Drove a BMW E92 M3 Coupe - still like the Mustang
3/21/12, 09:14 PM
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Drove a BMW E92 M3 Coupe - still like the Mustang
It's Happy Birthday to my 2005 Mustang GT today - exactly 7 years to the day since I took possession of it. It's been an absolutely amazing car - the best I've ever owned in a long line of high performance cars. The car has 66K miles, is basically stock except for the few things listed in my signature, and has been nearly 100% reliable since Day 1. I love the car and would definitely buy another.
It's been to four HPDE track days: Lime Rock, Loudon, and Watkins Glen twice. It's been a daily driver through six New England winters. And despite all that, the interior and exterior still look close to new. I mean the paint has not faded at all, and the seats and carpets are flawless. Mechanically, the car had exactly one single problem - a rear axle seal started leaking during some pretty hard abuse in my last track session at Watkins Glen. And that's been it - one $15 part in 7 years and 66K miles. I suspect if I never tracked the car, I wouldn't even have had that problem...
So now the 5.0 has been out a few years and it seems to be getting better each year. I've got the new car itch again and a 5.0 is my prime target.
But I am a car fanatic in general and like a lot of cars. I have a good friend who grew up with Z-28s and Corvettes, and now is a big BMW fan (he currently has 3 BMWs). I drove his M Roadster with the S54 6-cylinder engine and thought that it might well be the best overall car I ever drove. And that got me into researching the current BMW M3. I read the Motor Trend comparison between the 5.0 and M3 and was really proud of Ford and the Mustang for even being in the same company as a world class $65K car. And the Mustang actually beat the BMW in a few areas!
This past weekend my friend with the BMWs and I drove to a high-end used car dealer to test drive an E92 M3. This car was a Jerez Black metallic 2008 M3 Coupe, 6-speed manual, with 14K miles and selling for $45K. The original window sticker said the car cost $63K, and this car was in absolute mint condition. I drove the car 10 miles with my buddy in the front seat and the salesman in the rear.
Hands down, the M3 is the nicest car I have ever driven. The steering wheel and seats are luxurious and perfect. The car fits like a glove. The clutch and shifter are almost effortless and precise. Even the chime when the door opens is classy. And obviously, the car goes. And stops. And corners. The steering is quick like the Mustang, but with less power assist and more feedback.
The one thing that was not so impressive, from a Mustang perspective at least, is the seat of the pants feel of the acceleration. The numbers say the M3 hits 0-60 in 4.4 seconds or whatever, and the 1/4 mile in the high 12s, but it's sneaky fast. It doesn't have even the torque wallop that my '05 has. Instead it spins up and pulls harder at the higher RPMs. So in typical street usage where short blasts are all you can get away with (at least for me), the M3 doesn't have the intoxicating low-end torque that the Mustang has. And I've never driven a 5.0, so I'm just comparing the car to my own.
Again, the M3 is a dream car, no doubt about it. The price makes it exclusive, and it's a bit of a sleeper too - only enthusiasts would know what it is. If money was no object I might well spring for an M3, a new one. But coming back to reality, it's $45K for a four year old car with two months of warranty left.
I'm really, really glad that I finally got to drive a current generation M3. That itch has been scratched. In the end, I need a daily driver and a $35K 2013 Mustang GT makes a lot more sense than a $45K 2008 M3. And the Mustang really isn't all that much less of a car.
It's been to four HPDE track days: Lime Rock, Loudon, and Watkins Glen twice. It's been a daily driver through six New England winters. And despite all that, the interior and exterior still look close to new. I mean the paint has not faded at all, and the seats and carpets are flawless. Mechanically, the car had exactly one single problem - a rear axle seal started leaking during some pretty hard abuse in my last track session at Watkins Glen. And that's been it - one $15 part in 7 years and 66K miles. I suspect if I never tracked the car, I wouldn't even have had that problem...
So now the 5.0 has been out a few years and it seems to be getting better each year. I've got the new car itch again and a 5.0 is my prime target.
But I am a car fanatic in general and like a lot of cars. I have a good friend who grew up with Z-28s and Corvettes, and now is a big BMW fan (he currently has 3 BMWs). I drove his M Roadster with the S54 6-cylinder engine and thought that it might well be the best overall car I ever drove. And that got me into researching the current BMW M3. I read the Motor Trend comparison between the 5.0 and M3 and was really proud of Ford and the Mustang for even being in the same company as a world class $65K car. And the Mustang actually beat the BMW in a few areas!
