Road Test: 2004 Audi TT Roadster vs. 2004 BMW Z4 vs. 2004 Porsche Boxster S vs. 2004 Nissan 350Z

Now that the National Do Not Call list has freed our evenings and weekends from the unpleasantness of telemarketing solicitations, we have more time to attend to personal issues that don't involve 12 easy payments. When it comes to driving, it doesn't get any more personal than taking a top-down spin in a two-seat roadster. Roadsters put it all together: you in the car, the car on the road, the road on the surface of a planet. Escape from the gravitational pull of the towering SUVs crowding your space, and a panorama of sights, sounds, and smells unfolds as celestial bodies (and police helicopters) hover above. Though some two-seaters indulge in the relentless pursuit of luxury, we'll say that the joy of driving a sports car should be as basic as riding a bicycle. As one editor put it, the elements are "good grip, a firm suspension, a willing engine, and an agreeable gearbox." But you won't want for creature comforts in this well-matched foursome, either, as all have a modicum of toys and power goodies.

Though you could hardly tell by looking at it, top seniority status in our quartet goes to the Porsche Boxster S. When first introduced in 1997, the entry-level Porsche offered just 201 horsepower from 2.5 liters of flat-six. In its latest iteration, the Boxster S punches 258 horses from 3.2 liters. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard with a five-speed Tiptronic automatic optional. The Porsche Crest doesn't come cheaply. Base price for our S model was a top-of-the-group $52,365, and metallic paint ($825), floormats ($95), heated and lowered seats ($1115), 18-inch Carrera wheels with colored crests ($1610), stability control ($1235), upgrade audio ($830), wind deflector ($375), and cruise control ($570) brought the tally to $59,020.

Audi's TT has been with us in coupe form since 2000 and was available as a roadster beginning in 2001, both with 180- or 225-horse turbocharged four-cylinder power and front- or all-wheel drive. For 2004, the Bauhaus-flavored sportster can be optioned with a new 3.2-liter version of Volkswagen's narrow-angle VR6 engine with 250 normally aspirated horsepower on tap. No more four-cylinder peakiness or turbo lag. It's teamed exclusively with Audi's new and darn near magical six-speed direct-shift preselector gearbox, which combines the features of manual and automatic transmissions. With standard quattro all-wheel drive, the Roadster DSG6 based at $43,590, and Bose audio ($1200), Baseball Optic leather seat trim ($1000), 18-inch alloys and summer tires ($775), heated front seats ($700), and California emissions ($150) carried the total to $47,415.

After a seven-year hiatus, Nissan resurrected its long-running Z-car in 2003 as the 350Z Coupe and followed that a year later with the 350Z Roadster. Like the Audi TT, the 350Z features a tall cowl and beltline because its platform is based on a sedan--in this case, the Infiniti G35. A single engine offering--the 287-horse, 3.5-liter V-6--can be paired with a six-speed manual or five-speed manumatic transmission. The engine is mounted behind the front-wheel centerline for good weight distribution. Nissan targeted the 350Z to intercept buyers moving from Japanese to prestige European brands, and with the Roadster Enthusiast model's base price of just $33,850 ($34,180 with optional side airbags and floormats), the Z-car drives a hard bargain.

Save for the twin-kidney grilles and inline-six engines, BMW's retro-inspired Z3 and avant-garde Z4 scarcely look like they came from the same car company. But they did, and the Z4, which replaced the Z3 for the 2003 model year, has a design that boldly goes where roadsters haven't dared to tread before. Electric power steering, throttle by wire, and run-flat tires add a new dynamic element, but basically the Z4 retains a classic front mid-engine layout with long hood and short deck. Base priced at $34,295, the Z4 2.5i features a 184-horse, 2.5-liter inline-six, while our 225-horse, 3.0-liter Z4 3.0i tester starts at $41,595. A long list of options consisting of metallic paint ($475), extended leather interior trim ($1200), convenience package with automatic A/C ($850), premium package with a power-operated top ($1900), sport package with 18-inch alloys and lowered suspension ($1200), heated front seats ($500), and hardtop preparation ($75) jacked up our test car to $47,795.Each of these short-coupled sportsters arrives at its specification from a different direction. The Boxster springs from the loins of perhaps the most prolific sports-car maker of all time. It's the single car in our group with the engine mounted behind the seats and the only one that doesn't share some bits and pieces, if not an entire platform, with more pedestrian sedans and coupes. The front-mid-engine BMW Z4 is the best-selling open car in this test, in much the same way as the 3 Series leads the small luxury-sedan category. It has a longer wheelbase and wider track than the Z3 model it replaced. Still, stuffing an inline-six (and a smooth and flexible one at that) into such a stubby car results in a layout that puts the driver closer to the rear wheels than the fronts. Both the Boxster and Z4 feature fully automatic tops that go up and down with the push of a single button.

