Drove the 4 door M3 today.....
03-17-2008, 10:14 AM
#1
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Drove the 4 door M3 today.....
First off, I love the RS4, and am not getting rid of it anytime soon. THe New M.. it was a very attractive looking black 4 door. The front end...some serious fender flares, looks like they were taken right off the M6. It is a very good look. 245s pilot sports upfront and 265 in the rear. List price was 69k and there was no mark up. On start up. I was envious. It is a very very mean sounding engine that I have not hear replicated even on the best of aftermarket RS4 exhausts. Sure there are louder catbacks, but the sound..very exotic and not raspy like the last 6 banger M.
THe interior...it had a bit to desire, even with the 1100 leather upgrade. I was very unimpressed overall. The interior of the S5 is much nicer, and enjoys more of a cockpit feel. Great seats, the hood bubble I almost even enjoyed. Better stereo system, but not by much. The tranny, it is not as slick as the RS4 in my opinion, but I have gotten use to the strat short shifter. Steering wheel, much thicker, lighter steering, but not noticibly so to me on highway driving.
Back to the engine. I have to reiterate, it is a mean mean sounding take off. It felt to me like it had a more tq early on, and delivered the power a little bit smoother, pulled harder sooner, unlike that surge you get at 5500 on the RS4. The car definitely felt a little lighter to me, and a bit tighter on the corners than the RS4, but I did not push it all that hard.
Overall I have to say it is an improvement in the overall package compared to the RS4..BUT, not by very much, and I am sure part of it was the newness of the car. Add that to the lack of AWD, and I would hang on to the RS4 even if the dealer had offerred me an even trade. I still think the RS4 looks better.
I was impressed though. The 4 door was a very good looking car, and not so much done up that it looks obnoxious. If I were living in california, and buying today, it would be a very tough decision. THere is no way I would pay over msrp though.
THe interior...it had a bit to desire, even with the 1100 leather upgrade. I was very unimpressed overall. The interior of the S5 is much nicer, and enjoys more of a cockpit feel. Great seats, the hood bubble I almost even enjoyed. Better stereo system, but not by much. The tranny, it is not as slick as the RS4 in my opinion, but I have gotten use to the strat short shifter. Steering wheel, much thicker, lighter steering, but not noticibly so to me on highway driving.
Back to the engine. I have to reiterate, it is a mean mean sounding take off. It felt to me like it had a more tq early on, and delivered the power a little bit smoother, pulled harder sooner, unlike that surge you get at 5500 on the RS4. The car definitely felt a little lighter to me, and a bit tighter on the corners than the RS4, but I did not push it all that hard.
Overall I have to say it is an improvement in the overall package compared to the RS4..BUT, not by very much, and I am sure part of it was the newness of the car. Add that to the lack of AWD, and I would hang on to the RS4 even if the dealer had offerred me an even trade. I still think the RS4 looks better.
I was impressed though. The 4 door was a very good looking car, and not so much done up that it looks obnoxious. If I were living in california, and buying today, it would be a very tough decision. THere is no way I would pay over msrp though.
03-17-2008, 12:14 PM
#2
drove a 135i yesterday just for kicks.....
Since it has the same engine as a 335i and is a few hundred pounds lighter, thought I would give it a spin since there seem to be people out there that think highly of the 335.
Pro's: Love the thick steering wheel. Sorry but that's it
Con's:
1. Butt ugly. Looks like a computer generated distortion of what a real car should look like.
2. Interior finish is good but no better than, say, a high-end Camry. Design doesn't flow. Looks very haphazard in its execution. Then again, it is a $37k car, but for that money I would get an Infiniti G37.
3.Turbo lag. Yep, it is there and it is very disconcerting. The engine's response has a definite "disconnect" from the driver's inputs. After the ultra-responsive instant acceleration of the RS4, this is particularly disappointing. It has confirmed my feeling, that for me, NA beats turbo for an overall driving experience. Sure you can get massive power from turbos but something is still lost in the car-driver interface which, for me, has a lot to do with the driving enjoyment. Not sure how supercharging would play out comparatively, and it has been a few years since I have driven a supercharged vehicle.
4. Steering feel: nicely weighted but vague road feel compared to the RS4.
5. Lack of ability to readily extract maximum performance. Okay.....now I am totally sold on AWD. Nailed the throttle while taking a left turn out of an intersection. Back-end broke loose a tad, ESP kicked in, car bogged. Sorry.....this just doesn't happen with AWD
Neutral: Seats -okay. Shifter -short, stubby but not very smooth.
I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but the RS4 is just so vastly superior to this vehicle which I thought from a dynamic standpoint would be better than the 335i. For this money, I'd much rather get an Infiniti G37 coupe.
Pro's: Love the thick steering wheel. Sorry but that's it
Con's:
1. Butt ugly. Looks like a computer generated distortion of what a real car should look like.
2. Interior finish is good but no better than, say, a high-end Camry. Design doesn't flow. Looks very haphazard in its execution. Then again, it is a $37k car, but for that money I would get an Infiniti G37.
3.Turbo lag. Yep, it is there and it is very disconcerting. The engine's response has a definite "disconnect" from the driver's inputs. After the ultra-responsive instant acceleration of the RS4, this is particularly disappointing. It has confirmed my feeling, that for me, NA beats turbo for an overall driving experience. Sure you can get massive power from turbos but something is still lost in the car-driver interface which, for me, has a lot to do with the driving enjoyment. Not sure how supercharging would play out comparatively, and it has been a few years since I have driven a supercharged vehicle.
4. Steering feel: nicely weighted but vague road feel compared to the RS4.
5. Lack of ability to readily extract maximum performance. Okay.....now I am totally sold on AWD. Nailed the throttle while taking a left turn out of an intersection. Back-end broke loose a tad, ESP kicked in, car bogged. Sorry.....this just doesn't happen with AWD
Neutral: Seats -okay. Shifter -short, stubby but not very smooth.
I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but the RS4 is just so vastly superior to this vehicle which I thought from a dynamic standpoint would be better than the 335i. For this money, I'd much rather get an Infiniti G37 coupe.
03-17-2008, 12:23 PM
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that's absurd, RWD never loses traction on dry pavement!!!1!!1 my 60ft time is 0.2s!</343bhp>
I guess that means MILLIONS of people are in danger of crashing their RWD cars yada yada yada
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03-17-2008, 03:49 PM
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oh-oh..does this mean.......?.
