GT86 owners - did you consider/drive a M135i?
Discussion
Drove both the GT86 and the M135. Enjoyed the GT86 but went for the BM, main reason was I felt the GT was under powered. The BMW is a great handling car and its limits are harder to reach than in the GT.
I am now however looking to buy another car (£20k ish) to run around in and do some track days so the GT is back on my list, but can't help feeling its going to be to under powered, also looking at used Lotus Exige, Porsche cayman S and the Porsche 968. Toyota will be the cheapest to run as its the newest, has skinny tyres and Toyota reliability. But will it keep my interest over time.....?
I am now however looking to buy another car (£20k ish) to run around in and do some track days so the GT is back on my list, but can't help feeling its going to be to under powered, also looking at used Lotus Exige, Porsche cayman S and the Porsche 968. Toyota will be the cheapest to run as its the newest, has skinny tyres and Toyota reliability. But will it keep my interest over time.....?
otolith said:
From the 135i coupe thread;
The performance is deceptive, especially when joining a motorway, dual carriageway. It's in license losing territory without even trying
The highlight so far was the journey down to Goodwood for Supercar Sunday, I was in a 8-10 car Ferrari convoy, what a morning...I was gutted when we actually got to GoodwoodSee the bold bits - some people want playful rather than planted and see being insulated from the speed of the car as a bad thing.
Well said.Snowman23 said:
Timbola said:
Picked up a 135i Coupé nigh on 12 months ago, a shade under £15k from AUC, with 49k on the clock.
Best all-round package I've owned. And one of the main reasons I bought it was for its looks, which I love.
Performance is suprisingly subtle, as others have commented. The twin turbos of the N54 block are hardly noticeable, as is the 306bhp. It's only a shocked glance at the speedo that belies the eye-watering pace.
Feels planted, and I have every confidence in the corners. Though the great big lumps of torque at the rear wheels can put the car sideways before the DTC kicks in however, especially in the wet.
To date I have not been obliged to fully test the ridiculous six-pot front brakes. Fortunately.
It's a smile-every-drive car.
Couldn't agree more, I've had mine 3 months, and loving it. I came from a mk 6 Golf GTI, and it is a nice upgrade in all areas.Best all-round package I've owned. And one of the main reasons I bought it was for its looks, which I love.
Performance is suprisingly subtle, as others have commented. The twin turbos of the N54 block are hardly noticeable, as is the 306bhp. It's only a shocked glance at the speedo that belies the eye-watering pace.
Feels planted, and I have every confidence in the corners. Though the great big lumps of torque at the rear wheels can put the car sideways before the DTC kicks in however, especially in the wet.
To date I have not been obliged to fully test the ridiculous six-pot front brakes. Fortunately.
It's a smile-every-drive car.
The performance is deceptive, especially when joining a motorway, dual carriageway. It's in license losing territory without even trying
The highlight so far was the journey down to Goodwood for Supercar Sunday, I was in a 8-10 car Ferrari convoy, what a morning...I was gutted when we actually got to Goodwood
It's all about sensations rather than numbers. Who cares what you've just done 30-70 in? Nobody's timing you on the road and there are no readouts telling you (in most cars anyway). What matters, if you find acceleration fun, is what it feels like when you accelerate. As you rightly say, it's actually better to have a slow car that feels fast as you get to enjoy it legally.
daveknott5 said:
Interested to know of any GT86 owners who test drove an M135i when considering which car was for them.... Anybody try one? The M135i seems to offer a far nicer interior, a better stereo, better build quality, MUCH more accelerative power, a straight six sound, more practicality - and can still do tail out stuff. The major downside is the looks, but even taking the M135i's slightly greater cost into the equation (£30k new vs 25k), an M135i can be had nearly new for £25k.
So - taking all that into account - what made you still go for the GT86?
Just spent ten minutes using the BMW configurator; I can't find a proper M car so I assume it's the 135i M Sport Coupe we're talking about.So - taking all that into account - what made you still go for the GT86?
