Wads on Sportscars: Porsche 986 Boxster S vs S2000

09.12.2007

A while ago I had a Boxster S (Box from here on Honda S2000 refered to as S) on loan for four days and gave it a good "test" on around 300 miles of favourate twisty roads. The following is a comparison against the Honda S2000 that I owned at the time...

Fit and finish: Outside build quality was good, inside also seems very well put together (as you'd expect!). The dash was finished in a textured soft leather, the switch gear had a slightly cheap feel to it. The sports seats (optional) are comfortable and not as hard as I'd expected they also adjust well. The Box is slightly better than the S in build quality but not by much. Boxster - 1 S200 - 0.

Roof: Great! Good fast operation (22 seconds) - just about quick enough to drop at traffic lights but not very quick if you get caught in a rain shower (not as easy to use as the S2000 roof but it tucks away nicely when down). Point to the S2000. Boxster - 1 S2000 - 1.

Storage: The rear boot is a half decent size but a little shallow, you should be able to fit a decent sized soft bag and a couple of smaller bags without too much trouble. Inside the cabin there are a handful of useful storage areas with compartments in the doors, centre console and glove box. There was also a sliding door storage area in the rear bulkhead which I think is designed to stow the removal wind deflector (optional). The front boot is a little bigger than the rear and deeper too so would be handy for more bulky objects. The bonnet opens just like the S2000s in that you release it first and then have to flick a finger under the front edge to pull a catch... ie. not that easy to open with your hands full. Overall the Box takes it. Boxster - 2 S2000 - 1.

Acceleration: In a straight line the Box is slightly faster than my old S2000 but its marginal. The Box is also much easier to launch than the Honda as it has very quick pickup. The Box has an advantage in slow corners where the S will drop out of VTEC but the two cars are much closer at higher speeds (ie. with the S in VTEC). I have a section of road that I use to benchmark performance that starts from a standstill round a tight cambered bend then onto a straight that heads slightly uphill. I see what speed I can get up to by a road sign at the side of the road. In the S the best I can do in the dry is 75mph (speedo lag may mean the speed is actually slightly faster than the indicated). In the Box I could get up to 77mph in the wet and 82mph in the dry by the same point. Boxster - 3 S2000 - 1.

Engine flexability: Yep the Box is good here! Most gears have good acceleration between 3000 and 6000rpm and made overtaking easy. Box - 4 S - 1.

Handling: Although the Box sticks to the road very well and the traction control does its job well the car feels a bit heavy in corners, the steering is also heavy compared to the S but it does feel accurate. Leaving the Stability Management turned on allows you to push very hard through bends but its hard to tell if its any better than the S!. Dry grip is extremely good and almost certainly better than the S. In tight turns its fairly easy to provoke the tail but the traction control cuts in quite abruptly so theres not much fun to be had in controlling small slides (like you can do in the S). Turning the TC off allows some wheel spin from a standstill but didn't seem to make much difference otherwise as I wasn't confident enough to risk putting the car in a ditch! By the time I had to give the car back I think I was able to carry more speed through my favourite bits of road than I could in the S. Boxster - 5 S2000 - 1

Wet Handling It was very wet for 2 of the 4 days! To me the Box is just as likely to pot its tail out as the S, with TC turned off the Box was no more sure footed that the S (in fact it was easier to make the tail step out) but with TC turned on it felt more secure and I had no concerns when putting my foot down (not that I'm that bothered in the S!) so the Box is slightly better. HOWEVER I would say the Box is far more prone to understeer in the wet than the S2000. On my benchmark corner at a speed where the S would turn in without any drama the Box just understeered into a 4 wheel sideways slide into the next lane! Not what I expected at all... So overall I'd say its a draw. Boxster - 5 S2000 - 1

Sound: The flat 6 noise is nice but far to quiet for my liking. With the wind deflector in place its hard to hear the Box even at full chat! So I removed it but even then the Box didn't really turn me on the way the S does (I drive mine with airbox off most of the time). Sure it makes a nice noise and is better than most other cars I've driven (short of the S2000 and Ferrari 355) but its not in the same league as the S. If you like a refined ride the Box will be good and it definately sound nice burbeling along at low speeds but I prefer the raw noise of the S2000. If I could give two marks I would but... Box-5 S-2

Gear change: No contest... The S is FAR better, the Box has a sloppy gear change and even considering the new Boxster S has a 15% shorter throw, the "short throw gear lever" will still fall way short of the S. The new Boxster has a £380 option short gear lever that may come close but I still think the S would be better. Boxster - 5 S2000 - 3.

