BMW Car Mag Nov

[cc3]

Interesting reading following magazine spending time in the development M4 They like it but feel it lacks sparkle to quote they feel something is missing at present. Yes it's quicker and more refined but lacks the sparkle that marks the difference between the truly great and merely good. They also say the soundtrack is bland. Overall they feel the car seems a bit too grown up. In summary they say could be the E36 M3 moment of the 21st century.

[Kuwen]

Originally Posted by gaz26

Interesting reading following magazine spending time in the development M4 They like it but feel it lacks sparkle to quote they feel something is missing at present. Yes it's quicker and more refined but lacks the sparkle that marks the difference between the truly great and merely good. They also say the soundtrack is bland. Overall they feel the car seems a bit too grown up. In summary they say could be the E36 M3 moment of the 21st century.

How does one judge sparkle with no time behind the wheel?

[JoeFromPA]

Tip #119 in getting pageviews/readership: Make a controversial and unverifiable claim.

[solstice]

Subjective and lacking in proper experience for sure but still nothing to ignore. These initial subjective observations often enough prove to have some substance. I'm already barely cautiously optimistic about the car so it doesn't change anything for me while a hair on fire lyrical report on how absolutely fantastic it is would have been more exciting.

[cc3]

Originally Posted by solstice

Subjective and lacking in proper experience for sure but still nothing to ignore. These initial subjective observations often enough prove to have some substance. I'm already barely cautiously optimistic about the car so it doesn't change anything for me while a hair on fire lyrical report on how absolutely fantastic it is would have been more exciting.

It's a 6 page review. Cars driven by BMW DTM drivers Timo Glock, Dirk Werner and Bruno Spengler and they were pushed to the limit. Good magazine very pro BMW and worth buying. They are usually spot on with their comments.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by gaz26

It's a 6 page review. Cars driven by BMW DTM drivers Timo Glock, Dirk Werner and Bruno Spengler and they were pushed to the limit. Good magazine very pro BMW and worth buying. They are usually spot on with their comments.

Thanks for expanding on the review and mag. My "lacking in proper experience" remark was mainly due to the fact that they haven't driven the car. That said you can pickup a lot about athleticism, chassi communication, grip, body roll, power delivery, engine note and interior ambience from the passenger seat.

[cc3]

Another interesting quote
I don't think you could drive an M4 quicker than Werner did yet for all it's heroic stats the M4 never felt heroically quick the shove in the back I was expecting from the torque never materialised. There's never a moment it bursts into aural life. It's not a patch on the outgoing v8

[paddy335]

Originally Posted by gaz26

Another interesting quote
I don't think you could drive an M4 quicker than Werner did yet for all it's heroic stats the M4 never felt heroically quick the shove in the back I was expecting from the torque never materialised. There's never a moment it bursts into aural life. It's not a patch on the outgoing v8

Sounds like this review will make the after-market companies very happy. Plenty to improve on.

[solstice]

English is not my native language ( I grew up in Sweden ). What does patch mean in this context?

"It's not a patch on the outgoing v8"

[Simon H]

Originally Posted by solstice

English is not my native language ( I grew up in Sweden ). What does patch mean in this context?

"It's not a patch on the outgoing v8"

It means its, "nowhere near as good as". Time will tell.

[ACE_M3]

Originally Posted by solstice

English is not my native language ( I grew up in Sweden ). What does patch mean in this context?

"It's not a patch on the outgoing v8"

It means it's not as good as the V8

[cc3]

Originally Posted by paddy335

Sounds like this review will make the after-market companies very happy. Plenty to improve on.

Yes agree. In another part they say " the noise is worse, strangely from the outside where you might be tempted to think the exhaust valve trickery would give bystanders the best soundtrack " the car is nasal and bland when your listening to it trackside. It never lights a fire for you while performing.

[tdizzle]

I wonder if it'll get negatively compared to the previous M3 for subjective reasons while besting it in every quantifiable category?

[paddy335]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

I wonder if it'll get negatively compared to the previous M3 for subjective reasons while besting it in every quantifiable category?

I reckon the "it's grown up" line could become a recurring theme in reviews.

