Evora S v Boxster S (981) - Thoughts

[greido]

Has anyone had experience of an Evora S and a 981 Boxster S?
Reason I ask is that I’d like to get another car to enjoy and would like some first hand insight to the above. I have a little history with both marquee having owned an S3 1.6 Elise for 8 months 4 years ago and a had a 2000 Boxster S for 4 years back in 2005.
Looking back I liked the Lotus but loved my Porsche and always thought I’d get another, possibly next as I really like the 981 though despite never having driven one. I never really considered it as an option before but I drove a 2014 Evora a few weeks back and was smitten; I’ve read a few comparisons of the Evora v Cayman but they’re usually pretty biased towards the Porsche tbh (Porsche forums) so thought I’d ask here if anyone here had any experience of both?
After driving the Evora I did a bit of research and was more than slightly scared off by the life expectancy of the clutch and the rumoured 30 hour labour to replace it and the fact I couldn’t get a Lotus warranty beyond 3 years.
Any thoughts, insight or experience on any of the above would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

G

[douglasgdmw]

Not gone from a Evora S to a Boxster S but did go to an Evora N/A to a Boxster Spyder.

To be honest they are both excellent cars and it all depends upon your viewpoint. The magazines are right that the logical argument indicates the Boxster is a much better place to put your money

Evora S (+ Points):
- Driving experience is probably about 5-10% better than the Boxster
- You are very unlikely to see another one on your travels and they have that supercar look about them
- Not the same stigma as the Porsche
- Possibly slightly better residuals long term than a Boxster S but the Evora may suffer slightly with the facelift coming out (especially the newer the car)

Evora S (- points):
- Quality of the interior is no way as good as the Porsche
- Gearchange is definitely not as good (new cables help but do not resolve the issue 100% and vary from car to car)
- Lots of little niggles which hopefully will have been sorted by Murrays - however some cars have more niggles than others
- Possible concern over servicing now that Craig is no longer at Murrays (i.e. no clout if there is a manufacturers issue out of warranty)

Porsche Boxster (+ Points)
- Massive amount of cars to choose from so you can be picky about what car/options you want
- As a long distance/weekend car the Porsche is a better place to be (although we went down to Mugello in our Evora but luggage was chosen carefully)
- Porsche do an extended warranty if bought in the dealer network
- If you go for a Gen II then there are no issues with the scary bore scoring
- If you get a car with the MO30 suspension then they handle a lot better - also the smaller wheels give a more pure experience but lots of owners will not have gone down that route

Porsche Boxster (- Points)
- Stigma and you will kind of blend in with a lot of other Porsche owners
- Just slightly behind the Evora in driver feel

I don't know what your budget is and how you are looking to use your car. However if your budget allows and you are looking for a weekend fun toy then do not discount the Boxster Spyder - it more like a mini GT3 and has the Lotus ethos in a Porsche. However some cars which are "full fat" (i.e. convenience options) do not shift very fast and are probably not the enthusiasts choice.

Happy to give you my details and chat more about it if you want

George

[Lazydonkey]

After driving the Evora I did a bit of research and was more than slightly scared off by the life expectancy of the clutch and the rumoured 30 hour labour to replace it and the fact I couldn’t get a Lotus warranty beyond 3 years.

Clutch concerns were initially due to a number of cars not being set up correctly at the factory and necessitating replacements at low mileages.

Mine has done 41k and is still on the original clutch and i'm far from the exception. Yes when it goes it is expensive to replace (craig used to quite £2,750 all in when he was at Murrays) as you have to remove rear clam and engine but its offset by all other services being more in the range of £300-£400 and the mechanicals being toyota bombproof.

[douglasgdmw]

The Boxster does have the advantage that the service intervals are every 2 years alternating from minor/major:
http://porscheownerservices.co.uk/servicing/?model=26

However I think there is not too much difference in the service costs over the years. My last years major was just under £1k due to changing the plugs at the same time . Luckily there are a number of good Porsche independants in the area if you want to go outside the official network.

George

[j2 lot]

Porsches are like belly buttons ( everyone's got one)
Evoras are rare and in general get 'public approval'

Try both and buy what appeals most. Lotus build quality is better now than it has ever been. If you read what's on the owner forums both Porsche and Lotus could be construed as being troublesome but I suspect neither is a particular issue.

[campbell]

I have no experience of Porsches to offer a comparison.

