Updated Clown Shoe finally beats Boxster!

[Mark_Bennett]

Sad day...

Autocar pitted the new BMW Clown Shoe against the base Boxster. Verdict narrowly went to the comedy footwear.
Details in this weeks issue if you want to go out and buy all available copies to burn before your mates get a chance to see it.
[&o]

 

[Richard Knight]

A sad day indeed...... The first thing I did when I saw one on the BMW stand was go up and flick the cheap plastic roll bar cover, as did virtually every body else when they first saw " The Shoe" ...... It' s just not in the same class.

 

[daro911]

Well it had to happen but I think the Clown Shoe got the vote because the journo' s are as bored as bored can be with picking the Boxster 1st place every time since it' s launch back in 96. Must say I sat in a high spec 3.0 on Saturday and was very disappointed by the interior plastics, very cheapo in look and feel and the leather wasn' t much better.

Even without a test drive I would say on looks and materials alone the Boxster is in a totally different league [8D]

 

[Andy Tims]

It took a while, but by last Friday I decided the Z4 was ugly having seen about 6 on the road. When I saw my mate' s brand new Z4 on Saturday I also thought the interior was naff as well.

Andy

 

[Grant]

They did say " if it had been an " S" it would have been a different matter" ......& the new model Boxter is due next year-ish, anyway the Z4 only just scrapped a win. Personally I thought the Z4 looked nice , the first decent BMW for a while, the better half has her S & I did point out one to her at a petrol station....her conclusion....yuck it has no class !!!

 

[mikecolquhoun]

While the Boxster is still the standard bearer for type I don' t care.

I do not like the style of the Z4. Ugh. I had two Z3s, but the Boxster is way ahead in so many ways. I do not know what the designers were thinking with the Z4, but they will have to try hard to get jobs at Hyundai and Lexus as they have been there before with terribly quirkiness. Like the Impreza, as a class bit of design it sucks.

The rear end looks so awful ..... I could go on .....

 

[NicD]

I personally like the styling of the Z4 sides and rear, we are not all the same.

Autocar road test gave it high marks compared to Boxster. My partner has a high spec 3.0 Z3 so that has made me more favorably disposed towards them.

Also, I very much like driving the Cayenne off road.

Please dont flame me for this

Nic

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Also, I very much like driving the Cayenne off road.

Please dont flame me for this

 

[Robbiemeister]

Your either a BMW man or a Porsche man, you can' t be both.

Unless your a motoring journo that is. Then you can be a prat and not even realise it!

 

[NicD]

Your either a BMW man or a Porsche man, you can' t be both

Robbie,

can I be a BMW boy and a Porsche man then?[]

 

[Guest]

My partner has a high spec 3.0 Z3

I don' t believe you ! I had her down as a TVR babe !

 

[NicD]

Mark,

did the " off road" hit a sore point?

hey, lets compare gravel you have had to pull out of the car. I have had some in my time. With the Pilot Cups, break away is very sudden, no way to catch it.

On a different topic, at Leipzig, the last session was on the skid pan. Could choose a Carrera or Cayenne. We all choose the 911, and this was fun, actually no problems holding it with opp lock even with PSM off, till instructor yanked the hand brake on to simulate black ice. Good fun. The most entertaining was a big older guy from South America. he went full throttle everywhere, spun the 911 three times and just had it sitting on the spot with wheel spin. Got a huge cheer.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Mark,

did the " off road" hit a sore point?

Only in as far as we only got to drive the tank, um I mean truck, um I mean sport-utility vehicle on the track at Leipzig (which is a bit micky-mouse isn' t it?!)

I would have loved to drive it off-road. I thought they were selling it to us short by only allowing track use.

 

[NicD]

Mark,

you can guess I immediately switched the PSM off and used manual Tip mode,so better .

The Turbo C is a much faster vehicle - they would not let us drive these.

I drove an air suspension S off road and this was very impressive! fab fun. It has all options including the 38 speaker Bose - cracking fun!

 

[NicD]

Brian

behave! She has not expressed any interest in a TVR though it would suit her driving style - flat out down the straights and brake like hell for the corners. Mind you, she has had some racing instruction now (not by me), so is smoother.

 

[Robbiemeister]

ORIGINAL: NicD

Your either a BMW man or a Porsche man, you can' t be both

Robbie,

can I be a BMW boy and a Porsche man then?[]

Oh! all right then, but don' t go playing with that BMW all evening, you must come in for bed when you are called.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

The S I drove had automatic changes that seemed to be measurable by the Ice-age calendar. In addition the standard suspension was not impressive on track.

In contrast the Turbo was a much better vehicle. The changes were faster, and more controlled (the S dithered so long that you would have turned in to the corner - and THEN it decided to change down...). The Air suspension was far better as well.

I really could not recommend the standard suspension. Maybe the S gearbox is better on the road, but the air suspension is a must.

I wonder what the 6 cylinder Cayenne will be like? Different Gerabox as well if I recall what I saw.