Wintermute
Member
So I recently acquired my 2006 MS6 GT from a Chevy dealer when I traded in my Boxster. I had been trying to sell the thing for awhile but the market for Boxsters is crap. You can usually sell the 911 variants for a good price and many of the more in-demand versions can become more valuable over time (911 Turbo or the Carerra 4S for example), but the Boxster is just so damn common (and for a Porsche, damn cheap) that it's easier to sell a Civic than a Boxster. So after 1 lowball offer to buy the Box and 150 scam emails later, I found this beautiful 2006 MS6 GT in all black with only 12000 miles on it. Still had the new car smell! Great shape, no accidents or bodywork. Flawless interior. 100% stock. Still had tons of tread left on the tires too. So the previous owner was probably a light driver. Why'd they get rid of it? Who knows. Life is full of mysteries.
Anyway, I've had the car for a few weeks now and I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts on the differences between the two cars. I know, I know: This is not exactly a fair comparison as the Boxster and the MS6 are worlds apart in terms of design, handling, and well, just about EVERYTHING else. But after living with a Porsche daily for almost 2 years, I have to say that moving to the MS6 is like a breath of fresh air.
For starters, everything (and I do mean everything) on a Porsche is 2-10x the price of a normal car. Even a special edition version like the MS6. Brake pads, for example, cost $170 for the fronts and about $200 for the rear. And this is stock OEM stuff (the cheapest you can get). I've seen pads for the MS6 that are like $120 for the set from RPM.
Also, don't break your non-HID headlight. $500 each. If you break the HID one? $900. Don't have HID and want to add them? Well you can get the retrofit kit that will melt your headlight housings for $300, or just get the full HID kit for $2000. A broken window regulator/motor is easily a $500-600 fix. Torn CV boots? $1500. And the goddamn single-disc, crappy radio costs like $350 to replace. A $50 radio from Walmart sounds better. Oil change? $400 from Porsche. Fortunately you can do it yourself and thanks to the Boxster's 10-quart oil tank, you only have to change the oil every 15,000 miles (that I will miss). Standard, 30k mile service? $1600. Not to mention the problem with the rear main seal (between the engine and the transmission) that has this tiny problem of sprouting a leak and then suddenly blowing out and dumping all your oil onto the pavement. Oh and the Boxster engine is not rebuildable. You just have to have a new engine put in ($4000 easy).
I'm also estatic to finally have a car that does not take 10 minutes to open the engine compartment. Popping the hood and then "hey! there's the engine" is such a wonderful thing. And I've read the changing the spark plugs on the MS6 is kind of a pain, but the Boxster requires a lift and removal of both rear wheels, plus the willingness to sacrifice the skin off your knuckles while you pull the damn things out. Not fun.
As for comfort and features, Porsche has a very "a-la-carte" philosophy. There are so many options with their cars, it's almost unreal. There are 17 standard colors, plus you can take any color you want (literally anything) and say "I want my car this color" and they will make a custom color for you. For a price of course.
Then there's 7 wheel choices and different finishes, 5 seats, 11 interior materials and colors (and yes you can get custom interior colors as well), then about 100 interior/exterior/engine/suspension options to choose. There are packages as well, but if you want very specific items, you can have it. Just goto Porsche's web site and build a car from scratch. You'll see how many options there are. It's insane. Of course this pushes the price WAY up to seriously silly levels very quickly, so most people have a base version with maybe 1 package. That's why I am so thrilled with how loaded the MS6 is in both trims. HVAC, Bose stereo, custom wheels, sport seats, steering wheel radio and cruise controls buttons, leather-wrapped shift knob, etc. It's a huge value.
Comfort-wise the MS6 is exponentially better than the Porsche. The seats are more adjustable and more comfortable. The stereo is like the difference between listening to an AM radio station on you grandpa's old radio vs. going to an Aerosmith concert. The MS6 does seem to be a little rougher than the Boxster during acceleration at at crusing speeds above 80 (I seem to have that oscillating vibration issue), but the Boxster had a lot of road noise over 65. Quiet for a convertible, but still it got annoying after an hour or 2. The ride is much more supple in the MS6 than the Boxster, but still stiff enough for my taste. Hitting potholes in the Box was like getting an uppercut to the groin sometimes. But you know what one of the best features is that was horrible in the Boxster and is like a dream in the MS6? CUPHOLDERS. The cup holders in the Boxster are these terrible little pop-out things that always felt like they were going to snap off and would slosh half your coffee onto the center console when you hit any bump larger than 0.0001". No joke, I kept a towel in the car for wiping up spills and throwing over the top of the cups when it got bumpy so i wouldn't have liquid splashed all over my legs. And they were so shallow that if you had to accelerate at all hard, you risked having your cups come tumbling out of the holders like an acrobat from Cirque du Soleil. Except they are full of hot coffee or soda.
