[kolokoy]

where i come from because of the taxes levied on luxury cars they cost TWICE its MSRP in the US. like a semi fully loaded slk200 is about 4million pesos or about 72K US dollars. the diff between the 350 and the 200 is about 18K USD. naturally i would like to get what suits my lifestyle most. i am not a speed demon (am actually afraid of high speeds) but i do like a responsive car. i have and love my volvo s60 but i think its time to get something exciting for my weekend drives. i test drove a slk 200 and was actually disappointed with its stiff handling and unresponsiveness (test drive was city drive in light traffic but i dont think i drove it beyond 80 kph). i really love the way it looks and was wondering whether it was because the car was new and not broken in? or was it because i was driving too slow? or maybe because it was underpowered?
the dealer suggested it was because of the ff: the car needs a lot of RPM to be responsive and develop torque, the stiffness is for stability needed at high speeds, that it was a 200 and that i should try out the 350 because handling is significantly better.

i am scheduled to test drive the 350 next weekend, do you think it will make a difference? i thought that the 350 is just a more powerful car which i dont need anyway in traffic and moderate to low speeds.

i test drove a used 1997 boxster the same day and handling and responsiveness of the steering and accelerator was significantly better, and am now thinking of test driving a new boxster to see if it feels the same (was thinking that the used 1997 boxster i drove was just well-broken in thus the better handling). aside from the better looks of the slk, i thought the slk ride was less harsh (prob because bushings and shocks were still new).

anybody have both or test drove both? any advice?

 

[pq1250]

i traded in a 2003 boxter for a slk55.. slk fine car, however you will not find a more driver friendly, better handling or practical sports car than the boxter. The boxter fits the driver like a glove......... kinda disapointed in the slk

PQ

 

[pq1250]

[No message]

 

[Duo-Art]

pq1250, What kind of car is the yellow one in the last picture? I'm just curious?

 

[beverage]

Duo-Art - 3/12/2005 3:48 PM

pq1250, What kind of car is the yellow one in the last picture? I'm just curious?

Looks like a Dodge Viper to me!! [8D]

I'm just gonna go and get a mop - to mop up my drool!!!! [] []

 

[pq1250]

that is a dodge viper

 

[pq1250]

r u drooling over my cars or my 23 year old girlfriend who has a rock hard body?

 

[pq1250]

some more cars

 

[malibuite]

Well, I am going to be DuoArt this time.

PQ1250, where are you? Are you in the Phillipines also?

My final choice was between the 350 and the new Boxter. Would not consider an older Boxter since the new Boxter is so much better in terms of interior and power. You are correct that the Boxter handles better than the SLK. But I choose the SLK for the vario-roof and the comfortable ride as opposed to the Boxter. I also prefer the styling of the SLK to that of the Boxter.

And, as I have mentioned before, I see Boxters everywhere and not so much the SLK. I like owning a car that is a little more special.

 

[malibuite]

pq1250 - 3/12/2005 9:26 AM

r u drooling over my cars or my 23 year old girlfriend who has a rock hard body?

Don't all 23 year olds have rock hard bodies?

 

[beverage]

malibuite - 3/12/2005 5:30 PM

pq1250 - 3/12/2005 9:26 AM

r u drooling over my cars or my 23 year old girlfriend who has a rock hard body?

Don't all 23 year olds have rock hard bodies?

And extend that to those of us who still believe that we're 23!!! []

I was drooling over the Viper - that's my dream car!!! [8D] On holiday in Denver one time, spent a morning wandering around and taking photos of 5 Vipers at a Dodge Dealership!!! [] [:I] [] [^]

 

[malibuite]

beverage - 3/12/2005 9:42 AM

malibuite - 3/12/2005 5:30 PM

pq1250 - 3/12/2005 9:26 AM

r u drooling over my cars or my 23 year old girlfriend who has a rock hard body?

Don't all 23 year olds have rock hard bodies?

And extend that to those of us who still believe that we're 23!!! []

I was drooling over the Viper - that's my dream car!!! [8D] On holiday in Denver one time, spent a morning wandering around and taking photos of 5 Vipers at a Dodge Dealership!!! [] [:I] [] [^]

Now that's my idea of a holiday! I love cars. You need to come to Cali one August for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?id=1399

Motzkoman: Do you ever attend this since it is in your neck of the woods?

 

[pq1250]

Yeah, I guess they do, but I am 46, so she is very special to me..........

I am in the states, Florida and NY.

The boxster is more common, however that does not diminish the fine attributes of the car.

I can tell u without doubt, perhaps the finessed car i have ever owned

PQ

 

[malibuite]

pq1250 - 3/12/2005 9:53 AM

Yeah, I guess they do, but I am 46, so she is very special to me..........

I am in the states, Florida and NY.

The boxster is more common, however that does not diminish the fine attributes of the car.

I can tell u without doubt, perhaps the finessed car i have ever owned

PQ

Are you saying above that the Boxter is better than the Viper and the Porsche Carrera?

 

[pq1250]

I am saying for an all around car. Boxster wins hands down.

Hard to compare viper, as it is just a beast to drive.

The Boxster is so balance and nimble.... and conformable for the driver, it is thus far the best car i have ever owned. my only gripe is the HP and torque i have decided to buy a used boxster and super charge it, supposed to get an extra 100 HP

As for the other porches, I have owned a 911 and a 911 turbo, again if speed is the only factor, other cars would win. But for all around, comfort and handling, boxster wins hands down.