I can see the reviews now: "So much more refined"...."all the rough edges are gone"......"it's quicker in every way"....."but somehow lacks the essence of it's ancestors."

[cc3]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

I wonder if it'll get negatively compared to the previous M3 for subjective reasons while besting it in every quantifiable category?

Looks like it. The article says it will beat the E92 in a straight line and murder it in the bends however appears they just didn't get excited about the way it does it.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by gaz26

Looks like it. The article says it will beat the E92 in a straight line and murder it in the bends however appears they just didn't get excited about the way it does it.

I don't really like the sound of that. Efficient, cold and clinical performance without much excitement. Sounds too familiar of the rest of the F-series cars. It's prototypes though so we'll have to see what the production cars brings.

Thanks to you who explained "patch".

[Keto]

Isn't performance exciting? When I read "subjective" reviews that don't mesh with objective numbers it always makes me think of the vast amount of bullshit that goes into a wine review vs. a blind taste test.

Just fix the EPS and make it Porsche comparable please. The rest will work itself out and everyone freaking about the soundtrack can buy an aftermarket exhaust.

[Sapper_M3]

Originally Posted by solstice

I don't really like the sound of that. Efficient, cold and clinical performance without much excitement. Sounds too familiar of the rest of the F-series cars. It's prototypes though so we'll have to see what the production cars brings.

Thanks to you who explained "patch".

Your English comprehension and usage are both very good.

Personally, I think the "patch on" phrase was very poor word choice. The context is clear, but I still don't fully understand exactly what they mean by it. Is this a saying in some region..?

[bm323]

Originally Posted by tdizzle

I wonder if it'll get negatively compared to the previous M3 for subjective reasons while besting it in every quantifiable category?

++1 I'll bet this is coming due to lack of sound sparkle

and I'll take the M4 anytime over the M3 E9x.

[cc3]

What I don't understand is why M BMW are making an M car that based upon this info sounds like a family SUV. It can't be down to emissions as other performance car manufacturers get around those. So is this a shift in policy by BMW to make fast cars but environmentally more friendly? Wonder what the i8 will sound like ??

[JoeFromPA]

A few thoughts:

There's no doubt the e9x m3 is glorious sounding. However, every video I've heard makes the f8x m3 sound wonderful as well. I've heard plenty of great sounding n54/n55 engines, so I would be truly surprised if the f8x M isn't capable of wonderful sounds.

...

If you go back and re-review the e46 and e90 m3s when brand new, you might rememebr the e46 was a weak sounding, raspy, and bit tepid vehicle at low RPMs. It was also rough riding/oversprung.

The e90 was better sounding and better riding and reviewers felt it was more cold and clinical as a result. Bah.

....

Final thought: This is a relative to my background, but I think the best vehicle to benchmark this vehicle against is the e39 m5. It's dimensions are the next best thing to identical. It has a very similar profile in terms of peak output numbers & low end torquey nature.

Mainly though, the f80 m3 is a much bigger vehicle than say the e46 and notably bigger than the e90. It's now a 5-series from a decade ago in size.

And I think it's going to compare very favorably when looked at through that prism, in terms of feel, connection, and performance.

[RMB]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

A few thoughts:

There's no doubt the e9x m3 is glorious sounding. However, every video I've heard makes the f8x m3 sound wonderful as well. I've heard plenty of great sounding n54/n55 engines, so I would be truly surprised if the f8x M isn't capable of wonderful sounds.

...

If you go back and re-review the e46 and e90 m3s when brand new, you might rememebr the e46 was a weak sounding, raspy, and bit tepid vehicle at low RPMs. It was also rough riding/oversprung.

The e90 was better sounding and better riding and reviewers felt it was more cold and clinical as a result. Bah.

....

Final thought: This is a relative to my background, but I think the best vehicle to benchmark this vehicle against is the e39 m5. It's dimensions are the next best thing to identical. It has a very similar profile in terms of peak output numbers & low end torquey nature.

Mainly though, the f80 m3 is a much bigger vehicle than say the e46 and notably bigger than the e90. It's now a 5-series from a decade ago in size.

And I think it's going to compare very favorably when looked at through that prism, in terms of feel, connection, and performance.

+1