Firstly, thanks to Rybrook of Warwick for making everything smooth and easy regarding the purchase. I would strongly recommend them to others.
I`ll shall try to keep this a little brief as I`m really tired and not supposed to be typing due to some damage to arm tendons after a fall, but my first impressions follow.
I woke up this morning with a headache (had a late night Friday and still recovering from a cold) but soon headed off to Warwick to collect my car. On my arrival, the car was parked outside the showroom ready for me to drive away. Handed over my 3.0Si Coupe folders and paid up and off I went.
I pulled away really slowly and first thing I noticed a few metres away was a small speed control bump so I touched the brake pedal and nearly went through the windscreen due to the fierce brakes – oh my god. As I went over the plastic speed bump I also noticed that the ride over it was smoother than it would have been with the runflats on the 3.0. I soon got used to the brakes also.
I took it easy along a few country road to reach the M40. On the M40 I noticed the lack of tramlining. Yes, I no longer had to fight the steering while driving in the left hand lane (the one that lorries leave the groves on) – yippppee. While driving on the M40 I thought about my experience so far. The gearchange, clutch, accelerator all felt great to me. I have heard others complain about at least two of these but to me everything was fine. It was a little difficult driving smoothly between 1st to 2nd gears but having owned M cars in the past I saw that as normal, a characteristic of the high-revving engine and other components made for speed.
On the M40 and later the A34 I noticed the ride was actually a little more comfortable than in the runflat shod 3.0Si. So no tramlining and it didn`t crash so badly over bad roads.
Next up, acceleration on the motorway. In the 3.0, it could be a loud experience when accelerating but in the M I actually found it a less noisy affair. I think the M has more sound deadening?. The 3.0 could be quite boomy under acceleration but the M was fairly quiet, but more on this later.In the M however, I could hear a rasp that wasn`t present in the 3.0 with the windows shut.
At a roundabout I noticed the M wasn`t making any clutch rattle when stopped with the clutch pedal out. I tried pressing down the clutch and releasing it with the car in neutral and there was no difference in sound, in the 3.0 there was a noticeable rattle with the clutch pedal released. However, this might have something to do with the lower milage on the M (6800 vs 33400 the 3.0Si had).
The steering of course feels better in the M. Going round some bends the car just feels better planted also, but this is probably down to the better steering feel and maybe the better tyres (as opposed to runflats).
When I got home I found the M had returned 33.6 MPG, but I had been taking it pretty easy but I did also accelerate quiet hard a couple of times
I`m not a poseur but noticed a lot of people looking at the M (even bikers). The 3.0 drew a lot of attention but this thing more so. However, this might have been because I had grown used to the attention the 3.0 got and because the M was new to me I was more aware of people now looking at the M?
I`ve already mentioned that the M on the motorway under acceleration was fairly quiet compared to the quiet noisy 3.0Si. Once I got off the motorway I headed through some country lanes. I had to pull over to have a quick drink of water. I took the opportunity to also lower the windows ready to whizz through the country lanes with fresh air in my face. When I pulled away and accelerated it was like all hell broke loose, the noise was terrific. Where the 3.0 actually sounded quieter with the windows open than when shut, the M is the opposite – the exterior noise was really great.
So, with windows shut, I feel the M actually cruises on the motorway at motorway speeds more quietly than the 3.0Si but with the windows open it was demonic.
For normal drivability I currently think the 3.0 has the edge. My 3.0 could pull away from 35-40mph in sixth gear easily and smoothly. Accelerating at 40mph in the M is a little fluffy, like it hesitates a little. This is not a complaint about the M, it is made for high revs and to be driven hard so doesn`t appreciate being asked to accelerate in sixth gear at 1750rpm (which is what 40mph is in the M). So at 40mph in the M, fifth gear is the better choice but accelerating at 40mph in the 3.0in sixth gear was easy.
I really like the interlagos blue colour. It looks a light sometimes and dark other times (especially in the pictures). The sepang leather is great also. With camera flash it looks quite pale and almost white.
I`ve not driven the M hard yet, just mostly put it in cruise mode to get it home. It hasn`t disappointed. As for the 3.0Si, it is a fantastic car also. The M offers that little bit more but of course at the expense of some drivability at lower speeds. It`s hard to judge by just driving the cars as it might be that the M is deceptive in its speed but I think the 3.0 is more flexible at lower RPM`s. I think dyno charts would show there is more torque available in the 3.0 at lower engine speeds. Again this is not a complaint with the M, the engines are different beasts, made for different purposes.
Next week I`ll be using the M for my normal 58mile round trip each day along some great country roads, roads that were very enjoyable in the 3.0si.
Look, the M uses too much fuel, one of my first experiences was a refilling station.
We all like our pics so I have uploaded some pics to the following URL. Some of the interior shots are with the flash enabled, a few others are with it disabled.
http://www.pureorangesoft.com/Z4M/Thumbnails.html
Excuse my typos. I`m too tired to correct and only using one hand to type.
