Quote:
Originally Posted by 2manycars
Hey y'all,
Jason here. Thanks for all the commentary — 'cept those of you who hate me. :P
And the last M2 was the last BMW that had a personality at real-world speeds. Sadly, it, too, has become and M4. Super capable — kudos on that engineering and all, but... can we just have a little fun please?
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The comfort-sport spectrum is wider on this car than the last, especially with the 6MT. Yes, it’s tame at normal driving intensity, but it’s a total beast when you rip it. Head to Alice’s, pick a direction, and drive it harder than you’ve been driving it around town.
I predict there will be some who give up on their 6MT cars before break-in purely based on the impression the car gives when driving at 5/10ths or whatever. That will be a mistake.
Try the ZF8 version before drawing your final conclusion on the G87. The shorter gearing makes the car’s more manic side incrementally more accessible.
Disagree on iDrive 8. As with most interfaces, familiarity is more important in the long run. There’s nothing unreasonable about having to spend an hour or three learning to use a UI bolted to a complex $60k machine. The payoff is worth it. Even if a few functions take an extra tap or two, I get a far more versatile system in return. Hard buttons in exchange for significantly more screen real estate; easy trade for me. This is Blackberry vs. iPhone. It’s not perfect - I’d love to one-tap into Sport mode like I can on the CSL - but I find it to be a massive upgrade over the old systems.
It seems the F8x N55 and S55 spawned a generation of folks who crave a wheel-hopping, 1500RPM torque hit from their M cars. That’s a very different character from the linear E46 and E92 M cars, which also felt pretty normal when not going for it. The good news is you can actually have your cake and eat it with the 8-speed car; put it in Sport Plus and S3 and the car will eagerly leap from stoplight to stoplight like the animal you were probably hoping for. 6MT gives you that, too - you just have to work harder for it.