Boxster vs Elise - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Has anyone made the plunge: Boxster to Elise or visa versa? I know that I just did A LOT of work to my car and the car is a lot better for it....but in looking at the Lotus Elise, the 2005 / 2006 models fits in my budget (23-27K). Hmmmmm....... You know...this is what I usually do, get a car to where it is really about perfect and sell it.......I do this all the time!! Somebody talk me out of it before I test an Elise in the next couple of weeks

You should test drive it. It's not a car that most people would be willing to live with on a day to day basis, but fits the needs for some.

I hear you! I really do not need a daily driver, as my commute is home to the airport and back and my wife usually takes me. I run around a bit, errands and the like, but try to do 6+ track events per year. No doubt I am gonna try one. Who knows....maybe I will hate it!

I looked into the Elise / Exige before getting my Boxster. There are pro's and cons to each but here is what I found before choosing the Boxster. Elise Pro's It feels much quicker than the Boxster, even 30 mph can feel fun Looks stunning Cheaper to maintain Its a no frills drivers car Elise Cons Has little to offer past 70 mph Very woman unfriendly to get in/out of due to side chassis strut It's a rough ride Its more like a go kart in a posh jacket Not great on motorways, very noisy. Personally I would still get an Elise as it just looks like a mad fun car but after a year or so I might start missing the more luxury drive offered by the Boxster. Anim

If I wanted a track car, I'd own the Lotus. It is also possibly the most dangerous car made to drive on the street. Look closely at how the car is built and tell me you would take your wife in it and drive on city streets with morons in SUVs. One of my best friends from SCCA racing has one, but he lives in the backwoods of NC, very near the Tail of the Dragon and NEVER takes the car into a city, for the same reason. Trailer it to the track and have a BLAST!!!! If you want, I can give you his email addy. He has owned lots of cars and will give you his honest opinion of it, but I know he LOVES the car. Chuck won several regional championships in Formula Continental.

I just saw and Elise at the car show this week and told my buddy that if I could afford to go to the track regularly, I'd own an elise. Toyota motor reliability, perfect handling, and so forth. The contortions required to get in it and out of it make it a deal killer as a car for use for any other purpose beyond the track (in my opinion and for my lifestyle and girth). You may not find getting in it or crawling out of it a problem. Your passengers will though... that's for sure.

It's the closest thing to driving my formula ford I've ever sat in.

Amazing, I had the exact same debate before I bought the Boxster. It was the boxster vs the elise. Topgear did a great comparison of the elise vs a mustang. You can youtube it. They absolutely love the elise.

The Elise trades a lot of comfort and amenities for the sake of less weight. It's use for the street is limited. It's a very small car with a very small interior. The trunk has enough room for a small bag and a helmet and not much else. It has a very firm ride. It's a thinly disguised street legal race car so if that is what you want then look no further. Just remember this is a car designed to spend the majority of it's life on a track and if that's where you intend to take it you should be very happy.

Good points....I mostly run a few errands with my car and spend several weekends per year at the track. There are a few Elise (not sure of the plural...) around town so I will take a test and report back.

We have two Lotus Exige in our club who are also Porsche owners. I have not driven them but both owners report: "Wonderful weekend track toy, especially tight technical tracks. Really annoying to drive around town." Both trailer their cars to the track.

There is a guy who shows up at most of the NASA events at Roebling Road (according to a friend with a shop at the track). The one time I saw him, he had a really neat little all aluminum tube trailer with his track wheels and tires and a nice aluminum nascar style jack! The trailer couldn't ahve weighed 100 lb. without the wheels and tires in it! He was using the latest Advan tires (3 years ago?)that were as close to slicks as anything I've seen. Personally, I would use slicks for track days. I know from a PCA buddy, he's so fast in the Lotus they won't let him come back to Porsche club events, but then you all know the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine..........

LOL! So I have heard.....

We had the same delimma, even test drove a supercharged Elise (not an Exige). My wife whose also an accountant figured that our Boxster, with an after market engine rebuild (if nessary) comes out cheaper then an '08 or so used SC Elise. Besides, we do use our Boxster for road trips, as well as AX & track time, and I'm not sure the Lotus would be great on long trips. One day... Just not yet.

Test drive an Elise, you will be sold. Long term.... if you can get by on a motorcycle everywhere you intend to take the Lotus, it's for you. They have just about the same level of performance and comfort. It's not for everybody, but if the Lotus is for you it'll keep a smile on your face every moment you drive it. I intend to get back into one this summer; Love the pcar and plan to keep it for daily comfort without losing the fun of driving, but the Boxster feels like an SUV in comparison.

I have a friend who just got into computer control embroidery. When she gets good at it, I'm going to get a nice IZOD golf shirt and have her embroider "Porcupine" with the same font used for "Porsche" and see if anyone notices. It'll be a black shirt with black thread like my favorite RS Spyder shirt. Maybe do the same red thread on the ede of the short sleeve - RSprick??? :dance: :dance:

I had the occasion to drive an Elise awhile back. Quite frankly, I didn't find much redeeming about it. To say the least, I found "look" of the vehicle to be extremely polarizing. I fact, it looked like a high top sneaker to me - short, narrow, and top heavy. As far as performance was concerned, it was easily one of the most unrefined, raw feeling vehicles that I had ever experienced. The engine feel was completely uninspiring and a vast departure from any high performance vehicle that I had ever driven. Indeed, the engine felt like a cross between a sewing machine and a gerbil that had been reduced to running on a pulley. I'll take the attributes of the Boxster or Cayman any day over the Elise.

turbo is part of your username. http://www.tpcracing.net/products/Porsche-986-Boxster-S-Turbo-System/

The exhaust note and engine sounds are not that exotic, but I've heard worse. Pretty much what you'd expect from a Celica engine. I've taken a ride in a Exige and a standard Elise. The Exige has pretty impressive acceleration, the Elise not quite as good, but still decent if the revs are kept up. 2.5L and 2.7L boxster owners would probably appreciate the extra shove the Elise provides at legal highway speed and under. Over 75 mph the Elise's acceleration isn't very impressive.

A Formula Ford has no impressive acceleration above 2nd gear of the 4 speed, but it takes a Trans Am or GT1 car to beat it's lap times at most tracks, and NEITHER will top it's lap times on a tight track. Don't get me wrong, as I said above I'll take the Boxster any day of the week and twice on Sunday for why I bought a sportscar, but don't try to keep up with Chuck C. in his Elise at the Tail of the Dragon. It will be a VERY expensive body repair day, if you do.