Performance. Ah now that's so much harder to judge. 0-60 times for the MS6 are probably on par with the Boxster (which is impressive considering it weighs a lot more), at the top-end the Boxster would probably pull away as I think it has a higher top-speed (177 mph if I remember). I've seen 1/4 mile times for the Box of 14.2sec@99mph (which I think is about what the MS6 does). But get it in some twisties and the Boxster would leave the MS6 in the dust. That mid-engine design is so perfectly balanced that you almost forget you are in a car at all. That's probably what I'll miss most. There's nothing like a weekend in the mountains in the summer with a Porsche. However a weekend in the mountains in the winter with a RWD is a lot less fun. The 6 will let us go skiing and travel a lot more where we couldn't with the Boxster. That AWD is a major benefit for winter months when we head to the slopes. I'll have to swap out my summer tires, but oh well. As a daily driver the MS6 beats the Boxster hands down. More room, better ride, easier to drive, and hell of a lot better clutch. Though my car has had the clutch fix so i can't say what it was like before. But stop-and-go traffic with the Boxster was a workout for your leg. The transmission is smoother and snappier as well. Steering in the Mazda is almost effortless compared to the Boxster, though the Boxster does give you more information about what's going on so you feel a bit more connected. But the MS6 is so easy to steer you just think "change lanes" and *poof* it's done. The MS6 also has tons more grip. I've taken some of the more vicious highway on-ramp loops at the same speeds in both cars and I would get more tire squeal with the Box than the 6. But the Mazda definitely has more body roll. The Porsche would feel like it's almost leaning into the turn like a bike would.
Braking is hands down better in the MS6 than the Boxster. Not sure about brake fade, but the first time I tried hard braking in the MS6 I almost left my stomach and lower intestines on the dash. The thing stops scary quick. The Box will do 60-0 in about 122 ft. I think Motor Trend measured 113 ft. For a 3800-lb. car, that's very good.
That Boxster will not be my last Porsche. I'll probably get myself a nice 911 at some point, but for now I've hopped on the zoom-zoom wagon and haven't looked back. The MS6 is fast, comfortable, and dead sexy.
Anyway, I've had the car for a few weeks now and I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts on the differences between the two cars. I know, I know: This is not exactly a fair comparison as the Boxster and the MS6 are worlds apart in terms of design, handling, and well, just about EVERYTHING else. But after living with a Porsche daily for almost 2 years, I have to say that moving to the MS6 is like a breath of fresh air.
For starters, everything (and I do mean everything) on a Porsche is 2-10x the price of a normal car. Even a special edition version like the MS6. Brake pads, for example, cost $170 for the fronts and about $200 for the rear. And this is stock OEM stuff (the cheapest you can get). I've seen pads for the MS6 that are like $120 for the set from RPM.
Also, don't break your non-HID headlight. $500 each. If you break the HID one? $900. Don't have HID and want to add them? Well you can get the retrofit kit that will melt your headlight housings for $300, or just get the full HID kit for $2000. A broken window regulator/motor is easily a $500-600 fix. Torn CV boots? $1500. And the goddamn single-disc, crappy radio costs like $350 to replace. A $50 radio from Walmart sounds better. Oil change? $400 from Porsche. Fortunately you can do it yourself and thanks to the Boxster's 10-quart oil tank, you only have to change the oil every 15,000 miles (that I will miss). Standard, 30k mile service? $1600. Not to mention the problem with the rear main seal (between the engine and the transmission) that has this tiny problem of sprouting a leak and then suddenly blowing out and dumping all your oil onto the pavement. Oh and the Boxster engine is not rebuildable. You just have to have a new engine put in ($4000 easy).
I'm also estatic to finally have a car that does not take 10 minutes to open the engine compartment. Popping the hood and then "hey! there's the engine" is such a wonderful thing. And I've read the changing the spark plugs on the MS6 is kind of a pain, but the Boxster requires a lift and removal of both rear wheels, plus the willingness to sacrifice the skin off your knuckles while you pull the damn things out. Not fun.