Additionally, Porsche by their own admission has said that if they increased the power in the boxster to the 911 or turbo levels, no no one would buy a 911

PQ

 

[pq1250]

car and driver mag................................

First Place
Porsche Boxster S
Spend your whole life studying Eastern religions, and you won’t achieve the inner balance of a Boxster S. It’s yin and yang on 19-inch rims, a solid chunk of pure chi backed by a 10-year corrosion warranty. Mr. Buddha, your car is waiting.

Hold it! Why does a Corvette coupe trounce the new 911 in a comparo [“Almost Supercars,� C/D, December 2004], but the convertible Vette sucks wind to a wimpy Boxster? Well, a Porsche does go down better at 59 grand than at 76 grand. Oh, and the editors who love the Corvette were outnumbered this time.

The Boxster serves up the quintessential sports-car experience. You skim the pavement barely clearing the heat mirage, the illicit lumps of the front fenders aimed right where a hand twitch points them, a yowling motor pushing your back with exactly enough thrust to scribe perfect lines across the apex with just a gentle brush of brakes.

Sure, the Vette has a ton of protein calories, but the Boxster is the complete meal, your Speed Racer fantasies in one vacuum-packed, EPA-approved TV dinner from Deutschland. It’s one of the best rewards for clean living

We weren’t always so enthusiastic about the junior Porsche. The last Boxster S we put into a comparo finished second behind a Corvette [“Topless Toys,� C/D, August 2001]. Nor has the Boxster gained a lot of beans in its recent redesign. Just 26 horsepower, which prunes only 0.2 second off its 60 mph time, to 5.1.

What the Boxster does get is a new interior motif that brooms the puffy plastic for one seemingly made of supersonic airplane parts. Careful with that toll token, or the jet intake of a door handle will suck it right in! Accent trim on the center console is the color of jet exhaust. The new cockpit looks and feels expensive, unlike the old Boxster’s that just was expensive.

To drive well you must sit well, and the Boxster’s leather buckets were applauded. A huge aluminum arm performs clinical height adjustment; a grab handle the fore-and-aft slide (power seats are extra). A tilting and telescoping wheel seals the final driver fitment. The pedals align in tight formation for fancy heel-and-toe work.

Like all mid-engine cars, the Boxster is slightly eccentric. Your cargo must divide between the two small trunks, 10 cubic feet net. And forget showing neighbors the fabulous motor at the headwaters of the bee-stinger exhaust pipes. There’s no access panel from above, and for all you know, the engine is made of cork and painted hot pink.

The Boxster has the only top that still shows canvas after it’s folded. The cabin needs its $375 clear-plastic wind blocker to remain calm at speed. Our blocker substituted wind drafts with a relentless rattle and was eventually banished to the trunk. Other complaints cited the fussy climate control and its battery of miniature buttons.

All is forgotten on a sinuous mountain road where the Boxster squirts from corner to corner with race-calibrated steering, peerless damping of body motions, and delicious machine noises from the back. Decreasing radii, pitching surfaces, granular pavement—the Boxster keeps you grinning through it all. Even one Corvette lover was moved to comment, “That’s about the best 10 miles I’ve ever had in a car.�

Pleasure is the Boxster’s deliverable. All it needs to be perfect is a bumper sticker that reads, “Ayn Rand is my co-pilot.�

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=9157&page_number=1

 

[salihyoluc]

I normally offer you Boxster, but you're saying you afraid of highspeeds, so i can offer you SLK 200K. It's not a slow car, but not a fast car as 350 and Boxster. It will be enough for you if you don't drive fast.

Have good luck!

 

[beverage]

malibuite - 3/12/2005 5:52 PM

Now that's my idea of a holiday! I love cars. You need to come to Cali one August for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?id=1399

Motzkoman: Do you ever attend this since it is in your neck of the woods?

Hmm - now that sounds like fun!!! [8D]

An ideal weekend for me, is going round car showrooms and test driving cars in the winter, and driving with the top down in the summer!!! [] [8D]

 

[malibuite]

beverage - 3/12/2005 12:21 PM

malibuite - 3/12/2005 5:52 PM

Now that's my idea of a holiday! I love cars. You need to come to Cali one August for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?id=1399

Motzkoman: Do you ever attend this since it is in your neck of the woods?

Hmm - now that sounds like fun!!! [8D]

An ideal weekend for me, is going round car showrooms and test driving cars in the winter, and driving with the top down in the summer!!! [] [8D]

Gosh, you sound like my twin![] We must have been separated at birth[:0]

 

[gdewitt]

If I could only buy one summer car and if I were trying to decide between the cars you have mentioned, I would buy a Boxster. Not a used one, but a new 987.

The Boxster is probably the easiest car to drive fast of anything I've driven.

Now, you may ask why I'm driving SLK 350 instead of a Boxster? If I didn't have another Porsche I would have bought the Boxster over the SLK. As it was I found it very hard to make a choice between the two. When I made my decision the 987 had not been introduced in the US and availability was in question. Plus, I DO like the SLK and love the vario top and the air scarf. But the final deciding factor was I didn't see having two Porsches in the garage.

YMMV, of course.