Re: E46M3 vs E92 335i - Tested and driven
Jack,
After reading this post, I knew I had to drive it too.
So this afternoon, mossied my way down to Alexandra. The SA backed up the car into the service bay and I thought to myself 'not a bad ass' ( car of course!
) Looks better than the picts but if you asked me, I still prefer the E46 rear. The interior was blah. Agree with Jeremy Clarkson. Navigated through that long snake winding its way into Ikea and set out for the AYE. The low down torque is awesome! Pulls like you would not believe! So smooth too compared to the SMG. Out on the highway, it flew past all traffic and I believe it could easily pull to top speed without breaking a sweat.
Turned off into south Bourna Vista and switched to manual. I HATE the levers for changing gears. The ones in the M3 are so much more intuitive to use. I noticed that if you shift on drive mode, it automatically goes back into auto mode if you haven't changed gears for a while
? Also it had a tendency to skip gears on manual change..etc going from 2nd to 4th..maybe shifiting too quick? Between fumbling with the gears and a SLOW E200 crawling down SBV, did not get a chance to push the car. The return up SBV was different though. Pulled off to one side and waited for a clear stretch and floored it. Changed gears with the gear stick instead and so much better. Car handles well and brakes had good bite too BUT unlike Jack, I didn't feel it handles as well as the M3. Too light at the limit and lacks feedback through the steering wheel. In the M3, you feel the road. In the 335, you know its there but a filter has been added. I must have pushed fairly hard even though I didn't think so as the SA suddenly shut up. She had been talking non-stop till then. Wouldn't even reply to questions that my brother, who was in the back was asking her! Just gripped the armrest and looked white. When I got to the top of SBV, I asked her if she was OK and she just said quietly that she was scared!! Guess most customers don't push the car huh?
I think she would have wet herself if I were driving the M3!!
The return trip was uneventful..nice easy car to drive, smooth quiet, nice growl when accelerating hard and very quick.
Conclusion? It's a very nice car but not a M3 definitely. It lacks the raw edge, grip, nth degree of feedback, noise and yes, even the kick back of the SMG as you shift hard. It is difficult to explain and you have to drive a M3 to fully understand what I mean. There are many quick cars (EVO,WRX etc) but what attracts about the M3 is the whole package. It had the feel of a true sports car but the driveability of a daily runaround. This is how I believe the new M3 will triumph over its lesser sibilings instead of outright performance superiority.