The Audi TT is built on the same platform as the VW New Beetle, Golf, and Jetta, starting life with a transverse-mounted four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. In the new DSG6, these econocar roots are leveraged to the hilt with a vitamin-enriched V-6 and quattro all-wheel drive. Nissan's 350Z was the best-selling sports car last year, stealing first-place honors from the Corvette for a while. Now a new Roadster version has arrived, representing about 25 percent of production. Though the Audi and Nissan tops are power- operated, they require some manual latching/unlatching at the header to get things started.

In search of the perfect playground for airing out our foursome of winsome roadsters, we chose the verdant foothills and serpentine backroads of Santa Barbara county, in fact not far from another headlines playground, Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. One thriller was a twisty ribbon of asphalt stretching some 20 miles, going from near sea level to 3000-foot mountains, through broad meadows, oak-studded canyons, and around craggy peaks. It gave us a chance to exercise each car's suspension, steering, brakes, and engine with gusto.

Aside from the hardware examination, there were the more subjective points of roadster touring to investigate. Warm, sunny days and cool, foggy nights afforded us the opportunity to sample the wiles of our sports cars top up and top down.

After many spirited discussions among the staff about which car they'd rather have in their driveway (none, by the way, was voted off the tarmac), here's how they ranked.

Easily the least-expensive roadster in the bunch, the 350Z has value on its side going in. With a base price some $10K less and an as-equipped price a whopping $13K shy of its Euro competition, Nissan's Z plays its Euro interceptor role well. "Why pay thousands more for a badge with snob appeal when we've got your sports car right here?" Good question. Though our test car lacked stability control (not available on the Roadster), it was equipped with standard items--such as Xenon headlamps, automatic temperature control, a hard tonneau cover, Homelink universal transceiver, and a rear wind deflector--that cost extra on some competitors.Under the hood, the 350Z packs the biggest engine (3.5 liters) and the most horsepower (287) and torque (274 pound-feet). The Z-car's V-6 pulls like a train and likes just about any engine speed you choose for it, but it doesn't feel as free-revving as the German sixes. One editor wrote, "It's a throaty, eager V-6 that makes an exciting howl." Unfortunately, the 350Z's V-6 has 3517 pounds of roadster to haul around, nearly a quarter-ton more mass than the Boxster or Z4 have to deal with. With its sedan genes showing, the 350Z is the second heaviest car in the group, dulling its power edge so that its 14.1-second quarter-mile time was only the second fastest in our ensemble. The 350Z's six-speed manual gearbox generally came in for praise, with thumbs up for its weighting, precise feel, and short throws, but taking a few knocks for a crude vibration at high revs.

Despite losing its steel roof, the 350Z Roadster suffers little or no shaking over rough stretches of road, thanks to added doublers, gussets, reinforcing struts, and a steel rear bulkhead. And the solid (for a drop-top) construction allows the largely aluminum suspension to do its business without interpretation. One editor noted that the Z-car "feels bigger than the others and more sluggish in its responses, yet surefooted." This observation was borne out at the track, where our senior road-test editor found the car well-balanced and responsive to "being thrown around a bit." Despite its capable suspension, the 350Z ran dead last in our braking and slalom tests, no doubt hindered by its 50-series 17-inch tires. Optional 18-inchers are available, but impart more ride harshness.

The Z-car's deep, well-bolstered seats garnered kudos for holding occupants in place. And the steering wheel/pedal relationship and instrument layout earned praise. But less-than-premium materials and a distinct lack of forward stowage space dampened enthusiasm for the interior. No editor could get fired up about the looks of the 350Z Roadster, either. And perhaps that helps explain the 350Z's fourth-place finish. No one could point to any serious transgressions, but there was a distinct lack of surprise and delight features as well. Sports cars are supposed to stir passion, but the words "clumsy" and "cluttered" kept popping up.

On the 350Z Coupe, a rakish fastback roof reminiscent of the previous-generation (1990-1996) car helps counteract the tall, sedan-based beltline. With the metal roof removed and replaced by a short, buggy-style convertible top, the trunk looks too tall and too large, almost as if it's housing a rumble seat. Actually, the trunk does swallow the entire business of the convertible top, stashing it under a rather stylish fared-in hard tonneau. But the roof mechanism steals trunk space (at 4.1 cubic feet, it's the worst in the group). Concluded one editor, "The 350Z Roadster's bloblike rear end looks out of place and decidedly nonsporty, especially when the Z-car is parked next to the other roadsters in this test."

