granit_silber
03-16-2006, 02:30 PM
Hey Everyone,
I've just gotten back to my office after four hours of fundraising. :)
My hands are still shaking as I type this.
Cars I drove today:
650CiC
Z4 3.0Si
Z4 3.0 Si sport package
330 Touring
525xi
550i
650CiC-
I got in the 650 at 10:30 this morning with an ambient air temp of 53 and popped the top. Before I go on let me say this the 650 is a FREAKIN' BEAST!! It has oodles of power and torque and was difficult to keep at a legal speed. The car stayed in 1st gear until right around 60mph and the 60-80 was so fast I couldn't concentrate on counting. I kept the DSC on (they checked last year) and was glad I did. While on HWY 52 I blipped the throttle, looked down and I was doing 90 with the top down listening to the radio.
Aside from the scary power, the most intoxicating thing about the 650 was the engine noise, is was one of the sexiest sounds I've ever heard. I pulled into a parking lot just to put it in neutral and listen (I got busted for going off course). I was high when I pulled into the parking lot to return it and when the drop-off guy asked me how it was all I could say was "Damn!"
Z4 3.0Si
I went from the 650 to the 1st Z4, which was a little let down. I drove the 2.5 last year so I knew that this wouldn't be too different. Great roadster! The best feature that BMW has added to it was the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. I was a little confused at first thinking that the left paddle down-shifted and the right up-shifted, but both paddles do both (guess that works well for the lefties). Push to shift down, pull to shift up. Once that was covered I had a blast.
Z4 3.0Si (sport)
I don't understand why they put the "S" in front now but that how it's marked. I also don't understand why the first Z4S didn't have the wonder button on the console. This was the Z4 I actually had an appointment to drive (I got the other by mistake). It had the sport button to change the susension settings and sick 2-piece wheels. When driving, it had a quiet exhaust note until you pushed it a little then it opened up and was awesome. There was a huge difference in the ride when the sport button is activated and the paddles rocked! One thing I noticed while driving the Z4 was that there was a "whine" from somewhere. Not a bad whine, almost like a sequential transmission in a race car (not that loud though). All of that added together made for a great driving experience.
330 Touring-
A nice 330 wagon. Quiet, stable, good power and comfort. Really neat double pane glass sunroof.
525xi-
There has been so much written and said about the styling of the new 5. Who cares? It drives like stink! (that's good BTW) I enjoyed the comfortable power and low-noise of the new 5. You could definetly tell that this car was built for mid-manager types that didn't want a lot of engine noise or real-time feedback from the road. The neatest thing about this five was the cruise control. When you set it a little white indicator travels up the outside of the gauge and to indicate the setting, so you can see if you're above or below it at a glance and don't have to remember what you set it for. Very comfortable car.
550i-
Whew! Another beast! Same good stuff as the 525 but a hell of a lot faster! It has the same engine as, but makes less power than, the 650. It's more refined in the power delivery than the 6 and was an awesome car. It was amazing! This car had the HUD which was neat, but doesn't work well in the daytime with polarized sunglasses. This car could be a huge sleeper. If BMW would market it with a 6-sp manual, you could do some serious damage! However, of all the cars this one had the hardest shifting steptronic tranny. I ended up leaving it in DS most of the time.
Best Car-
That's a hard choice. Each car filled it's role extremely well. However, overall I'd have to pick the Z4 3.0Si sport. It was fun, controllable (meaning I wouldn't get a ticket in it EVERYday I drove it) and I really enjoyed the paddle shifters. I have alway loved roadsters and dream of having one in the garage so that we can ship the kids off to Grandma's (when we have them), throw a bag in the trunk and take off.
Final Thoughts-
The 650 needs some other way to shift the transmission (like paddles). It was hard to keep it on the road going flat out while pushing and pulling the gear selector.
The Z4 continues to be one of my favortie cars and the new N54(?) engine is awesome!
The 330 wagon was a nice drive and they're gonna sell a ton of them.
I still not a fan of the outside of the new 5's, but the engines, ride, and interior are great!
I really enjoyed today and encourage those of you in the US (or close enough to drive in) to check oput the test drive. I must say that it felt wonderful to get back behind the wheel of my 525i and appreciate it. I loved my drive back to the office. We truly own some great cars!
