Where each one leads
Pontiac Firebird
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Porsche Boxster
- 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 Pontiac Firebird (fails 38% less often than average).
- Fewer Porsche Boxster cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (7.0% against 53.9%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2019 Porsche Boxster uses 9.4 l/100 km, the 2002 Pontiac Firebird 11.3.
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
| Pontiac Firebird | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1981–2002 | 1989–2015 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 16,534 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 455 | 21,689 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 1,046 | 2,783 |
| In traffic in Finland | 667 | 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
| Pontiac Firebird | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 82% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +29% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −38% | −68% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 53.9% | 7.0% |
| US owner complaints | 586 | 164 |
| Most complaints about | Service brakes, hydraulic | Engine and engine cooling |
| Model year with most complaints | 1995 (84) | 1998 (32) |
| US recall campaigns | 20 | 8 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,305 | 3,068 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 56 | 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
| Pontiac Firebird | Porsche Boxster | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.3 l/100 km (2002) | 9.4 l/100 km (2019) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 19 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 347 kW (466 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,812 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €88,144 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 113,000 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).