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The idea that somehow EPS is automatically inferior to hydraulic systems is foolish. The car is still mechanically connected to the wheels. Hydraulic or EPS is simply a level of assist. Hydraulic tended to fall into three categories: Overboosted where the assist during steering input was so great that the steering lost feel, underboosted where the steering was heavy but feel was as good as it was going to be, or somewhere in the middle.
The nice thing about hydraulic setups was they tended to be very linear/predictable.
For a long time, BMW had excellent suspension and steering setup to transmit feel into the steering wheel and simply underboosted their systems so the steering felt heavy, but tactile.
In recent times they have increased their boost, lost some steering feel, and gotten lighter steering as a result. They have also isolated their rides a bit more, which tends to eliminate steering feel. Lastly, BMW became excellent at eliminating bump-steer which some consider to be part of steering feell.
Now the move to EPS. EPS has gotten a bad rap - pure and simple. It's simply a new boosting mechanism. It's not inherently weaker/worse than hydraulic, it's simply new. It does save weight and it does reduce parasitic loss on the engine - two great things. There is LESS complexity to it in terms of hoses and reservoirs in addition to the pump.
The bottom line though is that it's entirely possible that BMW did achieve even better feel than the e90 with EPS. This would require the following:
1. The suspension would have to be better setup to transmit road conditions. I would wager to say the f-series chassis is superior and the things we've learned about the F8x Ms indicate it's more suspension-oriented in it's development. So this is a reasonable expectation.
2. M has focused specifically on not overboosting the steering and eliminating feel in the process. My guess is that this steering is going to be a bit heavier than the e9x platform and we're going to see a bit more kick-back and natural return to center.
Yes, the proof is in the pudding. But steering is not about what pump is used to boost it, though that's important. Take a look at the whole situation and it looks good.
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