RE: PH Blog: joy of specs

[10 Pence Short]

300bhp/ton said:

I'm not really a new car buyer, so I'm probably out of touch with prices.

Personally I think £27k is steep for the GT86 and I certainly wouldn't with my own money. Had it been £20-21k then I might well have looked seriously.

That said, I did check the BMW website a couple of days ago. For over £29,000 they'll sell you a no faster, low HP (184) Z4. By comparison the GT86 suddenly doesn't look so over priced.

How much is the new M135i?

[TinyCappo]

It should have been at that price. What went wrong was the yen becoming so strong that it was almost impossible to sell them for that price.

As has been said check drive the deal for a new 370Z with all the toys for the price of a new Gt86. Suddenly thats comparing apples with apples and one definetly looks way under par.

[300bhp/ton]

10 Pence Short said:

How much is the new M135i?

For the coupe the BMW website says just over £32k, so quite a bit more. Also having looked at the GT86 there are practically no options, I'm willing to bet if you started looking at the BMW you'd end up wanting more or buying a spec you didn't really want just to keep the price down.

The new 3 door hatch is a little cheaper starting price @ £29,995 but if I was looking for a "coupe" it wouldn't even be on the radar let alone an alternative. The BMW website doesn't seem to list options or have a build your car option for the M135i, but I can't believe there are none. So again I suspect once you've got it how you want it you'll likely be talking £5k more than the GT86. Enough that for many it won't register as an alternative despite not being a coupe. Undeniably a good car I'm sure though.

[SSBB]

IAJO said:

47mpg??? Really? If thats right 350z will be the next car i buy. Everything I've read said 25mpg is realistic and ive seen less than that reported on forums.

If there is one thing I have learned in life, it's don't believe anything anyone writes on forums about mpg. If they are managing to get 47mpg out of a heavy 3.7l V6, imagine what they could get from a light 2.0l I4. For every person getting 40mpg from their unusual commute, there will be 10 people getting 20mpg. Hell, I only managed a 31mpg average out of my diesel XF!

FWIW, to people saying that the BMW is only £6k more etc, try saying that when it is your £6k on the table, and not just an imaginary £6k on a forum. It is not insignificant. The Toyota is expensive, but so are all new cars these days. You don't get much Golf or Mondeo for £25k+ anymore. Have you seen how much an Accord will set you back?

[elementad]

IAJO said:

leon9191 said:

Iv driven they gt86 and brz and i use my 350z every day on a 60mile comute. The gt and brz are great, sweet chassis but u have really got to work the motor to get moving and i think it wud be frustrating after a while. The only reason i wud have one over the nissan is fuel and wen u consider i saw a peak of 47mpg thismorning that dropped to a 38 average in the 350z at normal traffic speeds the argument is over.

47mpg??? Really? If thats right 350z will be the next car i buy. Everything I've read said 25mpg is realistic and ive seen less than that reported on forums.

If your doing motorway miles you can easily get into 40 odd mpg. It's a big engine that just ticks above idle at motorway speeds.
It's when you hammer the throttle down a country lane that you'll see the fuel usage monitor dip into low teens. I've said it before but in the real world I've not noticed much difference in fuel usage than my old S2000, which isn't to say the S2000 was a planet killer/ice cap melter but more that people have a stigma that when they read "V6" they think it needs it's own tanker and eats children.

I know this because I chose my old s2000 instead of a 350z years ago.

Been running a 370z GT now for over a year and it keeps me happy.

[otolith]

300bhp/ton said:

That said, I did check the BMW website a couple of days ago. For over £29,000 they'll sell you a no faster, low HP (184) Z4. By comparison the GT86 suddenly doesn't look so over priced.

That's not beyond a joke, though, and nor is are the slower TTs, because they wear German badges and are therefore outstanding value for money.

[Dave Hedgehog]

i would take the 370Z every time, especially as new GT cars can be picked up for the same price as the toyobaru

[Captain Muppet]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

The thing with the toyobaru is, it's marketed as "affordable performance" & it's just not.

I know comparing second hand cars to new is futile, but Shirley if "affordable performance" is your priority, it's where you'll end up looking.

27 grand for one of them is faintly rediculous, we were at the ring on Monday & they had the launch event there, it's a smart looking thing I'll give you that. But that performance for that price? It's beyond a joke.

As said if it was 20-22 grand I could kind of see the attraction.

Could the internet please agree whether the GT86 is too slow or too expensive. It's seems to be hammered for both, but surely it's just one or the other.

[jsr]

300bhp/ton said:

10 Pence Short said:

How much is the new M135i?

For the coupe the BMW website says just over £32k, so quite a bit more. Also having looked at the GT86 there are practically no options, I'm willing to bet if you started looking at the BMW you'd end up wanting more or buying a spec you didn't really want just to keep the price down.

The new 3 door hatch is a little cheaper starting price @ £29,995 but if I was looking for a "coupe" it wouldn't even be on the radar let alone an alternative. The BMW website doesn't seem to list options or have a build your car option for the M135i, but I can't believe there are none. So again I suspect once you've got it how you want it you'll likely be talking £5k more than the GT86. Enough that for many it won't register as an alternative despite not being a coupe. Undeniably a good car I'm sure though.

