Cars & Motorbikes Let's talk cars...

You wanna play, you gotta pay...

 

Ill have to test drive one to see for myself. Is it fun in the twisties at least? If I can find a drivers car (even a bit compromised) for around $30k that can tow a decent amount, fit the dogs in the back, and feel luxurious and fun than I will be very happy even if that means not being the fastest off the lights.

 

Lol pretty black and white. I think a balance can be reached with bang for buck.

 

Compared to my Lotus? No. Compared to a Holden Cruze? No. Test drive one and see for yourself though, your opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to you buying a car for yourself

3/4-series BMWs aren't actually very luxurious. There's more road noise than you'd expect as the wheel wells are lined with the cheapest thinnest flimsiest plastic imaginable. The ride isn't particularly luxurious (even in comfort mode) especially compared to say a Falcon. Fun-wise my friend's Polo GTI trumps it easily.

All this said, if you want the BMW badge and haven't had anything from that class of car before, go ahead and try it. If nothing else it'll be a good basis for comparison when the time comes for the next upgrade

 

It's time to get all sensible and admit that I have been treating my car like a ute and it's not one. So it's been taken off me and I'm currently driving around in the super fun 06 GT Liberty wagon. It's super fun but very unsuitable for me and I can't handle being so low to the ground (which is ha ha as I'm not tall)

It's a temporary measure until I decide what to get. The front runner is a Ford Ranger Wildtrack which is highly practical with a touch of fun.

I feel like I might be going sideways in my car journey (or backwards) but as much as I like nice cars they are just not practical for me at the moment.



^^ yes that really is what I did with my car one day when Bunnings had no loan trailers available.

 

Just go slow otherwise the leaves will blow off...so Ive been told.

 

Coming from the mini it's hard to compare as it will feel dull in comparison. But you can help the BMW by getting a set a camber plates and dial in some camber with a new wheel alignment.
If you wanna take it further a set of suspension and a limited slip diff will transform the ride. But then your adding 10k to the price. Camber plates fitted around 1200 will really help. If you're not happy with the standard car maybe try something else on your list.

 

Nothing is going to be fun on the twisties if it has to be capable of having dogs in the back (I have this mental image of your dogs sliding one side to the other lol). Although this is open to interpretation, your impression of fun may differ from mine, when the car is pressing into the bump stops and you're on the edge of the bum kicking out, twitching your hands poised ready to snap the wheel back to recover from what you know could well come next, that's fun on the twisties for me . Cornering really hard but feeling like you're going round a corner in a composed manner (ie like a liberty GT) is not fun for me, fast doesn't always equal fun for me.

Tow a decent amount, this mean you need some weight in it, this goes against the "fun on the twisties" idea.

I would recommend get a boring but comfy luxurious car as a DD then spend a bit on a weekender (of course I am going to recommend an MX5 ). Doesn't have to be new or expensive, a 20 year old MX5 is still a bucket load of fun on the twisties.

By trying to combine both worlds, you end up with something that really isn't perfect for either, if you mod it to try and make it better for one setup, it becomes worse for the other.

 

Jeep SRT, while weighing the same as a small moon, would be about as close as I would get

 

hahah good to know I'm not the only one...

 

How's the MX5 compared to the 86?
And what twisty roads have you found?

Nasho run @ Sutherland was fun.
The drive to Wiseman's ferry (from Dural along Old Northern Rd) was pretty boring for me - hardly what i considered to be "twisty"

 

It doesnt come with an lsd?

The 328i m f30 is listed with an lsd on the carsales spec sheet. It has sport suspension with the m package too.

Unless the spec sheet on carsales is wrong? No lsd would be a deal breaker for me. My falcon doesn't have one and I almost couldnt make it back onto the road while towing a trailer filled with turf, because one wheel just kept spinning.

 

In essence, you need the right match of driver ability, car ability and environment to achieve the right mix of speed and fun.

Case in point: me in a sports car vs an average driver in a supercar:

 

Not a mechanical type which is awesome. Only m cars come with a proper lsd. The others have an elsd, they mimic a proper lsd by braking one wheel. It's ok just different and not what I like. Mini's have the electronic lsd as well these days.

 

Yeah you're probably right. I am keeping the little turbo mini roadster and as soon as the house gets sold its going into the shop for a dump pipe and tune that will see 40% more power. So thats the fun toy car.

You are right about needing to tow means a car with more weight and yeah...I hate heavy cars. Trying to corner the xr6 turbo is a frustrating as hell experience.

But thats a 1700kg car, something around the 1500kg mark might still be a little fun and be able to tow 1500kg?

Or maybe I should just accept defeat and buy a triton dual cab. But its so much money for something that has no fun factor at all...