2004 BMW Z4 The middle-position finishes in this test were particularly hard fought, with the edgy Z4 coming in third despite a sports-car pedigree and the second-best braking, skidpad, and slalom test numbers in the group. The Z4 polarized our staff with its breakthrough design. Most took a liking to the car's broad, sharklike nose, but balked at the diagonal surface excitement on the fenders and doors, the pixiedust taillamps, and the dorsal hump at the edge of the trunk. "This is a few too many body creases from being an acceptable-looking sports car," remarked one editor. Another quipped, "Maybe after a few weeks in a rock tumbler, you'd have something here." A third staffer, who admitted to the car's looks growing on him, remarked, "I just can't stop staring at it."

2004 Audi TT If there's a baby duck in our group that doesn't know it's a swan, it's the six-cylinder TT Roadster. Though it was the slowest of the pack to 60 mph and through the quarter mile, second slowest in the 600-foot slalom, and tied with the 350Z for the least grip (despite beefier tires), Audi's sportster charmed its way to second place courtesy of a winsome personality.An important part of that persona is how the TT looks. Sports cars are supposed to tug at heartstrings, and Ford design chief J Mays and former Porsche designer Freeman Thomas were on top of their respective games when they cooked up the TT concept for Audi in the mid-1990s. There's a modern-art quality to the TT. As one editor put it, "The car is a showcase of brilliant details and neatly integrated bodywork. Take, for instance, the unity of the metallic rings on the climate-control vents, steering wheel, shifter boot, center-stack controls, and fuel-filler door, the dimpled leather seats, and the exposed aluminum structure on the console." The TT's cabin is beautifully executed, with lots of well-done details worthy of a luxury marque. Audi's Roadster makes particularly good use of aluminum, highlighting the radio cover, door pulls, rollbar hoops, door sills, and more. There are no ergonomic miscues.

The seats are comfortable for the posterior while offering lots of lateral support for sport driving. One editor wrote, "The fat, three-spoke leather wheel is icing on a cake of great driver interface." Outside, too, the TT exhibits a unity of design. Unlike the Z4 or 350Z Roadster, the TT has no unusual angles. It looks as good top up as with its top lowered--as it has since this body style made its debut in 2001.

What's new is the other delightful aspect of the TT's personality--the DSG6 drivetrain. For 2004, Audi borrowed Volkswagen's narrow-angle VR6 engine and shoehorned it into an engine bay designed for a transverse four-cylinder. With normal aspiration, the 250 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque (second best of the group) are more accessible with changing road conditions. There's no waiting for a turbo to spool up or a big, unpredictable spike of torque to deal with. Throttle response is crisp with an inviting, edgy exhaust note trumpeting from the dual pipes. Like other robotized manuals, the Direct Shift Gearbox uses electro-hydraulic controls to clutch and shift gears. The difference lies in the preselection feature of this dual-clutch gearbox: Before one gear is disengaged, the next one is preselected based on up- or downshift patterns.

Ratio changes are instantaneous and power flow is never interrupted, so there's no lag or jolt. The driver controls shifts via steering-wheel paddles or a console shifter, and an automatic mode can be selected that does the shifting all by itself. A Sport program, when engaged, gives easier downshifts and executes upshifts at higher rpm. The DSG works brilliantly and, combined with the rorty V-6, gives the TT the punch and flexibility to hang in there with dedicated sports cars. Exclaimed one editor, "If there's a more stunning piece of technology than this transmission, I don't know about it."

So why isn't the fetching Audi in the winner's circle? Underneath it all, the TT can't deny its VW Golf/New Beetle origins. At its core, the TT is a front-drive economy car that's undergone serious upgrading to get it to sporty-car territory. Driven aggressively, the TT suffers more body roll and fore/aft pitching than its sports- car rivals and communicates less road feel to the driver. It bounds and hobby-horses over rough road, although ride quality isn't the issue it is with the Z4. The TT's structure is the least solid of our group, with potholes, speed bumps, and uneven pavement setting up cowl shake and steering-column wiggle. Quattro AWD grip does a lot to restore the car's balance and is reassuring when driving at the limit or in poor traction conditions. That said, the Audi is also weighed down by all the extra pieces of the all-wheel-drive system (at 3650 pounds, the heaviest car in the test) and is slowed by the friction involved in turning those parts.But in most driving conditions, and when driven at eight-tenths or less, the TT is a happy place. On the other hand, if you want a sports car that can do it all, bring your wallet and check out our first-place finisher.

