RX8 vs. Boxster - I went boxster
 

I have posted on/off on this forum for at least 6 months. I had been wanting something fun and sporty for a while - and the cars that topped mylist were the RX8 and the Boxster. VERY different in terms of car type but similar in that both were FUN.

I liked the drop top fun of the boxster and the Porsche wail at WOT, but I reallyliked the smoothness of the rotary and the practicality of the rear seats. I could have got a much newer lower mileage 8 for the price of an older boxster and repairs on teh pcar are NOT cheap.

ultimately, as this is a third car that I will use on weekends and for date night with the wife and maybe to drive to work once a week for fun - i opted for more "fun" and less practicality.

Here is my new car.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8...D550/ry%3D400/

I still turn and look at RX8s as they go by. :) I love those cars. If I had the money for both - i would get both, but I had to pick one. Despite choosing the boxster - the rx8 was a top choice of mine and I drove a LOT of cars.

I drove the S2000 - didn't like how harsh and rough and cramped it was. I drove the new EVO X and HATED it. felt like a cheapo car. not sporty at all.

the boxster is very balanced, much like the rx8. the boxster is midengined, and the rx8's rotary is so light and mounted backward you ended up with simlar feels...both cars are a total pleasure on a back road.

my boxster is a 2000. 2.7L mtor, NON-S. a relative ended up putting it up for sale and i jumpd on the smokin' deal I got..so that was a factor as well. the car i bought has a full leather interior - even the dash, door inserts, etc all leather. it also has an upgraded porsche spot suspension pakage stiffer than what is on a boxster S. with 18s. the rears are 265s! it definitely handles better than any rx8 i drove - but to be fair, this suspensionw oudl be like a full mazdaspeed setup..it's an upgraded setup versus what is OEM.

i love the car. i'll keep checking here time to time.

congrats.

Not my cup of tea but to each his own.

I love the Caymans and Boxters. Good choice.

the right panel damaged at purchase? :o

congrats to you, not my kind of car but still nice


Thank you for posting an intelligent non bashing "im better than you" thread!

I hate boxsters with a passion, but if you like it then congrats

looks good congrats...

My boss had his Boxster for a few years before I got my 8, so I was very familiar with them. My complaints are too small & uncomfortable, no back seat, insurance premium seemed inflated, no storage space, too many of them on the road, the handling wasn't as good as I thought it should be (you're tired after driving a Boxster for two hours)- and it didn't have a rotary engine. I'm a card-carrying rotary enthusiast. That tends to shoot down a LOT of cars for me, right there. ;)

But if you are happy with it, that's all that matters- congrats and have fun.

Nice! I like Boxsters—and Caymans—as much as I like my 8. Good luck with it.

nice, the boxter is a great driving car.. and no top is always good..

beers :beer:

I want a GT2 :)

That's a nice car have fun with it!

Beautiful car, man. I will own a 911 one day, I swear it.

yah, enjoy... It's easy for a lot of us to compare other cars and talk about them in a biased way ("yeah, 350z SUCKS!!") but I have no reservations in saying the boxter is a fantastic car.

Jesus, yeah. GT2 is just INSANE.

Awesome car! I'd have one myself if I didn't have a kid, a dog, and a mother-in-law to schlepp around. :)

Ya I love the boxster and sometimes dream about upgrading to the Cayman. I need 4 seats though and do not want to deal with owning multiple cars so ultimately went with the rx8.

Nice.

On one hand we have a Michaelangelo:

http://autos.yahoo.com/porsche_boxster_s/

and on the other we have a Rembrandt:

http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/rx8/review.html

with a price split of about 100%. How in the world you ever put these two cars in the same category is beyond me... and with that said is a testament to every RX-8 owner out there.

I may have bought the two RX-8s :)

my father has a boxter and i love it
and your right both cars are fun to drive/feel good behind the wheel/handles great
but after driving them both i still wonder which one is faster.. not that it matters much :D

good choice and have fun with it!

one of my dream car is the cayman :P

While this is true, he didn't compare the two cars like some people do and fault the 8 for it short comings and expect it to compare to a car that was $20k+ for not having stupid things like an ipod and massage chairs, and a back up camera. I have seen worse comparisons. Congrats again.

true, I didn't get the impression this was a bash thread. I just found it odd that the two would be compared when there's such a wide price break between them.

yeah I could have just got a boxster as well but I chose 8. Im not a fan of any conv top-up for aesthetic reasons. My younger brother has a boxster and it is a great car very solid feeling fun handling but the 8 is slightly quicker and looks better imo. Also the boxster shift throws are almost double the length of the 8s so transmission/clutch feel go to the 8 as well imo. Both feel rock solid over bumps. BUT I have room 4 four and more cargo room and so far have turned just as many heads plus the feel of the rotary smoothness swinging past 7k is a "only in an 8" visceral thrill. Also I wouldnt be able to take a car I couldnt touch the engine in.

