I had an M35 rental car in LA this weekend. It's not a bad car but it's a $50,000 sedan and fuck if I'd ever pay that much for it. I loved my 02' Q45 and for the most part the interior on that car was pretty posh. It wasn't on par with the Audi but it was also a $30,000 cheaper car. The M cars aren't even close to the Q let alone the BMW and Mercedes variants they're competing with.
The M35 I drove was largely plastic inside and not entirely luxurious at all. It kind of reminding me of the Grand Prix in that it was kind of a cheap interior with some nice appointments (though still loads better than any Grand Prix).
It's ok though... The car did have some good points. I haven't driven one of the new VQ's until this and wow. What an awesome engine. 300+ HP through a 7 speed manu-matic and the manu-matic didn't have any lag. It was actually fun to drive the car in manual mode. Couple that with the rear wheel drive and this car was actually really fun to drive and not short on power.
Overall, not a 50k car. This is supposed to compete with the 5 series and it's not even in the same arena as the 5 series. The only reason I could see anyone buying this over a 5 series would be base engine power and/ or the fact that it's cheaper to own.
My summary: It's fast, fun to drive, not entirely luxurious and not worth 50k but if you get a chance to rent one, it's a blast to flog.
The M35 I drove was largely plastic inside and not entirely luxurious at all. It kind of reminding me of the Grand Prix in that it was kind of a cheap interior with some nice appointments (though still loads better than any Grand Prix).
It's ok though... The car did have some good points. I haven't driven one of the new VQ's until this and wow. What an awesome engine. 300+ HP through a 7 speed manu-matic and the manu-matic didn't have any lag. It was actually fun to drive the car in manual mode. Couple that with the rear wheel drive and this car was actually really fun to drive and not short on power.
Overall, not a 50k car. This is supposed to compete with the 5 series and it's not even in the same arena as the 5 series. The only reason I could see anyone buying this over a 5 series would be base engine power and/ or the fact that it's cheaper to own.
My summary: It's fast, fun to drive, not entirely luxurious and not worth 50k but if you get a chance to rent one, it's a blast to flog.
. I havent sat in the newer Ms yet but they look sick. The new 7ATs and even the older 5ATs are very good automatic transmissions. Geared perfectly and shift crisp and fast.
