E36M3
12-06-2002, 03:16 AM
So my car shopping craziness has hit again, and I have now begun my quest to replace the M3. I have mixed feelings about it, as I really love my car, but I find that I don't drive much anymore.. maybe once a week at the most, and it must be time for something new.
First stop was to check out the new Nissan 350Z. I hadn't had a chance to take a good look at one in person yet, so the car was still very new to me. Luckily the dealership I bought the Saab at is also a Nissan/VW dealership, and I just happened to be out there today, and they had one in stock.
I really wanted to drive the track model.. Brembos are a must, and I wouldn't buy any other version for this reason alone.
Impressions:
Exterior 7/10
This is a great looking car. Looks a lot like an Audi TT, but in a more muscular, purposeful sort of way.
Interior 7/10
Cramped, clausterphobic and generally cheap looking/feeling. I can't believe that a car (track/performance) costing this much doesn't have leather.. I can't believe that they make you choose between their touring and track models.. they really need a model which combines the leather seats with the better wheels + brakes. The car I drove was not equipped with navigation, and had this huge, cheesy drop down thing dominating the dash. The fake carbon fiber trim looked kind of cool, but I was expecting better.
Having said all that, it had a very good feeling to it other than being cramped, and the controls were laid out nicely. The little button to adjust the rev light was kind of neat, although very limited. It allows you to set the RPM point where a shift light flashes.. it would be much more useful (although a lot more complex) to be able to set it by gear.. or better yet, have it configurable itno five different settings, so that it will tell you the optimal shift point for different criteria from smooth->performance.
Visibility 6/10
Poor rear visibility. Excellent headlights (HID). Great front visibiility.
Exhaust Note: 8/10
Sounds *fantastic* for a stock car. Much better than almost any car in its price range.. in fact, I can't think of a car in its class that sounds better.
Driving Impressions 7/10
Steering 8/10
Fantastic steering. Responsive and communicative. German like feel.
Handling 7/10
Great handling. The 225/18s on the front and 245/18s on the back are a great setup.. I like the staggered setup because it keeps the cars behavior very neutral, even in hard cornering. The ride is firm and well controlled, but hops excessively at freeway speeds, even on a relatively smooth road. I drive the same road every day with my other cars, and do not get the same hop. Confidence inspiring.. much better than expected.
Gearbox & Clutch 7/10
Very short shifts, easy to master. The clutch is a little wimpy for my taste, and difficult to modulate cleanly. It almost seems like the clutch is not up to handling the torque that the car produces.
Brakes 6/10
I was very disappointed that there was not a track model available for test drive.. the brakes are barely sufficient for a car with this much power and its sporting pretenses. I detected a bunch of fade after a couple semi hard stop from about 70mph on off ramps.
Having said that, the balance is good, and I didn't ever feel unsafe. I am being unusually harsh because of the competitors this car faces, and I am sure the results would improve with the Brembo system.
Acceleration 8/10
Fast and confident. Has great response throughout the rev range. The dealer claims that there is no break in period for this engine, so he had no problem with me approaching redline on most shifts. I'm not sure if a broken in car will be faster or not, but I think the performance figures claimed by Nissan are probably accurate.
*Seat of the pants dyno* seems to indicate that this car is not as fast as the E36 M3, especially in the low ranges. The torque curve is definately not as linear, although this is not necessarily a peaky engine.
Value 8/10
This one speaks for itself.. the car I drove was $33k USD out the door (dealer will not sell for less than MSRP) and available today.. so it is possible to get them, at least in Northern California. With a 1-4 month wait, I can order a track version at about 34-36k depending on options.
Next on the list:
Infiniti G35 Coupe
I will be testing a bunch of cars in this general class/price category, and would love input as to what people think about these cars in general. I am considering the 350Z on the low end, and the E46 M3 on the high end, and everything in between.
First stop was to check out the new Nissan 350Z. I hadn't had a chance to take a good look at one in person yet, so the car was still very new to me. Luckily the dealership I bought the Saab at is also a Nissan/VW dealership, and I just happened to be out there today, and they had one in stock.
I really wanted to drive the track model.. Brembos are a must, and I wouldn't buy any other version for this reason alone.
Impressions:
Exterior 7/10
This is a great looking car. Looks a lot like an Audi TT, but in a more muscular, purposeful sort of way.
Interior 7/10
Cramped, clausterphobic and generally cheap looking/feeling. I can't believe that a car (track/performance) costing this much doesn't have leather.. I can't believe that they make you choose between their touring and track models.. they really need a model which combines the leather seats with the better wheels + brakes. The car I drove was not equipped with navigation, and had this huge, cheesy drop down thing dominating the dash. The fake carbon fiber trim looked kind of cool, but I was expecting better.
Having said all that, it had a very good feeling to it other than being cramped, and the controls were laid out nicely. The little button to adjust the rev light was kind of neat, although very limited. It allows you to set the RPM point where a shift light flashes.. it would be much more useful (although a lot more complex) to be able to set it by gear.. or better yet, have it configurable itno five different settings, so that it will tell you the optimal shift point for different criteria from smooth->performance.
Visibility 6/10
Poor rear visibility. Excellent headlights (HID). Great front visibiility.
Exhaust Note: 8/10
Sounds *fantastic* for a stock car. Much better than almost any car in its price range.. in fact, I can't think of a car in its class that sounds better.
Driving Impressions 7/10
Steering 8/10
Fantastic steering. Responsive and communicative. German like feel.
Handling 7/10
Great handling. The 225/18s on the front and 245/18s on the back are a great setup.. I like the staggered setup because it keeps the cars behavior very neutral, even in hard cornering. The ride is firm and well controlled, but hops excessively at freeway speeds, even on a relatively smooth road. I drive the same road every day with my other cars, and do not get the same hop. Confidence inspiring.. much better than expected.
Gearbox & Clutch 7/10
Very short shifts, easy to master. The clutch is a little wimpy for my taste, and difficult to modulate cleanly. It almost seems like the clutch is not up to handling the torque that the car produces.
Brakes 6/10
I was very disappointed that there was not a track model available for test drive.. the brakes are barely sufficient for a car with this much power and its sporting pretenses. I detected a bunch of fade after a couple semi hard stop from about 70mph on off ramps.
Having said that, the balance is good, and I didn't ever feel unsafe. I am being unusually harsh because of the competitors this car faces, and I am sure the results would improve with the Brembo system.
Acceleration 8/10
Fast and confident. Has great response throughout the rev range. The dealer claims that there is no break in period for this engine, so he had no problem with me approaching redline on most shifts. I'm not sure if a broken in car will be faster or not, but I think the performance figures claimed by Nissan are probably accurate.
*Seat of the pants dyno* seems to indicate that this car is not as fast as the E36 M3, especially in the low ranges. The torque curve is definately not as linear, although this is not necessarily a peaky engine.
Value 8/10
This one speaks for itself.. the car I drove was $33k USD out the door (dealer will not sell for less than MSRP) and available today.. so it is possible to get them, at least in Northern California. With a 1-4 month wait, I can order a track version at about 34-36k depending on options.
Next on the list:
Infiniti G35 Coupe
I will be testing a bunch of cars in this general class/price category, and would love input as to what people think about these cars in general. I am considering the 350Z on the low end, and the E46 M3 on the high end, and everything in between.