BMW Test Drive Event 4/29

[Feersty]

THIS EVENT WAS AMAZING. I drove a 330i manual and a 745i, Big E was riding shotgun. First time driving a bimmer and it was amazing. E36 M3 definitely on the list for me as a first car.

[Mike]

Well, Jack was wrong. I didn't fall in love with the E46. I don't really know how to explain it, but I did not feel as if I was driving the car, too much electronics and crap. Bleh.

I drove the 330Ci and Z4 3.0, so they both have the same motor and felt very similar.

MOTOR
Very torquey, kind of died on power as I got the RPMs up there. Not as fast as I expected.

TRANNY
Z4 auto was pretty decent, the steptronic crap was pretty sluggish though. The 330Ci manual was pretty nice, but the 4th gear ratio felt REEEALLLY long causing the acceleration to slow down quite a bit when upshifting to 4th.

SUSPENSION/TIRES
Not bad, very comfy but at the same time it held the road very well. Tires made some bawking noises... 330CI felt softer than the Z4, I liked the Z4 more.

BRAKES
Kicked ass, tons of bite and no fade.

PEDALS
All soft! The clutch felt like a lever, not a hydraulic thingie, no resistance. The gas pedal was wussy, half-trottle gave the car as much gas as mashed to the floor, drive-by-wire sucks. Brake pedal was real soft, it was hard to not brake too hard.

Overall I didn't like either, I hope the E36 M3 is more of a driver's car. I want to feel the damn road and the car...

[JackoliciousLegs]

Well, Jack was wrong. I didn't fall in love with the E46. I don't really know how to explain it, but I did not feel as if I was driving the car, too much electronics and crap. Bleh.

You didn't drive the E46 M3. You drove a 225hp 330Ci.

MOTOR
Very torquey, kind of died on power as I got the RPMs up there. Not as fast as I expected.

Um... it's not a honda. It builds its power a little earlier.

TRANNY
The 330Ci manual was pretty nice,

Uh, it's the best manual transmission in the world... imo. I love the way e46 trannys shift.... mmmm MMM!!! like butter.

PEDALS
All soft! The clutch felt like a lever, not a hydraulic thingie, no resistance.

Uh... that's what a lot of people call nice...

The gas pedal was wussy, half-trottle gave the car as much gas as mashed to the floor, drive-by-wire sucks.

That's because you're not in an M3, you're in a 330.

Brake pedal was real soft, it was hard to not brake too hard.

That means it had good brakes...

Overall I didn't like either, I hope the E36 M3 is more of a driver's car. I want to feel the damn road and the car...

I think you're too used to driving Hondas with notchy gearboxes, stiff clutches, no power (you need to push the pedal to the floor to go), and bad bakes. I love the way bimmers feel. I guess I got used to all sorts of feels of cars working at crapmax tho...

[Mike]

Well, Jack was wrong. I didn't fall in love with the E46. I don't really know how to explain it, but I did not feel as if I was driving the car, too much electronics and crap. Bleh.

You didn't drive the E46 M3. You drove a 225hp 330Ci..

It wasn't the power that annoyed me, it was the feel of the car. I highly doubt the M3 is THAT much different.

TRANNY
The 330Ci manual was pretty nice,

Uh, it's the best manual transmission in the world... imo. I love the way e46 trannys shift.... mmmm MMM!!! like butter.

I agree, incredibly nice, but the 4th gear ratio felt off a little.

PEDALS
All soft! The clutch felt like a lever, not a hydraulic thingie, no resistance.

Uh... that's what a lot of people call nice...

I want to feel the car.

The gas pedal was wussy, half-trottle gave the car as much gas as mashed to the floor, drive-by-wire sucks.

That's because you're not in an M3, you're in a 330.

So the M3 drive-by-wire is really different? I somehow doubt it.

Brake pedal was real soft, it was hard to not brake too hard.

That means it had good brakes...

No it doesn't, it means the brake booster is too powerful.

Overall I didn't like either, I hope the E36 M3 is more of a driver's car. I want to feel the damn road and the car...

I think you're too used to driving Hondas with notchy gearboxes, stiff clutches, no power (you need to push the pedal to the floor to go), and bad bakes. I love the way bimmers feel. I guess I got used to all sorts of feels of cars working at crapmax tho...

I beg your pardon. I like a driving a car, not have a bunch of electronic shit do it for me. My car is faster than both of the cars I drove, and I love the raw feel of it. My car also has excellent brakes. I guess I just negated all your reasoning for me not liking them, eh? Could it be that the E46 is less a driver's car than BMW is known for and therefore I don't like them? *GASP*

In conclusion, you're a girlie man, and the girlieness of the E46 appeals to you. Run along now, you need to go get your A/C fixed.