No one really needs a sports car. So if you're going to indulge, why not treat yourself right? Look at it this way: At $59K as equipped, our Boxster S is a bargain compared with an equally well-kitted 911 Carrera Cabriolet, costing tens of thousands of dollars less than the senior Porsche. Think of sports-car driving like wine tasting. If sports cars were a commodity, we might as well be tanking up on Two Buck Chuck by the SUV-full.Our first-place-finishing Boxster S is the thoroughbred of the bunch. It accelerates the quickest, stops the shortest, has the most lateral grip, and is fastest through the slalom and figure-eight test courses. It has a performance pedigree evolved over years of racing and developing sports-car chassis for other manufacturers. This car feels light and lithe, with a high degree of grip and even greater tenacity. Going fast comes easy; light inputs to throttle, steering, clutch, brakes, and shifter do the trick. Our senior road-test editor reports no nasty habits or spooky mid-engine tendencies, though we recommend purchasing the optional PSM Porsche Stability Management just to be sure. "The steering is beautifully balanced in its quickness and delivery of grip," stated one editor.

The top end of this 258-horse poor-man's 911 is particularly lively. This one revs hard. Variocam variable valve timing means the Boxster's boxer-six is always "on the cam." One editor describes the Boxster's power delivery as "a surge of high-pressure water; very liquid and torquey." Porsche's dual-resonance air intake makes one of the sweetest induction sounds this side of Maranello, especially at full throttle over 5000 rpm. Even though the linkage has a long way to go to get to the transmission in the rear of the car, "there's a bit of remoteness in the shifter, but nothing that'll make you miss a gate." Huge vented discs and monoblock calipers common with the 911 Carrera seem to improve the hotter they get.

The car sits low and wide for its size. It has the sleek beltline of a real sports car, not some sedan-based coupe with its roof Sawzalled off. The Boxster integrates its folding top into the overall body shape better than the others.

So what's not to like? There's a tinny, hollow sound to the doors when pushed closed that doesn't send a premium message. The Boxster's cockpit is businesslike but somewhat plain compared with the TT. Material quality falls a bit short of that standard as well. Commented one editor, "The cabin doesn't seem luxurious for $59K, although you can feel the money in the performance hardware." Porsche certainly didn't skimp on the seats, which are firm and supportive (one editor credited the Boxster's seat with curing a lower backache he got driving the Z4). And, surprise of surprises, this Porsche has luggage space in spades; there's a front trunk and another one behind the engine for a total of 9.1 very useable cubic feet.The price of the Boxster S is nothing to sneeze at. At its $52K base, stability control is extra cost and you even have to pay more for Porsche-emblem wheelcaps. "Sure the price is high," a staffer said, "but so is its performance and development." In the art of driving, not one of the competitors here can touch the Boxster. Another editor summed it up: "With a bottomless well of power, planted chassis, fluid steering, tireless brakes--damn, the thing is just brilliant."

By now, you either love or hate the Z4's creased and crashed styling. I'm in the love-it boat, and this is due in part to the bond I've made with the car's character. The Z4's long nose alludes to the wondrous straight-six under the bonnet. This smooth, linear engine shines in all applications, but is most at home spinning a six-speed manual and mounted in this light and nimble roadster. The solid chassis and precise steering also contribute to the BMW's pure-bred feel. All this and the top-notch interior craftsmanship has convinced me the BMW deserves the gold medal at this track meet.--Brian VanceThe Boxster S is the best sports car here. But its pricetag makes government plumbing look cheap, and to appreciate what you're paying for you've got to drive fast enough to irritate highway troopers in the next state. For far less cash, the Audi TT delivers more rational rewards. I love the brilliant F1-style DSG transmission, the zesty bark of the engine, the graceful steering, the museum-ready bodywork, the metallic details, the way the cockpit seems tailored just for me. No, it can't keep up with the Porsche. But if the TT were any faster, you might not have time to notice how appealing it really is.--Arthur St. AntoineI'm attracted to the Z4's thoroughbred demeanor, but perplexed by its nervous steering. Enamored with the TT's DSG shifting, but reserved about its numb chassis dynamics. Smitten by the Boxster's performance pedigree, but shocked by its gold-plated pricetag. It seems every car in this quartet is in the grip of some sort of intense contest between strong and weak attributes. And that includes the 350Z's uneasy mix of blue-collar performance value and rough-and-ready construction. However, in such baffling situations, bottom-line price is usually the trump card for me, and this time, there's no doubt it's the Nissan that's holding it.-Kim Reynolds