This past weekend my friend with the BMWs and I drove to a high-end used car dealer to test drive an E92 M3. This car was a Jerez Black metallic 2008 M3 Coupe, 6-speed manual, with 14K miles and selling for $45K. The original window sticker said the car cost $63K, and this car was in absolute mint condition. I drove the car 10 miles with my buddy in the front seat and the salesman in the rear.
Hands down, the M3 is the nicest car I have ever driven. The steering wheel and seats are luxurious and perfect. The car fits like a glove. The clutch and shifter are almost effortless and precise. Even the chime when the door opens is classy. And obviously, the car goes. And stops. And corners. The steering is quick like the Mustang, but with less power assist and more feedback.
The one thing that was not so impressive, from a Mustang perspective at least, is the seat of the pants feel of the acceleration. The numbers say the M3 hits 0-60 in 4.4 seconds or whatever, and the 1/4 mile in the high 12s, but it's sneaky fast. It doesn't have even the torque wallop that my '05 has. Instead it spins up and pulls harder at the higher RPMs. So in typical street usage where short blasts are all you can get away with (at least for me), the M3 doesn't have the intoxicating low-end torque that the Mustang has. And I've never driven a 5.0, so I'm just comparing the car to my own.
Again, the M3 is a dream car, no doubt about it. The price makes it exclusive, and it's a bit of a sleeper too - only enthusiasts would know what it is. If money was no object I might well spring for an M3, a new one. But coming back to reality, it's $45K for a four year old car with two months of warranty left.
I'm really, really glad that I finally got to drive a current generation M3. That itch has been scratched. In the end, I need a daily driver and a $35K 2013 Mustang GT makes a lot more sense than a $45K 2008 M3. And the Mustang really isn't all that much less of a car.
3/23/12, 03:46 PM
#2
Shelby GT500 Member
Europeans love their high-rpm engines. The BMW's and Benzes are nice cars, for sure. They feel to me a bit like you're kept a little further from the edge, if you will, than you are in a Mustang. What I mean is that you can *feel* the car on the road, the engine pull, the turns, the stops, etc., more in a Mustang (or similar American car) than you can in the more "refined" BMW's and Benzes. There's a reason their bargain basement coupes are as expensive as the best Mustang Ford makes, and like you said they have the interior and the road manners to prove it. But you're right, from 0-60, the Mustang is a much more exciting car.
3/23/12, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by kcoTiger
Europeans love their high-rpm engines. The BMW's and Benzes are nice cars, for sure. They feel to me a bit like you're kept a little further from the edge, if you will, than you are in a Mustang. What I mean is that you can *feel* the car on the road, the engine pull, the turns, the stops, etc., more in a Mustang (or similar American car) than you can in the more "refined" BMW's and Benzes. There's a reason their bargain basement coupes are as expensive as the best Mustang Ford makes, and like you said they have the interior and the road manners to prove it. But you're right, from 0-60, the Mustang is a much more exciting car.
3/23/12, 06:02 PM
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Europeans love their high-rpm engines. The BMW's and Benzes are nice cars, for sure. They feel to me a bit like you're kept a little further from the edge, if you will, than you are in a Mustang. What I mean is that you can *feel* the car on the road, the engine pull, the turns, the stops, etc., more in a Mustang (or similar American car) than you can in the more "refined" BMW's and Benzes. There's a reason their bargain basement coupes are as expensive as the best Mustang Ford makes, and like you said they have the interior and the road manners to prove it. But you're right, from 0-60, the Mustang is a much more exciting car.
They partly made fun of the car, but overall they liked it and put it on the "cool" side of their big board.
3/25/12, 05:29 PM
#6
Shelby GT500 Member
Yeah, I remember when Top Gear (the Brit version) first reviewed the S197 2005 Mustang. They described the acceleration as "an event," where the front of the car lifted, the intake was howling, and the exhaust was a throaty roar. They partly made fun of the car, but overall they liked it and put it on the "cool" side of their big board.
They partly made fun of the car, but overall they liked it and put it on the "cool" side of their big board.
3/26/12, 09:11 AM
#7
Shelby GT350 Member
Originally Posted by kcoTiger
...The BMW's and Benzes are nice cars, for sure. They feel to me a bit like you're kept a little further from the edge, if you will, than you are in a Mustang. What I mean is that you can *feel* the car on the road, the engine pull, the turns, the stops, etc., more in a Mustang (or similar American car) than you can in the more "refined" BMW's and Benzes...
3/26/12, 11:15 AM
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