Why so much love for the 911 and M3/M4 in the motoring press
Discussion
Why so much love for these cars in the motoring press? I appreciate that both BMW and Porsche have a proven track record for making above average driver's cars but it seems with the latest M3/M4 and 911, BMW and Porsche may have dropped the ball somewhat...and yet, they are still winning group tests. As I currently live abroad, Evo is the only UK car magazine that I currently subscribe to digitally but whereas the new M3 had a dismal showing in ECOTY coming close to last and bettered by a Golf and Megane, it's still winning group tests against cars such as the Jaguar F-Type (2nd in ECOTY) and recently the Audi RS5 and new Lexus RCF. Reading that article, the RS5 was praised for its charismatic engine and improved handling (something the M3 used to have covered rather well). I was convinced from what I read in the article that the RS5 would walk it but in the conclusion, the M4 won because it was faster in a straight line and better on track (but flawed on typical UK roads and with a dull-sounding engine).
Likewise, the latest 911 GT3 won ECOTY 2013, despite not being as good as the old one in many respects and the 911 in general seems to receive adulation despite there being better looking (Vantage and R8), more powerful (R8, AMG GT and GTR) and better value (GTR) cars out there for similar money. I like the new rear styling of the 911 but the rest of the styling is just a caricature of the classic 911-style (if you want a good-looking 911, you need to go back to a 993 or earlier IMHO).
Finally, in a recent group test of sports coupes, the new VW Golf-based FWD Audi TT and Peugeot 308-based Peugeot RCZ won out over proper RWD sports cars (Subaru BRZ and Nissan 370Z). The Audi would almost certainly be more comfortable to live with than the Subaru or Nissan but isn`t that kind of missing the point. If you want more comfort or practicality, a VW Scirocco would do the job better for much less money.
Am I missing something here (as I used to have a high regard for their opinion) or are the motoring press (particularly Evo) losing the plot.
Likewise, the latest 911 GT3 won ECOTY 2013, despite not being as good as the old one in many respects and the 911 in general seems to receive adulation despite there being better looking (Vantage and R8), more powerful (R8, AMG GT and GTR) and better value (GTR) cars out there for similar money. I like the new rear styling of the 911 but the rest of the styling is just a caricature of the classic 911-style (if you want a good-looking 911, you need to go back to a 993 or earlier IMHO).
Finally, in a recent group test of sports coupes, the new VW Golf-based FWD Audi TT and Peugeot 308-based Peugeot RCZ won out over proper RWD sports cars (Subaru BRZ and Nissan 370Z). The Audi would almost certainly be more comfortable to live with than the Subaru or Nissan but isn`t that kind of missing the point. If you want more comfort or practicality, a VW Scirocco would do the job better for much less money.
Am I missing something here (as I used to have a high regard for their opinion) or are the motoring press (particularly Evo) losing the plot.
2 reasons.
1 - A motor writing gets... some £16-20k, certainly to start with - I know because I looked long and hard at it.
The good bits about the job, though, are A) Going abroad B) Driving nice cars and C) Having something to write about.
A B and C happen because the manufacturers "invite" you to come and test their product and, if you're lucky, they might "invite" you to run one as a long-term test car. It's a relationship that benefits all parties. The staff get something to drive, the magazine gets articles to sell, the manufacturer gets publicity. But it's hardly likely to result in blunt objective and honest appraisals. I mean, if you have a job as a writer you're hardly likely to p
s off your employer and slag off the only people who let you do your job. I mean, you have a family to feed and the real world isn't so simple. Not everyone is as rich as Clarkson and can afford to be so blatant.
