Quote:
Originally Posted by JIM E92
That's funny because given the choice I would not select any of the cars you listed, and that's including the 135 or 335 over the 328. It's not that I'm stuck on BMW. Far from it. I've owned many brands and see their worth for what they are. It's simply my opinion (and many others, including Car and Driver) the 328 and some respects the 128 represents the core of what a sporty car should embody. It's very simple. Natural aspiration for linear power delivery. Straight six for smoothness and general auditory bliss. Rear drive for weight transfer when mashing the right pedal. Chassis that is balanced for predictable and controllable handling at the limit. It's not that difficult of a spec to match on paper. However Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infinity, Chevy, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, all have tried to duplicate it with only limited success. BMW has simply had more time to perfect the formula. All I'm saying is that the 3 series, particularly the 328 really represents an amazing value when you think about it.
There are hundreds of combinations you can take when you set out to design a sports car. Why is it time after time the M3 is chosen as the standard by which others are judged? Why do you think the M3 is FR and is not AWD? Why did they choose natural aspiration? Why did they not develop the M3 on a Mini Cooper chassis? They could have saved a ton of money. VW/AUDI does this very thing. Look at the TTRS it's on a golf chassis. Half of the cars you listed above were developed primarily as an economy car or family sedans. Including the STi which is an extreme example of one. Economy cars share an architecture that is hard to overcome. The FF drive, the passenger cabin pushed almost over the front axel, the ginormous trunks, the aerodynamics..etc. Sure, you can tune some of their inherent design out by changing the shocks, adding heavier springs and slapping on an Si badge, but at the end of the day what you really have is a warmed over econo-box.
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I'm an F/I hater and love to slide out the tail from time to time. But what you are saying above is far from being the truth. Why? Porsche 911 turbo, audi r8, gallardo etc. It's a matter of preference is terms of AWD-RWD. Same goes for F/I over N/A. My friend bought a 997 turbo. If it was me I would have bought a GT3 or GT3 RS because it'S N/A and RWD. I wouldn't mind owning an r8.As for the m3 there are better cars out there nowadays.
As for the 328 there is nothing sporty about it comes with 16 inch wheels, lousy suspension. Even if there is a 17-18 inch package available it still has the same lousy suspension. Mind you my 135 had a lousy suspension(which was susposed to be some M-sport BS. Bmw marketing is doing a hell of a job.
My point is that it's all a matter of personal taste. I'd drive a Lotus Elise for 5er money. Mustang over 323-328. It's not about which is better or slamming other cars. Just like someone else said above I'd drive a Focus over a 328 and spare some cash.Some guys are willing to shell out 60-65K for a pick up truck while some would spend that on a sports car.