from e92 to 4.3 vantage, do I?

[thehos]

currently have a 11 plate, frozen silver, cp

really liking the vantage, looking for opinions from owners, or better still people who have owned both back to back

[CPBRI]

Personally, would stick with the M3.

[BravoV8V]

On lots of levels, the Vantage will be a compromise (in terms of tech, design age, driving dynamics etc).

But, on another level, it's an Aston. Not a BMW. How important is that to you?


(I went from a string of M3s to my V8V. I'm happy that I made the change).

[krisdelta]

Ex E46 M3 and 4.3 Vantage owner here. Whilst there is no doubt the M3 has superior tech and is more "usable" (it has 4 seats), I found the limits of the E9x M3 far too high to enjoy day to day (and as a result didn't buy one).

I owned my V8 Aston for 3 years, used it daily and covered over 20k miles. The limits for enjoyment (steering feel, noise, sense of occasion) start at far lower speeds in my view, and that for me made it very compelling. Add in the fact it's easy to drive / park, I know what I'd rather put £500 road tax on

You've ticked the M3 box so why not have some fun in an Aston?

[nw28840]

krisdelta said:

Ex E46 M3 and 4.3 Vantage owner here. Whilst there is no doubt the M3 has superior tech and is more "usable" (it has 4 seats), I found the limits of the E9x M3 far too high to enjoy day to day (and as a result didn't buy one).

I owned my V8 Aston for 3 years, used it daily and covered over 20k miles. The limits for enjoyment (steering feel, noise, sense of occasion) start at far lower speeds in my view, and that for me made it very compelling. Add in the fact it's easy to drive / park, I know what I'd rather put £500 road tax on

You've ticked the M3 box so why not have some fun in an Aston?

Also an ex E46 M3 (Cab) owner here, I looked at the E9x M3 (Cab) but in the end went for a 911 C4S Cab. Replaced that with a 4.3 Vantage Coupe after two years and then a year later moved into a 4.3 Vantage Roadster (I missed the roof down experience too much).

Do it....you won't regret it !

[thehos]

I've had 2 e46 m3's and now the e92, just seemed the right thing to do, did think about the Aston when buying the e92, but just didn't suit at the time

I won't be changing to perhaps the summer, won't need the four seats by then and won't be doing anywhere near as many miles

[thehos]

Any opinions on the sport shift?

All my m3's were smg/dct

Also options, wheels/sat nav/red calipers, what is a must?

Am liking the red/black leather as well

[nw28840]

My M3 was SMG , all my cars since then have been manual - so can't comment on the sportshift.
I'd also be interested to hear any comments though as i may have to move out of a manual car into an automatic soon.

Both the Coupe and the Roadster were/are Tungsten Silver with Obsidian Black interior (some say boring...but i love the colour)
Coupe had the "basic" 160w stereo, Roadster has the "Premium" 700w.
Roadster has controls on steering wheel for phone, volume , cruise etc.
Sat Nav is what it is...it works but it's not great. Later cars have the HDD Sat Nav.

Nice options to have in the Roadster, but none of these would be deal breakers in my opinion.

Buy "Grants book", it'll tell you all you need to know about the cars and as has been said many times before....buy on condition.

The Coupe had 25k miles on it when i bought it, had only done 4-5k in the last 3 years and not been serviced. I got it relatively cheap, had the car checked over and serviced by HWM, put two new back tyres on the car and it ran perfectly for the 14 months of ownership and 6000 miles.

I will have owned the Roadster 3 years on March 1st 2015. I bought it at +- 49k , it's now done +- 63k. I pay for the AM Warranty, so that's £1500 per year. I think i'm most likely down on the warranty cost v work done overall and not sure i'll renew the warranty in June 2015 if i do keep hold of the car.

[telum01]

I had an E46 330i for about 4 years and loved it, great all-around car. I wanted to upgrade and was about to order an E92 M3 and ended up test driving a V8V by chance. Immediately cancelled the M3 and began the hunt for a V8V. I appreciate the M3 for what it is, but I've never looked back and never regretted getting the Vantage instead. That's my own experience, yours may differ based on what you want in a car.

[threesixty]

Have you driven one yet?

I drove an E92 M3 for a couple of years and looked at changing it to a 4.3 vantage, the test drive was a total disappointment it just felt so slow (despite a lovely noise) that there was simply no way I could consider it.

The 4.3 vantage is an old car now, I really think you'll find it a big step backwards from your M3.

[JACK6284]

If you have a higher budget the V12 Vantage is a great car. Similar looking to the V8 but much, much more of a performance car. If you are not in a position the liquidate the necessary funds do not test drive one!

[Jon1967x]

It all depends on what you want from a car. An M3 doesn't give the same sense of occasion as any Aston, and having had an M3 on an extended test drive some years ago, I found it comparatively soul-less in comparison. I'm sure A-B the M3 will be quicker, the Sat Nav will be streets ahead even if your M3 has the older style Nav (without the 4 buttons around the dial) and so on, but then the Aston is not a bad car.

The 4.7 makes a jump forward and the car has been continually evolved since launch and there are numerous other tweaks - sports pack suspension, N400, N420 and now N430 versions, V8S, ASM gearbox etc.