You can build an M135i even though it doesn't specifically give a link to the configurator - just select one of the other 1 series models first, then choose the M135i from the list.

This is definitely going to be my next car. It's a VERY good spec for a BMW as standard and really good value at just under £30k. My spec comes out at just under £33k and i have only really left out the Satnav. I want the 8-speed auto for the full 0-60mph of 4.9secs

[300bhp/ton]

jsr said:

You can build an M135i even though it doesn't specifically give a link to the configurator - just select one of the other 1 series models first, then choose the M135i from the list.

This is definitely going to be my next car. It's a VERY good spec for a BMW as standard and really good value at just under £30k. My spec comes out at just under £33k and i have only really left out the Satnav. I want the 8-speed auto for the full 0-60mph of 4.9secs

Sounds nice, but that's still £5000 more than the GT86, which in percentage terms is quite a chunk extra money.

[BBS-LM]

RudeDog said:

dvs_dave said:

370Z for me. Those Toyobarus are just too wimpy for my tastes.

+1

I totally agree. The Toyobarus are great cars if you are in the market for a Focus ST or something similar, basically if you are a kid who can afford a quickish car. The 370Z is in a different league and comparisons are not really that fair IMO.

Me too, 300Bhp+ is way more fun.

[jsr]

300bhp/ton said:

Sounds nice, but that's still £5000 more than the GT86, which in percentage terms is quite a chunk extra money.

True, and i'm probably going of topic but i had previously been looking at a new Golf GTI which was coming out more than the M135i and with far less options and performance. Another debate for another thread, but the M135i certainly seems good value compared to its competition.

Apologies, now back to the 370Z/Toyobaru! Personally, i love the 370Z, almost a modern TVR, but now i have a son, i cannot justify a 2 seater anymore .

[BuzzLightyear]

Hellbound said:

BuzzLightyear said:

Good point!

If you can really leave the BMW dealership without having ticked ANY options on this, it would definitely be worth considering at just under £30k. Might have a bit of an issue at re-sale time but otherwise a definite contender.


ETA A brand new WRX STi lists at £32,995

Edited by BuzzLightyear on Thursday 9th August 19:48

Drivethedeal has an offer on the SUBARU WRX STI SALOON 2.5 WRX STi Type UK 4dr with alcantara/leather. £27.360 down from £33.495 so that's a saving of £6.135/19%.

A different beast to rwd coupe/hatchbacks though.

That's a cracking deal and where my money would be going.

[300bhp/ton]

jsr said:

True, and i'm probably going of topic but i had previously been looking at a new Golf GTI which was coming out more than the M135i and with far less options and performance. Another debate for another thread, but the M135i certainly seems good value compared to its competition.

Apologies, now back to the 370Z/Toyobaru! Personally, i love the 370Z, almost a modern TVR, but now i have a son, i cannot justify a 2 seater anymore .

If you need back seats for more than occasional use I suspect the M135i is hard to beat at almost any price. And I agree bang per buck wise it does indeed seem great value.

I guess (and I may be wrong) that the GT86 is more targetting:

a) company car drivers (like many RX-8's did)
b) potential fwd hatchback buyers and being the top of that target markets price range

[Si_man306]

Will be replacing my current 350z with this one day- all round fantastic cars!

[otolith]

300bhp/ton said:

b) potential fwd hatchback buyers and being the top of that target markets price range

Yes - obviously to compete at the same price point the hot hatch options need more power, so that's your trade off. Or, you pay a bit more and have a 370Z, swallow some significantly higher running costs, get lots more straight line and a nicer noise but perhaps lose the feel of the GT86/BRZ.

[300bhp/ton]

otolith said:

Yes - obviously to compete at the same price point the hot hatch options need more power, so that's your trade off. Or, you pay a bit more and have a 370Z, swallow some significantly higher running costs, get lots more straight line and a nicer noise but perhaps lose the feel of the GT86/BRZ.

I'm not entirely sure of prices, but as there is no real coupe market to speak of any longer. I'd have thought Toyota/Subaru in the UK would be after people who are considering a Focus ST or Giulietta Cloverleaf but are wanting more driver focus, more sporty looks (i.e. better IMO) but want to retain a some form of practicality.

[otolith]

I think some people buy hot hatches because a hot Focus or Megane isn't that different to the cooking models they are used to - people aren't going to call them a flash git, the ownership experience isn't going to be that different to running lower powered versions, it's a car they can see themselves in. Also, a lot of people go through a phase of simply buying the fastest thing their budget can stretch to, and hot hatches are a lot of bang for your buck. Other people simply need the practicality.

I think coupes are more for the been there/done that, want something else crowd.

[SonicHedgeHog]

I think all 3 Japanese coupes appeal because mainstream hot hatches are now very expensive and German premium hatches are boring and even more expensive. Power outputs and performance are undoubtedly impressive but £30k or more for a hatchback is just too much. At least these coupes look special and road tests on all of them are largely positive.

[otolith]

I just can't get over the difference in price between performance variants of mundane cars and their humbler brethren with which they share so much hardware. Not just hot hatches, but M-cars and other fast saloons too. That looks like more of a piss-take than trying to sell a relatively low volume coupe on a dedicated rwd platform for 25k.