BMW M5

[Lauren]

I agree with you on what youve said, but id still be disappointed if a crappy ricer could keep up with my M3 (if I had one).

I wouldn't because I'd be in an M3. To be fair though not much seems to keep up with me in the Panda.

[Kongaroo]

I just had a passenger ride this evening in a 2010 M3 convertible as one of the guys we were playing tennis with has one on contract hire.

I think it's the 414bhp V8 that he drives. Very nice car and very comfy to sit in. The passenger behind me asked if I could move the front passenger seat foward a little and I reached down to grab the seat rail between my legs only to be told it was done using an electric button on the left side of the chair... I felt a little behind the times

Straight line acceleration was decent but not amazing. The fact that there were 4 of us in the car probably didn't help. The 3D sat nav was interesting to see. I was left feeling somewhat jealous!

I don't know about this business of low power cars keeping up with big power cars off roundabouts if you are a fraction early on the accelerator though. Given a WOT acceleration period of even 4 or 5 seconds a 350BHP car will easily dominate a 100BHP car assuming it doesn't weigh 2 tonnes or have a turbo big enough to suck in small wildlife. If they didn't then perhaps they weren't really trying - it's hard to tell and all that

[ryan]

I agree with you on what youve said, but id still be disappointed if a crappy ricer could keep up with my M3 (if I had one).

I wouldn't because I'd be in an M3. To be fair though not much seems to keep up with me in the Panda.

Well I would, just a little

You keeping that Panda in one pice better than that RX8?

















'It was a racing accident!'

[Lauren]

I don't know about this business of low power cars keeping up with big power cars off roundabouts if you are a fraction early on the accelerator though. Given a WOT acceleration period of even 4 or 5 seconds a 350BHP car will easily dominate a 100BHP car assuming it doesn't weigh 2 tonnes or have a turbo big enough to suck in small wildlife. If they didn't then perhaps they weren't really trying - it's hard to tell and all that

That situation occured when I was driving my E36 325i coupe and I was following an EVO3. I got on the power earlier out of the roundabout and was able to hang right onto the EVO until I considered that I had gone fast enough. Given a <100bhp difference getting on the power earlier makes all the difference.

[Lauren]

Well I would, just a little

You keeping that Panda in one pice better than that RX8?

'It was a racing accident!'

LOL! Even round the corners? My old DC2 was more than a match for Azz's 400bhp RX7 down the cat and fiddle. And that pesky Panda has daft amounts of grip.

As for keeping Pat in one piece, well I'm not doing bad, if only other people would stop crashing into me!

[SwissHeavy]

Of course, you could always opt for a 330cd like me

More torque than an E46 M3, better mpg, cheaper servicing. Very driveable. Downside: it is a diesel.

[ryan]

Well I would, just a little

You keeping that Panda in one pice better than that RX8?

'It was a racing accident!'

LOL! Even round the corners? My old DC2 was more than a match for Azz's 400bhp RX7 down the cat and fiddle. And that pesky Panda has daft amounts of grip.

As for keeping Pat in one piece, well I'm not doing bad, if only other people would stop crashing into me!

I remember a driver of a Citroen AX giving me a very hard time in some country lanes once when I was in my old MR2, I remember how the undulating roads with potholes and quickly changing cambers made the car feel worryingly unstable

[loudandproud205]

wasnt a white AX gt was it?

[JJ]

Were you impressed Graeme ?!?!

I love it, but it does have some heavy running costs associated to it. Thats pretty much the negatives out the way... I wont bang on about it as all the plus points were the main reasons for buying it. I'd considered an AMG something... realistically shooting for an E55 V8 Kompressor .. drove a SL55 ( also V8 Kompressor ).. and they are fast cars.. but more cruisers.

The engines are reworked Merc engines.. and whilst brilliant... I found them still not as sharp as the Beemers ( non biased comments at the times of testing )... The AMG's had a few more toys, but also looked like I should have been 60 year old too. And handling... well, the Beemers are generally always better...

I shoot for a 5 series because I like a big car, but I also need one !! So when you're in that catagory for a big performance car, you're shortlisted to a selection of very good cars, but heavy and handle like crap.

In a nutshell, as an all round car, you can't beat the BMW M cars... performance, reliability, handling, build quality... yes you'll get your modified MR2's out accelerating them... but so what... ever drove a car when you have a cold ??! You home into all its issues ! Beemers dont rattle, if they do, the panels been off or there is wear n tear in joints.

