Tested: '21 Mustang Mach 1 vs '23 Z Performance vs '22 GR Supra 3.0 vs '22 M240i Comparison Review

[OppoLock]

Are you (whoever originally wrote it) driving a stake bed truck with a split axle? Quit making this more difficult than it needs to be.

lol, it's from the fast and furious

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[TeeLew]

Copy, never watched it & don't plan to.

 

[Schwerin]

Copy, never watched it & don't plan to.

Its the only way to ever see the rare 7spd manual Eclipse.

 

[Medsport]

The M240i actually has better rear seating than the Mustang. I would consider the M240i if they offered a manual.

I never really looked into a BMW before, but that M240i looks almost perfect to me as far as AWD, quick with turbo that is easier to gain power than NA, decent mileage and to top it off slightly less expensive than the way I optioned my 1320 (57k). The only thing I don't like is no cooled seats, wtf? and the front end looks a little weird to me. I'm in the process of trying to find a cheap winter beater truck for the winter, but one of those my be passable year round.

 

[analogman]

Having driven an M240i it’s an absolute hoot to drive. Very quick, handles well, and I don’t think it is as uncomfortable as they make it out to be. Oh, and in today’s land of $5.00+ gas, it will get or exceed the advertised 32 MPG highway and over 20 city. Heck, my wife’s X3 M40i is rated at 26 MPG highway and gets 28+ all day long and 20+in the city

With that said, the Mach 1 would be the car I’d want to own out of the four. Styling and performance along with that amazing V-8 sound. 10/10 in the coolness factor.

For me a major factor, and missing in the C&D (and most other) reviews is the cost of ownership. Once the warranty has expired, owning a BMW can be a wallet-draining bankruptcy-inducing painful financial experience. I speak both from past personal experience with a BMW, and more recently watching a friend spend staggering amounts of money keeping his 5-series on the road (until he and his bank account just couldn't take it anymore).

Someone might decide that it's worth the maintenance and repair costs for owning a BMW. Not for me.

The other factor that is purely personal is how it simply feels to drive a car. C&D tries that with their 'fun to drive' rating. But it's totally subjective and personal. What is fun to one person can be completely different to another. That's what matters to me. How does the car feel in the seat of my pants to drive, how big of a grin does it put on my face. The 'numbers' don't matter (except to true hard-core track-rats chasing hundredths of a second, or to posers who prioritize bragging to strangers at bars about Nurburgring lap and quarter-mile times, neither of which they'll ever experience for themselves).

On the street the only thing that matters to me is how much fun a car is to drive, for me. By that yardstick, the old Nissan 370Z, despite how 'out of date' the infotainment system was, rated pretty high. It was fun, in a solid, old-school way. I tried to buy one, but sleazy Nissan dealers and their inability to stop playing bait-and-switch and other games drove me to the Mustang (also very high on the pure fun to drive scale). By that measure, I suspect the new Nissan Z will be a lot of fun, and will appeal to people who care more about real-world experiences than the brag value of 'numbers.'

 

[TeeLew]

Its the only way to ever see the rare 7spd manual Eclipse.

I'll cope.

 

[TeeLew]

The other factor that is purely personal is how it simply feels to drive a car. C&D tries that with their 'fun to drive' rating. But it's totally subjective and personal. What is fun to one person can be completely different to another. That's what matters to me. How does the car feel in the seat of my pants to drive, how big of a grin does it put on my face. The 'numbers' don't matter (except to true hard-core track-rats chasing hundredths of a second, or to posers who prioritize bragging to strangers at bars about Nurburgring lap and quarter-mile times, neither of which they'll ever experience for themselves).

If people took this approach to car buying, they'd be a lot happier.

 

[Strokerswild]

I'll cope.

Trust me, you will.

 

[JuicySmollet]

For me a major factor, and missing in the C&D (and most other) reviews is the cost of ownership. Once the warranty has expired, owning a BMW can be a wallet-draining bankruptcy-inducing painful financial experience. I speak both from past personal experience with a BMW, and more recently watching a friend spend staggering amounts of money keeping his 5-series on the road (until he and his bank account just couldn't take it anymore).

I've just heard too many stories about something going bad on a BMW and costing $3K to fix in labor. I looked at used 3 series for awhile before realizing that's not what I wanted...the M2 is attractive but I like shifting the Tremec and the sound.

