Test drove an M3 today

commited said:
If you take it as a 3 series, then it is so far from sensible it is unreal - huge running costs cripple it so far as it can never be called a "sensible" car for everyday use.
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I have said this before running costs are not that bad, I get 25mpg, insurance is £650, the only service I had was very cheap ( £82 , authorised dealer , own oil )

the only "expensive" bits are tyres and pads/disks ( these are cheaper than the ones on my STi though ) , also the inpection services are a bit steep but not that bad if you shop around

my car has cost around £100 a month in servicing and consumables since I have had it
 
Wow, I go away for a day and it's carnage in here!

Firstly thanks to Gibbo for writing an excellent comparison of the CSL v normal M3. After the test drive I had a feeling that the M3 wasn't quite as good as it should be, the CSL sounds like it would be more akin to the type of car I prefer.

Secondly to Fox. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the M3, nor am I saying that the Elise is the be all and end all of cars, it's far too compromised to be that. What I'm saying is that the M3 just didn't excite me. It was a superb all rounder but when the test drive was over I wasn't particularly bothered to give the keys back. In comparison I could've driven the Elise until the petrol ran out before I wanted to give the keys back.
My requirements in a car are very different to yours. I want something that will put a grin on my face when I drive it, the M3 just didn't do that for me however after reading Gibbo's first post I feel that the CSL probably would (although I won't be buying a CSL as I don't plan on spending that much)

I'm not looking to get rid of the Elise, I just want something a little bit more sensible for everyday use. The M3 was just a touch too sensible for me right now.
I haven't dismissed the M3 totally yet as it may be one of those cars that needs to be driven a few times to really get the feel of it. I'll maybe have a drive of an SMG equipped next time to see how it compares.
 
You are trying to buy something for daily use in addition to your Elise though, right?

Surely then, you must realise that some compromise is needed? Surely you actually want something that isn't as raw as your Elise and is more usable day to day?
 
Yes, it's in addition to the Elise. It needs to be a little less raw, but only a little as I don't mind the rawness of the Elise, it's just the impracticality of having two, 2 seater cars that it the slight problem (I can only take one girl home at a time :D)
95% of the time I'm absolutely fine with the Elise/MGF but just occasionally I could do with having rear seats or a slightly bigger boot.
I therefore think that something like a TVR Cerbera might be next on the list to test drive.
 
eidolon said:
Yes, it's in addition to the Elise. It needs to be a little less raw, but only a little as I don't mind the rawness of the Elise, it's just the impracticality of having two, 2 seater cars that it the slight problem (I can only take one girl home at a time :D)
95% of the time I'm absolutely fine with the Elise/MGF but just occasionally I could do with having rear seats or a slightly bigger boot.
I therefore think that something like a TVR Cerbera might be next on the list to test drive.
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HI m8

I know you say its out of your price range, but try to find yourself a CSL to have a go in, or if your ever in the Stoke area I'd happily take you out for a drive and if you want to be impressed even more than I am sure Elliot could also show you how well CSL's do big slides too. :D

I really am loving mine to bits, it has what you want whilst at the same time being a right nutcase of a car. Its not as raw as an Elise and won't offer the same kind of steering feel/feedback. Apart from that I think you'd be very impressed with how a CSL drives. I tried launch control today, my god thats aggressive and fun. :D

Put it this way the M3 made me feel similar to you, I was simply not interested in it. Yet after having a go in a CSL I just had to have one.

Remember before I took the plunge for the CSL I did drive C6 Z51, C6 Z06, RS4 Avant, RS4 Saloon, BMW Z4M Coupe, EVO 8 @ 360BHP, EVO 9 FQ360 and a load of horrible Vauxhalls too. I went for the CSL!!!!!
The Audi's had supreme build quality and awsome engine, the EVO 9 was a great all rounder, the Z4MC was great, but not quite as good as the CSL and the Z06 was stupidly quick and incredible handling but its steering and gearbox were a let down, plus its high price tag was off putting.
 
I just wanna say thanks to everyone for putting your experiences in words and posting them on forums, im a fair way away from buying these kinds of cars yet as im still a student and have moved out of home, but without these insights I would undoubtedly have no clue on these cars or the process of testing or buying one.
 
Gibbo said:
if your ever in the Stoke area I'd happily take you out for a drive and if you want to be impressed even more than I am sure Elliot could also show you how well CSL's do big slides too. :D
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You two could make a killing charging £100 per ride....... ;) :D
 
eidolon said:
I therefore think that something like a TVR Cerbera might be next on the list to test drive.
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I don't think the rear seats in the Cerb are up to much though.

If the boot is like the Chim it will be quite large though. It goes right down to the level of the floor (no spare wheel compartment or whatever) although it's not very ummm... "broad?" (i.e. it's not very far front to back). I reckon you could fit a decent sized suitcase in the boot of a chim fairly easily. I will hopefully be going to see a Cerb on Friday so I'll see how it sizes up but a couple of bags should squeeze onto the cerb rear seats (although from what I can work out from the photos I've seen, if you tried to stuff children into them, they'd probably thank you more if you sent them up a chimney, Victorian style)


Although, like I said, if the boot is the same as the Chim it is suprisingly large and if you're 95% OK with the Elise or MG then that extra space in the Cerb may well be more than adequate.

Mind you. I don't think it will be less "raw" than an Elise. The dealer that came with me in the Chim said "Yeah, this is quite easy to drive, the Tuscan is a bit more raw, but it's the cerbera that's the real brute". How it compares to a Griffith, I'll hopefully find out on Friday, but the guy had never driven a Griff, so he couldn't compare it for me.
 
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Thanks for the offer Gibbo but as much as I think the CSL would tick all the boxes it's just that bit more than I want to spend on an everyday car. Realistically £25k is about the most I wanna spend at the moment. If I'm up in Stoke though I'll take you up on the offer though just to compare.

volospian, I'm not bothered about the rear seats being all that practical. All I really need is to actually *have* some rear seats so that I can take the occasional passenger a short distance. Like I said, 95% of the time I'm fine with a 2 seater but just occasionally I need to take a 2nd passenger somewhere. Let me know how you get on with the test drive.
 
eidolon said:
Like I said, 95% of the time I'm fine with a 2 seater but just occasionally I need to take a 2nd passenger somewhere. Let me know how you get on with the test drive.
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For a car that you only/maybe require 5% of the time but still want a bit of fun with minimal outlay under the CSL price, possibly an Evo or a Scoob (with diff settings of your choice for that "factor" :D ) ? Image is always a problem though for some, others will scream that some POS with some wizard-like computer driven vehicle for the hardcore driver is just...wrong.




Has a boot tho :p !
 
I did think about the Scoob/Evo but they're just not my thing anymore. I've been there and done the Jap turbo nutter thing and just fancy something else now.
 
Yeah, I sold it to a guy from down your way. Good to see he's still got it.

How's it looking these days? Has he done anything to it?
 
He's done nothing at all to it, but it's still absolutely pristine.

mr2.jpg
 
eidolon said:
volospian, I'm not bothered about the rear seats being all that practical. All I really need is to actually *have* some rear seats so that I can take the occasional passenger a short distance. Like I said, 95% of the time I'm fine with a 2 seater but just occasionally I need to take a 2nd passenger somewhere. Let me know how you get on with the test drive.
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Will do. It's not certain yet, but I've got to drive down to Gatwick on Friday and there's a garage selling a Cerb on the way that I like the look of, so I'll ring them on Thursday and check it's still there and arrange a spin out in it on my way "daan saaf"

It just depends on whether it's still there on Friday, really. If it's not I'll have to wait until next week to find one to take out.
 
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