I've just bought an E46 M3 !!!
Discussion
The Golf R32 is no more... I just picked this up last Friday - and I absolutely LOVE IT !!!
19" alloys, TV/Sat Nav, heated seats, high gloss shadow line, folding mirrors, bluetooth,...
Car number 13 in 13 years of ownership, and I just bought a van for work today! I'd better keep this one for a while or my better half will kill me
What a car! I'm still smiling
19" alloys, TV/Sat Nav, heated seats, high gloss shadow line, folding mirrors, bluetooth,...
Car number 13 in 13 years of ownership, and I just bought a van for work today! I'd better keep this one for a while or my better half will kill me
What a car! I'm still smiling
E38...
Ahhh my science background has been discovered!
7 years of fun at Uni had to come through eventually. Yep, I took inspiration for my new company name from a certain French mathematician... seemed appropriate given the nature of the property development business! Only downside is having to spell it out every time I'm on the phone - doh!
Ahhh my science background has been discovered!
7 years of fun at Uni had to come through eventually. Yep, I took inspiration for my new company name from a certain French mathematician... seemed appropriate given the nature of the property development business! Only downside is having to spell it out every time I'm on the phone - doh! 
M3_DM said:
How does it compare then to the R32? A very good car in its own right....
Early days so far on the M3, but the comparison is VERY favourable!
The R32 I had was the mark IV on an '04 plate rather than the latest Mark V R32... so maybe not the latest comparison...
The R32 was pretty quick and sounded decent under full throttle (once the OEM exhaust had been replaced by a Milltek sports exhaust - standard exhaust was horrendously boomy at 40-70 mph). The standard fit Koenig seats were comfortable and supportive and the cabin was a decent enough place to be.
Traction was good from a standing start... 4wd coming in especially handy taking off on wet roundabouts for example.
It was a petty practical car too, especially the 5 door version I had... handy for transporting the dogs about and trips to B&Q... although this was starting to show! However, the ride was pretty harsh and the steering didn't have quite the same feel as my previous 3-series (or 911... but that's a tad unfair
The M3 feels like it is in a different league (and so it should considering the new list prices of both cars). The cabin materials for example are soooooo much better in the beemer... the leather seats for example feel like they once came from a cow, whereas the R32's leather felt plasticy in comparison.
The M3's acceleration (especially with the sport button depressed!) feels brutal, although this kicks in higher up the rev range than the R32's so I'm still adjusting to the power delivery.
Handling is very well balanced and composed, and even when the back kicks out in reaction to a bit too much power, it's easier enough to rein it in... the golf on the otherhand would wash into understeer quite quickly and felt a little remote.
The M3 feels much more composed over the same roads on my daily commute which came as a surprise considering it's on 19" alloys, and it's actually averaging slightly higher m.p.g. than the golf, which is impressive given it's extracting an extra 102 bhp from the same 3.2 litres
So overall, I enjoyed the R32 - it was a cracking little car... almost a cut down 911 C4 in some ways, BUT the M3 is AWESOME... Would I swap back to the golf? Not a chance
The mark IV is my favourite Golf shape, especially in R32 form.
I too am very suprised at how frugal the M3 is. Drove for 8 hours non-stop on sunday, a combination of sensible double figure motorway driving, tripple figure private road driving and absolute thrashing over twisty country roads and averaged 28mpg. Who can argue with that? I'm also amazed at how composed it is on all types of roads with 19s and 35 profile tyres. From what people say they're no worse than the 18s, which is a great feat in itself. If you feel how light the 19s are without tyres you'll realise why acceleration is unaffected too.
Suppose it is a little unfair to compare a hot-hatch with a GT come sports coupe but still interesting nonetheless.
I too am very suprised at how frugal the M3 is. Drove for 8 hours non-stop on sunday, a combination of sensible double figure motorway driving, tripple figure private road driving and absolute thrashing over twisty country roads and averaged 28mpg. Who can argue with that? I'm also amazed at how composed it is on all types of roads with 19s and 35 profile tyres. From what people say they're no worse than the 18s, which is a great feat in itself. If you feel how light the 19s are without tyres you'll realise why acceleration is unaffected too.
Suppose it is a little unfair to compare a hot-hatch with a GT come sports coupe but still interesting nonetheless.
M3_DM said:
The mark IV is my favourite Golf shape, especially in R32 form.
I agree, VW seemed to drop the ball on styling for the mark V R32... how they managed to do that when they got the look of the GTi so right is beyond me. Maybe this catching... just look at the E90 M3... I'm sure it's a fabulous car, but the styling doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. I'll reserve final judgment until I see one in the flesh...
Not just the MK V R32 though, they all look pretty pants to be honest. I think they hit gold the the MK IV anniversary GTI and the MK IV R32. In the same way I think BMW hit gold with the E46 M3 and CSL and Ferrari hit gold with the 512TR and then the 360. Its almost as if the car designers are running out of ideas. Look at the state of the new Focus ST for example or the new Audi TT. Everything seems awkward and overly complicated these days. Even the styling on the new Lamborghinis looks like they're short on ideas.
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