Discussion
There are like 800 SMG equipped M4s for sale and about 7 manuals, take out the convertibles and cat cars it’s like 3.
Are they no good ?
Are they a hard sell ?
I quite fancy one but do like a manual, nearly bought one three years back but the auto aspect puts me off, so this time would insist on a manual coupe and just wait.
Anyone had a manual ?
Are they no good ?
Are they a hard sell ?
I quite fancy one but do like a manual, nearly bought one three years back but the auto aspect puts me off, so this time would insist on a manual coupe and just wait.
Anyone had a manual ?
J4CKO said:
There are like 800 SMG equipped M4s for sale and about 7 manuals, take out the convertibles and cat cars it’s like 3.
Are they no good ?
Are they a hard sell ?
I quite fancy one but do like a manual, nearly bought one three years back but the auto aspect puts me off, so this time would insist on a manual coupe and just wait.
Anyone had a manual ?
Funny you mention this, there was an AUC comp M4 for sale recently, manual and I think it was a 2017 in grey with low miles. Listed for about 2/ 3k less than anything else of the equivalent year (36k iirc ) I think it was possibly a Synter Leeds car . Seems like they’re a hard sell unless very reasonably priced.Are they no good ?
Are they a hard sell ?
I quite fancy one but do like a manual, nearly bought one three years back but the auto aspect puts me off, so this time would insist on a manual coupe and just wait.
Anyone had a manual ?
cerb4.5lee said:
I really wanted the manual version when I was looking to buy mine. However now I've covered 20k miles in it, I have to say that the DCT does really suit the car/engine though I reckon.
It would be nice to have a manual one for the cool/rarity factor though.
Agree on your first point. I think the DCT is a cracking performance-oriented autobox. Some (most?) BMW manuals can be really recalcitrant and actually be a bit of a fly in the ointment when it comes to enjoying the overall package, especially those with the dreaded CDV.It would be nice to have a manual one for the cool/rarity factor though.
My last experience with BMW was my 2016 M135i, which I suspect I may have kept had it been manual, and modified it with an LSD, suspension and whatever other bit required to coax out the drivers car BMW have hidden in the rocket powered hatchback, my next step was an M3/4 and came close as someone I know was selling one, dodged a bullet there as it needed turbos doing straight after apparently.
That was my plan and was distracted by a Fiesta ST that came into my possession, have modified that and now want to revert back to the original plan of an M4 but dont want to repeat the M135i think where I never really gelled with it, partly as it was auto and had crap steering and brakes.
Hence my thinking of going manual this time, amazed me how few were sold so got to think is it because the SMG is so good, the manual so crap or just M3/4 buyers like an auto ?
That was my plan and was distracted by a Fiesta ST that came into my possession, have modified that and now want to revert back to the original plan of an M4 but dont want to repeat the M135i think where I never really gelled with it, partly as it was auto and had crap steering and brakes.
Hence my thinking of going manual this time, amazed me how few were sold so got to think is it because the SMG is so good, the manual so crap or just M3/4 buyers like an auto ?
I.owned an M240i manual until recently and I traded it in for a DCT M4.
I bought my M240i because it was a manual and I went well out of my way to buy it but, I did love that car and even on the day I was driving to BMW to trade it in for my M4 I was thinking what a good car it was and how I'd miss it.
Now I'm in my M4 I don't miss the 240i at all if I'm honest nor the manual box.
I personally think the DCT suits the M4 so well I wouldnt buy one with a manual gearbox.
I dont have anything negative to say about BMW manuals though, I never understood the criticism others directed at them.
I bought my M240i because it was a manual and I went well out of my way to buy it but, I did love that car and even on the day I was driving to BMW to trade it in for my M4 I was thinking what a good car it was and how I'd miss it.
Now I'm in my M4 I don't miss the 240i at all if I'm honest nor the manual box.
I personally think the DCT suits the M4 so well I wouldnt buy one with a manual gearbox.
I dont have anything negative to say about BMW manuals though, I never understood the criticism others directed at them.
J4CKO said:
Hence my thinking of going manual this time, amazed me how few were sold so got to think is it because the SMG is so good, the manual so crap or just M3/4 buyers like an auto ?
I think buyers were certainly getting more used to DCT/Auto with BMWs by the time the F82 M4 was launched(plus the DCT easily outsold the manual in the E9x M3 too). In the past I was never a massive fan of either autos or DCTs to be fair(I thought the DSG was crap in the Audi TTS, and like wise the ZF6 auto was pretty crap in the X5 4.8iS/E90 330i too for example). However I genuinely believe that the DCT in the M4 was made for the car/engine though, and for me they definitely make a really nice partnership. I do like to think that I know your tastes Mark though...having known you for years on here, and I reckon even if you went for the DCT...there is definitely still a chance that you'd miss a manual gearbox I think.
You probably need a very extended test drive in both, but I guess that isn't exactly an easy thing to get sorted though.
Manual sounds like a great idea, but then you drive it and you think "Oh yeah, that's why I buy BMW autos."
They are just so spongy, they really are not the best manual gearboxes.
However, many have said the gear change in these are one of the best BMW has done for years. Not like and S2000, MX5 or Porsche gearshift where you get that rifle bolt feel, but better than any BMW manual since the E46 days.
Others have said they are only a smidge better than previous and a real low point.
So I would try and find one and try it first. I just think the DCT suits the engine so well.
They are just so spongy, they really are not the best manual gearboxes.