I went through the options to match my GT86 and the BMW came out at £36,635 OTR click - my GT86 was £27,795.
£8,840 is not the kind of money I'm likely to find down the back of the sofa.
RobM77 said:
It's all about sensations rather than numbers. Who cares what you've just done 30-70 in? Nobody's timing you on the road and there are no readouts telling you (in most cars anyway). What matters, if you find acceleration fun, is what it feels like when you accelerate. As you rightly say, it's actually better to have a slow car that feels fast as you get to enjoy it legally.spameister said:
I appreciate that this website is based in the U.K. and relative prices are different there but in Australia my BRZ cost me $37,150 drive away where as a M135 starts at $81,198 so they are not comparable here.
Wowsers!! Well that just makes me want the Bimmer even more..Edited by spameister on Thursday 11th July 13:09
Interesting thread, I have a GT86 as my daily driver, and a 996 C4S as a weekend toy. Very different cars , of course, but the GT86 is so much more "fun" to drive as it is lighter, more agile, the controls are lighter, easier to heel and toe, much easier B road blasting, and because it's going so much slower, you can concentrate on braking points, lines, corner speeds etc.In the faster car you are doing far more point and squirt, mainly cos you've got so much more squirt available and arrive at corners so much faster you have to concentrate on the speed, not the rest of it. Which is the more fun, the Toyota, no question. Does it have any wow factor, no, not really. I haven't driven a 135i, but in reality, any hopped up shopping car is going to be full of compromises as it has an inherent problem designed in. Would I want one, no. I like BMW straight 6's, I had one for 5 years, but I don't like turbo charged cars. Does the GT86 need a turbo, NO, it'd ruin the car, supercharger, that'd be interesting, there's something about naughtily wringing out a high revving engine and finding all the juicy stuff. If the GT86 had 250 brake, I'd sell the 911,that's how good the car itself is.
To be fair though, I'm not sure any kids have pictures of four seater practical cars on their bedroom walls!Shurv said:
Interesting thread, I have a GT86 as my daily driver, and a 996 C4S as a weekend toy. Very different cars , of course, but the GT86 is so much more "fun" to drive as it is lighter, more agile, the controls are lighter, easier to heel and toe, much easier B road blasting, and because it's going so much slower, you can concentrate on braking points, lines, corner speeds etc.In the faster car you are doing far more point and squirt, mainly cos you've got so much more squirt available and arrive at corners so much faster you have to concentrate on the speed, not the rest of it. Which is the more fun, the Toyota, no question. Does it have any wow factor, no, not really. I haven't driven a 135i, but in reality, any hopped up shopping car is going to be full of compromises as it has an inherent problem designed in. Would I want one, no. I like BMW straight 6's, I had one for 5 years, but I don't like turbo charged cars. Does the GT86 need a turbo, NO, it'd ruin the car, supercharger, that'd be interesting, there's something about naughtily wringing out a high revving engine and finding all the juicy stuff. If the GT86 had 250 brake, I'd sell the 911,that's how good the car itself is.
You lucky b
d!! You have two of my fav cars (and i don't have none of those). Damn. 
Is it 996 as fun to drive at lower speed as GT86? I get that you have a c4s, which is more stable and so on than standard carrera. I'm thinking to get a base carrera with manua transmission. Only other option is GT86 but it is lil too expensive here. Only problem is, that i havent test driven carrera yet and i don't know is it as enjoyable as gt86. I loved that little toyota, but same goes for that porsche too (without driving it)...
If i love driving gt86 on the public roads, do i love 996 carrera too?