The ASM gearbox has 3 iterations - this has steadily improved but is single clutch. The best way to see this is definitely a clutchless manual and as that it works pretty well. My wife has a BMW DCT twin clutch thing and thats smoother, can be easily driven in auto, can give thump in your back gear changes when wanted etc but feels much less of an automated manual.

There aren't really any options to worry about - upgraded hifi is often a fav, Nav is usually on all of them, heated seats is worth checking, parking sensors maybe.. on later cars you're into lightweight bucket sports seats, different suspension and wheel options but I doubt you're looking at that price point if you mention the 4.3 cars. There are bodywork options like different sills but these can be changed readily easily.

The roadster is also pretty stiff so you don't suffer compared to the coupe if you want to head that way.

I'd say try and get an early 4.7 with sports pack if you can afford it as they don't seem to be depreciating much. The extra 40 bhp and upgraded cabin makes it very similar to the current cars.

[thehos]

Thanks guys some really useful stuff there, I know it will be a little slower than the m3

Not driven one yet, suppose I have to find a willing dealer to let me have one for a while

So not many options then, unlike bmw where there are so many, nav and the 700w sound system is a must and pdc

Heated seats would be good

[sooty61]

Agree with a lot already. I had a E46 M3 Cab then went to a 911 C2S Coupe then a C4S 911 PDK Cab. I test drove the E92 but it didn't do it for me. I tested the 4.3 and 4.7 - I found the 4.3 too slow but the 4.7 is much improved. The SatNav on my 2003 M3 was miles better than the 2010 AM one - I soon gave up on it and use my iPhone when I need to. If ultimate performance and modern technology are your thing, stick with BMW, if you want to drive something special, choose an Aston. Although the 4.3 is noticeably slower it is the best sounding...

[bentley01]

I have had two or three M3s over the years and in terms of a general feel good factor there is no comparison. The Aston is in a different league and for me is a much more visceral experience. Outright pace for the 4.7 is good as reflected by performance figures and I would very much doubt if you would ever consider it not fast enough.

[Retman]

thehos said:

currently have a 11 plate, frozen silver, cp

really liking the vantage, looking for opinions from owners, or better still people who have owned both back to back

That'll be me then. Bought a manual e92 M3 soon after they came out and did about 50k miles in it over three years then swapped to a manual 4.3V8V and had that for a couple of years and sold that a couple of years ago after about 15k miles. So 4 years since the M3. Really enjoyed both cars. As has been said M3 has a lot more tech and an absolutely fantastic engine but the 'problem' with that engine was that it really showed its best above 6,000 rpm heading towards the 8,000+ redline when the throttle response was incredible. Can't remember exactly but to be in that range in third gear was 100-120 so not exactly achievable on a daily basis . Would I have one again? Yes
In contrast much less tech on the Aston, no adjustable suspension and harder ride, no different levels of dsc etc and definitely not as quick as the M3 but still quick enough. The difference with the Aston was that whilst the M3 was a very nice BMW- and I really like BM's having had a few, the Aston sounded ( at all revs), looked, felt and even smelled, special (might be corny but true) . As evidence of this I bought it as a daily driver but soon decided it was too 'good' to use for 20k miles a year, not that I didn't think it could do it - fuel consumption in the high teens was comparable with the M3 and whilst servicing was more expensive insurance was cheaper, but a big repair on an Aston will be bigger than a big repair than on an M3 not that I ever had any problem with either. It just deserved better than the daily grind ( and it was a good excuse to buy another car ).
SO both great cars, if you want outright performance ( ie speed), however thick the rose tinted glasses are, the Aston will disappoint against the M3, but if that's not your be all and end all the Aston is a great all round experience, and definitely NOT slow. A budget is a budget but if you could stretch to a 4.7 that would certainly narrow the performance gap if it is a worry.

[BravoV8V]

Retman said:

A budget is a budget but if you could stretch to a 4.7 that would certainly narrow the performance gap if it is a worry.

FYI, a 4.3 can be quite easily modded so that it performs better than a 4.7, for less than the cost difference between a 4.3 & a 4.7.

(You will, however, miss out on the slightly more modern 4.7 interior).

[krisdelta]

I think the vast majority have heated seats and Nav, I had the standard audio and in the coupe found it more than adequete, in the roadster I think the 700w would be a real bonus.

Your best investment in this process is to grab the "Definitive Guide to AM" (sticky at top of AM forum). It's got literally every detail of each MY of car and what the various options get you.

[Speedraser]

I know you're considering a 4.3 V8V, which is a great car (as is the M3). However, it is not easy to mod a 4.3 to exceed the performance of a 4.7. Yes, it's doable, but it's quite a bit of work. I have yet to see anyone prove that only a remap and exhaust will do it.

Also, about the performance "gap" to the E9x M3: the 4.7 doesn't just "narrow" it, it makes the gap disappear. The 4.7 V8V also has a lot more torque than the M3.

Specialness-wise, M3 vs V8V, there really is no comparison.

[BravoV8V]

Speedraser said:

However, it is not easy to mod a 4.3 to exceed the performance of a 4.7. Yes, it's doable, but it's quite a bit of work. I have yet to see anyone prove that only a remap and exhaust will do it.

You're looking in the wrong places then.