Soldato
Well, I hardly post here any more but I have a few spare minutes so I thought I'd post a little bit of an update...
After 15,000 miles in the Z4 sDrive35i and 30,000 miles in the F10 535d, I decided that I'd switch back to just having one car. Both cars were incredible in their own ways, and I definitely don't regret owning either car. The 535d is an incredible machine - the car has no right to perform the way it does while returning such great fuel economy. Over the 30k I did in it I averaged 36.13mpg. Considering how it was driven (with literally no regard for fuel economy whatsoever) and often in stop-start morning traffic, I think that figure is very, very impressive. The LCI build quality was much better than my earlier pre-LCI F10 520d (which averaged 43.94 over 30k miles), the car felt quite different and not just because of the engine, it was quieter, more rigid somehow and there was less noise especially at speed.
The E89 Z4 is a hugely underrated car in my opinion. I had the 3L twin-turbo N54 engine in mine, mated to the DCT gearbox and it was very much a winning combination. I drove it hard most of the time and although economy isn't really a concern in a car like that, it returned 25.23mpg over my ownership. Handling isn't what the motoring press would have you believe - it handles really well and hides its weight until you're well beyond where you'd be driving on UK roads. Like almost all BMWs these days, the brakes were somewhat lacking when pressing on for extended periods of time but that's the only criticism I have of that car.
I wanted a single car that was more of an event to drive hard than the 535d and which was more practical than the Z4. Ideally I wanted a convertible but it wasn't a total dealbreaker. After a lot of thought, I went out and bought...
...an E92 M3.
What a car! I went for a 2011 car in Le Mans Blue, DCT, EDC, HK Logic7 Audio, CF roof, etc. The engine is absolutely glorious at full chat and the handling is near telepathic and yet it is still practical and comfortable. I'm still learning where the limits are and so on (and I've got some track time and some further driver training coming up to help with that), but my first impressions are that it is much much more special than the alternatives that I was considering.
After 15,000 miles in the Z4 sDrive35i and 30,000 miles in the F10 535d, I decided that I'd switch back to just having one car. Both cars were incredible in their own ways, and I definitely don't regret owning either car. The 535d is an incredible machine - the car has no right to perform the way it does while returning such great fuel economy. Over the 30k I did in it I averaged 36.13mpg. Considering how it was driven (with literally no regard for fuel economy whatsoever) and often in stop-start morning traffic, I think that figure is very, very impressive. The LCI build quality was much better than my earlier pre-LCI F10 520d (which averaged 43.94 over 30k miles), the car felt quite different and not just because of the engine, it was quieter, more rigid somehow and there was less noise especially at speed.
The E89 Z4 is a hugely underrated car in my opinion. I had the 3L twin-turbo N54 engine in mine, mated to the DCT gearbox and it was very much a winning combination. I drove it hard most of the time and although economy isn't really a concern in a car like that, it returned 25.23mpg over my ownership. Handling isn't what the motoring press would have you believe - it handles really well and hides its weight until you're well beyond where you'd be driving on UK roads. Like almost all BMWs these days, the brakes were somewhat lacking when pressing on for extended periods of time but that's the only criticism I have of that car.
I wanted a single car that was more of an event to drive hard than the 535d and which was more practical than the Z4. Ideally I wanted a convertible but it wasn't a total dealbreaker. After a lot of thought, I went out and bought...
...an E92 M3.
What a car! I went for a 2011 car in Le Mans Blue, DCT, EDC, HK Logic7 Audio, CF roof, etc. The engine is absolutely glorious at full chat and the handling is near telepathic and yet it is still practical and comfortable. I'm still learning where the limits are and so on (and I've got some track time and some further driver training coming up to help with that), but my first impressions are that it is much much more special than the alternatives that I was considering.
.
I've done over 1000 miles so far and my average is 20mpg so I'm not doing too badly. Obviously that will be quite a lot lower once I've got some sunday drives in and I'll be doing the NC500 in it come spring time 
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
