RE: BMW X3 M Competition vs. Jaguar F-Pace SVR

[Richales]

Well, I've covered just over 10k miles in my F-Pace SVR and really have thoroughly enjoyed them. The reduced mass has even made it not quite so painful on the wallet as the RRSport SVR.

I tend to only keep my cars 12 month or so and so have been considering selling the Jag for something similar. However, knowing the JLR V8 SC will soon only feature in history books makes me really want to keep hold of this one. I genuinely think that even if the BMW twin turbo V8 has oodles more power than the V8SC it'll still be dull. The early SVRs will be the ones to have and then should help the otherwise fairly hefty depreciation..... I hope!

As for the X3M..... no thanks.

[DonkeyApple]

sh33n said:

DonkeyApple said:

I think some people just get confused between height and width. I have fond memories of a spanner in a Merc that was a foot wide than my car and considerably longer being terribly confused by his issue with parking his behemoth next to my much smaller but taller car and then becoming visibly over emotional when it was pointed out to him that he was as thick as mince.

I know what you mean on that. My X3M must be a touch wider and longer than my F80 M3 but still fits in my garage so we’re talking a couple of CM here.

The X3 is no M3 but the overall trade off is quite small when the benefits are balanced. I’ve warmed to mine far more than I thought I would as it was bought more for us to ferry kids about with a view of still being enjoyable for me and it ticks all those boxes.

Jag does look better, but I’ve not seen good things about Jag quality and I’ve had 6 BMWs on the bounce with no issues.

I think that’s the thing a lot of people don’t fully appreciate, the real utility of these things. With one car you can have a practical van for shipping children left right and centre, it then functions easily as the holiday fun bus as well but then unlike the Mariva, Alhambra and other vans you can specify one with a stupid engine and some serious performance so that when you get the chance to get behind the wheel on your own you can garner some pleasure.

I keep ending up back with BMWs when I need a simple, reliable car for family duties and the reason being that they offer the one thing that many don’t whichbis a choice of pokey petrol engines, also in my case in a RWD package. In my mind they are the German Ford but with RWD, proper shaped and sized engines and in a boring shell that isn’t shouty. In the mid 90s I ran a 540. That was a good that just did what you expected of it. Around 2005 I bought a 130 as I had need of an urban runabout and this was the only hatchback with the type of engine I like and RWD. And just before Christmas I bought a 340 estate. An additional factor to that car being that it actually had a handbrake handle which I thought was a nice antiquated touch.

I like their SUVs. I think the 5 is a good solid car but for me the classic BMW ride doesn’t translate well into the SUV shape. That’s because in my mind an SUV is about wafting with the backing of oodles of power. It’s aboit a serenity that BMW’s chosen set up doesn’t seem to give you but it’s something that Jaguar have always excelled at along with more pleasant interiors at the same price point.

I don’t quite get what is going on with BMW’s styling at the moment. The new 1 looks a bit odd but now it’s FWD and 4 pot it offers nothing over anyone else and I’d probably get an EV if/when I next need a hatchback. There is some kind of seriously ugly Motobility wagon that I keep seeing around that is monumentally gopping. Some kind of crossover for weird old blokes or those younger types who have satchels and spend a lot of time hunting their own reflection. The X3 doesn’t seem the best looking and I toyed with getting one bit in the end, not needing another SUV and the fact that the estate was significantly cheaper and would do the same job I went for that. However, if there had been a need for the wife to share it then and I think this is another thing that some people don’t appreciate which is that if you are 6’2 and your wife is 5’2 then the seating position of an SUV allows a short arse to see all around while still allowing a normal height human to set a comfortable driving position. In the similar sized saloon or estate the family midget can never get the seat and driving position to a point where they feel comfortable and can see clearly all around.

[nickfrog]

Ares said:

I think it's just the noise of brain cells exploding in the narrow minds of those people who are so uninterested in SUVs, they can't but help telling people how uninterested they are on every single SUV thread.

Not sure the noise will last very long given the apparently low brain cell count...

[smithyithy]

What does Competition even mean?

[aeropilot]

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

More expensive, different badge, marketing bullst........

[GT119]

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

It allows you to park on the zig zags directly outside the school gates.

[cerb4.5lee]

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

Every set of traffic lights turns into a race with whatever is next to you...it probably doesn't mean that but if I had one that's what I'd do!

[DonkeyApple]

Shouldn’t it be ‘Kompetition’ anyway?

[J4CKO]

aeropilot said:

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

More expensive, different badge, marketing bullst........

For an M4 at least, it means,

A bit more power
Steering is recalibrated
Dampers recalibrated
Different Springs
Different Anti Roll bars
Different wheels
Recalibrated diff
Recalibrated ESP
Different Seats/belts
M Sport exhaust
Different external trim plus a badge !

Bit more than just marketing, generally regarded as a better car than the none Competition variant, but really they should put all the good bits in the standard product.

[sh33n]

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

In the UK we only get the Competition spec, in other markets you can a non comp.

Basically it’s more power and black bits rather than chrome, also I think a ‘sports’ exhaust.

[J4CKO]

sh33n said:

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

In the UK we only get the Competition spec, in other markets you can a non comp.

Basically it’s more power and black bits rather than chrome, also I think a ‘sports’ exhaust.

M2 Comp has a different engine than the non comp car.

[Wills2]

J4CKO said:

sh33n said:

smithyithy said:

What does Competition even mean?

In the UK we only get the Competition spec, in other markets you can a non comp.

Basically it’s more power and black bits rather than chrome, also I think a ‘sports’ exhaust.

M2 Comp has a different engine than the non comp car.

The M2C is the only M2 you can buy new so that doesn't make sense, the M2 was dropped and replaced by the M2C which was a facelift with a new engine etc...(or rather a detuned S55).