As a Z3 owner do you still like current BMW models?

[MRFAST]

I don't like current generation new cars--BMW or otherwise--much too much. I like simple, straight forward engineering and clean uncluttered design. Today, these principals have been left by the wayside--we are in a transitional period and it shows. Maybe in 5 years or so they will have worked it out, but for now, new cars are just tomorrows trash today.

This is where I'm at. I have the Roadster because I can't afford to keep putting lots of miles on the RS4. The RS4 is at the end of that era where the 'affordable' German cars were thrilling and still connected to enthusiasts. Otherwise they are too expensive to maintain out of warranty. Our (my wife's) 2016 S4 is fast and handles decently but it comes nowhere near the RS4 in terms of fun to drive. When it's out of warranty it's most likely gone. The Roadster is very affordable, maintainable and one of the best values for fun available. I like driving it just as much as the RS4, just for different reasons.

[PapaRob]

I enjoy the acceleration and stopping power of my wife's E92. That turbo is almost as fun as my old 300zx TT. That being said, the numb steering and terrible stereo (and lack of upgradability) means I'll never have another.

[melville]

I think I'm limiting my automotive ownership experience to cars with a mechanical (cable, linkage) throttle.

In BMWs, I think that stops with E39s if not earlier.

I think of this as having an 'analog' driving experience.

[MIKYZZ4]

Sorry gents,z3,z4,might be different animal to you, same breed to me,
Z4 just a more refined species!

[fletch138]

Not particularly impressed with new BMW's or any for that matter. The high HP of the newer vehicles is nice, but not nearly as engaging to drive with all the nannies and gadgets. Going through the menu's and settings on the car feels like programming a computer. Just test drove new M3 the other day. It's fast, tight, but heavy and not particularly engaging. Especially compared to the LS2/E36 I drove to the dealer in. Just as, if not more fun than the new m3, light years easier to fix, lightweight, and cheap parts.

[Mark Bielick]

Current BMW's have become more focussed on the latest trendy designs, and less on true performance or classical looks. The prototype new Z4 confirms this to me. Looks more like the latest batmobile, and is a design that will not age gracefully. Give me a simple, easy to maintain, classical looking car that can run 200,000 miles without breaking the bank to maintain. Oh yeah, I already have that in my Z3....

[Jamesons Viggen]

I special ordered a 6mt F30 328i with MSport package in estoril blue2. What a pretty car.

I sold it two years later. It was incredibly competent. But competency doesn't bring passion.

The only thing in the BMW lineup that causes me any temptation is an M2 6mt. That's it.

[Watch Carefully]

Wait, BMW still makes cars?
All I see are new X-models and older 3-series...and a lot of roundels on stuff I cannot distinguish from the products of other brands.

In a related observation--could the rear tires on the X5 be any wider? What are they like in snow??

[BimmerBreaker]

The only thing in the BMW lineup that causes me any temptation is an M2 6mt. That's it.

I love what the M2 is but imo it sure is ugly... the last BMW to really "stir my soul" was the 1M, sort of everything good about the M2 in (imo anyways) a much prettier package. The new Z4 looks pretty nice though too...

[Venom13132]

I like very few models, but I don't know if I enjoy new BMW as much as the older stuff.
The 6 series gran coupe is stunning... and I like their diesel 328d.

Don't care too much about the rest. When they added even more junk 'tech' to appeal to current consumers and tanked the reliability, I stopped liking BMW too much.

my wife has a 14 328d xdrive we love it. Great car

[328 Power 04]

my wife has a 14 328d xdrive we love it. Great car

Any timing chain issues with the USA version of N47?

The early Euro N47 (from 2007-2012) had disastrous timing chain problems which would occasionally introduce the valves to the piston. The extended oil service intervals seem to have been a contributing factor. I'm a bit leery about that fact.
And BMW decided to put the chain at the firewall instead. . . .. . . . .

