[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

So i am looking into replacing my M3 with 1 or more small little fun car. here's what's on my list:
1. Mini cooper S
2. Honda S2000
3. BMW 135
4. Nissan 370Z
5. Infiniti G37 - maybe
6. Z4M
7. Evo X
8. STi
9. GTI

The criteria for the car is quick enough to fight traffic, small, and 6MT (which the G37 isnt really)

So i test drove the following:

Mini Cooper S
I was really amazed by the interior, how the LCD pops inside the gauge, the shifter was nice, everything about it was very funny looking in a good way. i guess "cool" looking. I took the car and wanted to push it. the car had like 172 hp and the guy told me it's tunable to 251 hp. I took it thru curves and what not, steering was good, had a german feel to it and all. I was like already sold when i was driving it, till i take one sharp right turn and pushed it. then it just burst my bubble, smacked me in the face and said "FRONT WHEEL DRIVE"
I can possibly live with it for the looks, but it definitely will not satisfy my car fetish. if i get it today i know i'll still be looking for another one or a replacement

then i went by the honda dealer and asked for S2000
I was very impressed with the game-console-ish dashboard. it was awesome. and what's even more amazing the 8000 redline the guy takes me on a single street back and forth with no curves. the car has no power or torque even at really high RPM. so i was wondering what the fuck is he thinking? if i am selling this i'd probably take the customer thru twisties!
I can live with the car, it's not bad, but there's just not power. if he leases me one in the low 300's i'd pick it up. that's the bottom line. but i didnt walk away with a smile like i did out of the Mini dealer

Across from that honda dealer is Crevier BMW. I walk in and ask for a 135 manual. I am given a vert. it only had sports package, 6MT, CA, and heated front seats. i was like perfect, but no way i'd buy a jet black.
We drive off, and im already liking the clutch feel and the small shifter. top is down and off i push the thing.

I have taken the car to a 100 and taken a turn that has a 25 mph speed limit. The car is very well balanced, and very torquey (how the fuck do u spell torquey??). the guy takes me from one route for test driving to another. more twisties, more speed and im having a fucking blast
the car has so much control. it's awesome! and inside of that thing, i'd definitely forget how ugly it is. but i sure would miss the i get in my M3.

bottom line: fuck this economy.

my next is 370Z and the G37 again. what else do you guys recommend?

i want a payment in 400's or less for a lease, 6MT, fun, little, nimble, maybe a vert... but it looks like im going to need a rear wheel drive

i like the mini. i have owned the s2000, i have driven the 135i, the Zs and g35s.

if you are trying to cust cost and trying to survive the economy then i would highly suggest the VW gti. I have driven them and to me honestly it feels really good driving. I love the 135i but them giving no discount really doesn't help them. The s2000 is awesome car but it's really grabs too much attention depending on colors. The Zs are good but their dealer network service is a nightmare...

get the gti in white bro...

[ptack]

If you want a sporty and comfortable DD, for a 4 seater coupe the 135i has the best overall balance of performance, comfort, quality, practicality.

[rotaz]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

here's my 370z review:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231241

Have you test driven the STi or Evo X yet? Want to see what you think about them.

[Chewyjr15]

i love my 1 and its not even here yet so you know what my vote

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by rotaz

Have you test driven the STi or Evo X yet? Want to see what you think about them.

no i havent... let's go this week dude...

[rotaz]

Originally Posted by ///Mantis

no i havent... let's go this week dude...

Haha I'm down...let me know when?

Prob see you Monday or Tuesday.

[!Xoible]

tuesday probably. monday my client in lake forest is off so im working from the office

[rotaz]

Tuesday it is

[number335]

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

Lol when it's a good time to buy then its a bad time to sell. You're trying to do both and since you say you bought your M3 when it just came out, I dont think anyone is stupid enough to pay you that much money since you dont wanna lose even 1 grand. Good luck man i say stick with the M3 or buy a POS til you can get a nice car again. With the way things are going in this country I think my next car is gonna be a fun little POS. Maybe an e36 318 or somethin

My thoughts exactly. I just bought a used cheap 07 Civic Si as my POS fun to drive beater. And if God forbid i lose my job, i'll sell my 335.

