Anyone gone from a TVR Chimaera to a Boxster or vice versa? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Title says it all - currently have the TVR but thinking about a Boxster S, probably around 2005-06. Any thoughts?

Similar.. Went from. t350c to Boxster S. The Tiv was loud, fast, ok to drive, got attention everywhere it went, had it for 4 years, loved it. The Box was fast, not so loud, superbly built, felt like a quality item, drove beautifully. Two different kinds of cars, the Porsche will feel like a properly built car after the TVR and I doubt you'd regret it. Oh, but....you will miss the raw feel of the Tiv. Hope that helps

Yes. Have done exactly that. Sold my 4.0 Chim in October last year and sat on the cash ever since. Bought my Boxster S on Saturday and I can honestly say I love it! Not as quick as the TVR but FAR better in so many other ways, I.E everything works! The TVR was fun but mine was a bit unreliable and always had the feel of a kit car. Bits did fall off occasionally and I did all the spannering myself but never really felt fully sorted. The Boxster is a totally different car for many different reasons, common as muck I know (although mine is a rare colour apparently) but I guess its the difference between millions of £ in R & D and mass production and hand made British sports cars with less budgets & resources. You pays your money..........etc etc etc Not to slag off TVRs I still think they are great cars but I would recommend a Boxster to anyone. HTH Mark

Had a Chim, had a Cerb, and two Tuscans, now in 981s. As has been said already TVRs are great, but the overall package of the Porshce is just a cut above.

ellroy said: Had a Chim, had a Cerb, and two Tuscans, now in 981s. As has been said already TVRs are great, but the overall package of the Porshce is just a cut above. Think this is my issue. Love the TVR but just think the Porsche would be more of an everyday car. Just got a hankering for something German, 2 seater and convertible and the Boxster S seemed to tick the boxes.

Tivs are a wonderful piece of theatre and an event every time you take them out but to my experience not a daily driver as they are hot, tiring and you have to concentrate. The Porsches are less engaging but are very versatile and much easier to live with alongside the better build quality. The convertible hoods are so much more labour saving as well as the earlier TVR hoods were a pain to remove and store in the boot as the fit was so tight. Having both is the only answer sir.

I have both...2002 3.2 Boxster S and a 98 450 TVR. Very different cars! Porsche longer journeys, less noise, less thinking. TVR weekend blasts where you want to get your adrenaline levels up! As mentioned the Porsche is put together a lot better, but there isn't much beating the noise of the V8 at full pelt through a straight through exhaust. Also the TVR gets a lot more respect on the road from old and young, you can hardly get petrol without someone asking you about it while you fill it up.

MrVert said: Similar.. Went from. t350c to Boxster S. The Tiv was loud, fast, ok to drive, got attention everywhere it went, had it for 4 years, loved it. The Box was fast, not so loud, superbly built, felt like a quality item, drove beautifully. Two different kinds of cars, the Porsche will feel like a properly built car after the TVR and I doubt you'd regret it. Oh, but....you will miss the raw feel of the Tiv. Hope that helps + 1 here. Had a 450 Chim for 7 years and it was awesome. Now have a Cayman S design edition 1 with properly loud exhaust (nothing can rival the straight through V8 noise but the more high pitched flat 6 noise is also amazing!). Obv the Cayman is not a drop top but for me it was all about the looks of the Cayman. I am aware that the Boxster is comparable as a drive so any comment here goes for both. I wanted the Cayman from the day I first saw one. Its the hips on the rear end. So gorgeous (to me) although the gen 2 shape, not so much. Inevitably the Porsche is infinitely more sophisticated than the Tiv and, in my experience, the Porsche gets more attention (and I never thought I'd say that!!). After seven years of ownership I had done the TVR thing and found it to be the most amazing car but in the end there was little more I could do to adapt and change the car from its original design. I got a little tired of wanting to fettle things (or pay for others to fettle!). A Cayman S came up for sale, which I had sat behind a lot on the last Euronhoon, a 987.1 special edition version. I knew it performed as well as the Chim but when it came to cornering it was beyond my experience, by a long way. I didn't even test drive it, I just wanted it. I purchased the car last November and can tell you that it is also an awesome machine but for very different reasons. Basically the Boxster and the Cayman are cars built for driving and it does it very very well. Also, you can see the road ahead in the dark (on standard headlamps!), the windows go up and down at one touch and with reasonable speed, it's not like a sauna in the cabin with the windows down and it drives like it's on rails. Bad things against the Chim? Very little torque until you get to 3000+ revs (but once you get there? woo hoo!). I don't think I have ever driven a car with so much torque as the 450 Chim. From 0 - 140 leptons it supplies a constant stream of torque and engine braking works perfectly every time. Very little need for brakes. I learned to drive the Chim as well as I could drive it. It performed extremely well against most other cars (in hooning scenarios) but the Cayman does it all with ease. It doesn't do the thinking for you as it is not that sophisticated but it does have those little safety elements built in that the Tiv doesn't. It allows confidence in all conditions. And that balance!!! For me it would be the Gen 1 Cayman (for its divine looks) over the Boxster but unless someone else comes along and says that the Boxster is not as stiff and therefore the handling isn't as good as the Cayman then I am pretty sure there is not much in it between the two models. Fill yer boots bud. Do the Pork and you will def not regret it. JM

Yes Have owned a 450 Chim and a 500 Chim, and a 987 Cayman S, a 2006 Boxster S, anda current 981 Cayman S. Love the noise the occasion and the interior of the chim. Never felt confident to really push it in the twisties. Always having to spend money to keep it top. The Boxster just feels what it is; far better put together, sublime handling, and just as quick in reality. I guess a PSE will help with the noise, but of course you will lose the rumble. TVR boot is great - collectively the Box has just as much, just spread over two boots. No leaks, rattles and you can actually have a conversation in it!

Thanks for all the comments guys, all very useful and something to think on.

Thanks for all the comments guys, all very useful and something to think on.

I have also been deliberating for quite some time now about changing from a TVR 390SE to a Boxster. Drove a friends boxster a couple of weeks ago and loved it. As said, completely different beast from the tiv with positives and negatives for both. Anyone fancy a swap ???