That said I think the Cayman is one of the best looking cars in all of automotive history and would prob lean towards one over my 8 (but Id have to really be impressed to give up my 8)

Congrats!

The boxster is another car not to be rated on soley by numbers, as a matter of fact, if there wasn't a need for 4 seats it would be a hard choice between the two.

If it was a good deal, a REALLY good deal, I would have taken a Porsche too.

Nice car, have fun with it

Good choice for a third car

Congrats dude!

Nice! I had an 01 Boxster S until I bought my 8. Both great cars - I do miss the torque of the Boxster.

I'm the OP - this is NOT a bash thread. I REALLY had a tough decision. I almost bought the RX8 instead of the boxster. they are indeed VERY different cars. Which was part of the problem. It wasn't like I was comparing an Accord vs. Camry...

My goal was to get a third car for fun. I had a daily driver which I wanted to keep. It's one of those older, high mileage, but paid off and very reliable but "not so fun" kind of cars. So "fun" was the key factor for my third car.

I test drove the 350Z, the S2000, the EVO X, the Boxster, and the RX8. From the second I test drove the RX8 I was in love with it. Like all of you know - it's not torquey, it's not *fast*, but it's just so much darn fun. The EVO was fast but not as fast as I expected, and it felt cheap and numb. It did NOT feel sporty AT ALL.

I want somethign that I climb into and feel like I"m in a sports car. I've owned two RX7s in my past, as well as a Miata - so I"ve had a lot of mazdas, and two rotaries. Both my 79 RX7 and my 87 Turbo II were modded - and I loved those cars. So I'm no stranger to rotaries, but neither am I determined to get another one.

I just wanted a fun car. My dad owned the boxster. I had driven it a handful of times when he let me and my wife borrow it for weekend "dates" and I have to admit, it was probably the most fun, best handling car i have ever driven. Not rocket ship fast - it's only rated at 217hp, but I believe it also weighs in a couple hundred pounds less than an RX8 - somewhere aroudn 2800.

The s2000 was really cramped and i did not like the sound at VTEC wail. it sounded like it was going to explode. and it sounded like all the other ricer cars to me. the RX8 had a very nice sound at WOT. the boxster also sounds amazing at WOT. you have to sit in one to listen to it. the air intake is behind you, on the drivers side, if you look at the photo at the tp of the thread, you can see the passenger side vent..there are two, one on each side... those thigns are sucking air, basically right behind your ear, and when you hit about 5k, you reallyh ear it. it sounds like an exotic car or something. it's the best sound I've ever heard in a car. the rx8 is a close second.

the handling on this car has to be experienced. given there are so many variations of boxsters, it's hard to compare them directly. many of the older boxsters came with 16 or 17" wheels...and if you drive one of those, then get into a car with the M030/ factory upgraded suspension PLUS 18" sticky tires - it's not even a fair comparison. it would e like getting into an RX8 sport with 17"s and all seasons, then gettinginto an rX8 with full MS setup on PS2s. :) this boxster is the equivalent of that mazdaspeed prepped rx8. it has upgraded/stiffer sways, shocks, springs, all factory tuned to be a high performance street setup - like a MS setup.

the drop top fun is hard to beat for a third car. for a daily driver I would have wound up getting the rX8 - it's much easier to live with. but for a car i only take out on Fri or Sat - having a convertible is pretty fun.

another KEY factor is that the boxster was my dads. he gave me a VERY good deal. i got the car for thousands off wholesale and no sales tax as it's interfamily.

all in all - it was partly the car, and partly my desire for a third car, plus the smokin deal I got. if I was looking for a car I drove more often, I would have done the 8.

you guys hae a great car. the rx8 is one of the most underappreciated cars out there. it is tons of fun and reasonably practical for a car that looks, feels, and drives like a pure sports car.

I just want to go out now and find some awesome twisty roads to enjoy my new car on!

Congrats. I like the mid-engine porkers. very well balanced. I looked into Boxsters too. But only 2001+ as they have a bit more motivation. But the thought of not being able to see the engine or change the oil without a lift was a downer for me. And ultimately prefered the BMW Z4s instead. nevertheless, enjoy the Boxster. They are great cars until the next routine maintenance.
Cayman S is sexy.

Congrats. Nice car.