Nssan 350 vs Boxster S
 

So a "friend" of mine was talking to me, and he does not know that I just bought a Boxster S ( I prefer to wait until I am fully comfortable with the car). He currently owns an older Mazda Miata. He told me that the best car for the price is the nissan 350-370z. I asked why not a host of other cars, BMW, Honda S2000, Eclipse, Porsche Cayman, and he had his own little arguments for each. I finally came down to Boxster and he said "haha Nissan would smoke that" a Boxster is basically a Miata. :barf::matchup::troll:

So the real question is, how does a Nissan 350z and a Boxster S 986 matchup?

Looks like the 350z coupe (not roadster) is a .2 seconds faster 0-60 (per wikipedia) but see attached picture ;) Also, Boxster has near 50/50 weight distribution and would do much better on a track anyways.

The s2000 is another story though, I was looking and those before deciding on my 986 (base model)

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1387307526.jpg

::EDIT::

I hate the way the 350z shifts, the syncro-match on the 370z is weird too!

We currently have both! My wife drives the 2004 Z Roadster we purchased back in late July. It is a touring package car with an automatic. My DD is a 2000S with 115K miles.

I'm not going to get into which is faster or which would 'smoke' the other. Both cars have enough power and are fairly quick. I find my S to be more fun to drive, period. The S still feels more like a true sports car, a go cart so to speak. The Z has a little more weight and feels like a nice touring car.

Both cars have thier share of faults etc. The interior material in both cars is made to guarantee that it will look scratched and worn in no time. I've already had the center stack out of the 350Z for sanding and respraying, while I have replaced scratched interior pieces on the S.

We drove the Z home from Altanta and it road/ran great and had decent room. The Z has the feeling of a car that will last along time without requiring a ton drama. The S has been a great car in the 5+ years I've owned it. Thanks to this and other forums, I do, however, worry about big ticket repairs cropping up

If I was shopping for another used sports car right now, It'd be another Box, hands down. My statement is in no means implying that the Z is not a good car, just not my personal preference.

Here we go. I guess it depends on whether you want a real sports car or just another ricer.

A buddy of mine has a 350z and said he would smoke me and my lame Boxster S. I figured I am better driver and I know my S is in top mechanical shape so I figured I'd have a pretty good chance. So I took him up on the challenge and we went to Firebird drag strip. I had him out of the hole and pulled on him the whole way and ended up at about three cars. He was pissed and since he talked so much crap I made sure to point the Boxster's superior handling and braking and that it's not really drag racing kind of car.

Here's what you do:
1) Don't tell him about the new car right away because he clearly is a dear 'friend'.
2) Drive your Boxster and enjoy it. Get really comfortable and confident about your ability to drive the car.
3) Invite said 'friend' for a ride in your 'new' car and knock his socks off. Possibly (this is a huge maybe because he sounds like a tool) let him drive it for a bit too.

Japan vs. Germany..the battle never ends.

I had a supercharged 1990 miata before my 99 boxster. The miata was a go-kart, which was awesome in its own respect.

Transitioning straight to the boxster...the easiest way to put it: 'its a mans car'. The miata was fun and peppy but it lacked the soul and desire to tell the road who is boss. The miata 'used' the roads, the boxster makes them its b*tch comparatively.

...who is smokin' who...hmmm...depends who is driving. I have seen quite a few comparisons of those two cars...driven by professional drivers.
Bottom line conclusion:
There might be cars (in this case a 350Z), which seem "better" in certain aspects, BUT the Porsche engineers just seem to have found the perfect balance of all aspects...and that's why Porsche will ALWAYS be the winner ;)

and additional to that, there is "Der Porsche Mythos"...something magical about that brand, which cannot be explained by numbers...:cheers:

I drove a 370Z right after I test drove my 05 Boxster S. The 370 was a 2011 model with tons more horsepower than my 6 year old boxster. Great car but the Boxster felt like the better sports car. I passed on the 370 and you know the rest of the story.

The S2000 is a great little sports car also. Good bang for the buck but what ever model you buy, it won't be faster than a 370Z.330HP Heard it may make a comeback in a few years. They need too.

BMW probably as fast as the 370Z but never liked the look or anything besides the thick steering wheel. Test drove a nice model of that also. Maybe if it had an exhaust? :cool: Anyway passed on that too.

Eclipse makes good hp but I would think you need tons of mods before even thinking of taking it to the track. And after all you do to it, it would still be a Eclipse. Wouldn't bother test driving. Skip to the Evo if your on that lot.

