to a Golf R or a Lotus Elise to any supercar, but I accept I may be in the minority on this.
Sharon-coizu said:
Niffty951 said:
As a potential buyer in their advertised target market who didn't buy one and never would I suggest it may be that the cylinder orientation is the least flat aspect of that engine! God it's dull. It feels weaker than a 100hp Panda.
Just out of interest, did you drive a very low miler? I've found so many Japanese engines that are too tight out of the box and don't loosen up for some 2000 miles. This was especially true of my first MX5 ND and was used to damn the car by so many reviewers.My ND2 does feel like my mk2, you drive it and think it's not a v8 or turbo shove but it feels every one of its 184hp's. It feels more willing to try.
Perhaps as you say I need to drive a bedded in gt86
TTmonkey said:
If you were to buy both cars for 30k and run them for four years at 8k per mile (in line with a pcp deal), what would each be worth at the end?
I'm sure there's a good answer to that involving percentages, Porsches seem to depreciate like anything else for the first 12years and then its anyones guess.However, I feel if I lived my life like that I wouldn't be happier for it. My monthly payments are small on the mx-5 which means it doesn't owe me too much expectation back each month and when I sell it I'm confident it will settle any outstanding finance or very close to it so I enjoy it for a fixed cost.
If, as I have often done I bought an older sports car I know that driving it as i do with the odd track day the costs always add up to more. I prefer older cars and you can buy something with a higher value than I could afford new so I tend to get more epic cars but for me at least 52 cars in to my driving career it has never been the cheaper option.. even when I sell them for more than I bought them for.
Silly comparison really - very different cars, drivers will prefer one or other and the type of person who would buy a new MX5 isn't the type to buy an older, more expensive to maintain, Porsche.
Personally I like thrashing my cars and extracting every bit of performance which means the Porsche with it's deliberately too high gearing (to prevent it stealing sales from the more expensive models) is out.
So too is a new MX5
For far less than £30k I've covered all the bases -
Supercharged Mk1 MX5 £5k
Jeep 4.7 V8 £2k
Suzuki Swift Sport £1k
MR2 V6 £3k
Merc Traveliner V6 £8k
Personally I like thrashing my cars and extracting every bit of performance which means the Porsche with it's deliberately too high gearing (to prevent it stealing sales from the more expensive models) is out.
So too is a new MX5
For far less than £30k I've covered all the bases -
Supercharged Mk1 MX5 £5k
Jeep 4.7 V8 £2k
Suzuki Swift Sport £1k
MR2 V6 £3k
Merc Traveliner V6 £8k
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