Battle of the Hair Dressers Revived
Porsche, yes who doesn’t want one? Now, BMW Z4, hmmm, takes a certain demographic to really want one and of course, it has always been affectionately known as a “hair dressers” car.
The Boxster has dominated this space for many years and after multiple rounds of “handbags and polite shoving,” the BMW has normally sloped off into a quiet corner for a cry. However, witness the coming of the Z4 M40i – more power, more aggressive and dare we say, a little traditional.
The problem stems from the heart. At the center of things in the 718 Boxster is a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine. While kinder to the environment and more economical on paper, in practice it plods like an old Subaru and is negligibly more fuel efficient. The BMW on the other hand, sticks with the manly straight 6 cylinder engine of old – not that different from the one you’d find in a 1980’s 3 series! The lack of sheer grunt from the 718 Boxster is very evident against the Z4.
The Top Gear boys did a pretty honest comparison of both which seems to conclude both vehicles have more good points than bad ones. You can read their full article here.