Porsche Boxster or Lotus Elise?

[verothacamaro]

Would you rather take the car to a Porsche dealership or a Toyota dealership?

Which will be less expensive?

Doing the math -- the Lotus appears to be the better value in the long-term, and it looks damn good.

I'm actually in the market for either an already modified Miata (1G), Cayman S, or an Elise.

The Elise is quite tempting.

[zmanwit90accord]

Super biased for me but Lotus all the way. I want an Exige within 5 years of graduating college and my heart's been set on it for a couple years now.

Around here (Fairfield County CT) Porsches are all too common and while they are nice cars, if you want sporty, hands down it has to be the Lotus. Plus like others mentioned, they are head turners. The very few times I see them, I'm always pointing at them and making my family look at them.

You have excellent taste in automobiles.

[evil_demon_01]

The kit car replica of the Lotus 7? They're cool, but they're about half a step away from being a motorcycle! Need a helmet to drive one around here, if you can even register it. I saw one (or one like it) only once.

The Boxster is the convertible. The Cayman is the hard top (which I love, but I kinda want a convertible.) I do agree, lots of women and aging men seem to drive Boxsters. Based on magazine reviews, though, it seems like it handles very well.

Yep that's the one I meant but I didn't realize you have to wear a helmet for it!!

Hmm, I just always assumed the convertible and hardtop were the same model - Shows how much attention I pay to Porsche!!!

[deevergote]

If Forza 4 is any kind of indicator the Elise will run circles around the Boxster... on a track.

In the real world you will appreciate the Boxster's

- refinement
- low end torque
- lower cost

Only time bomb is, sadly, the engine. The first batch of mainstream water cooled Porsche motors had issues with main oil seals and were prone to fail catastrophically. One of my automotive dreams is to pick up a same vintage 911 w/a bombed motor for cheap and get a rebuilt one. But they are ticking time bombs. Elises are dead reliable by comparison with their Celica engines.

If you dont care about branding I would try an MR-S. Slap some wide ass tires on it and swap in a 2ZZ + supercharger. Yea it wont be a Porsche or Lotus but thats not necessarily a bad thing.

I actually fired up Forza 3 yesterday and bought both a Boxster and an Elise to mess with! So totally different. The Boxster felt heavy in comparison, while the Elise was darty. The Boxster got to speed more easily, but the Elise was easier to toss around. I spun out in the Elise often, but managed to understeer in the Boxster (understeer in RWD? is that a MR thing, maybe?)
I also really suck at Forza.

I think you're right about the Boxster being a time bomb. The fact that it's quite common would keep repair costs down (as far as a Porsche goes, anyway...) but hell... even a full engine overhaul on an incredibly cheap and common CB7 can be quite expensive!

While I like having a true Porsche engine in a Porsche, rather than a Toyota engine in a Lotus (I'd actually prefer the previous Rover engine, since it's at least a British powerplant in a British car!) BUT, that Toyota engine is indeed a solid powerplant. Not as good as my beloved Honda engines, but solid.
The Porsche may be much cheaper to purchase, but it may end up being the more expensive option in the end.

The funny thing is, both of my choices have FRM sleeves, I believe!


It was actually a Facebook conversation from a few days ago that got me thinking about these two cars again (I'll occasionally dream about one or the other.) In that conversation, another guy suggested the MR2 as well (only MR-S in Japan). The last generation MR2, while not the performance monster that the previous model was, still has a ton of potential. The guy I was talking to was claiming that it could easily be modified to outrun and outhandle an Elise (not sure I believe that...)
I do like them, but I don't think I'd buy one for 2 reasons:
1) my mom, who loves little 2 seater convertibles, randomly pointed at one the other day and said "that's nice, but it's definitely a girl's car".
2) I don't want anything with a name that means "shitty" in French!

Yep that's the one I meant but I didn't realize you have to wear a helmet for it!!

Hmm, I just always assumed the convertible and hardtop were the same model - Shows how much attention I pay to Porsche!!!

They're essentially the same... Boxster/Cayman is like Elise/Exige.

I don't know if I'd need a helmet everywhere, but in my area I would. New Jersey has mandatory helmet laws for motorcycles, and I think one of those might be registered as such. Neighboring Pennsylvania doesn't require helmets for motorcycles... but I never go over there. They make us New Jersey people pay a toll to enter their lousy state!

[SOHC-FTW]

1zzfe (FE meaning fuel economy based) uses iron sleeves, and 2zzge (Performance head design) uses metal matrix composite sleeves. I'd put a toyota engine on par with a honda any day, both have good and shit designed engines with problems throughout their years/products.

Heres a good read...
http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elis...ne/toyota.html

[deevergote]

Toyota just bugs me because they have Yamaha design their heads. They're the most powerful car company in the world, and they outsource EVERYTHING!
Hell, they let Subaru build the spiritual successor to the legendary AE86! (at least Subaru did a good job!)

[wed3k]

Toyota just bugs me because they have Yamaha design their heads. They're the most powerful car company in the world, and they outsource EVERYTHING!
Hell, they let Subaru build the spiritual successor to the legendary AE86! (at least Subaru did a good job!)

its called working smarter and not harder. ive seen the yamaha heads, those ports are so fucking huge.

