So, I finally got to test drive the GT. It's out for me.(or maybe not?)

[Branden]

You have had some really atypical ownership experiences my friend. $1000 a month in bills? I don't see how that's possible without mistreating the car badly. I've had the 540i for 4 years and 70K miles, and I thought I had spent a lot on it. All told, the bills for repair are around 3K, and could have been lower if I didn't choose premium parts like the coilover set when the shocks started to go at 120K. It has 155K on it now and runs perfectly aside from a slight alignment issue due to a pothole hit this winter. The problem is rust though, as I found out the previous owner lived in Ohio, and he improperly rolled the fenders to fit big wheels. :frusty:


It seemed crazy to me as well when I drove the thing. I was sitting there thinking where is the power? "I've got my foot on the floor in second gear and nothing dramatic is happening. WTF? 435 HP? Really? " That's a sot of stream of consciousness as I was test driving it. I did scare the crap out of the saleman with the speed I was carrying through the corners, but it simply did not build speed anything like I would have expected. It wasn't even remotely close to my expectations for the car.

I had similar, although not as dramatic experience with my Audi TT. Exactly at 70k miles, my water pump seized, timing belt snapped, and destroyed my heads. I was literally going 15 mph when it happened. I thought, it's just a four cylinder, how much could cylinder heads cost? $7,000 later I had a taste of what german cars cost to maintain.

Not flaming for your opinion because everyone's taste is different, but if you put your foot to the floor of a GT for more than 2 seconds and nothing dramatic happened, there's something wrong with that car.

Sponsored

 

[Malikona]

I had similar, although not as dramatic experience with my Audi TT. Exactly at 70k miles, my water pump seized, timing belt snapped, and destroyed my heads. I was literally going 15 mph when it happened. I thought, it's just a four cylinder, who much could cylinder heads cost? $7,000 later I had a taste of what german cars cost to maintain.

Not flaming for your opinion, because everyone's taste is different, but if you put your foot to the floor of a GT for more than 2 seconds and nothing dramatic happened, there's something wrong with that car.

I have to agree - had you driven the S197 GT before? It was certainly dramatic when you stepped on it, and it had 20 some odd less HP. Hell I've seen plenty of people pushed back in their seats by a stock EcoBoost, let alone the GT. With the Coyote you sorta need to wring it out a little bit to really get the most out of it which is tough to do on a test drive. And maybe that's just not your driving style.

Look I'm all for getting the M235 if that's what you want and you can afford it (similarly optioned and delivered to the US it's got to be well over $50K), but I would suggest test driving a GT again and really romping with it before you make up your mind. Maybe you just have a different sort of perception of speed than I do though - different strokes for different folks!

 

[blitzburgh]

I say who cares. Go get a BMW. Remember use the turn signals. You can be the first BMW owner that ever does.

Later

 

[Charles147]

I understand what you mean but by any chance did you set the driver mode to sport or track? That makes a huge difference in driver enjoyment and I think this is sometimes overlooked when test driving.

 

[Feeshta]

I had similar, although not as dramatic experience with my Audi TT. Exactly at 70k miles, my water pump seized, timing belt snapped, and destroyed my heads. I was literally going 15 mph when it happened. I thought, it's just a four cylinder, how much could cylinder heads cost? $7,000 later I had a taste of what german cars cost to maintain.

Not flaming for your opinion because everyone's taste is different, but if you put your foot to the floor of a GT for more than 2 seconds and nothing dramatic happened, there's something wrong with that car.

You could literally have purchased an entire good used engine and had it installed by the dealer for far less than that. A used 3.2 short-block goes for like $1,500, and heads run about $500. If you actually paid 7K for new heads installed, I'm sorry, but I think you got fleeced.

You might not be wrong about there being something off about that car though. They have had that car for almost 2 months now, and numerous people have driven it. They also have 2 others, and have not sold a single Mustang yet. The salesman said he wasn't sure why people were not buying them.

 

[Feeshta]

I understand what you mean but by any chance did you set the driver mode to sport or track? That makes a huge difference in driver enjoyment and I think this is sometimes overlooked when test driving.

Yeah, I tried all of the settings except snow. It sharpened up the throttle response a little, and made the steering a little stiffer. I did 90% of the test drive in the track setting.

 

[USPSALIMITED]

They are also more practical by a large margin, but that was my secondary concern.

We live in completely different worlds on that one, even consumer reports picks the Mustang as an excellent choice for part time sports car and part time daily driver.

