Quote:
Originally Posted by jphughan
Never would have given up the M3 if I hadn't been able to get a GT4. Drove a friend's M4 on twisty roads moderately aggressively and it felt very familiar in terms of handling, which was both good and bad -- good because I got comfortable with it immediately, but bad because it didn't feel markedly better, which is a problem for people considering upgrading. Turn-in was better than my E9x M3 even with camber plates, but steering was numb, and it didn't feel meaningfully lighter, which was the main thing that appealed to me when reading about it. The sound from in the cabin definitely isn't bad, but it's still not as good as the S65, and yeah the sound from outside the car is already a dead horse not worth beating further. The engine itself had ample thrust anywhere, but there was little fun in winding it out; it was just fast, not especially fun -- not emotional.
I came away from that experience thinking that if I didn't already have an M3, insisted on buying new, and couldn't get or live with a GT4, then I could likely be happy with an F8x, especially if I'd never even experienced an E9x. M3/4s remain the best all around car money can buy IMHO, with the possible exception of a Golf R/GTI if some performance can be traded for more practicality. But given that I DID already have an E92, there was no way the F8x was worth the trade-in value of my car plus $40K+ to upgrade, in fact I wouldn't have even taken an even trade for a brand new one. I can see the value of a turbo for someone who commutes and just wants straight-line acceleration and great fuel economy at the same time, but I don't think that's what M cars should be about, and it's definitely not what they're about for me personally.
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Well said!
I think only a person that experienced/owned every generation M3 would understand me much better. To date my favorite m3 is and will always be the e46 m3 and thats because of its rawness. Congrats on the gt4, thats a different level of enjoyment.