elbimmer

"Originally Posted by mbr129
And A Boxster S is MUCH faster than an M3 and would kick the crap out of it in every performance category. "
Are you sure what you are talking about?
M3 always faster than Boxter S!!! Dont trust computer games, lol

SLK55AMG

Even as a fan of the new Boxster S I also can't agree that its faster than an M3....... the M3 is an amazing car and the only times I've seen quicker lap times from the Boxster S are on very twisty circuits where the extra weight of the M3 hinders it.

J10B

So those people picking the S need the great handling for your second job as a race car driver?
I'd rather have power and the decent handling of the MB than an autoX track queen.
Oh and having just read the 9 car shootout that included the SLK350 and Boxster S. The SLK did really well pick up a copy and read the individual section time. The SLK carried its speed very well and Its one problem was a sweeper. It was 6th in total track time, the vette elise, boxster S, viper, carrera GT, finished above it. The SLK was either 4th tied for 4th or HIGHER in 6 of 8 sections. The power of the AMG will help.

vantage78

Was the SLK350 that they tested equiped with the AMG sports package or the lower suspension option?

SLK55AMG

Spot on

J10B

The lower suspension option.... yes the 200 dollar sports suspension, which tells me that they lower the car and thats it.
This would explain the sweeper problem however the car HELD speed very nicely in the corners, AND THEN GAINED more on the straights. After going throught the section by section its clear the SLK was the better of all the other cars, with the expection of the track killers, elise-vette-viper-etc. It didnt die in the turns like the BMW and S2k, and its engine powered through the corners and got faster on the straights.
Thats impressive when pitted against the best porsche had to offer in the class of the SLK, the best honda and BMW as well.
Yeah it got 9th... 20 of 20 in the ride category, but the same rag slammed the SLR. Rags hate MB as a sports car and will not give it the time of day.

SLK55AMG

Did they test the new Boxster or the old one?..... which magazine was the 9 car test featured?

J10B

they used the NEW boxster S, not the regular boxster that the SLK would have brutalized. I believe it was road and track. The SLK was very good it just had a couple of slow sections, it was about 1.2 seconds slower around the track than the boxster S! Thats REALLY good in my book, as the S is the premier offering from porsche in the roadster category.

SLK55AMG

Thanks I'll try and find the Road and Track article...... I found this one as well from Car and Driver...... SLK350, Boxster S, Crossfire and Corvette:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

Edit: Is this the Road and Track article?:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....&page_number=1

The Best All Round Sportscar one where they test 9 cars?..... the one where the SLK350 finishes in 9th place? and the Boxster S finishes in 2nd behind the Corvette but above the 997 Carrera S?

J10B

right on. One thing I cant get over is that they are pitting it against the "tuned version" of every other car. With the exception of the Vette. Wheres the regular crossfire? the boxster? the carrera ( NOT GT), the 350z (280hp version not anniversayr with 300)?
They dont play fair. I was impressed with its ablilities for its competition. Steve millen states it had a soft suspension... thats because its sport suspension was basically a lowering spring set.
Yeah good call put the 350slk against a set of cars that were built to tackle the slkAMG....
it should make you AMG owners beam with pride that your little brother is doing very well for himslef against the best the other have to offer... now you get to come in and lay the smackdown on em

SLK55AMG

The other cars in the test were all fairly standard as far as I could see...... they were the most recent editions but other than that they weren't "tuned" by anyone other than the original manufacturer. The most obviously "tuned" car was the 350Z which is significantly better than the "normal" 350Z.

It would have been nice to see how the SLK55 would have done! maybe the rules that they used to select the cars excluded the AMG because that is technically a tuned car?

The SLK350 did very well on track to beat the S2000, Z4 and 350Z so the other scoring categories can't have been great to leave the Merc in last place in the final tally! The real shock for me was that the 300BHP track pack Nissan 350Z was slowest on track...... not very good when you consider that the special edition was designed to be used on track occassionally! It was nice (for me) to see the Boxster S beating the 997 Carrera S as I ordered the 987S a few weeks ago.

J10B

how do you not consider the carrera GT and the boxster S not the tuned version of the car? See you cant buy a less powerful SLK or a less "tuned" you can buy a regular carrera and a regular boxster.
Its like leaving BMW's ///M's and Audis S series. As far as porsche goes their S and GTs are the top of the heap of their respective models.

SLK55AMG

The base Boxster has a 2.7 engine..... the S has a 3.2..... its a different version with a bigger engine.

You guys may not be able to buy a lower powered SLK but I could over here in the UK..... the SLK200 has a smaller engine than the SLK350.

The SLK350 is no more a tuned version of the SLK200 than the Boxster S is when compared to the 2.7 Boxster......

scott63

The April issue of Motor Trend tests the SLK55 and Boxster S. The conclusion is that the Boxster S is the better sports car.

J10B

because they bring it to a track and it wins all the little skidpads etc that no one ever is able to test in real life.
If i was buying a TRACk car if sure as hell wouldnt be a boxster. I want power a nice ride and above average cornering.
The boxster has the above average cornering.
Oh the Boxster S is like BMWs //M its their TUNED version. Hence the cayenne S etc. porsche uses GT and S to define their enhanced tuning.
MB uses AMG
BMW uses ///m
Audis uses S or RS
Ford uses SVT
etc.
its NOT just a bigger engine.