Which ever you like best is all about you though, I think you will be happy with the BMW and I'm still giggly when I get in the GT, so it is all good.

 

[Branden]

I have to agree - had you driven the S197 GT before? It was certainly dramatic when you stepped on it, and it had 20 some odd less HP. Hell I've seen plenty of people pushed back in their seats by a stock EcoBoost, let alone the GT. With the Coyote you sorta need to wring it out a little bit to really get the most out of it which is tough to do on a test drive. And maybe that's just not your driving style.

Look I'm all for getting the M235 if that's what you want and you can afford it (similarly optioned and delivered to the US it's got to be well over $50K), but I would suggest test driving a GT again and really romping with it before you make up your mind. Maybe you just have a different sort of perception of speed than I do though - different strokes for different folks!

I've test drove two different GTs (in two very different cities), and I was iffy with the first, but thrilled by the second. It could have been that the first drive the salesman came with me and the second they didn't. Maybe the lack of all the "sales talk" made it that much better? :shrug: I honestly find the sales people riding along very distracting... but I understand why some dealers require it.

 

[IndustryLeech]

I say who cares. Go get a BMW. Remember use the turn signals. You can be the first BMW owner that ever does.

Later

Hahaha...it's funny because it's true.

 

[OppoLock]

Some people are taking these comments personally. Why...

 

[USPSALIMITED]

Some people are taking these comments personally. Why...

Always happens.

On the bright side a lot of folks make a good living on selling some of the hate on other cars bumper & window stickers. (That & BMW folks are mostly all hair dressers and they get pretty touchy).

 

[hangover]

You can't get a comparable M235i even close in price to a comparable GT PP. Using Euro Delivery ruins your entire analysis.
Enjoy the BMW and it's "piped-in" fake soundtrack. ;)

 

[Feeshta]

I have to agree - had you driven the S197 GT before? It was certainly dramatic when you stepped on it, and it had 20 some odd less HP. Hell I've seen plenty of people pushed back in their seats by a stock EcoBoost, let alone the GT. With the Coyote you sorta need to wring it out a little bit to really get the most out of it which is tough to do on a test drive. And maybe that's just not your driving style.

Look I'm all for getting the M235 if that's what you want and you can afford it (similarly optioned and delivered to the US it's got to be well over $50K), but I would suggest test driving a GT again and really romping with it before you make up your mind. Maybe you just have a different sort of perception of speed than I do though - different strokes for different folks!

I did an acceleration run from a stop sign to about 85 or 90 mph. Couldn't give it full beans in first as I was pulling away from a 90 degree turn, but did so in second all the way to red-line and third until I ran out of room. It really just didn't feel all that strong. No hint of traction control kicking in or anything like that.

As I would option the M235i, it comes in at just over 45K, and when you account for euro deliver discount (-$2,195) and a little haggling, I can get that down to around 41K. Here's a couple snapshots of build screens for the two cars, as I would option them. Basically it's Premium, Premium trim, and PP on the Mustang as I didn't like the cloth interior and the nicer leather seemed worth the $395, and cold weather package only on the BMW, as it has everything else I want in stock form. I'm not a fan of nav, etc.

 

[Feeshta]

Hahaha...it's funny because it's true.

Seems to be a problem with virtually every driver around here, regardless of brand. I'm more surprised when I actually see one than not. :lol:

 

[Rubedog]

Coming from a 335i with an aftermarket tune I can understand where Feeshta is coming from. Those cars are amazing and extremely fun to drive with the drama waiting to be unleashed. I had no problem outrunning last years 5.0 Mustangs (Stock Mustangs and my 335i with a $500 tune JB4 piggyback).However, todays BMW's are not like the E39 or the E46 BMW's as those were my previous 2 cars. on the 335i I had to take the car to the dealer for everything, which includes something as simple as a battery swap as it all needs to be coded into the ECU or the alternator will overcharge it. My Fuel Injectors went south on me at 80,000 miles, that was a $2400 job as you can't replace just one because there is a revised injector that needs to be installed and they too need to be coded into the ECU which means even if I did it myself, the car would need to be towed to the dealer to be coded. With that being said, the car is awesome until it needs maintenance. Did I mention the electric water pump was $1000 for parts only? Anyway, I went back to my original roots and bought an S550 for three reasons, It has a great sounding V8, parts are reasonable, and I can work on it. But I will not knock a BMW as I loved all 3 of mine, it's just the newer ones that finally broke me. Pun intended...

Sponsored