PPPMAT

I have decided that my next car will be a roadster of some description. I have looked at the Boxster but I'm not really into porsche's (its a personal choice - they are great cars)

I have whittled it down to an S2000 or Z4, both have leather and good build quality and will have good residuals. Both are as quick as each other (if the z4 is 3 litres) but deliver their power in completely different ways.

At the moment I am leaning towards the Z4 because of the torque of that straight six will offer. I am unsure of the looks of the BMW though and would welcome any comments or constructive advise anyone has to give?

Cheers

MAtt

Dracoro

How much more will the 3 ltr Z4 cost!!!!!

The main differences as I see it (let's face it, hardly anyone's tested a Z4 yet!) is the S2000 will be a race car for the road and the Z4 will be more laid back.

The only way to find out is to test drive both of them. Make sure you rev the nuts off the S2000 and it's great fun. But if torquey is your game then I guess the Z4 is.

If you want more info on the S2000, come over to us at www.s2ki.co.uk

davyboy

Z4 3 litre starts at 30k.

I have a report at home that GT purely Porsche did.

Boxster S v Z4

Guess which car won. I'll try and dig it out when I get home.

zero_to60

I came from an M3 to an S2000........

I ruled out a BMW because I was fed up with being called a tosser, ****, ******, etc

If you buy the BMW be prepared for this...if it doesn't bother you then consider the Z4

The S2000 is a fantastic car and get's good reaction from other motorists and pedestrians....the 'feel good' feeling is great

pilotman

I would deffo have an s2000 over the z4. the beemer will common as muck in a few months.

Also, have you considered an Elise at all? I would also look at a boxster s if the budget stretches that far.

PPPMAT

My budget won't stretch to a Boxster s, and I need to use the car for work so the Elise is out unfortunately.

The Badge realy isn't an issue, if it was I'd buy the Porsche. I have driven the s2000 once before about a year ago - build quality and looks were excellent but it needed some stoking. I'm going to drive one again this week.

For some reason I feel drawn to the Z4 - the front looks a bit odd but the quality will be good. Also I would have thought that I wouldn't lose much money on the car (the waiting list is getting longer already) and its cheaper than the s2000 to run in terms of insurance and fuel (31 mpg).

The major trouble is - the heart says z4, everyone you ask says s2000 and everybody can't be wrong.

zero_to60

if you put on HKS twin pipes on it the S2000 sounds like a superbike...thoroughly addictive...it also turns heads

Dracoro

I typically 30mpg out of my S2000 and I vtec a fair bit. Never got less than 25mpg apart from on a trackday.

davyboy

If you can afford a 3 litre Z4 you can afford a used Boxster S.

Mmmmm

The Z4's have got a really good write up in road and track against the 2.7 boxster.

The 3.0 tested got 0.91g on a 200ft skid pan as much as the boxster to put that in to context they also recently tested an Evo 8 against an STI and got Lateral accel (200-ft skidpad) 0.88g for both.

From Road and track
Time to speed, sec
BMW Z4 3.0i
0-60 5.6s
0-100 15.9s
1/4 mile 14.4s @ 95.7 mph
Porsche Boxster 2.7
0-60 6.0s
0-100 15.7s
1/4 mile 14.6s @ 96.5 mph

They admit the Z4 doesn't have quite the feel or handling of the Porsche but they say it is close and give them a dead heat due to the better straight line performance of the Z4, its better equipment and cheaper price. High praise indeed for the Z4.

I've had 4 bms with straight six engines and they are great. I had the 3.0 one in a 330 and it is just silky smooth right up to the rev limiter, smooth linear power, lots of low down torque through to the top of the BHP power curve, its sounded good too. With the other engines if anything the 2.5 is supposed to be sweeter.

I test drove an early S2000, I quite liked the looks from the front, the interior wasn't too hot, nice gear lever. The engine was good if really pushed but you really had to push it and it almost needed an extra gear ratio or two to make sure you stayed in the power band. The steering was a bit duff and this was comparing it to a Z3 2.8 my wife had at the time .I didn't push the car to its limits in the 45 mins I drove it, so can't comment on the ultimate handling, but there wasn't a lot of feedback from the chassis, however it seemed well built it didn't rattle and the ride didn't seem too bad. Anyway I was quite please when I jumped back into the Z3, although different in character (screaming 4 against silky Six) it offered a similar drving experience ( mind you it did have the LSD, sports suspension and 17" wheels on)noticably differnt was the feel from the steering which was fairly good on the Z3.

However six months later test drove a Boxster, different class entirely from the Z3 and S2000, steering response and feel is amazing, good feed back from the chassis, good grip, the way you can adjust the attitude of the car mid corner on the throttle is amazing.

Having said that they are all good cars all offering open topped thrills, you should try a Boxster as well.

I'm not keen on the Z4s looks but I sat in a couple at silverstone at the M power day and they are well made (great wheels they had on them ) and I few of the chaps I know have test drives booked, I asked the dealer to give me a buzz when the Z4m comes out, 0.91g+ and 343bhp? Mmmmm.

Good luck choosing

NACRO

I saw a Z4 being used as a "tourist car" on a recent trip to the Pau GP F3 in southern France. A weird looking car that looks better when its going than when stationary. I talked to the guy driving it who at least confirmed that it was way better than a Z3- not too difficult though!

davyboy

There is one in our car park at the moment on German plates.

It looks OK. Looks better in the BMW movies.

PPPMAT

A used Boxster s is a possibility - the new BOxster can't be far away though and I don't want to get stung on dropped residuals (already had that happen with a my02 wrx).

Z4 gets launched this week so I'll go along and have a look at it - might help make up my mind.

zero_to60

for what it's worth the AutoCar figures put the Boxster S and S2000 at 0-100 in 14secs

As for the chassis it only really comes alive when it's all loaded up

Chins

Getting my 3.0 Z4 on Friday I was going to sell it on, but sod it I do fancy it. Very easy to get a good spec for a decent price.

Jonathan

Rich and Mini

It'll definitely be better than the Z3...which used the same rear suspension set up as the E30. Basically a compact with a different body and engines

Z4 however...

Rich