However, many have said the gear change in these are one of the best BMW has done for years. Not like and S2000, MX5 or Porsche gearshift where you get that rifle bolt feel, but better than any BMW manual since the E46 days.
Others have said they are only a smidge better than previous and a real low point.
So I would try and find one and try it first. I just think the DCT suits the engine so well.
Ed.Neumann said:
Manual sounds like a great idea, but then you drive it and you think "Oh yeah, that's why I buy BMW autos."
They are just so spongy, they really are not the best manual gearboxes.
However, many have said the gear change in these are one of the best BMW has done for years. Not like and S2000, MX5 or Porsche gearshift where you get that rifle bolt feel, but better than any BMW manual since the E46 days.
Others have said they are only a smidge better than previous and a real low point.
So I would try and find one and try it first. I just think the DCT suits the engine so well.
Agree, BMW manuals are not great, not awful but nothing special and certainly not "M" special. If BMW went to the trouble of engineering a good manual they wouldn't sell the autos They are just so spongy, they really are not the best manual gearboxes.
However, many have said the gear change in these are one of the best BMW has done for years. Not like and S2000, MX5 or Porsche gearshift where you get that rifle bolt feel, but better than any BMW manual since the E46 days.
Others have said they are only a smidge better than previous and a real low point.
So I would try and find one and try it first. I just think the DCT suits the engine so well.
Jamescrs said:
I dont have anything negative to say about BMW manuals though, I never understood the criticism others directed at them.
Don't drive a Type R Honda then, the shift weight/feel and the closely-stacked gear ratios will blow your mind after a BMW manual. Never been the best but any manual is a half-decent gearbox imo, saddened me when they stopped offering the optional close-ratio dogleg Getrag 5 speed. I'd definitely be looking to get a manual if the car is going to be a long-term ownership proposition, at the end of the day playing with 3 pedals and getting to change gear yourself is never going to be boring compared to putting it in D, and then flicking a little paddle behind the wheel if you're feeling 'naughty'. I can understand the thinking behind having 7 ratios to help keep something peaky (i.e. an S65 V8) in the meat of the powerband, however for a turbocharged engine with a wide spread of torque and a flexible powerband then it's senseless for me.
Ed.Neumann said:
They are just so spongy, they really are not the best manual gearboxes.
I've read this in a few places. Is it a recent thing or have they always been like that? The gearbox in my 1999 E36 318is is lovely - there's a little resistance as you go for a gear and then it clicks home with a definite sense of having slotted into place. I could not imagine a nicer feeling manual. By comparison, other manufacturers' manuals I've used felt like I was stirring a bucket of jelly with a piece of wet spaghetti.I really liked the manual in the Cerbera, and I also like the manual in the 370Z. They both feel quite meaty to use and you have to be deliberate with them. However I just couldn't connect to the manual in the Z4M/E92 M3 in the same way that I did/do in the Cerbera/370Z though.
First to second in the Z4M was absolutely awful for me, although to be fair to the E92 M3...that was better than the Z4M from first to second in comparison.
First to second in the Z4M was absolutely awful for me, although to be fair to the E92 M3...that was better than the Z4M from first to second in comparison.
I must admit the gearbox in my Z4MC isn't very smooth and a little knotchy i wouldn't say my E46 M3 is much better but were talking about cars that are now 16 & 18 years old. The gearbox in the New M2 is superb and the torque is incredible and so smooth, I'm very impressed with it...
CRA1G said:
Not driven the G87 but since the gearbox is the same as fitted to the 1m 12 years back my comment about BMW's lack of interest in engineering a decent manual standsFrom those that have driven the G87 manual the gearbox has been widely slated
"So this one use case where my vast experience behind the wheel of BMW cars might have stopped me from paying more attention to the gearing. What do I mean by that? Well, this is the very same six-speed manual that I’ve been enjoying in my 1M, then in the F87 M2, followed by the G80/G82 M3/M4, and now in the G87 M2. Of course, it has been slightly refined over time – mostly software tuning – but its DNA has not changed, in my opinion.
The six-speed manual gearbox in question has a stiff and rubbery feel, which takes several drives to become accustomed to. Its clutch has a high engagement point, and during initial use, it can result in rough and jerky shifts in lower gears. Moreover, the gear ratios are high, particularly in first gear, which I feel could be shorter to facilitate quicker shifts into second gear"
https://www.bmwblog.com/2023/04/05/six-speed-manua...
Plus the comments from Throttle House on their review - https://g87.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t...
CRA1G said:
liner33 said:
Agree, BMW manuals are not great, not awful but nothing special and certainly not "M" special. If BMW went to the trouble of engineering a good manual they wouldn't sell the autos
I have to disagree... 452 BHP RWD Manual....
cerb4.5lee said:
CRA1G said:
I think in your case I can see why you went for the manual in your M2, because you already have the auto in the M240i. So it is good to have them feel a bit different to each other I'd imagine. 
and i've done 18,000 miles in the first year,but also i believe the M2 will be the last chance to buy a New Manual ///M car and i do still have my OG M2 DCT...
CRA1G said:
cerb4.5lee said:
CRA1G said:
I think in your case I can see why you went for the manual in your M2, because you already have the auto in the M240i. So it is good to have them feel a bit different to each other I'd imagine. and i've done 18,000 miles in the first year,but also i believe the M2 will be the last chance to buy a New Manual ///M car and i do still have my OG M2 DCT...
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