[lucifer1]

I see the Porsche boxster as the 914 of the current era, built for women. I personally would not own one(maybe a Cayenne) , but I see it as being a better choice over the Lotus. The lotus looks like it would be fun for a couple months like any shiny new toy, but maybe not so fun after the newness wears off.

The Lotus may have a Toyota engine but who makes gauges, switches, steering column, etc? With a Porsche it is more of a known what you get.

[steelbluesleepR]

Toyota just bugs me because they have Yamaha design their heads. They're the most powerful car company in the world, and they outsource EVERYTHING!
Hell, they let Subaru build the spiritual successor to the legendary AE86! (at least Subaru did a good job!)

A well designed head is a symphony of fluid dynamics and yamaha is an acoustic powerhouse. hell, they make pianos! Toyota knows their weaknesses and strengths. their strengths include knowing who does what the best, and having a pile of money to pay for it. They paid Lotus to design the suspension of some of their best handling cars. They pay Yamaha to design high-performance heads. Now they are going to be sourcing diesel engines from BMW.

[deevergote]

That is also true. Porsche is a full-line automaker, though performance-focused. Lotus is, and always has been, only a touch above a kit car. Not necessarily a bad thing, and I haven't heard much about a Lotus feeling "unfinished" (not the Elise, anyway...) but still, you have a point.

As for the 914, I'd totally drive one... if I could find one not all rusted out! Never really saw those as cars for women. More like Porsche's entry into the little roadster market (like all the British cars that inspired the Miata.) So low to the ground... it's like a flying carpet on wheels!
The Cayenne, while interesting (I kinda considered one) is so closely related to the Toureg and Q7 that it nauseates me. It's not a true Porsche. It's a VW dressed up by Porsche. Capable and respectable for what it is, but Porsche is a brand that makes me think of purity, and the dilution of purity found in that vehicle is shameful.


The Lotus, if that's what I got, really WOULD be a toy. It wouldn't be a daily driver. Just something I took out to play with on sunny days.

[deevergote]

A well designed head is a symphony of fluid dynamics and yamaha is an acoustic powerhouse. hell, they make pianos! Toyota knows their weaknesses and strengths. their strengths include knowing who does what the best, and having a pile of money to pay for it. They paid Lotus to design the suspension of some of their best handling cars. They pay Yamaha to design high-performance heads. Now they are going to be sourcing diesel engines from BMW.

True. I can't argue with the logic, but it bugs me to know that the most powerful automaker is what it is because they're a master of delegation!
Granted, I know that's stupid... since the majority of the parts found in ANY car are sourced from other companies that specialize in making those particular parts. Honda doesn't make my spark plug wires, Sumitomo does.
But Toyota is a automaker that pays other automakers to do so many things. It's one thing for the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies to piece together a great team from players that were previously on other teams... but it's another thing completely for him to simply pay the Yankees to play baseball wearing Phillies uniforms!

Not that it bugs me enough not to buy a Toyota product... but I'll say that I have more respect for the design of Honda engines than I do Toyota engines.

[wed3k]

That is also true. Porsche is a full-line automaker, though performance-focused. Lotus is, and always has been, only a touch above a kit car. Not necessarily a bad thing, and I haven't heard much about a Lotus feeling "unfinished" (not the Elise, anyway...) but still, you have a point.

As for the 914, I'd totally drive one... if I could find one not all rusted out! Never really saw those as cars for women. More like Porsche's entry into the little roadster market (like all the British cars that inspired the Miata.) So low to the ground... it's like a flying carpet on wheels!
The Cayenne, while interesting (I kinda considered one) is so closely related to the Toureg and Q7 that it nauseates me. It's not a true Porsche. It's a VW dressed up by Porsche. Capable and respectable for what it is, but Porsche is a brand that makes me think of purity, and the dilution of purity found in that vehicle is shameful.


The Lotus, if that's what I got, really WOULD be a toy. It wouldn't be a daily driver. Just something I took out to play with on sunny days.

whats wrong with a volkswagen?

[deevergote]

Nothing, until you rebadge one as a Porsche! (yes, I do see the irony in that statement due to the fact that Ferdinand Porsche designed the original VW Beetle...)

I mean, I don't really care for VW (aside from the Corrado, the original Beetle, and maybe the Phaeton)... but my issue with the Cayenne isn't that it's a VW, but that it's not a "real Porsche".

[jhoff]

Be honest you could get a Ferrari for 40gs. That would be fun.

Maserati Quattroporte and Maserati Spyder are under 35gs these days.
Ferrari motor, Maserati style. Just saying.

With your choices I would go with the Lotus.

[steelbluesleepR]

Be honest you could get a Ferrari for 40gs. That would be fun.

Maserati Quattroporte and Maserati Spyder are under 35gs these days.
Ferrari motor, Maserati style. Just saying.

With your choices I would go with the Lotus.

if you buy a ferrrari or a maserati for 35-40k, you will soon have a ferrari- or maserati-shaped lawn ornament and a massive quote to fix something.