[JKuhn]

I don't want the modern stuff. I like how the E60 looks inside and out, and the E46 isn't bad, but that's it. I don't want to own them though. I like the E12, E21 and Z3 Roadster.

Actually, I never thought I'd want to own a BMW, considering their reputation for being unreliable and extremely expensive. Until I got to test drive an old E12/8 (used to belong to FoRmAtEEr some time before I bought it). That car hooked me instantly.

[pine1000]

I love what the M2 is but imo it sure is ugly... the last BMW to really "stir my soul" was the 1M, sort of everything good about the M2 in (imo anyways) a much prettier package. The new Z4 looks pretty nice though too...

I used to think the front bumper of the M2 was really ugly until I saw a new Honda Civic R. That car has redefined ugly for me.

[Tim95M3]

I drive them all, and work on all of them every single day. I hate most of them. The new F15 X5's with the N63 engine are absolutely fantastic to drive. But I'd never own one. At least not out of factory warranty/maintenance. The F80 M3's are nice to look at, not so nice to drive. I'm an E36 guy, and always will be. There will never be anything like the E36, 46, 38, 39. Oh, and the new G30 5 series looks like a combo Hyundai/Honda. Drives about the same as well.

[Bogdan328iS/C]

Lol.... i can say that im a truly a car guy and some what a BMW entusiast. I own 96 e36 328i convertible vf supercharged @ 350 hp dayly driver, 95 e34 540i 6speed whitch has 400.000 miles on it, 02 x5, and two 93 mazdas rx7 fd. BMW useto be reliable, long lasting like my 540i/6, and just all around tought car. It all ended with e46 M3, we will never ever ever see that reliability,longevity,and toughnes, in BMW ever again.

All the new crap is just crap made for you to buy even newer crap, so that after 3 years or so, you go and buy even newer crap.

The idea is that all car indestry wants you and everyone to make payments, and never ever be free of payment. Thats why car for clunker happend, so that people could not ever realize in time that they are actualy giving away a good running car, so that people can get something new that will only last them 3 to 8 years and start making them payments. i own 5 vheicles and dont make a single payment. All drive i enjoy them all, and free of payments.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

[exartist]

I like the M2, but that's it.

In fairness to BMW, an isolated driving experience is the norm now. I was car shopping last summer and test drove a variety of new cars, and almost all seem to be focused on making the driver feel like he wasn't in a car. The steering was the biggest surprise - - some cars had all the feedback of rotating a dinner plate in the air while someone in the next room was making "vroom vroom" sounds.

I drove a friend's X5M (way out of my price range, but I still had to give it a try) and although it was fast as hell, I felt like I was sitting in my living room. But they sell a ton of X5's, so it's only natural that BMW will make more and more cars, that are less and less driver focused.

[Terry F.]

Minimal interest in the brand.

Terry
Note 8/Tapatalk.

[Jamesons Viggen]

I love what the M2 is but imo it sure is ugly... the last BMW to really "stir my soul" was the 1M, sort of everything good about the M2 in (imo anyways) a much prettier package. The new Z4 looks pretty nice though too...

I thought the 1m was a very awkward looking and proportioned car. The M2 fixes most of that except I hate the front bumper.

[potxoli]

I too am more and more lukewarm about current car design. Part of the problem is that as safety regulations increase, the attitude designers have decreases. You only need look at fender height above front wheel arch for new cars vs old cars it keeps getting higher due to pedestrian safety. To pen iconic automotive designs from the '90s like our Z3 or the Honda Civic Si would be impossible with todays regulations.

[BimmerBreaker]

I thought the 1m was a very awkward looking and proportioned car. The M2 fixes most of that except I hate the front bumper.

