Z4's 3.0i > M
- Thread starter Mr Whippy
- Start date
Ian_Mac said:
Oh dear, i can see another M owner. I did exactly the same thing. make sure u drive atleast for 20mins or so, take it some A roads and dual carriageways, dont bother going to motorways. Discuss this with the sales guy before u go, spend equal time, try some hard braking and quick acceleration in M. good luck mate.
A Roadster?
Hmmm... current ponderings.
Tamora, really want one, cheaper, very desireable, but the breaking down is a big concern! So cheaper to get into, but will drain pockets fastest of all
Z4M, cheap to insure, service, etc, probably residually strong
911 C4 Convertible Aero kit, as expensive as M car, far older, probably no quicker, but it's a 911... seems similar to run, but insurance is £250 more a year... tax is £200 less though... hmmmm...
Z4 M makes a lot of sense... just depreciation is my worry (just looking at old Z3 M R's)
Hmmm... current ponderings.
Tamora, really want one, cheaper, very desireable, but the breaking down is a big concern! So cheaper to get into, but will drain pockets fastest of all
Z4M, cheap to insure, service, etc, probably residually strong
911 C4 Convertible Aero kit, as expensive as M car, far older, probably no quicker, but it's a 911... seems similar to run, but insurance is £250 more a year... tax is £200 less though... hmmmm...
Z4 M makes a lot of sense... just depreciation is my worry (just looking at old Z3 M R's)
Well, I was fortunate to test drive both yesterday morning. Firstly, the 3.0si, took this one out with my girlfriend as the passenger. The difference in performance between my 2.2 was noticeable immediately. The exhaust note sounded much nicer and the 6 speed box a vast improvement.
We had the car out for just over 30 mins in total, managed to take in some dual carriage ways and nice country roads. Tried a number of things including fast starts from standstill, over taking from about 30mph, cruising at 70 and giving the brakes a good work out. The chunkier M sport steering wheel felt much nicer than mine. Overall from a driving point of view I loved it. The spec of the car itself was quite basic - no nav, no cd changer etc so that put me off from a buying point of view.
Next was a drive in the M, a 2006 model with 16k on the clock. Had the salesman with me this time due to it being on trade plates. Anyway, totally different note from the exhaust, clutch and gearbox very good. I had been warned about the clutch being heavier by the salesman but honestly didn’t notice any difference.
Did the same route in the car, didn't tone down my enthusiastic driving having the salesman with me. I wanted the test to be on an even performance basis. As for the performance all I can say is wow. The huge smile on my face said it all. I'd say the car had a more animalistic feel to it if that makes sense, more raw and aggressive power delivery than the Si.
One thing I did find odd was the Mpg. I reset the computers on both cars before leaving the dealers. The Si returned just over 22mpg while the M returned just over 25??
Given the choice would I go for the M, in 1 word yes. While the extra performance probably wouldn't be noticed in normal day to day driving the feeling of being sat in the M, knowing the potential that is there given the right stretch of road would be well worth it.
Would I go for a roadster, probably not now? I could be converting to the coupe camp!
We had the car out for just over 30 mins in total, managed to take in some dual carriage ways and nice country roads. Tried a number of things including fast starts from standstill, over taking from about 30mph, cruising at 70 and giving the brakes a good work out. The chunkier M sport steering wheel felt much nicer than mine. Overall from a driving point of view I loved it. The spec of the car itself was quite basic - no nav, no cd changer etc so that put me off from a buying point of view.
Next was a drive in the M, a 2006 model with 16k on the clock. Had the salesman with me this time due to it being on trade plates. Anyway, totally different note from the exhaust, clutch and gearbox very good. I had been warned about the clutch being heavier by the salesman but honestly didn’t notice any difference.
Did the same route in the car, didn't tone down my enthusiastic driving having the salesman with me. I wanted the test to be on an even performance basis. As for the performance all I can say is wow. The huge smile on my face said it all. I'd say the car had a more animalistic feel to it if that makes sense, more raw and aggressive power delivery than the Si.
One thing I did find odd was the Mpg. I reset the computers on both cars before leaving the dealers. The Si returned just over 22mpg while the M returned just over 25??
Given the choice would I go for the M, in 1 word yes. While the extra performance probably wouldn't be noticed in normal day to day driving the feeling of being sat in the M, knowing the potential that is there given the right stretch of road would be well worth it.
Would I go for a roadster, probably not now? I could be converting to the coupe camp!
ksher said:
+1
This is the only thing keeping me away from the M. I think mpg barely into the 20's could get tedious when poping to the shops, especially if you have to use super (dont know if you HAVE to or not).
I havent driven an M but would say definately get one if you can afford it. Just dont do what i did with my old TVR, strech your budget to get the car you want but by the time you have paid the tax/insurance/maintainance/repairs find yourself leaving it on the drive because you cant afford the fuel!
If its bordeline id rather have the 3.0i with plenty of spare cash to spare to really drive it hard/drive it every day/drive it to the south of France with the money you would otherwise spend on an M to drive it once a week. Less is more and all that. Just to reiterate my point only applies if money is an issue - obviously the M is better.
tomTVR said:
I always and only use Shell V-Power in all my BMW. I'm not going to spend more money upgrading/modifying my 2.5i Z4 now, but wait for a well-equipped 2nd-hand sDrive30i/35i in 1-2 years time. sDrive35i has over 300 bhp and 0-62mph in 5.2 sec, and still returns 30+mpg, and insurance group is same as my 2.5i Sport (IG18).
tomTVR said:
The M can average better than barely into 20`s. I`ve done about 1400miles in mine and it has averaged out at 28.5MPG(Euro), occassionally recently showing 28.8MPG. I don`t rag it everywhere but when there are some nice roads sure I boot it a bit. Over the same distance and type of driving my 3.0Si was at 31.2MPG. So doing my type of driving in the 3.0Si I found it to be slightly lesss economical than the BMW average figure, but in the M it has thus far proven more economical than the BMW average figure of 23.3 suggests.
I know a few TVR owners who have done the same thing but none of them reflect on it as a waste of time buying, they enjoyed the experience. I wouldn`t personally enjoy the experience of owning a TVR for 4 months(in the case of one), driving <500miles total due to fear of depreciation, spending hours/days polishing something that isn`t driven and then still selling for a loss. I don`t care about just owning, because a car has to be driven that`s what the experience should be all about. So getting an M should really be about driving it and enjoying it and this will of course cost more.
I`m with others and say if you can afford the M get it. But also you can enjoy a great 3.0Si and have plenty of cash in the pocket. I would advise everyone to try both though, even if some can afford the M they might still actually prefer the 3.0Si