Pedals and Brakes: The drilled pedals in the S look better than the rubber coated one in the Box but I'd say the Box pedals are marginally better set up for heel-toe changes. Boxster - 6 S2000 - 3. The Box has good strong brakes with ABS cutting in only at the last minute with a few final judders. But in the S2000 ABS is never obvious in the dry only apparent in the wet in the last few feet before you stop! The Box pedal travel and progression didn't feel as good as the S so for me the S2000 wins here. Boxster now has 6 points while S2000 - 4.

Roof up/Roof down: Roof up: Very refined ride, firm but not too hard. Road and engine noise is hardly noticable when the roof is up and windows closed so it will make a very good mile muncher on the motorway. Boxster - 7 S2000 - 4. Roof down: The chassis in the Box is very stiff. I couldn't feel any sign of scuttle shake but it was no better than the S. Driving the Box without the optional wind deflector resulted in the same wind buffeting as in the S so I wouldn't bother paying £220 for the privelidge especially when you consider it robs you of some of the better noises the Boxster makes!. Draw. Boxster - 7 S2000 - 4.

Fuel MPG: 20mpg average in the Box after a good thrashing, 22mpg in the S. Boxster - 7 S2000 - 5.

Stereo: The optional extra speakers in the Boxster were pretty good but I suspect the base stereo in the S would be at least as good. So it is a draw. Box-7 S-5

Exclusivity + "Wave factor": In the 4 days I had the Boxster I saw at least 20 others on the road and only 4 or 5 S2000s so a clear winner here! Boxster - 7 S2000 - 6. Wave factor: Tried waving at the various other Boxsters I saw but not one responded. 7 - 7!

Other road users and the Badge: I've had my S2000 for over two years now and generally drive it very hard (within safe limits). In that whole time I've only ever had grief from one other driver who took offence at me overtaking him when he was doing 40 in a 60 zone. In the Boxster I got the wanker sign twice... Unlucky or badge jealousy? 7 - 8. Badge: Baring the abuse mentioned above the Porsche wins easily. I'm not a badge snob in the slightest but even I wouldn't mind looking back on a period of Porsche ownership, I'll always remember the S2000 but it won't for being a Honda. Boxster - 8 S2000 - 8.

Fun factor: The Boxster S IS a fantastic car and I'm sure its one that only gets better the more you drive it. BUT it didn't leave me with the sort of elated feelings I get after a good blast in the S2000. So final score is: Boxster - 8 and S2000 - 9!

I took two friends out in the Boxster and then my S2000 (neither of them had been in either car before). Both REALLY liked the Boxster and said it would be a car they'd consider buying. But after the S2000 both also said they prefered the Honda for its more raw roadster approach, even though the S2000 is slightly slower in a straight line both guys said it felt faster to them and slightly more agile around bends.

Now the strange bit... after giving the nod (slightly) to the S2000 I would buy the Boxster S2000. Why? I have no doubt at all that if I hadn't owned either car before I would choose the S2000 over the Box S BUT after owning the S for 3 years I wanted a change so I gave the new 987 Boxster S a try. The new 280BHP Boxster S is better than the 986 and you can put the roof up or down at up to 30mph.

More photos:

Comments (4)

Anonymous	10.12.2007
Nice review but scoring system isn't right. Do you honestly think that factors like "wave factor" and "attitude of other road users" are as important as acceleration (power) and handling?

Wads	10.12.2007
	LOL! I didn't design the scoring system as a serious way to rank the cars..... this was an old review I did for the S2000 owners club where the friendlyness of other owners was important to the readership..... I wouldn't normally bother with scores.

Heyhuub	10.12.2007
Great read, keep it up.

JiSiN	11.12.2007
	good work Wads ;)

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