2 - The other reason is pure human nature and it comes down to this. You go to a car launch for two new cars. The cars are, underneath, pretty similar. One car you have never heard of - it is Chinese-made and it's just left there, parked with the keys in. No-one knows what it is, it's ugly, and no-one seems to care much about it. You drive it and go home. For the other car, it's different. After you finish a fresh local breakfast you are taken for an on-the-limit lap of the Nurburgring by Walter Rohl who explains why this car is so great. Then you're invited to drive all the previous generations of the car including the current racing version. The least-socially-inept technical gurus then treat you to a detailed but fascinating explanation of the changes that have been made for this model, over a nice lunch. And in the afternoon you get to see the workshop and tour the "secret development prototypes" museum for another story you're writing. Finally, as you leave, the host introduces you to his family and says he might invite you to be the first to drive their new hybrid supercar, in a month's time, but he will have to check his diary and get back to you. Everyone has been really awesome and friendly though, it's such a great company. What a day, you can't wait for the next one. That hostess genuinely seemed like you. You enjoyed yourself, got to put some pics on your personal facebook and for a while you even forgot that your wife is having someone else's baby. You just know your readers can't wait to hear this story and the boss will be delighted. So, now, which car is going to seem like the best one? Can you really bluntly say to this successful company with all these experts and racing drivers and lovely people that you thought the car drove like crap? What would everyone say? What will your boss say? What would your wife say? This is human nature and it's backed up by a seemingly infinite amount of research recently.
Having said that (and with the mannetino set back to fantasy mode = 'off') I've driven both and they're not terrible. The M4, while incredibly disappointing, is very fast and a desirable commuting workhorse. The 991 is okay, I think it may grow on us.
1 - A motor writing gets... some £16-20k, certainly to start with - I know because I looked long and hard at it.
The good bits about the job, though, are A) Going abroad B) Driving nice cars and C) Having something to write about.
A B and C happen because the manufacturers "invite" you to come and test their product and, if you're lucky, they might "invite" you to run one as a long-term test car. It's a relationship that benefits all parties. The staff get something to drive, the magazine gets articles to sell, the manufacturer gets publicity. But it's hardly likely to result in blunt objective and honest appraisals. I mean, if you have a job as a writer you're hardly likely to p
s off your employer and slag off the only people who let you do your job. I mean, you have a family to feed and the real world isn't so simple. Not everyone is as rich as Clarkson and can afford to be so blatant.2 - The other reason is pure human nature and it comes down to this. You go to a car launch for two new cars. The cars are, underneath, pretty similar. One car you have never heard of - it is Chinese-made and it's just left there, parked with the keys in. No-one knows what it is, it's ugly, and no-one seems to care much about it. You drive it and go home. For the other car, it's different. After you finish a fresh local breakfast you are taken for an on-the-limit lap of the Nurburgring by Walter Rohl who explains why this car is so great. Then you're invited to drive all the previous generations of the car including the current racing version. The least-socially-inept technical gurus then treat you to a detailed but fascinating explanation of the changes that have been made for this model, over a nice lunch. And in the afternoon you get to see the workshop and tour the "secret development prototypes" museum for another story you're writing. Finally, as you leave, the host introduces you to his family and says he might invite you to be the first to drive their new hybrid supercar, in a month's time, but he will have to check his diary and get back to you. Everyone has been really awesome and friendly though, it's such a great company. What a day, you can't wait for the next one. That hostess genuinely seemed like you. You enjoyed yourself, got to put some pics on your personal facebook and for a while you even forgot that your wife is having someone else's baby. You just know your readers can't wait to hear this story and the boss will be delighted. So, now, which car is going to seem like the best one? Can you really bluntly say to this successful company with all these experts and racing drivers and lovely people that you thought the car drove like crap? What would everyone say? What will your boss say? What would your wife say? This is human nature and it's backed up by a seemingly infinite amount of research recently.
Having said that (and with the mannetino set back to fantasy mode = 'off') I've driven both and they're not terrible. The M4, while incredibly disappointing, is very fast and a desirable commuting workhorse. The 991 is okay, I think it may grow on us.
Having had an M3 but not the 991 I wasn't impressed even after an Akrapovic Exhaust etc it still only stayed 3 months I was very disappointed with it. It didn't feel special enough at low speed the interior wasn't special enough & I failed to find a suspension set up I was happy with, unlike the OH C63 which put a smile on your face on start up.
I liked the look of the car especially the rear arches which are more pronounced than on the M4 IMO & when you got on it it was a great car but didn't feel special for enough of the time.
I liked the look of the car especially the rear arches which are more pronounced than on the M4 IMO & when you got on it it was a great car but didn't feel special for enough of the time.
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