I'll bring it to an MR2 meet trackday sometime for those that are interest to have a go in it !

[matt_mr2t]

My old MR2 used to happily keep up with E46 M3's and would go past E36 Evo's.

But even then I would rather have had one of them than my MR2 tbh.

Now it's not even a consideration, I would far rather have a more comfortable all round car with modern features.

[Ekona]

An R35 GTR will walk all over my car without breaking sweat, and yet I know which one I'm happier in. Horses for courses really, some people get their kicks from running nails that can keep up with more expensive things, and some just prefer something a bit more modern to use as their transport. Nowt wrong with either.

[Steve-O 2007]

you could keep upto the M3 to a point then the M3 will pull away. I was asking on the M3 and Evo sites and Evo owners admit that its close but the evo will be infront from around 0-80 then the M3 will pull away from it

End of the day you would rather be in a M3, Even just sitting in one will make you want to just go out and buy one...

[ryan]

wasnt a white AX gt was it?

It was red, dont think it was even a GT
Yo be honest he was driving like a maniac, and i backed off because he looked like he would crash at any minute; the car was pitching about like nobodys business

He obviously had bigger balls and was a better driver than me!

[Graeme Shaw]

With regards to running costs, ill save myself a fortune with an M3.

The mr2 has cost me a stupid amount since i bought it, could of had 6-7 m3`s in with the amount saved!

G

[matt_mr2t]

It's different though. The money may be the same, but if you're spending it on mods, you sort of get something for your money. Ok, you wont get it all back come selling times.

But when you're spending potentially a grand a year on a services (or more) a substantial amount on insurance, tax (post 01 cars are £450 IIRC) and anything else that may arise it's less fun.

As I say, so long as you're aware of what they cost and can afford definately go for it. Just don't buy a dog because you'll be faced with some serious bills for it.

[Tiamat]

Just don't buy a dog because you'll be faced with some serious bills for it.

Problem is with second hand cars you may not know you bought a dog until you have been running it for a little bit. The newer the car the bigger the bill for it when it goes wrong in my experience.

[Quigonjay]

I'll bring it to an MR2 meet trackday sometime for those that are interest to have a go in it !

just let me know when you are going

[Lauren]

Problem is with second hand cars you may not know you bought a dog until you have been running it for a little bit. The newer the car the bigger the bill for it when it goes wrong in my experience.

Though to be fair, the newer the car, the less likely it is to go wrong taking relative mileage of new cars into account.

For an example, buy a 3 year old car with 30K on the clock and it's bound to be far more reliable than a 7 year old car with 80K on the clock.

[Tiamat]

Though to be fair, the newer the car, the less likely it is to go wrong taking relative mileage of new cars into account.

For an example, buy a 3 year old car with 30K on the clock and it's bound to be far more reliable than a 7 year old car with 80K on the clock.

Again Lauren it all depends on the car, take my 22yo car that has broken down twice, once due to snapped alternator belt and once due to clutch. Thats in 80K miles. I have seen some 3yo cars with much less mileage blowing engines etc.

My original point and only real point is not to assume because its newer and has lower mileage that its going to be much better than an older car.

My personal view is I hate all the additional electrics they add into cars, like electric seats, heated seats etc, its all just something else to go wrong and slam you in the wallet when it does.

[Lauren]

I do think though (having owned two brand new cars) that for example taking it to the extreme, a new car is going to be much better in terms of reliability than an older car.

A 22yr old car is always going to need more maintenance than a newer car. In the case of my original MR2 it was totally reliable once I had renewed pretty much everything.

Things like heated seats and climate control generally are pretty reliable items nowadays. That's a non issue for the most part as car quality has improved fairly drastically in the last ten years in respect of electrics and the like.

Take my 12 year old BMW (at the time), it never broke down once, let alone twice. My MR2 broke down more times than I can count. My later MR2s one of which was a 1986 car being 19 years old at the time, never broke down but I had to keep on top of the maintenance. My 11 year old DC2 was 100% reliable. Though like the BMW it did require maintenance. Of my new cars none have ever broken down. It stands to reason that an older car with more miles is going to have more worn parts and thus be more susceptible to things wearing out.