[!Xoible]

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231241

please! jk

so with the whole economic meltdown and shit i thought i should cut down my expenses before i get shitcanned at work and be homeless. so i started looking into a replacement for my m3. today i went ahead to test drive the 370Z

The car i test drove was kinda basic and didnt have the sports package. but i do not think it really really makes a huge fucking difference. here's what i got:

i like the alcantra touches on door panels, the leather-wrapped interior, but i couldnt ignore the cheap plastic all around. it's not a huge deal i can live with that it's a $30k car. i like the gauges and little gadgets and shits here and there. awesome! shifter is awesome, the throw is pretty good, better than the M3 for sure. keyless ignition is standard, awesome.

now i turned it off and i took off. that's when i said FUCK ME for buying an M3. now i cannot feel any other car

the car has absolutely no fucking power, like none. the engine feels so lazy in revving and once you hit 6,000 RPM or so it struggles to rev up higher although the red line is at 7500. when you go high in the RPM it makes no difference u might as well just shift there.

steering feel wasnt bad, i would say it's better than the 335 or more nimble, but felt pretty disconnected and not as precise as i would have expected from a 2 seater (i have no clue how they say this compares to the Cayman S). makes me think really low of the cayman now.

The throttle seemed more sensetive in idle than the M3. when i was double clutching i clearly over-revved i was like wow! but i got that down pretty quick.

Here's the fucked up part that really frustrated me: V fucking DC!!!! WTF with VDC kicking in so fucking much! it's so goddamn intrusive, it's ridiculous. every shift from 1st to 2nd gives a tad of a wheel spin, VDC kicks in and cuts power off, then 2nd to 3rd same issue. every time i take a turn VDC kills my power im like u know what this is not even fun at all!

u turn off VDC the car slides a tad and what not, but u get this noice with wheel spin as if u scraped the bottom of the car. it's weird.

the cockpit is so fucking noisy it's so annoying. drone and shit from stock exhaust!

here's how i would rate it: (and i dont even drive a perfect car either)
power: 3/5
steering: 2/5
interior: 4/5
handling: i cannot really say i havent pushed it enough. i hope it's good if they compare it to Cayman S
transmission: 4/5 pretty sporty, the way i like it. very different from BMW transmission but typical Nissan/infiniti transmission (aka notchy, and jerky from 1st to 2nd)
fun: 0/5 with VDC
exterior styling: shit those wide rear fenders are hot! 4.5/5

going back to my M3 i think i can never enjoy a car less than an M car. i.e. im a M badge whore now. officially.

kthxbai -_-'

Edit: btw i have test driven other cars i think the Mini S is more fun (fuck front wheel drive tho), 135i was much more fun, but the Z is way better than the s2gay

UPDATE - TEST DROVE AGAIN WITH SPORTS PACKAGE

So i went to another dealership and asked for a test drive. This test drive comes after a day of driving my car hard and kinda pushing it, then driving a brand new STi (fully broken in). The car was warmed up because somebody has just taken that car out on a test drive.

Here's my new impressions:
1. awesome navigation system

2. pussy exhaust. i prefer G35/350z or G37's exhaust, but no problemo exhaust would be first mod

3. VDC sucks ass still, too intrusive and without it the car is hella fun but really with no control. i'd like a setting somewhere in the middle (MDM? lol). But fine i can live with it on or off

4. Handling was awesome! if the M3's handling is 10/10 (which is not) then the 370z is like 8.5 or 9. I actually thought handling was great and the LSD makes a day and night difference between then non-sport and sports package. It was very nimble, a lot of fun until we get to one corner. So on the way to Irvine Nissan there's a right turn, it's pretty sharp but i was going fast in my M3 and it did fine. I took that turn with the Z and we almost crashed! i almost went over the fence to be on the freeway that was scary. the guy was like "youre the craziest man i've ever encountered on a test drive" lol

5. Power... well it does put more power and it does put you ahead of traffic. rev match it (whether you use ur foot or use the synchro-match feature thing) and BAM ur ahead of everyone. But here's my problem. The car does not feel fast. there's no torque push. and you know what that problem does exist in the M3. u see ur speedometer jumping 10 mph at a time (maybe less in the 370z) but you dont feel it Yah maybe it'll lose a drag test with the M3, but the feeling of power is pretty similar

6. Steering is definitely tighter with sports package. i was doing all kinds of crazy stuff. the car felt pretty nabil... *ahem* i mean nimble.