I`ll shall try to keep this a little brief as I`m really tired and not supposed to be typing due to some damage to arm tendons after a fall, but my first impressions follow.
I woke up this morning with a headache (had a late night Friday and still recovering from a cold) but soon headed off to Warwick to collect my car. On my arrival, the car was parked outside the showroom ready for me to drive away. Handed over my 3.0Si Coupe folders and paid up and off I went.
I pulled away really slowly and first thing I noticed a few metres away was a small speed control bump so I touched the brake pedal and nearly went through the windscreen due to the fierce brakes – oh my god. As I went over the plastic speed bump I also noticed that the ride over it was smoother than it would have been with the runflats on the 3.0. I soon got used to the brakes also.
I took it easy along a few country road to reach the M40. On the M40 I noticed the lack of tramlining. Yes, I no longer had to fight the steering while driving in the left hand lane (the one that lorries leave the groves on) – yippppee. While driving on the M40 I thought about my experience so far. The gearchange, clutch, accelerator all felt great to me. I have heard others complain about at least two of these but to me everything was fine. It was a little difficult driving smoothly between 1st to 2nd gears but having owned M cars in the past I saw that as normal, a characteristic of the high-revving engine and other components made for speed.
On the M40 and later the A34 I noticed the ride was actually a little more comfortable than in the runflat shod 3.0Si. So no tramlining and it didn`t crash so badly over bad roads.
Next up, acceleration on the motorway. In the 3.0, it could be a loud experience when accelerating but in the M I actually found it a less noisy affair. I think the M has more sound deadening?. The 3.0 could be quite boomy under acceleration but the M was fairly quiet, but more on this later.In the M however, I could hear a rasp that wasn`t present in the 3.0 with the windows shut.
At a roundabout I noticed the M wasn`t making any clutch rattle when stopped with the clutch pedal out. I tried pressing down the clutch and releasing it with the car in neutral and there was no difference in sound, in the 3.0 there was a noticeable rattle with the clutch pedal released. However, this might have something to do with the lower milage on the M (6800 vs 33400 the 3.0Si had).
The steering of course feels better in the M. Going round some bends the car just feels better planted also, but this is probably down to the better steering feel and maybe the better tyres (as opposed to runflats).
When I got home I found the M had returned 33.6 MPG, but I had been taking it pretty easy but I did also accelerate quiet hard a couple of times
I`m not a poseur but noticed a lot of people looking at the M (even bikers). The 3.0 drew a lot of attention but this thing more so. However, this might have been because I had grown used to the attention the 3.0 got and because the M was new to me I was more aware of people now looking at the M?
I`ve already mentioned that the M on the motorway under acceleration was fairly quiet compared to the quiet noisy 3.0Si. Once I got off the motorway I headed through some country lanes. I had to pull over to have a quick drink of water. I took the opportunity to also lower the windows ready to whizz through the country lanes with fresh air in my face. When I pulled away and accelerated it was like all hell broke loose, the noise was terrific. Where the 3.0 actually sounded quieter with the windows open than when shut, the M is the opposite – the exterior noise was really great.
So, with windows shut, I feel the M actually cruises on the motorway at motorway speeds more quietly than the 3.0Si but with the windows open it was demonic.
For normal drivability I currently think the 3.0 has the edge. My 3.0 could pull away from 35-40mph in sixth gear easily and smoothly. Accelerating at 40mph in the M is a little fluffy, like it hesitates a little. This is not a complaint about the M, it is made for high revs and to be driven hard so doesn`t appreciate being asked to accelerate in sixth gear at 1750rpm (which is what 40mph is in the M). So at 40mph in the M, fifth gear is the better choice but accelerating at 40mph in the 3.0in sixth gear was easy.
I really like the interlagos blue colour. It looks a light sometimes and dark other times (especially in the pictures). The sepang leather is great also. With camera flash it looks quite pale and almost white.
I`ve not driven the M hard yet, just mostly put it in cruise mode to get it home. It hasn`t disappointed. As for the 3.0Si, it is a fantastic car also. The M offers that little bit more but of course at the expense of some drivability at lower speeds. It`s hard to judge by just driving the cars as it might be that the M is deceptive in its speed but I think the 3.0 is more flexible at lower RPM`s. I think dyno charts would show there is more torque available in the 3.0 at lower engine speeds. Again this is not a complaint with the M, the engines are different beasts, made for different purposes.
Next week I`ll be using the M for my normal 58mile round trip each day along some great country roads, roads that were very enjoyable in the 3.0si.
Look, the M uses too much fuel, one of my first experiences was a refilling station.
We all like our pics so I have uploaded some pics to the following URL. Some of the interior shots are with the flash enabled, a few others are with it disabled.
http://www.pureorangesoft.com/Z4M/Thumbnails.html
Excuse my typos. I`m too tired to correct and only using one hand to type.
But you know what it is worth every penny 
Liverpool