£25-£30k - Spec me a convertible
- Thread starter hurfdurf
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Trip report
Just got back from BMW Bristol.
Drove a 16 plate M4 coupe in a very interesting blueish purple colour with I think silverstone extended leather. Very nice inside. My partner thought it was “baller”.
The car is rapid, very tough to handle but you can tell that will come with experience, and that it does handle well. It also feels special, and I can see and feel the difference between DCT and the ZF auto. Very pin you back style straight line speed, sounded good as well surprisingly.
I was very surprised at how much it changed based on the comfort/sport settings. Way more so than my old Z4 and that took me by surprise when I first got it, this was even more extreme. Genuinely felt like 2 completely different cars.
Then went over to Mercedes just to say hi as one of the managers there goes to my gym and we train together almost 3 times a week now, so have become good friends.
Wasn't expecting it but the show room was bare. They had sold nearly everything and barely have any stock. I told him about the M4, asked him to explain PCP to me (it’s not for me it turns out) and he insisted I go out in a C43.
Wow the C43 is nice inside just like the BMW, but slightly more stylish over modern simplicity. The seats are super comfortable and I like the little seatbelt arm that passes you the belt. Weirdly is felt very similar to my Z4 position and cabin wise, but with a different brand and style of interior.
Sadly, whilst it handled well because of the immense grip of 4wd, it was very very slow. My old Z4 felt a lot faster, never mind the M4 is just driven. Very unimpressed with the engine. He wants me to try and C63 next but I think they are too far out of budget.
I’m going to try and convince my partner to get a C class as it would suit her down to the ground, was a nice place to be, but engine/handling wise it was a let down. Maybe if it had another 150bhp?
Just got back from BMW Bristol.
Drove a 16 plate M4 coupe in a very interesting blueish purple colour with I think silverstone extended leather. Very nice inside. My partner thought it was “baller”.
The car is rapid, very tough to handle but you can tell that will come with experience, and that it does handle well. It also feels special, and I can see and feel the difference between DCT and the ZF auto. Very pin you back style straight line speed, sounded good as well surprisingly.
I was very surprised at how much it changed based on the comfort/sport settings. Way more so than my old Z4 and that took me by surprise when I first got it, this was even more extreme. Genuinely felt like 2 completely different cars.
Then went over to Mercedes just to say hi as one of the managers there goes to my gym and we train together almost 3 times a week now, so have become good friends.
Wasn't expecting it but the show room was bare. They had sold nearly everything and barely have any stock. I told him about the M4, asked him to explain PCP to me (it’s not for me it turns out) and he insisted I go out in a C43.
Wow the C43 is nice inside just like the BMW, but slightly more stylish over modern simplicity. The seats are super comfortable and I like the little seatbelt arm that passes you the belt. Weirdly is felt very similar to my Z4 position and cabin wise, but with a different brand and style of interior.
Sadly, whilst it handled well because of the immense grip of 4wd, it was very very slow. My old Z4 felt a lot faster, never mind the M4 is just driven. Very unimpressed with the engine. He wants me to try and C63 next but I think they are too far out of budget.
I’m going to try and convince my partner to get a C class as it would suit her down to the ground, was a nice place to be, but engine/handling wise it was a let down. Maybe if it had another 150bhp?
The C43 is a 440i rival so it's to be expected that it'll feel slow and relatively more sedate following an M4. Throw in 4wd that's great for launching but probably does nothing more than sap power and add weight on a rolling start and I'm not surprised it hasn't interested you all that much.
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the C43 is a fantastic car and a great interior a nice place to be.
if the budget can stretch then the E63
if the budget can stretch then the E63
I am now going to judge poorly anyone who thinks its good to drive. It is slow and incredibly boring.
the C43 is a fantastic car and a great interior a nice place to be.
if the budget can stretch then the E63
Fantastic inside sure, not as a car over all. Or maybe I'm just spoilt engine and dynamics wise.
Fast to 60 but sluggish, looks good on paper though. It falls right in to that catagory 
A car like that doesn't really feel all that quick or entertaining.
What you want is the classic Merc V8s, from before AMG was a big thing. Much more fun and more solidly built. Smaller cars with far to large engines shoehorned in.
A car like that doesn't really feel all that quick or entertaining.
What you want is the classic Merc V8s, from before AMG was a big thing. Much more fun and more solidly built. Smaller cars with far to large engines shoehorned in.
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You heard it here first guys. A car that does 0-60 in between 4.1 and 4.5 seconds depending on spec is slow. Especially compared to a car that does it in 4.1...
It probably does feel slow, most heavy 4wd cars do, regardless of actual pace.
In fact I’d suggest that many slower cars feel faster and more engaging.
He didn't say it felt slow, he said "it was very very slow".
As Nashe says, there's a difference between slow and sluggish.
As in outside noise coming in? If so then have you actually been in well insulated convertible? Whilst my M3 is old, the softtop is very well insulated to the point that if you blindfolded an average person and put them in then took off the blindfold during a ride they'd be none the wiser they were in a drop top... Unless of course BMW soft tops have changed in later models?
Fair criticism, I guess everything is relative. I’m comparing it to what I know and I’m looking at, 15 years ago I’d of thought the C43 was utterly rapid.
Interestingly, the 4C spider is actually quieter than the hardtop. The ridiculous amount of exhaust and road noise just reverberates around the coupe whereas in the spider some of it escapes through the roof! Pure refinement that is.
I’m proud to say that I’ve never owned a car with a roof and I don’t plan to start any time soon! Driving is just better with the roof down.
To that end I would suggest something loud and lairy like a V8 AMG C class. The sports exhaust on the 997 isn’t half bad either! Surely the E93 would have to feature here too? I prefer the looks of that to the M4, but they’re both handsome cars.
A slight downer is that it’s the worst time of year to buy a soft top, compounded by some bonkers second hand prices anyway.
Good luck!
To that end I would suggest something loud and lairy like a V8 AMG C class. The sports exhaust on the 997 isn’t half bad either! Surely the E93 would have to feature here too? I prefer the looks of that to the M4, but they’re both handsome cars.
A slight downer is that it’s the worst time of year to buy a soft top, compounded by some bonkers second hand prices anyway.
Good luck!
Just keep in mind that the M4 coupe you drove will feel faster than the convertible. The convertible weights nearly 200kg more than the coupe, which is the same as permanently having 2 large sized adults as passengers. It may move the M4 into the sluggish C43 territory. May be worth doing a back to back drive of coupe and convertible.
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I get the same with the Elise. Its louder with the hard top on.