Right... just curious to see if anyone cares to put in an opinion. Basis of this post: dad drives an '01 boxster S and is considering G coupe as next car when lease runs up.

Judging from what people here have posted thus far on "versus" threads, I'm going to guess the Porsche as it probably has a far better hp/weight ratio.

Anyone else care to guess?

 

Boxster S vs. Gcoupe...

It would be a driver's race (assuming a manual Boxster; the G could take the automatic).

True, the Boxster S is fast due to its lightness -- it only has 250 hp but it only needs to push about 2850 lbs. That's 11.4 pounds per hp versus the G's 12.3.

So the power-to-weight ratios are pretty close -- but they do slightly favor the Porsche, both in terms of hp and torque. Also the powerbands/ peak hp/ torque curves are pretty similar between the two engines.

Still, the reason I say it would be a driver's race, despite the Boxter's very slight edge weight-wise, is because when you have a very light car like the Porsche coming off the line, there is less weight shifted over the rear wheels where you most want the traction.

Although the G is heavier, it has more hp and weight over the rear wheels. As you accelerate off the line, the momentum shifts that weight to the back of the car and gives the G's stock 18's better grip than the lighter Porsche's stock 17's.

So when two cars have the same power-to-weight ratios, the heavier car can have a slight edge in terms of grip. Grip matters bigtime off the line... that's why an all-wheel drive or an Audi quattro or a Subaru can take on cars with superior power-to-weight numbers in a 0-60 or 1/4 mile.

Mind you, the Porsche has a flat-six mounted mid-chassis over the rear wheels, which offsets this factor somewhat...
...but I'd still call it a driver's race.



2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

By the way, the Boxster S is a real champ through the twisties (I've driven one for hours -- but a regular Boxster not an S)... so your dad would have some fun with it, and its mid-engine layout and light-weight means you can really toss that car around and have a blast driving it. That said, the G's perfect 50-50 weight distribution means it's no slouch either in the handling dept. -- which we all know is one of its strong points.

I'm not sure which car would do better on the slalom... but my gut feeling tells me the lighter Porsche might have the slight edge there... plus a mid-mount engine allows for amazing vehicle dynamics that you just can't match with a heavy engine sitting ahead of the car's center of mass.

But bang for the buck? Definitely the G! The Porsche costs way more and has no back seats... ;-)

2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

putting aside performance, the boxter's styling is kinda old and how would you say it...blah, to me. in my opinion, it's just a cheap porsche model for the masses, like the 318i for bmw or c230 for mercedes. of course there are those who will say it's still a porsche. but i would take my coupe over a boxster anyday: )

 

Holy smokes you're right about the weight distribution! 53-47. I knew that, but somehow stupidly said 50-50... Sorry, my mind's a bit fried tonight... long day! Thanks!

Yeah, I totally agree with your take on the Boxster's interior... I also found it pretty disappointing considering the price of admission. Actually I remember Porsche came under some heavy criticism for exactly that when the Boxster was new and being reviewed alot by the car mags.

I think the Porsche auto trans "learns" to tailor to your driving habits from recent driver input? (...similar to the Benzes). So if your friend wasn't too aggressive with the throttle then the transmission would tend to shift at lower revs... mind you if you took it over and started opening it up a lot, then it might re-program into higher shift points... I think that's how their auto is set up but I could be wrong on that...

Yeah, I think you're right about the Tiptronic. Until the SMG transmission came out, the Tiptronic seemed to be the only non-manual transmission out there that really gave full control without compromising anything...

But roadsters in general are definitely a hoot to drive, and like you said, I think the Boxster is one of the champs when it comes to handling/ slalom etc. Great for those summer days in the twisties with the top down!




2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

For sure, same here... between the Boxster and the G if it came down to a decision it would still be no contest (for me)... the G all the way without a second thought! But that doesn't mean the Boxster doesn't have its strong points for what it is ;-)



2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

I have 10 on the G35c!


In the Works:
2004 G35 Coupe 6mt
Ivory Pearl/Graphite

Z/G HOOTER'S MEET IN ONTARIO 5/15/04

 

no offense to anyone in here, but i just think the boxster is garbage. [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
i'm not saying the car itself sucks, i just don't like it. if you want porsche...go GT2

[ 2004 G35 coupe ] - | 6MT | Black/Graphite | Premium |

 

Haha. ^ that post above mine is exactly what I was thinking. Those cars are like cheap Benz C-classes or cheap BMW 3-series. People just buy them to say they drive a __________. I tell ppl I drive a 350GT and they go .. o_O*

Black / Black 2004 GcoupeMT. Premium. Splash Guardz.

 

With everything taken into consideration, id say get a G. 1st off the price difference is like 20 grand. you pay for the porsche badges. performance i would expect the boxter to edge it out, drag and curcuit, but damn ure spending 20 more grand!!! if i had 60g to kill in a coupe market, id take the G and "invest" the rest on it. 20g invested G should give most cars a run for its money~ =)

 

the S comes with 18" rims in the sport pkg, and it's a 6MT.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

the boxter's styling is kinda old and how would you say it...blah, to me. in my opinion, it's just a cheap porsche model for the masses

<hr></blockquote>

Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

To my eye the Boxster is one of the all time great body designs, although I agree that its (and for that matter the 911 series') interior is pretty ordinary.

In terms of cars currently in production, my short list of exterior styling faves (in no particular order, and excluding exotics) goes like this:

-Boxster

-G35C

-Jaguar XK8/R coupe

-BMW 330ci (2002-3 version more so, since there has been some subtle Bangleization to the current model). NOT the 330i though, which while very similar to the ci, for some reason has most of its proportions wrong by comparison.

-Altima (no, I'm not kidding - a great exterior design IMO, even though it's on a mass market vehicle)

The threshold for me in all the cases above would be a "yes" to the question "would I enjoy simply sitting and staring at this car for lengthy periods of time?" (as many of us do with our G coupes).

YMMV

 

In response to the Boxster's critics -- of course we'd all prefer a 911 Turbo or GT2 (!) for performance... that's obvious. But for what it is (relatively affordable roadster that handles well, has some style and has competent performance), I think the Boxster's a pretty successful car.

In terms of styling, I too like the lines of the Boxster -- particularly from the rear. The front end is pretty generic Porsche (which is not necessarily a bad thing). However the way the trunk meets the raised rear quarter panels is aesthetically a strong point on that car, IMO. No other car treats the sheetmetal in that area quite the same way, which makes it totally unique.

In fact the only other car that did it that way was the Porsche 550 Spyder ...and that's the other reason that I like the Boxster: it's a direct descendant of the Spyder, and the styling is in keeping with a long history of Porsche open-top roadsters -- people who know the 550 tend to appreciate the Boxster's DNA even more.

I respect a company that can produce a thoroughly modern high-performance car while maintaining a strong reference to a historical lineage like that.

Of course, that's exactly what the G is too... an evolutionary convergence of the Skyline (and Z) lineages -- only that line is much younger than the classic Porsches.

Also on the Boxster's plus side is the sound of the Porsche's flat-six, which is pretty intoxicating at open throttle. I've driven it at wide-open throttle and it's great! Very German and "metallic" but beautiful! Almost (but not quite) as nice as the G's!

(Still love my G the best!) ;-D




2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone