Z4M vs Cayman vs Elise

I'm thinking about trying to find one of these to replace my RX8 when I get home from this mudstorming desert. As such, this would be a daily driver. I also would like to have a convertible/targa top. I've found good examples of each of these for around $25k. I love the Elise, but its fragile nature scares me a bit. I'm not sure if the plain vanilla Cayman is worth it when the S is around. I've heard awesome things about the Z4M, and I imagine that it would be the best daily driver. I'm kind of leaning towards it, but thought I'd get some other perspectives.

I wuz gonna tell you "what I've heard" and "what I've read" and "what I think" but in my experience YOU need to get your butt home safe and drive them all and make a decision!

all the best,

Cayman does not compute for Targa or Convertible. Buy a 986 series Boxster S for $15K-$20K! The latest GRM happens to have a Buyer's Guide on them...

Javelin wrote: Cayman does not compute for Targa or Convertible. Buy a 986 series Boxster S for $15K-$20K! The latest GRM happens to have a Buyer's Guide on them...

Yeah, the Cayman is the oddball in this group, but I like it a lot more than the Boxster S. It just....hits buttons that the Boxster doesn't. My copy of GRM is at home, and would disappear in the KBR mess that is the mail system over here while I was flying back.

I've only driven the Elise, but I've sat in the other two. The Lotus gets high marks for driving focus, uniqueness and fuel efficiency, but is an order of magnitude less comfortable for daily driving (that doesn't put me off, but it does put off many people). DIY work should be easy peasy, but the chassis and body are fragile.

The German cars have fabulous drivetrains and well appointed interiors, but are just as expensive to insure and an order of magnitude more complex inside and under the hood. Maintenance and repairs are likely to be more difficult, more expensive and more frequent. I'd hesitate to pick up one of these cars unless I had a hook-up with a BMW or Porsche mechanic (thankfully I do).

"Plenty of people" (for Lotus values of plenty) in the UK DD Elises, both S1s and S2s. As Lotii go, they're pretty robust and don't seem to suffer from horrible problems.

That said, the noise level in my S1 would bother me on longer journeys, but the S2 supposedly isn't as noisy. I also had the hardtop on most of the time which made things worse.

The Z4M just looks so right to me... do want!

In reply to nderwater:

Check on the insurance cost before you make your decision. The german cars may not necessarilly any more expensive. It was cheaper to insure my wifes old Boxster S then the Jeep Grand Cherokee we replaced it with. In fact the Insurance was the same for the boxster as it was for the 3rd gen MR2 we replaced.

DavidinDurango wrote: I wuz gonna tell you "what I've heard" and "what I've read" and "what I think" but in my experience YOU need to get your butt home safe and drive them all and make a decision! all the best,

+1

All I have to add is I'm envious of the idea of test driving all three with an eye towards actually buying one of them.

It's taken me months to narrow this list down, lol. I have automotive ADD to the point where I can convince myself that almost any car is the best evAr. This isn't even counting the burning desire for another motorcycle. I guess I'm torn over the inline 6 versus the flat 6.

I've not yet had the chance to flog a Cayman, but the Z4's looks leave me cold. Personally I'd prefer a 996 to either, but these are older and higher mileage than what you're currently considering.

Elise.

My buddy owns an Elise and has spent quite a bit of time in my Boxster. He is active on the Lotus forum and tells me that every time somebody on there talks of getting an Elise as a daily driver, other forum members recommend the Boxster instead. As for me, I have owned a lot of cars and my Boxster is easily the best car of the bunch. It's been reliable, easy to live with (even during the one winter we used it in the snow), great on gas and it's an autocross and lap day sweetheart. I rented a Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini for some track time in Vegas and neither had better handling than my car. It's a 2004 base Boxster with M030 suspension, GT3 front sway bar and Bridgestone Re-11's.

I have a good friend who worked his way from Miata to E36 M3 to E46 ZHP to a Z4M roady.

He liked the power and having the top down, but actually didn't love driving it all that much, at least in stock form. He said any time you pushed it at all, it would understeer. On an E46 if you lift it will tuck the nose right back in, but this thing would just scrub terminally.

Duke wrote: I have a good friend who worked his way from Miata to E36 M3 to E46 ZHP to a Z4M roady. He liked the power and having the top down, but actually didn't love driving it all that much, at least in stock form. He said any time you pushed it at all, it would understeer. On an E46 if you lift it will tuck the nose right back in, but this thing would just scrub terminally.

I had an advanced student with the Z4M at Summit last fall... he was in the middle of trying different combos of sway bars to try to cure the understeer. It was very hard to make the thing turn - even with all the usual trailing throttle, LFB etc.

So, yeah... OP, if you buy one be prepared to spend a little to make it more agile in the twisties.

Hmmm...I guess I have been spoiled in the handling department. I'll have to test drive a few to see how it feels.

pimpm3 wrote: In reply to nderwater: In fact the Insurance was the same for the boxster as it was for the 3rd gen MR2 we replaced.

MR2's are very expensive cars to insure for their value. A year of insurance on my MK1 could have bought me a new MK1...

mr2peak wrote: MR2's are very expensive cars to insure for their value. A year of insurance on my MK1 could have bought me a new MK1...

Really? My insurance has been relatively cheap on my mk1. That said, considering these cars go for crap money I guess you could buy a really ratty mk1 for what I pay.

Back OT - I'd rather daily the Cayman, track the Elise, and redesign the Z4M.

I think the ingress/egress process on the Elise might get old after a few months if you're really driving it everywhere. The size doesn't bother me at all (I daily a mk1 obviously), but those wide-n-high sills take some effort. Dunno, anybody daily one around here?

I second the vote to add a 996 to the list.

Matt B wrote: I think the ingress/egress process on the Elise might get old after a few months if you're really driving it everywhere... Dunno, anybody daily one around here?

DukeOfUndersteer does. Some good info in this thread: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/wtb-05-lotus-elise-thoughts/33829/page1/

An Elise is definitely on the top of my list to own in the near future, but I think it will probably get bumped by a Z4 M Coupe. It is at the very, very top. With the option of the Boxster or Z4, my head says Boxster since my Porsche experience has been better than my BMW experiences, but my heart says Z4. I love the way they drive and think one would be a better DD than than an Elise.

I've only driven a base Z4 and a base Cayman on the road (not track). The only thing I have to add is that at low speeds the steering of the Z4 felt a lot more responsive than the Cayman. At parking lot speeds the Cayman was actually worse than my Golf - surprised the hell out of me. I can see the potential it had on the highway though, it seemed to come alive above 70mph.

I like the 996, but I'm wondering if it'll be as nice a daily driver as the others. I do think that it would be easier to work on myself. I'm just wondering if it's worth it over a Boxster S, since they go for about the same price. I'd probably go for a C2, but wouldn't be opposed to a C4. I've done a lot of research online, but I tend to value the input from here more than I do from other boards.

I've not driven a Boxster S or a Cayman, but I have had the chance to drive a 996 C2 back to back with a 986 Boxster. I liked the drivetrain in the 911 a lot better - I preferred the feel of the transmission and the engine has much more usable torque. The shorter wheelbase makes the 911 chassis feel more tossable and less surgical than the Boxter. In the corners, the 911 reminded me of my Miata while the Boxster handled more like my M3.

That's strange, I would've thought the opposite...