Congragulations, Henry.

Definitely a nice drivers' car.

Your observations of both the M3 and the Lexus IS-F are pretty much the conclusions I came to, in reviews.

Now get yourself a bottle of SCRATCH-OUT to keep the white paint nice. If it is not available in your area, PM me with name/address, and I'll send you one (like I have others)

 

great review and now time to really enjoy the M3

 

i will take a credit on the scratch-out i am still waiting for the one for my gs350, hehee j/k

still learning and enjoying the car, especially the driving part. for sure every time i change from the m3 to the gs, it gets a bit "dangerous" coz' i expect too much

 

Is the GS350 an AWD model? If so, it will go through situations where you'll want to leave the M3 in the garage....although SoCal doesn't normally get much in the way of icy roads.

Just out of curiosity, now that you are an M3 owner, do you think it is worth the extra $$$$$ over the 335i? That is something that I and many others have discussed back-and-forth before on CAR CHAT.

 

no way i get awd on the gs, that's a waste. rwd for me all the way . and to be honest, even with an awd gs350, it stands no change with the m3. my m3 can literally run circles around any gs in handling

i will get back on the 335

 

on the 335 vs m3, here's my thoughts.

to ME: the extra money is well well worth it to choose the m3 over the 335. i didn't mention about the 335 in my review because i honestly think they are in totally different league, but i have driven the 335 quite a few times too and i could tell the dramatic difference

one thing i'd admit is the e9x 335 vs m3 is a much much closer race than the previous e46 330 vs m3. that's probably why the discussions. but i think a lot of people fail to really experience for themselves the difference, and at the same time focus too much on certain aspect -- namely speed

the 335 is a fast car in acceleration. and of course, a chipped one, as i said before, will walk away from the m3 easily, it's been proven many times. however, the m3 isn't a drag car, it's a track car if anything.

putting the balance, dynamics, feedback, etc... of the m3 into the equation, and that's a complete winner for me over the 335. the steering is even more precise, the turn ratio is far better, the car is more rigid and balanced, response is much quicker, brakes are also more sensitive, etc... all those extras are what you can't get in the 335

msrp wise, a reasonable loaded 335 is around 48k? similarly equipped m3 is probably around 70k. with the 20k difference on msrp (market price will vary), to me it's worth it

NOW, with that said, for most people out there, it could be a very different story. for most people the 335 is probably a much smarter choice over the m3. i think you just have to be in that small category of people where driving is a passion, not a necessity, in order to truly appreciate the extra money put in. otherwise, for an everyday joe to get a m3 and just drive it like 335, that's a big waste

 

oh btw, another quick example of the m3 capability. there is this freeway intersection ramp. in my sc430 (modded), gs400 (heavily modded), gs350 (modded), and ls460l (modded), i could never go faster than 70mph taking the turn. any faster, i don't feel safe anymore and i could feel the cars started to slide

but with my m3, without the m mode, i can go 85mph and the car just takes the turn like it's nothing, and i know the car can go even faster. and imagine if i set the m mode on the car as well

of course all my previous cars are no match to the m3 in performance, but i was pleasantly surprised

 

I remember back when the 335i was the internet king and the M3 just came out. So many people were saying how you could buy the 335i, have it chipped, and it'll be as good as an M3 for a lot less money. They dont realize what comes with the M3.. and warranty is a nice thing too! Funny how they rip on the M3 saying it's overpriced compared to the 335i, yet they somehow justify the price difference between the IS-F and IS350?

Henry, if you can get up to 85mph on the ramp, imagine what the coupe could do with less weight.

 

With this kind of talk you will need to borrow my fire retardant suit that I've been wearing for 3 years

That rounel I tell you

 

Your thread made me pause to revisit Inside Line's S5 vs M3 Couple comparison... then looked at the weather forecast here (6" snow expected)... the S5 still wins my heart but that is a MACHINE!!!

 

To make any further comments, I'd have to see the ramp you are talking about, how sharp the curve was, what kind of pavement it has (concrete usually gives better tire traction then smooth, non-serrated asphalt), and whether it was banked or not, but, in general, 85 MPH is really pushing, no matter what you are driving.

 

Sick car... Gotta post more picts, especially with the top down...

 

very good point henry. i also heard my fair share of it. in fact, i will admit that when the m3 came out, i was away swayed towards thinking a chipped 335 is worth so much more for the money (yup, guilty)

but later on i researched more, studied more, and tried out the m3. and things completely changed. now i understand what the m3 is really offering and how i should look and justify the car.

and yeah, i always wonder if today i am given the e92 with cf room (the best setup), what would it be like. when i take that ramp, i am 400lb heavier with a lot of extra weight at the top!

hahaha well, i am telling what i think so people can choose to agree/disagree

i will also admit that with the m3, i tend to drive more aggressively. there have been more than a few cars who want to play with me. i won't post details, but let's just say i haven't had the need to go crazy yet

oh that's very good point actually, awd. very true that being here in cali, awd is not much of a benefit to me. but over there in snowy areas? i am sure awd is far superior. and in that case the s5 is a much much better choice

well, it's a comparison between my cars, so doesn't matter about the surface since i am not talking about what the max can be. i don't want to go much faster neither, not worth it.

 

Love it: RHT M3 and white! I love it. Have lots of fun.

 

Which fwy intersection? Let me try.