As for comfort and features, Porsche has a very "a-la-carte" philosophy. There are so many options with their cars, it's almost unreal. There are 17 standard colors, plus you can take any color you want (literally anything) and say "I want my car this color" and they will make a custom color for you. For a price of course.
Then there's 7 wheel choices and different finishes, 5 seats, 11 interior materials and colors (and yes you can get custom interior colors as well), then about 100 interior/exterior/engine/suspension options to choose. There are packages as well, but if you want very specific items, you can have it. Just goto Porsche's web site and build a car from scratch. You'll see how many options there are. It's insane. Of course this pushes the price WAY up to seriously silly levels very quickly, so most people have a base version with maybe 1 package. That's why I am so thrilled with how loaded the MS6 is in both trims. HVAC, Bose stereo, custom wheels, sport seats, steering wheel radio and cruise controls buttons, leather-wrapped shift knob, etc. It's a huge value.Comfort-wise the MS6 is exponentially better than the Porsche. The seats are more adjustable and more comfortable. The stereo is like the difference between listening to an AM radio station on you grandpa's old radio vs. going to an Aerosmith concert. The MS6 does seem to be a little rougher than the Boxster during acceleration at at crusing speeds above 80 (I seem to have that oscillating vibration issue), but the Boxster had a lot of road noise over 65. Quiet for a convertible, but still it got annoying after an hour or 2. The ride is much more supple in the MS6 than the Boxster, but still stiff enough for my taste. Hitting potholes in the Box was like getting an uppercut to the groin sometimes. But you know what one of the best features is that was horrible in the Boxster and is like a dream in the MS6? CUPHOLDERS. The cup holders in the Boxster are these terrible little pop-out things that always felt like they were going to snap off and would slosh half your coffee onto the center console when you hit any bump larger than 0.0001". No joke, I kept a towel in the car for wiping up spills and throwing over the top of the cups when it got bumpy so i wouldn't have liquid splashed all over my legs. And they were so shallow that if you had to accelerate at all hard, you risked having your cups come tumbling out of the holders like an acrobat from Cirque du Soleil. Except they are full of hot coffee or soda.
Performance. Ah now that's so much harder to judge. 0-60 times for the MS6 are probably on par with the Boxster (which is impressive considering it weighs a lot more), at the top-end the Boxster would probably pull away as I think it has a higher top-speed (177 mph if I remember). I've seen 1/4 mile times for the Box of 14.2sec@99mph (which I think is about what the MS6 does). But get it in some twisties and the Boxster would leave the MS6 in the dust. That mid-engine design is so perfectly balanced that you almost forget you are in a car at all. That's probably what I'll miss most. There's nothing like a weekend in the mountains in the summer with a Porsche. However a weekend in the mountains in the winter with a RWD is a lot less fun. The 6 will let us go skiing and travel a lot more where we couldn't with the Boxster. That AWD is a major benefit for winter months when we head to the slopes. I'll have to swap out my summer tires, but oh well. As a daily driver the MS6 beats the Boxster hands down. More room, better ride, easier to drive, and hell of a lot better clutch. Though my car has had the clutch fix so i can't say what it was like before. But stop-and-go traffic with the Boxster was a workout for your leg. The transmission is smoother and snappier as well. Steering in the Mazda is almost effortless compared to the Boxster, though the Boxster does give you more information about what's going on so you feel a bit more connected. But the MS6 is so easy to steer you just think "change lanes" and *poof* it's done. The MS6 also has tons more grip. I've taken some of the more vicious highway on-ramp loops at the same speeds in both cars and I would get more tire squeal with the Box than the 6. But the Mazda definitely has more body roll. The Porsche would feel like it's almost leaning into the turn like a bike would.
Braking is hands down better in the MS6 than the Boxster. Not sure about brake fade, but the first time I tried hard braking in the MS6 I almost left my stomach and lower intestines on the dash. The thing stops scary quick. The Box will do 60-0 in about 122 ft. I think Motor Trend measured 113 ft. For a 3800-lb. car, that's very good.
That Boxster will not be my last Porsche. I'll probably get myself a nice 911 at some point, but for now I've hopped on the zoom-zoom wagon and haven't looked back. The MS6 is fast, comfortable, and dead sexy.
