BMW M3 vs. Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle by Huffington Post

The Huffington Post publishes a comparison between the Nissan Leaf and E30 BMW M3. This M3 is considered as one of the best M cars ever made in history. David Thielen of the same publication was looking for a replacement to his E30 M3 (200,000 miles) and this comparison came to life because he wanted to test if the Nissan Leaf, a pure electric car, would fit his expectations. Here is an excerpt of the comparison and interesting analysis:

1. Cost of gas is not considered to be a major decision point. “The difference in environmental impact is pretty minor. So the top selling points for the Leaf — irrelevant to me. What matters to me is how well the car performs, even though nowadays that mostly is the 6 miles to and from work,” says Thielen.

2. Response time. While the E30 M3 is known for its agility and dynamics, Thielen was more impressed by the instant response from the Leaf. “Press the accelerator and you are accelerating. Turn it on and seconds later it is fully on. Turn it off and it’s off. This is akin to the difference between booting up Windows and hitting the home button on your iPad.”

3. Acceleration. Clearly an electric vehicle through its instant torque will accelerate instantaneously, but if you go past the initial few yards, a super sporty gasoline engine will not only catch up, but most likely surpass the Leaf. “ome of that advantage is the Leaf is accelerating instantaneously. But an electric engine also accelerates faster, with no difference in power over ranges of RPM. (There was a kid in some GT sports car who blasted out from a green light figuring he would show the old guy in the boxy mom-mobile how much faster he was. So I hit the accelerator and blew by him — he’s probably still wondering how that happened.)”

4. Car sound. Here is where the M3, and any other high-rev engine, clearly wins.

5. Suspensions. Another area where the author gives credit where is due. Known for their sporty suspensions, BMW has never disappointing its M fans. “The suspension in the Leaf sucks the big one compared to a BMW. The cornering is ok because of the weight of the batteries throughout the floorboard so it’s better than most box cars. But fundamentally it’s a standard sedan suspension. This was one of the two reasons I almost went with the BMW. With that said, the Leaf does have as good a turning radius as the M3.”

For more information on BMW M, contact:

Munich Automobiles Singapore
30 Teban Gardens Crescent Singapore 608927
Showroom: 6899 6996 Service center: 6566 7666
http://www.munichauto.com.sg