That's interesting, because I literally think the exact opposite. I really like the proportions of the 1M, the way it "sits" on it's flared wheel arches, the little scalloped areas around the flared bodywork, the ducting on the side of the front bumper. The M2's rear arch is ugly imo (the whole panel just bulges out), I even think the "newer" style front fender badge thing is visually a downgrade from what was on the 1M/E92 generation M cars. Rear of the M2 also doesnt look good to me either... it doesn't accent the width, it looks tall and narrow and the trunk is very high. The 1M is low, mean, wide. Like it's ready to go eat some race track, its happy to be there and driving. The M2 just looks angry - angry it exists, angry the driver's seat had to be angled slightly, angry that is didn't really differentiate itself enough from the 1M from a performance aspect, angry that it has an ugly bumper, angry it didn't get as special of an interior, angry that the marketing department forced it into existence...

[ixlr08]

I have a 2016 X5 3.5i, I was looking for a luxury hiway cruiser that could carry a bunch of stuff. The X5 was the only vehicle that checked most all of my boxes. I must say I was a bit disappointed when my 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 work truck rode smoother and quieter than the X5!! Although replacing the runflat tires with non-runflats GREATLY helped with that issue. I am finding that all the techno junk on the X5 is very distracting to driving. I have taught my wife how to handle that stuff so I don't get distracted while driving. I am pretty sure when the 4 year warranty is over, I am going to sell it, repair costs are just to high to justify. I did get a 5 series sedan to drive when my X5 was in the shop, I was NOT at all impressed. I didn't like the car at all.
I bought the Z3 Coupe because I have loved them since they came out and I finally could afford one.
The X5 replacement will be a return to a simpler vehicle, if I can find one I want and I suspect that will eliminate ever buying another BMW.

[zellamay]

I wasn't after a BMW when I bought my Z3M. I just wanted a really small car, without it being a Miata. I've had Supras and 300ZXTTs, loved them all, but wanted the go-kart experience. I got it, wouldn't be happy with anything bigger. With the 300ZXTT, it didn't seem like fun until about 80 mph. The Z3M is fun all the time. A drive to the grocery store is fun.

[rboehl]

The new cars are too expensive to buy and repair like many have said but also just numb to drive.
i love driving my MRoady and JCW R53 Mini Cooper. They are very engaging cars and I will be keeping them for a very long time. The other car I like driving is the S2000 as well as the Z06 C5 vette. No new BMW will be in my garage.

[raubritter]

My Z3 (especially after all the mods) is somewhat raw, very connected, beautiful... Lots of power for the tossable 2800lbs it weighs, enough to keep up with more powerful but much heavier newer BMWs at least until higher speeds. Great do-it-yourself car. The new BMWs (M4, for instance) are crazy powerful and pretty, but relatively heavy and complicated. Not sure I'd like that. The one BMW I'd LOVE to get is the i8........ Maybe I couldn't work on it myself (? no idea) and it sure isn't cheap, but absolutely gorgeous.......... And after test-driving an i3 I'm sold on electric power... massive torque from zero RPM is a beautiful thing! Not to mention 'filling up' in your own garage.

[ZGator]

My Z3 (especially after all the mods) is somewhat raw, very connected, beautiful... Lots of power for the tossable 2800lbs it weighs, enough to keep up with more powerful but much heavier newer BMWs at least until higher speeds. Great do-it-yourself car. The new BMWs (M4, for instance) are crazy powerful and pretty, but relatively heavy and complicated. Not sure I'd like that. The one BMW I'd LOVE to get is the i8........ Maybe I couldn't work on it myself (? no idea) and it sure isn't cheap, but absolutely gorgeous.......... And after test-driving an i3 I'm sold on electric power... massive torque from zero RPM is a beautiful thing! Not to mention 'filling up' in your own garage.

Not surprisingly at all, all the posts nail my feelings - echo chamber or not.

perhaps an electric powered z3, of a basic/simple design as BMW could restrain itself, at the low end of model cost like the z3 was, with a serviceable battery, would be interesting.

just looking now at world models, I hate to admit it but this van - 2 series active tourer is more interesting than about anything else they are putting out here in the usa, at least it's practical and diesel (verboten in usa)