So since I have long been complaining about the 991 I have had a luke warm relationship with for 3yrs I decided to go test drive a brand new manual tranny M3. My thoughts:


The M3 has a really nice interior with the exception of the cheap headliner. The seats I found to be more comfortable than my sport seats in the 991. The clutch on the M3 is feather light and I much prefer the 991. The transmission is a bit spongy on the M3 and I again prefer my 991. Where the BMW shines in the motor. I opened the hood and wow, it looks gorgeous complete with carbon fiber. It's a work of art. I put the M3 in gear and drove off the lot expecting to find a huge amount of torque and although I know it's there I really didn't feel it. The BMW did have a huge burst of acceleration when you hit the gas so the turbo motor definitely made itself felt. Advantage M3. The steering in the M3 is inferior to the 991 and to my surprise there was substantial road noise. The M3 lacks a 7th gear so at 80mph I found myself turning over 3k RPM and it was loud. Advantage 991. The user interface on the 991 is worlds better than the BMW. You can't even get sat radion on the BMW unless it's part of a nonsense 4k option package. All in all the M3 is a good car for the money but I was happy to get back into the 991.

 

ChuckJ

 

I agree with you on many points but the iDrive system on the BMW is leaps and bounds ahead of the 991.

Google Maps send-to-car and touch sensitive memory keys are two examples.

I was house hunting in my wife's car and it was so nice to have all the destinations in the car as soon as we started it up.

 

Does this system interface with the internet so you can add apps like WAZE?

ChuckJ

 

BMW makes a great car, but it ain't no Porsche.

 

Having thoroughly enjoyed every single one of the 5 BMWs I've owned, I can concur with that statement!

 

Well put. If I had to choose, I'd pick a C2/4 over an F8X M3/4 everytime.

 

My only M3 benchmark was the E9X version, but I found my 2013 C2S to be a superior car in almost every way. I understand that the F8X model is the newer product, but I think Porsche just makes a better -- and significantly more expensive -- product.

 

I agree with this.

But the last part is the big equalizer. With different costs comes different advantages. The real factor here is value, not so much cost. Both are relatively expensive, but value depends on which criteria is important to the buyer. Both are great cars. No denying that.

 

2 thoughts....

Considering the price point of each, I think it's more appropriate to compare the M6 to the 991.

If BMW put the M6 engine in the M4, I'd consider trading my 991 (upon test drive, of course).

 

Price points be damned!

Doesn't stop the $85k Z06 from being compared to a $150k Turbo.

But - I, too, would love to see this phantom M4 with the M6 engine. That would be a BEAST! It is also a play right out of my own playbook - they already make the chassis, and the engine, just 'slip' it right in the assembly line, and watch the magic happen.

*edit: But admittedly, I've preached this about putting a couple of turbos on the 350Z (they already make the block, and the turbos, just put them together, don't touch anything else - except for any added plumbing, etc...), and my favorite Porsche - the Cayman (they make a block of similar dimensions - put it in a chassis already made, watch the sparks fly - no added assembly, no new parts, no jobs lost or gained). I think the only company that really grasped this "every car should be great, and the engine isn't the only component that drives platforms" philosophy is Aston Martin. Another reason I'm hoping to see which direction they take with the new engines. Hell even the new ATS-V is getting a V6TT with 450HP. GM gets it.

 

2nd that!

 

I think the weight and the 50/50 will be ruined with the M6 engine.

 

I'm also sure that with about 15 minutes of engineering, they'd figure out a way to adjust a 425lbs (m3/4) engine, with a new ~550lbs (n63+ turbo plumbing) engine to account for the massive HP increase and make it not unbearable.

~125 additional pounds? It isn't all on the front axle either. I'd bet that there would a significant increase in performance if this were to happen.

 

BMW doesn't do anything in 15 minutes