[JackoliciousLegs]

Ok, let's step back here. Let's not talk about femininity of our cars. I've never seen Top Gear do any reviews of civic hatchbacks... haha.

Either way, I'd love to drive both an E36 M3 and an E46 back to back. I've driven both, but they were at separate times. I liked them both. One thing I do remember about the E46 M3 was that the brakes were sensational. Buy whatever you like, but the E46 M3 isn't something to be shrugged off. It's a great car. You're just used to a civic

[Mike]

Ok, let's step back here. Let's not talk about femininity of our cars. I've never seen Top Gear do any reviews of civic hatchbacks... haha.

Since when did an overly-enthusiastic british wanker become the authority on masculinity?

[ScottyB]

i feel your pain about the overboosted brakes. my dad's A4 is the same way, after stepping out of my accord, and into audi, i give myself whiplash because the brakes are so damn sensitive. maybe it's a german thing.

[Maengelito]

ladies, please....

after driving the sti for the past year, the bmw's arent nearly as good in performance, but damn they're nice luxury cars. yeah, the pedals are soft, the steptronic tranny sucks, and everything feels so computer assisted, but i think our demographic is a bit smaller than say a guy in his 30s who's got $40k to spend. regardless, after getting used to the clutch on the x3, it had more power than i expected. it still felt like i was gonna tip over on every turn. then i drove a 3 series convertible, and on a day like today, i really want a convertible.

sherry from cavcars put her pics online. most are of the uva fools, but there's some of us MMers.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cosmorider.com/pictures/BMWdrive/BMW.htm">http://cosmorider.com/pictures/BMWdrive/BMW.htm</a><!-- m -->

[Evan]

wow quadruple post Maeng. You suck at the internet.


I ragged the shit out of my neighbor's E46 325is. I wasnt impressed at all. "Ultimate Driving Machine" my ass. A civic is more fun.

[Feersty]

thanks for the pics Maeng, I'll get mine up tomorrow.

[Maengelito]

wow quadruple post Maeng. You suck at the internet.

hey, its not my fault the forum is broken. besides, my opinion is so important, it needs to be heard 4 times :!:

[DS94Sherry]

UVA fools?

Bah!

If my website goes down.. there is a mirror here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cavcars.com/sherry/myweb9/BMW.htm">http://www.cavcars.com/sherry/myweb9/BMW.htm</a><!-- m -->

[G.Irish]

Ok, let's step back here. Let's not talk about femininity of our cars. I've never seen Top Gear do any reviews of civic hatchbacks... haha.

You mean like this?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.topgear.com/servlet/tg?DEST=/content/jsp/individualRoadTest.jsp&EVENT=1010&MAKE=Honda:B5&MODEL=Civic:A1&roadTestNumber=35.html">http://www.topgear.com/servlet/tg?DEST= ... er=35.html</a><!-- m -->

Or how about this video?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sleepy-fish.com/fish/Top_Gear_Honda_Civic_NSX_hi.wmv">http://www.sleepy-fish.com/fish/Top_Gea ... NSX_hi.wmv</a><!-- m -->

I agree with Maeng though. While the E46 is not a very involving driver's car it is still at or near the top of the heap as far as luxury cars go. For my money I think all of the BMW's other than the M's are overpriced but that's another issue.

[G.Irish]

Wow this broken forum thing is cool.

[Mike]

Gerald that video link doesn't work

[JackoliciousLegs]

mike doesn't drive a new type r

[Evan]

mike doesn't drive a new type r

but you drive a E46 M3?

[JackoliciousLegs]

mike doesn't drive a new type r

but you drive a E46 M3?

No hater. I don't. But if you read the above posts, we're not comparing my car to mike's car. We're comparing the E46 M3 to mike's car. Mike likes his civic better than an E46 M3 apparently. If he would rather drive a civic than an M3, then that's his choice. I know that if offered the two, I'd take an E46 m3. That's all.

[.RJ]

Bench racing is gay

[REED]

First

i feel your pain about the overboosted brakes. my dad's A4 is the same way, after stepping out of my accord, and into audi, i give myself whiplash because the brakes are so damn sensitive. maybe it's a german thing.

- i second that, its the same thing with my moms passat, the first time i drove it i felt like i was going to put myself through the windshield.

second

mike doesn't drive a new type r

- no one said he drove a type R, gerald was just showing you that they DO have civic hatchbacks on Top Gear