Edited by LasseV on Monday 29th July 07:31
I have a GT86 so perhaps I am biased. Most people have covered the pro's ans con's here pretty well but I just wanted to add that for £5k you can add a litchfield SC, Fensport turbo or Abbey SC to push power up to around 300HP (+50%) which would make this car quite a bit higher power/weight ratio of the Bimmer (4.9s 0-62 according to Litchfield), and with grippy rubber it has the corning g-force of an M3 (as tested by Edmunds) - add new thicker rubber (nothing crazy, just 225s) and its even faster on the bends but still maintains lovely breakaway feel.
What I am trying to say is if you like the stock GT86, great, but if you are like me and love the car but just want a bit more power/grip (in my case for tracking)there are options available and you needn't be worried about losing the fun factor.
What I am trying to say is if you like the stock GT86, great, but if you are like me and love the car but just want a bit more power/grip (in my case for tracking)there are options available and you needn't be worried about losing the fun factor.
spameister said:
I appreciate that this website is based in the U.K. and relative prices are different there but in Australia my BRZ cost me $37,150 drive away where as a M135 starts at $81,198 so they are not comparable here.
Same in NZ, 86 RRP ranges from ~$50k to ~$65k for the loaded TRD version. BRZ is $49k RRP.Edited by spameister on Thursday 11th July 13:09
Whereas the M135i Hatch is $83,800 RRP and the M135i Coupe is $87,700.
Not remotely comparable!
Test drove the Auto and Manual GT86 (at first I could only get an auto to test). Stepping out of my daily driver Porsche 968 Sport (which I intended to replace), the GT86 still felt disconnected and surprisingly seemed to have too much grip. I really wanted to love it but it just didn't do it for me. I thought about the M135i hatch but at the end of the day it was just too much money (never tested one). I also tested an end of the line Renault Sport Clio 200 Cup (personally I found this more fun than the GT86 but still not quite what I was looking for) and wanted to test a new Fiesta ST but could not get hold of one.
Having previously tested a Porsche Cayman 2.7 it seemed perhaps unsurprisingly in a different league to the others and I went for a low mileage 2008 model for a fair bit less than even a discounted GT86. I've swapped the 19" alloys it came on for some 17" (again the redress the excessive grip!) and love it to bits. The finest daily I've had by a mile and fingers crossed it will not be too cripplingly expensive overall either...
Having previously tested a Porsche Cayman 2.7 it seemed perhaps unsurprisingly in a different league to the others and I went for a low mileage 2008 model for a fair bit less than even a discounted GT86. I've swapped the 19" alloys it came on for some 17" (again the redress the excessive grip!) and love it to bits. The finest daily I've had by a mile and fingers crossed it will not be too cripplingly expensive overall either...
yahtzee said:
I guess if your considering the BMW your head is ruling your heart .. No bad thing .. I wanted a new car a rwd sportscar I knew the gt86 / brz was on the way, just when I could afford it. . No lease my own money , I went gt86 because I liked the front end and interior over the brz . I know the BMW is better built the gt86 is cheap in places and I really mean crap cheap !
I've had it since 1st September .. And would I change it no chance , it's sporty quick enough handles like a go kart with some stickier tyres on. Everyone wants to talk about it and ask questions which is nice ... " is it the new celica ?? "
I started modifying it within weeks ..
I never considered the BMW ..ever .. I'm a Toyota Subaru person with previous of both so that's why.
Ive been hoping to ask an owner on the tyre matter, seems like the only reason why its performance stats weren't in the clio 200 cup area (62 in 6.9 top speed 140mph) was due to the eco tyres. I know that in one of its upgraded forms it gets better rubber and its handling, as you have said is far sharper and even more feel to the steering, but Id be interested to see what it did to its acceleration numbers.I've had it since 1st September .. And would I change it no chance , it's sporty quick enough handles like a go kart with some stickier tyres on. Everyone wants to talk about it and ask questions which is nice ... " is it the new celica ?? "
I started modifying it within weeks ..
I never considered the BMW ..ever .. I'm a Toyota Subaru person with previous of both so that's why.
What tyres have you got at the moment?
Sorry to be off topic!
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