E89 1000 miles covered , thoughts & comparisons

[mr wilks]

Certainly not going to slate the 85s 86s as ive enjoyed every minute & mile of the ones i owned but really have to trumpet just how good ive found the E89 experience so far .
Straight off the cabin space feels so much bigger yet the car is virtually the same width & only 100mm longer.
The overall layout is great & i like the larger clock binnacles & heater controls (although took a while to not try pushing the heater ones in like you can on older TTs nice touch that )
The door storage is a small but classy upgrade as is the proper centre armrest
Driving position feels good & the sport seats are a major improvement that i always felt the previous seats needed
Hi-fi is the basic one yet sounds as good as prevous Logic7 i had in ///M & appreciate the USB facility

External styling / roof up or roof down i think they look equally good looking & the sculptured lines in the body are hard to ignore
From behind the wheel the bonnet has great contours with the blades/ridges very much ///M like
Se V Msport ? I'm not fussed for M badges galore but I appreciate many just "have" to have Msport bumpers but of all BMWs in last 10 years i just don't think the differences are enough to warrant any extra ask price or rule out a car on that basis , its a personal thing i know but i really wasn't fussed for them & actually prefer the Se rear bumper to Msport

Now the actual drive ? It was apparent within first few miles that the whole go-kart , throw it into bends feel i loved about the 85s 86s just isn't there by comparison the 89 feels almost lardy but that imo is the only downside to its upsides that are a great GT / cruising car , It soaks up miles & hours like a rep mobile yet behind the wheel you are in no doubt its a sportscar from the long bonnet & cabin layout
Mine is the "lowly" 200bhp 2.3i but the 89 seems to encourages a totally different drive style so as yet feel no desperate need for more power .

Overall i was quite surprised by the obvious difference in feel as you shut the doors & drive away , best comparison i could give is the difference i felt stepping from a Z3 to E85 Z4 is similar from 85 to 89
With prices of 89s now fudged well into 85 territory they really do look great value & makes for a tough decision whether to go low mile 85 or high mile 89 ?

No regrets as yet , next stop into indy for a major service then get some more miles on the clock

[srhutch]

But whats it like on the hill climb?

[obewan]

Beat me to it mr wilks!
Picked mine up yesterday and haven't stopped grinning since

Just reading on here whether it should have the hill assist option (2.0l) general consensus in the various threads was 'no' despite all the auto-trader ads saying it has

Next stop an ipod cable
Bee-sting aerial fitted already (sorry)
Have to go now to look out of the window at it again!

[mr wilks]

But whats it like on the hill climb?

That will have to wait till October

[mr wilks]

Beat me to it mr wilks!
Picked mine up yesterday and haven't stopped grinning since

Just reading on here whether it should have the hill assist option (2.0l) general consensus in the various threads was 'no' despite all the auto-trader ads saying it has

Have to go now to look out of the window at it again!

Yea hard not to admire the external design ( & internal ) apparantly 2 ladies responsible 1 for the in & 1 for the out
Hill assist i have & you can after all try your car to know whether you have it

[Z4M-2006]

Body kit next ?

https://youtu.be/nBkChP6_PtI

[PerryGunn]

But whats it like on the hill climb?

That will have to wait till October

You think you'll still have it come October

[stuartinzg]

Some eibach springs and camber/tracking setup will make a massive difference to the handling. Yours will feel a lot lighter than mine too. Mine is much more nimble now

You could always go the whole hog and get KW V1 or V3

[Lynchy]

Good write up Andy , perhaps as prices are falling on the 89s and ///M 85s are holding a future 35is might be in the running for me .

[mr wilks]

Body kit next ?

https://youtu.be/nBkChP6_PtI

Oooooo dear hideous

[mr wilks]

But whats it like on the hill climb?

That will have to wait till October

You think you'll still have it come October

Of course , why wouldn't i

[obewan]

Beat me to it mr wilks!
Picked mine up yesterday and haven't stopped grinning since

Just reading on here whether it should have the hill assist option (2.0l) general consensus in the various threads was 'no' despite all the auto-trader ads saying it has

Have to go now to look out of the window at it again!

Yea hard not to admire the external design ( & internal ) apparantly 2 ladies responsible 1 for the in & 1 for the out
Hill assist i have & you can after all try your car to know whether you have it

Yeah have tried it - defo not there, just thought it may be a fault, but posts on here said it would throw a warning light.
Confusing though as all the trade ads say it has
Not too bothered, first thing my dad taught me was clutch control so didn't really use it on the E85 anyway

[PerryGunn]

That will have to wait till October

You think you'll still have it come October

Of course , why wouldn't i

What's the longest you've owned a Z...?

[mr wilks]

You think you'll still have it come October

Of course , why wouldn't i

What's the longest you've owned a Z...?

12 months Zc / 10 months Z///M both weekenders & probably covered more miles in the short ownership than many longterm owners

[gmetcalf]

I "Upgraded" / no I mean "changed", from and E85 to an E89 in the past three weeks so really interesting to hear your views. I share most of them. Off the bat, I loved my E85, White ( very rare ), Alpina rims and got lots of attention. An insurance write off ( non fault ) meant it was uneconomical to repair. So the obvious choice was an E89, so in the vein of the thread I thought I could add to the comparison .....

Negative bits:
E89 - Doesn't feel as "sports car" ( not that the E85 was a true stripped out sports car but the E89 feels like a luxury hotel in comparison ), yet when you start working on it you can see all the old E85 fittings and fixtures ( e.g the old e85 boot release ). It may be a similar size but I think it's 200kg heavier.
It doesn't hold the road as well, the E85 could be thrown into corners like a go cart and it didn't feel heavy.
The boot space is dire, I'm already getting annoyed opening the boot AND the roof flap thingy ma bob.
I miss my one touch roof ..... ;(
I preferred the rear arches on the E85, they were more hunkered down and broad... Personal taste, but the E89 is more mainstream imho.
No hill start on N20 engines ! You don't miss it till its gone.
DAB radio ( for me ) is rubbish ( Surrey )

Positives:
Love the interior, I manageg to get one of the crazy Special editions ( Pure Traction ) and it feels lovely.
The power.... I always knew my old E85 2.0 was underpowered but it ticked enough boxes and was economical. The new 2.0 N20 unit is amazing. I was worried about turbo lag. The only reason I know it's a turbo is the noise, 148 bhp vs 184bhp is seriously noticeable and definitely smile inducing !
The boonet view is nicer the lines are really nice, DLRL are also an improvement.
Real time mpg, USB & Bluetooth phone are welcome additions.
Roof is nice, but I preferred canvas in the rain
Much quieter inside ( I must be getting old )

Others:
Ice seems to form on the roof ! I assume as its aluminium it gets colder ?
The centre consoles seem to wear badly, I looked at alluminium and gloss black. The alluminium ones tended to have dents in and the black ones seem to scratch easily ( 2013+ cars so not old )

Honestly, if I had an E85 that I was happy with .... I'd stick with it and wait for prices to fall further. However if you want something newish, I couldn't find anything to compare when looking for alternatives. TT isn't for me, nor the SLK and Boxsters of a silmilar age are +10k more.