SLK55AMG

Any link to the review?

scott63

No link, you have to buy the magazine.

scott63

How would you suggest that the testers rate a car? It has to be handling, braking and speed. I have owned several Mercedes and they were very good cars. It comes down to what you want. The SLK55 is a GT and the Boxster S is a pure sports car. I bought the Boxster S because of the fact that it handles and brakes better than the SLK55 and is only a half second slower to 60MPH. I also wanted a manual transmission which I couldn't get on the SLK. The Boxster was also $12,000 less..... Drive both and buy what you like.

J10B

All im saying is that its crap that there rags testing the tuned edition against another companies regular car.
As far as buying a car based off a test that a professional driver completed.... well i really don't know what to say. I understand what you are saying, but braking is based on tires as well.
I still dont understand buying a car that outperformed another on a TRACK that at best a normal person will drive on MAYBE 2x a month.
.5 seconds? Maybe it will be a .5 a sec ahead at 60mph, but from a ROLL or anything past 60 it will be EATING the boxster. V-8s destroy the 6 v-i-f, on the street if I was to need a car to save my life... lets say someone is chasing you. I would pick the AMG over the boxster anyday.
Hell my ///m roadster will still destroy the S.. and Im selling it for 20k. Of Course you will outbrake me and carry a bit more speed... but todays roads arent made for 10/10ths, so Im pretty sure I'd do OK.
I guess I'm trying to prevent someone from buying a car based off someone else's testing in a track situation that 99.9% of us will never use our car for.
Buy the car you like....like you said

SLK55AMG

Thats a good fair summary...... however you seem to be making out that the test you are talking about based its results almost exclusively on track performance...... thats not the case at all...... the test actually used lots of real world criteria and subjective views to select their best sports car. I think the fairest comparison should have been made based on price...... but around the $50k mark there aren't that many cars that fit the bill. Over here in the UK the SLK350 would cost me more than the Boxster S so its a no brainer for me.

J10B

it was based solely on track+$$. if you read the part about the SLK you would find that their assesment was the SLK was king of the ROAD, but seeing this was a track/sports test ( however they figure you must drive on a track to be considered a sprts car, is beyond me) thats their reason for putting it last.

SLK55AMG

I guess it depends on how you interpret the results...... yes they say in the SLK review that its king of the road but I don't read what they say to mean that its the best sportscar for the road just that its a very good all rounder that is a great compromise between perfomance and comfort...... the SLK won the ride category which tells you how comfortable it is not how well it performs.

The overall result however was based on points scored in lots of categories half of which had little or no relation to how well the cars performed on track..... eg. fuel economy, driving excitement, interior and exterior styling, seats, control, luggage space and price. The SLK still ends up in last place based on the scores...... if you exclude the performance scores and only use the subjective ratings it manages 6th place which is better but still not a great result

The full points score is here:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....page_number=14

J10B

which makes my point they tested the top of the line Porsches..... meaning that there ARE porsches out there IE the carrera, and boxster that are the "base engine" models and put it against a MB with a BASE model engine.
I am coming from BMW, which has an M division. I wouldnt thump my chest after being a "regular" BMW or a "regular" porsche, audi, you dont seem to realize that. Im not trying to argue or poke fun at your choice.
I dont think is fair to put an M car or the best of the line against a MB thats outfitted with fluff.
Its like putting the Z06 c6 against a BMW 330i with navigation DVD, premuim package, snow package, sport package, premuim paint, moonroof.
Then saying how you cant believe how awful BMW did. I mean for the money (which is close) the BMW should have done a lot better. Forgetting the fact that the reason the BMW is close in price is because you have 7k in crappy options.
For the price of a boxster S you can have a C6 vette that will smoke it, if you are looking for a track car, get a z06 and you will destroy everything on the road...
As Far As im concerned the cars in this test should have been the carrera and boxster. If you wanted the S porsches to be in the test you need the z06 vette, the AMG , and a BMW M car.

SLK55AMG

Yep agreed...... I'm not trying to say that the SLK350 is crap either. To me the better test would have been "The best Sportscar between $30k and $40k" and "The best sportscar between $50k and $70k" also they should ignore option prices unless the option adds to the cars performance? I suspect the SLK350 would have done better in the cheaper category.

I understand your point about the "special" or "tuned" models being unfair comparison to the SLK350 but you have to remember that things are different in the UK..... we have the SLK200 as the base model so the SLK350 is the "tuned" model by your definition

A great test for a future time would be the SLK55 AMG, new Z4M, and Boxster Coupe (Cayman) which will be the top version of each model while also being very close on price

If I could buy a right hand drive Corvette in the UK for $45k I wouldn't have a Boxster S on order...... the Corvette is only available in left hand drive and would cost me close to $80k!!!!!..... which is a crying shame!

AMGFUN

If you equipped a Boxster with the same level of toys that come on a SLK there is not a 12,000 dollar difference. The boxster doesn't come with anything on it.