Quote:
Originally Posted by SoManyBlueCars
You know, they just did a test on the grand tour, with the Aston, Bentley and M850, against some ancient Renault that barely ran. The concept was simple - in real world conditions, those amazing cars were no faster that the old Renault because of traffic and pedestrians and lights, etc.
I mention that because no one ever NEEDS the speed. We want the speed. But how much speed do we need?
On a track, if you're a good driver, you may notice the weight difference slightly, and it MIGHT gain you a tenth of a second. But then, why buy a car that's so high off the ground, with so much space and a hatch. It seems silly to embrace the practicality of the car, then shun a feature based on weight reduction.
All your fancy calculations mean nothing to me because you're talking about how a car feels at the limit - which is very high in both my M3 and an X3M - and not how a car feels on a road, where these will live 99% of the time. And since a good driver in an X3 can beat a bad driver in an M3, that 50 pound difference just seems even more trivial.
And lastly, if you've driven An X5M on the track (I have at the performance center) you'd know they are absolutely amazing cars. But all the fancy electronics and wide tires cannot hide the fact that you are asking over 2 tones of metal to move around a track. Stepping firmly on the gas causes the nose to point to the sky.
Least you think I limit this criticism to X guys - I make fun of M3 guys too, when they say the car handles "so much better"
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Using The Grand Tour is a pretty horrible example IMHO. I would hardly call racing through a small town with cobblestones in Azerbaijan a real world example
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster
 : At 7 and 8 .. priceless.
Don't forget
9- lower center of gravity, less mass high above the ground .. 
The e30 M3 and the Honda above were Midwest vehicles although garaged. Man that Honda ran through mufflers ... but the heat and temps and sun in Texas , while not Phoenix bad, is at least equally good at destroying rubber windshield and sunroof seals as rust and debris in the Midwest.
Both areas can have trees that leave sap/pollen/debris.
To add more useless data - I also have owned three BMW e46 convertibles and each of those have been originally well cared for but out in the elements from 85k to 160k and no leaks and they still work perfectly. My Ex wife's car spent a lot of time top down time in the sun and the leather seats became trashed however. 
I take the 2004 E46 through the car wash whenever I can get the keys from my kid and it's perfectly dry inside. I can't tell you how impressed I am with older BMW convertible soft tops. They really are superb.
Back to moon roofs,
At the very least , should these 9 "dislikes " not deter X3/X4M buyers from getting the moonroof , in my estimation, if it's reasonably well cared for , owners can expect the interior to stay dry for certainly the length of time of their lease  plus probably about 15 years.  |
If I had a choice, I'd also have no sunroofs on any of my cars. As some people said, it's not just for performance, because I certainly wouldn't be able to tell, but for long term maintenance and comfort.
I'm not quite as worried about leaks, but I do not want more complexity on any of my cars, especially on something I never use. I was actually just reading a thread on M5board about guys having to replace the entire cassette just because one little tab broke. No thanks.
There's no denying that cars with sunroofs are louder too, not to mention potentially more squeaks and rattles. I ruled out many E92 M3's because they had sunroofs. Having said that, I also picked a Z4M Roadster over a Coupe because when I want wind in my hair, I want it to be more than just a square opening.
I guess I completely contradicted everything I just said huh?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnPaul
I still take issue with a 6 foot tall, 4000lbs "Motorsport" vehicle. All the SUVs should have kept the IS tag like the x5 4.8IS back in the day. I can't get by the branding; it leans towards accountants trying to cash in the credit from previous management and engineers that made something special. They may well be good vehicles, but the drive to put as many m badges on anything as possible is killing me and hint towards no real value anymore. Bmw is even going to start making vehicles with Benz too... all is lost.
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Well considering Porsche just added yet another SUV to their portfolio, so I don't see how the world is ending? Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Aston Martin.... they all have SUV's already launched or in the pipeline, so this is hardly a BMW only phenomenon.
Whether you like it or not, this is what sells. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the small M's myself, I have 3 at the moment. But if I could only own one car (not the cause) because I have a small family (also not the case), the X3M would be right there on top of the list.