7. Sound inside the cabin i guess it's too noisy for a drive coming back from a long work day at 8 or 9 pm and with an aftermarket exhaust it will be noisier but it is what it is...

This car right now kind of tops the list of cars im looking into. a hair over the STi (which is a whole different story)

[SpecC]

get the STI and i'll detail it for you if i get a test drive

[!Xoible]

I also test drove 2008 STi with a subaru SSK and here's what i think:

First of all this is my first AWD car that i have ever driven, i had no idea what that meant and to be honest i do not feel i knew how to drive it correctly. i was looking for performance similar to rear wheel drive so i made a few mistakes.

Interior/exterior is awesome if you like hatch backs. I do. the car has brembo brakes, and some gold wheels (white car). i loved the looks inside and out.
I like features that set the throttle sensitivity, steering, suspension, etc.
i also like the feature that allows you to push more power to the rear wheels rather than equally distribute power for all wheels. you can do something like 65-35% ration. i was told this by the salesperson who "sounded" knowledgeable. The guy was nice, he knew a lot about the M3 and other cars. he drives a nice ass fixed up 350z too. anyway.

Turbo has some significant lag, it kicks in over 3500 RPM (red line is 6600 yikes). u feel a push, but nothing equal the push u get in a 135 or 335.

Handling was EPIC! even with a lot of body roll even compared to the M3 the car handled awesome. u can go thru sharp turns and keep giving it gas and it'll go.

Steering is pretty disconnected though or it feels that was with the huge body roll. it's not a nimble coupe, it's a rally-oriented car so i understand.

looked pretty practical, spacious, etc.

i liked things like the recaro seats, the brembo brakes, gold BBS wheels, quad exhaust, etc. this is a perfect car to go up the mountains for boarding... but what do i drive for the rest of the year? need something to satisfy my throw-out-the-tail fetish

oh btw, when u dump the clutch u dont get spinning of rear wheels like rear wheel drive, u get a massive jerk that pushes u forward. the guy had to stop me and say let me show you what it can do. he took me on some nice turns and to show me how the car is different and to show me how it's properly driven.

yah im impressed...

[SpecC]

^that's some AWD for you

if you test drive the evo, i bet you'll end up saying the STI handles like crap though

i think the STI looks 99999x better than the evo X overall nowadays, and i'd buy it to support my fanboyism

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by SpecC

^that's some AWD for you

if you test drive the evo, i bet you'll end up saying the STI handles like crap though

i think the STI looks 99999x better than the evo X overall nowadays, and i'd buy it to support my fanboyism

umm i love the looks of the new evo, and the old one actually. but i gotta admit the hatchback is

one thing that's bad about the Evo is u cannot fit snowboards in trunk. doesnt fold! wtf do i use the car for then?!

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by !Xoible

umm i love the looks of the new evo, and the old one actually. but i gotta admit the hatchback is

one thing that's bad about the Evo is u cannot fit snowboards in trunk. doesnt fold! wtf do i use the car for then?!

get a rack?

[!Xoible]

that's retarded

[josephr25]

I like the STi better as a hatch. I would take it over the 370Z easily. Easier to get power + 4WD makes it easier to take the car to the limit.

It's funny how some people with "nicer" cars have the most classless comments I have ever seen. It's apparent in the C63 forums at mbworld.

[BK]

I'm living vicariously through you on your test drives. I want to try all these cars, too.

Any thoughts of testing a Lotus?

[!Xoible]

i thought about that. will be interesting as well as Cayman S too

[!Xoible]

hey rob do u know what's the nearest mitsu dealer is? i looked in irvine and tustin, seems the closest is south coast??

[rotaz]

I think costa mesa is the closest...they have mitsu and subu dealer next to each other.

[josephr25]

If you work for Boeing, or know somebody who does, you can get a pretty good discount on both Subaru and Mitsubishi. I think you can come pretty close to MSRP.