Where each one leads
BMW Z4
- Fewer BMW Z4 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (4.2% against 7.0%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW Z4 uses 8.4 l/100 km, the 2019 Porsche Boxster 9.4.
Porsche Boxster
- Against cars of the same age, the Porsche Boxster comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 29% more often than average) than the BMW Z4 (passes 20% more often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Porsche Boxster comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 68% less often than average) than the BMW Z4 (fails 51% less often than average).
- New Porsche Boxster cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 19 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 170 for the BMW Z4 in 2022.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| BMW Z4 | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2002–2025 | 1989–2015 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 60,724 (2010–2022) | 16,534 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 32,458 | 21,689 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 5,299 | 2,783 |
| In traffic in Finland | 773 | 283 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| BMW Z4 | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 77% | 82% |
| … against cars of the same age | +20% | +29% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.0% | 0.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −51% | −68% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 4.2% | 7.0% |
| US owner complaints | 1,282 | 164 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Engine and engine cooling |
| Model year with most complaints | 2003 (414) | 1998 (32) |
| US recall campaigns | 28 | 8 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,817 | 3,068 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 9 | 1 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW Z4 | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.4 l/100 km (2026) | 9.4 l/100 km (2019) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 8.9 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 170 g/km | 19 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 193 kW (259 hp) | 347 kW (466 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,554 kg | 1,812 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €70,203 | €88,144 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 136,000 km | 140,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).