But after 3,400 miles through UK and France, on a variety of motorways, back roads, mountain passes, race tracks and urban streets, I simply cannot recommend an Evora highly enough as a driving experience.

Refined cruiser, B-road eater, occasional track day tool. Ticks every box.

3yr old or earlier seem to have flat residuals (at least in NA form) so if you do a total cost of ownership calculation I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Evoranomics, it's called

Oh and 16mpg track, 38mpg steady 75mph, and 29mpg running average over last 9k miles.

[tenkfeet]

For an S Subtract a third from those NA car fuel consumption figures. The jump to light speed is very addictive so expect less unless disciplined. The Corsa tyres on the 19" and 20" don't last long so ditch them for something better and tyre life improves vastly even when driven with spirit. Sport mode is a must have item.

The best things about the Evora is the ride and Steering. It damps out the imperfections of the poorest back roads so brilliantly for a car that handles so well. If comparing on test drives find the worst roads you can find.

I think I can count on two hands how many times I have seen an Evora on the road in the last year which I confess makes it feel a bit special.

[Dominic]

Not an owner's POV, but have driven quite a few Evoras and Porkers - Lotus would be my choice. Porsches just did not quite do it for me in the same way as the Lotus, which felt like a more involved yet better riding driving experience. The Porsche is a nicely screwed together car, but just seemed a bit more "mass market" to me. Of course this is a Lotus forum so some of our opinions may be slightly biased.

[Dominic]

3yr old or earlier seem to have flat residuals (at least in NA form) so if you do a total cost of ownership calculation I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Evoranomics, it's called

Flat residuals I assume if you are not putting too many miles on it? ....or just engage some more Evoranomics (Man Maths)?

[douglasgdmw]

Flat residuals I assume if you are not putting too many miles on it? ....or just engage some more Evoranomics (Man Maths)?

Yep I suspect that a lot of people would be put off an Evora if it has high miles as majority are "weekend warriors" which means it may take a while to sell on, however the Boxster does not suffer from this as much.

Admit that there have been a lot of people here who have put decent miles on an Evora and it has handled it, however the "change" to the new car involved trading in their Evora rather than done via private sale.

George

[campbell]

At what mileage do we think an Evora would become hard to sell privately?

[douglasgdmw]

Personally anything north of 40k miles. The problem is with the higher miles the car becomes an outlier as the majority of them seems to be weekend fun cars.

As the miles get higher the price would have to be substantially reflected down by many £1000's to get buyers in the door to look at them.

Just my own opinion.

George

[campbell]

No, great insight, George, as I think you have dealt in these stratospheres much more than I have

Mine is at 27k just now. Wasn't going to go much higher this year but we simply cannot help ourselves to stop driving it. It's that good. Unlikely to go beyond low to mid 30s next year though. And less so now I've read your reply, LOL.

I guess a 110k mile, 16 year old, 1 owner Elise is in a different bracket altogether, mind...

[douglasgdmw]

No, great insight, George, as I think you have dealt in these stratospheres much more than I have

Mine is at 27k just now. Wasn't going to go much higher this year but we simply cannot help ourselves to stop driving it. It's that good. Unlikely to go beyond low to mid 30s next year though. And less so now I've read your reply, LOL.

I guess a 110k mile, 16 year old, 1 owner Elise is in a different bracket altogether, mind...

I'm no expert so please don't stop enjoying the car

The UK market is pretty silly as it's all mileage related when they majority of cars can easily exceed a large amount of miles. If the Evo Lamborghini experience car can do close on 300K it goes to show that sports cars can manage it.

Most people you ask would not have any issues doing large miles on a Boxster but think the Lotus can't handle it (all down to past impressions of the company pre Elise times).

George

[H8OAG]

My own experience?

Boxster S - Over 140,000 miles covered with 4 different vehicles.......with none of the bore scoring issues
Well screwed together with a rifle bolt precision gear shift.
However it has a bone shattering ride on sports suspension/Scottish Roads

Evora

Only driven Father G's
The interior is low rent in comparison to a Boxster..........but the compiant ride/handling/hot car smell/noise and "junior supercar looks" more than compensate.
Cable gearshift is vague but a cold aluminium knob helps you forget that
You can also carry two dwarfs in the back

Residuals currently favour the Evora............and will continue to do so as a halo effect of Lotus producing Evora Limited editions at stratospeheric prices

Both very capable and as close to the complete all rounder as you will get?