Maintenance is probably way cheaper with the Z. I think one of the sales guys said the spark plug needed to be replaced at forever plus a day. (105K) But Porshe also said not to change the oil until after 15K or was that 20?:barf:. Regardless, I think the 370Z Nismo is a great sports car. Very reliable and better choice of the others you mentioned. I would recommend that car only to someone who doesn't want to perform there own maintenance on there boxster and doesn't have the money to pay to have it done.

Let your friend drive in your Boxster take the rpms up over 4k with the intake screaming and flat six rumbling. Did that to my friend who has a G35 and yep his mouth dropped. The last two comparisons that I saw where other manufactures where catching up to but still lost in the roadster comparison were the new MB SLK 350 and the Nissan 370. But like I said, they lost.

I had planned on buying a 350Z and drove 3 of them- there was always something missing so I thought I'd add a supercharger down the road. The interior is cheap too. Then I drove a beat up Boxster S. In 3 blocks I knew what I REALLY wanted. The Boxster S is so much more responsive- it's like an extension of me. The way it's weight shifts when turning into a corner, the outstanding brakes etc. made my decision easy- a month later ,I found my sweetie. If you want to end the argument let him DRIVE your PORSCHE!

Bottom line is "What do you want in your sports car?"

Horsepower?
Low 0-60 times?
Top speed?
Eye catching looks?

For me, it's all about the handling. Speed is relative. You can get the same kinesthetic experience driving at 50 MPH in a confined area as you can at 100 MPH in an open area.

For handling, a mid-engine, rear drive setup is optimum. Disallowing exotics, there's only one mid-engine car on the US market right now - the Boxster. In the used car market of late models cars, there's the Boxster and the MR2 Spyder.

Nissan makes a fine automobile. I've owned three 240SXs in the past, and they were all great cars with a virtually bullet-proof engines. But the handling was nowhere close to that of a mid-engine car.

Lots of cars can "smoke" the Boxster off the line. Get used to Boxster, then take your "friend" for a ride on some desolate country road with that flat six screamin'...........Make sure he wears a diaper! :p

TO

The Nissan is sporty.

The Boxster is a sports car.

Others sports cars:

Miata
BRZ/FRS
STI/EVO
Mini Cooper
certain Mustangs
basically all Corvettes
any Lotus
any M3
S2000
Z3/Z4

Not exactly the same, but my wife had an 05 Infiniti G35 6MT coupe for a couple of years. Even though it was a luxury GT, it had fewer "niceties" then my 2000 986s. It had good acceleration, but the 986s was faster. And there was this weird front tire wear issue. That car destroyed the inner edges of tires. Oh yeah, and the interior finish was poorly done. The finish was peeling in lots of places. YUK.

I've driven both the 370Z and the 370Z roadster, and I hated both of then. The coupe has *no* rear visibility and the roadster understeers like crazy due to the weight. Terrible engine sound, too. I wouldn't trade a Boxster for either of them.

regardless of what is faster... between the Porsche and the Nissan... if you are in the Porsche you win ;) no need to even put the foot on the pedal.

Ditto.

Even in my 'poor man' Boxster....often come out to my car at stores to see folks looking/taking pictures of it. My Cayman is a different story all together. People go NUTS over it. You would think I was driving a $100K+ super car.

Youtube has the Audi TT RS vs Boxster S vs 370z by Fifth Gear... Boxster won of course!

Just picked up a lightly used Boxster S last month after six years with a Miata. The Miata was a replacement for a new 350Z. The Boxster is absolutely superior to both in handling, braking and acceleration. The Z was an overweight sled and the Miata while a terrific sports car and handled well, just didn't have enough grunt to make it fun. And I have not even had a track day with the Boxster yet. I will admit that the wind buffeting was less in the Miata.

^ I don't think the Miata is really a car to buy to enjoy high power. It's a car to teach how unprepared you are to handle lots of of power in the first place. If I talk to a guy who tells me the first legit sports car he ever drove in earnest is a high-powered expensive one, right away I know he's not really learned from his mistakes. A mistake in one of those cars is potentially game over. A mistake in a Miata is one you can live through to fight another day. And without mistakes you're just cruising in a pricey car.

In earnest, my Box S is the first legit sports car I've ever drove.
Guess I'm just cruising in a pricey car huh? :rolleyes:
Sometimes I think you talk too much PL. :p

..just waitin' on that mistake I guess...