-ashley
I've just gotten back to my office after four hours of fundraising. :)
My hands are still shaking as I type this.
Cars I drove today:
650CiC
Z4 3.0Si
Z4 3.0 Si sport package
330 Touring
525xi
550i
650CiC-
I got in the 650 at 10:30 this morning with an ambient air temp of 53 and popped the top. Before I go on let me say this the 650 is a FREAKIN' BEAST!! It has oodles of power and torque and was difficult to keep at a legal speed. The car stayed in 1st gear until right around 60mph and the 60-80 was so fast I couldn't concentrate on counting. I kept the DSC on (they checked last year) and was glad I did. While on HWY 52 I blipped the throttle, looked down and I was doing 90 with the top down listening to the radio.
Aside from the scary power, the most intoxicating thing about the 650 was the engine noise, is was one of the sexiest sounds I've ever heard. I pulled into a parking lot just to put it in neutral and listen (I got busted for going off course). I was high when I pulled into the parking lot to return it and when the drop-off guy asked me how it was all I could say was "Damn!"
Z4 3.0Si
I went from the 650 to the 1st Z4, which was a little let down. I drove the 2.5 last year so I knew that this wouldn't be too different. Great roadster! The best feature that BMW has added to it was the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. I was a little confused at first thinking that the left paddle down-shifted and the right up-shifted, but both paddles do both (guess that works well for the lefties). Push to shift down, pull to shift up. Once that was covered I had a blast.
Z4 3.0Si (sport)
I don't understand why they put the "S" in front now but that how it's marked. I also don't understand why the first Z4S didn't have the wonder button on the console. This was the Z4 I actually had an appointment to drive (I got the other by mistake). It had the sport button to change the susension settings and sick 2-piece wheels. When driving, it had a quiet exhaust note until you pushed it a little then it opened up and was awesome. There was a huge difference in the ride when the sport button is activated and the paddles rocked! One thing I noticed while driving the Z4 was that there was a "whine" from somewhere. Not a bad whine, almost like a sequential transmission in a race car (not that loud though). All of that added together made for a great driving experience.
330 Touring-
A nice 330 wagon. Quiet, stable, good power and comfort. Really neat double pane glass sunroof.
525xi-
There has been so much written and said about the styling of the new 5. Who cares? It drives like stink! (that's good BTW) I enjoyed the comfortable power and low-noise of the new 5. You could definetly tell that this car was built for mid-manager types that didn't want a lot of engine noise or real-time feedback from the road. The neatest thing about this five was the cruise control. When you set it a little white indicator travels up the outside of the gauge and to indicate the setting, so you can see if you're above or below it at a glance and don't have to remember what you set it for. Very comfortable car.
550i-
Whew! Another beast! Same good stuff as the 525 but a hell of a lot faster! It has the same engine as, but makes less power than, the 650. It's more refined in the power delivery than the 6 and was an awesome car. It was amazing! This car had the HUD which was neat, but doesn't work well in the daytime with polarized sunglasses. This car could be a huge sleeper. If BMW would market it with a 6-sp manual, you could do some serious damage! However, of all the cars this one had the hardest shifting steptronic tranny. I ended up leaving it in DS most of the time.
Best Car-
That's a hard choice. Each car filled it's role extremely well. However, overall I'd have to pick the Z4 3.0Si sport. It was fun, controllable (meaning I wouldn't get a ticket in it EVERYday I drove it) and I really enjoyed the paddle shifters. I have alway loved roadsters and dream of having one in the garage so that we can ship the kids off to Grandma's (when we have them), throw a bag in the trunk and take off.
Final Thoughts-
The 650 needs some other way to shift the transmission (like paddles). It was hard to keep it on the road going flat out while pushing and pulling the gear selector.
The Z4 continues to be one of my favortie cars and the new N54(?) engine is awesome!
The 330 wagon was a nice drive and they're gonna sell a ton of them.
I still not a fan of the outside of the new 5's, but the engines, ride, and interior are great!
I really enjoyed today and encourage those of you in the US (or close enough to drive in) to check oput the test drive. I must say that it felt wonderful to get back behind the wheel of my 525i and appreciate it. I loved my drive back to the office. We truly own some great cars!
-ashley