 

[ScottyRyan2018]

For me a major factor, and missing in the C&D (and most other) reviews is the cost of ownership. Once the warranty has expired, owning a BMW can be a wallet-draining bankruptcy-inducing painful financial experience. I speak both from past personal experience with a BMW, and more recently watching a friend spend staggering amounts of money keeping his 5-series on the road (until he and his bank account just couldn't take it anymore).

Someone might decide that it's worth the maintenance and repair costs for owning a BMW. Not for me.

The other factor that is purely personal is how it simply feels to drive a car. C&D tries that with their 'fun to drive' rating. But it's totally subjective and personal. What is fun to one person can be completely different to another. That's what matters to me. How does the car feel in the seat of my pants to drive, how big of a grin does it put on my face. The 'numbers' don't matter (except to true hard-core track-rats chasing hundredths of a second, or to posers who prioritize bragging to strangers at bars about Nurburgring lap and quarter-mile times, neither of which they'll ever experience for themselves).

On the street the only thing that matters to me is how much fun a car is to drive, for me. By that yardstick, the old Nissan 370Z, despite how 'out of date' the infotainment system was, rated pretty high. It was fun, in a solid, old-school way. I tried to buy one, but sleazy Nissan dealers and their inability to stop playing bait-and-switch and other games drove me to the Mustang (also very high on the pure fun to drive scale). By that measure, I suspect the new Nissan Z will be a lot of fun, and will appeal to people who care more about real-world experiences than the brag value of 'numbers.'

Part of the reason I seldom own any make of vehicle outside of the warranty (in BMW’s case 4y/50k). If I owned one outside of the factory warranty I’d seriously consider an extended warranty. Be that as it may, we have run two of our BMWs out to about 50K. Not a single problem.

Ask me about my Volvo XC60…. pile of ****.

Lastly one other thing ( because it’s such a huge variable) that they don’t cover is the price to mod. I’d venture to guess that already turbo charged engine is a wee bit less expensive to get more HP out of than most N/A engines.

 

[analogman]

If people took this approach to car buying, they'd be a lot happier.

I think you’re absolutely right!

 

[TeeLew]

Ask me about my Volvo XC60…. pile of ****.

Lastly one other thing ( because it’s such a huge variable) that they don’t cover is the price to mod. I’d venture to guess that already turbo charged engine is a wee bit less expensive to get more HP out of than most N/A engines.

My wife loves those Volvos. Thank God I've avoided them to this point.

Bumping the power of my Eco has been about $10 per HP for the first 100 HP. It gets more expensive now, but the first bump is fairly low-hanging fruit.

 

[TeeLew]

I think you’re absolutely right!

The downside to that thought is that we'd all be driving Miatas except for the few old farts who've stuck with their Lotus Elans.

 

[ScottyRyan2018]

My wife loves those Volvos. Thank God I've avoided them to this point.

Bumping the power of my Eco has been about $10 per HP for the first 100 HP. It gets more expensive now, but the first bump is fairly low-hanging fruit.

It was a T6 Momentum with every option but air ride. Beautiful vehicle, extremely comfy, and the B&Wsound system is amazing. Just too bad it was a mechanical nightmare.

 

[analogman]

The downside to that thought is that we'd all be driving Miatas except for the few old farts who've stuck with their Lotus Elans.

If everyone liked Miatas above all other cars, then there would be nothing wrong with a world full of them. There are far worse things I can imagine than roads full of Miatas (Miatae?). Like, roads full of Teslas, or any other soulless anodyne boring electric transportation pod. Or even worse, 'autonomous' cars (and to Tesla fanboys, no, I don't care that an electric motor has maximum torque at 0 rpm; so does my washing machine, and I wouldn't find that thrilling to drive).

But not everyone thinks the Miata is the pinnacle of automotive pleasure. That's the nice thing about cars. There are a lot of different flavors, so many ways to have fun driving. There's no one 'best' or 'right' answer. A friend of mine loves building old-school hot-rods, and gets a thrill out of driving his 1953 Ford pickup truck with a big-block (or his 1972 Maverick with a modified small block). Another friend loves his Mini Cooper. A neighbor swoons when she talks about her Nissan 350Z. I walk both sides of the track, and love driving my Mustang GT but also my Subaru BRZ and Hyundai Stinger. It's one of those few things in life that really is all good. If you enjoy cars and actually driving them, whatever turns you on is great and is 'right' for you.

BTW, I'm one of those 'old farts.' I'm 60-something and have owned a couple of Miatas in the past. I almost bought another one except that my aging and spreading ass doesn't fit as well into them as it used to 20 years ago. They are a lot of fun, but it's a tiny little car.

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