2012 E92 M3 or 2014 435i??

[grarno]

I'm currently in the market for a sports coupe with back seats, and both the E92 M3 and 435i can be bought for around the same money, i.e. just above £30k. I have driven the M3 on track before and love the V8 engine, but performance at least on paper from the more recent 435i is very close and the interior and technology seem to be much better and might make a better everyday proposition. Thoughts?

[Wills2]

The M3 especially a CP car will feel quite different to the 435i, close on performance but I would drive them both as the numbers only tell a limited story.

The chassis/brakes/suspension/diff etc add an awful lot to the M experience.

[cerb4.5lee]

Wills2 said:

The chassis/brakes/suspension/diff etc add an awful lot to the M experience.

Agree with this too, maybe for everyday usability though I would say the 435i would edge it for me because the M3 isn't the easiest thing to get the best from on the road but I would prefer the M3 if being used as a second car.

[rassi]

Had the same dilemma some weeks ago, though it was between a new M135i LCI or a 2011 M3 Competition pack. Chose the M3 and love it! Fuel economy is maybe not great but reckon that the M3 V8 is one of the great engines and last NA M engine and coupled with the DCT the relative lack of low down torque is simply not an issue. Epic car!

PS: get the 2 pipe exhaust mod done, it is a huge improvement on the top muted stock exhaust and makes the car. Google Paul the Welder or search M3cutters for this amazingly cheap mod (I paid 110 euro)

[cerb4.5lee]

rassi said:

PS: get the 2 pipe exhaust mod done, it is a huge improvement on the top muted stock exhaust and makes the car. Google Paul the Welder or search M3cutters for this amazingly cheap mod (I paid 110 euro)

The exhaust noise or lack of it was one of the gripes for me but I had a V8 M3 alongside me the other day in Mansfield(grey one) and it had some sort of custom rear box on it and it sounded totally amazing and I couldn't believe how good and massively loud it was.

I thought to myself that it was exactly what I would have wanted from mine and it was pretty much TVR loud...not sure how pleasant it would be at a motorway cruise though but it did prove to me that you can get them to sound like a V8 if you really want too.

I was well impressed because noise plays a big part of the ownership experience for me and that would have left a big smile on my face for sure, from what I have read the OEM mod is a cracking cost effective mod too

[johnny m3]

rassi said:

Had the same dilemma some weeks ago, though it was between a new M135i LCI or a 2011 M3 Competition pack. Chose the M3 and love it! Fuel economy is maybe not great but reckon that the M3 V8 is one of the great engines and last NA M engine and coupled with the DCT the relative lack of low down torque is simply not an issue. Epic car!

PS: get the 2 pipe exhaust mod done, it is a huge improvement on the top muted stock exhaust and makes the car. Google Paul the Welder or search M3cutters for this amazingly cheap mod (I paid 110 euro)

+1 for the M3 and the exhaust mod, I did the 2.5 mod myself and paid £40 to have it welded up again it has transformed the car and now sounds amazing.

[dvshannow]

The M performance exhaust is a great addition to the car, the oem is a good value way to spice up the soundtrack but I think bmw did a really good job on their exhaust.. It's made from inconel which gives it an exotic and pretty unique sound and it's great when cruising a as well with little drone. In addition it looks great too

Only think it's so rare as it's fairly expensive for a non performance enhancing addition