[unfoundnemo]

Picked up my F92 last night.

Originally, I was set on a G8x. I have seen it in person a couple of times now, love the interior, am fairly happy with the exterior, and just a tad annoyed I couldn't get AWD at launch, but I have zero issues with RWD + winter tires on the F80 so I figured I might as well go ahead and pull the trigger. I had my name softly attached to a G80 with a small discount via a handshake (well, elbow bump) with a small-volume dealer. Timing was looking great since my F80 lease was ending in March. I would read updates on the forums daily and basically just reassure myself I made the right choice and selected the right options.

My decision to jump ship and head up to the M8 was largely due to:

1. Cost/Value - While I think the pricing for this gen compared to a previous gen is actually a bit better when you compare options to options (a loaded F80 to a G80 with the minimal options you would have to add to get you there). I couldn't help but want to load it up well over 90k because of the nice to have stuff. This didn't really bother me because I'm glad they made those options available, but once the [expected] lower residuals were announced combined with the lack of a decent discount, actual payment numbers were more concrete. My build was coming to around $1267/month with just first payment and fees DAS, I was in M5 territory... so I started to look there. Ultimately I decided on the M8 since the discounts were ridiculous, which made a lease cheaper than what I was looking at in the M5.

2. Comfort/Ride - Obviously the G80 and F92 are completely different cars in terms of comfort, luxury, and performance, but I daily my F80, so comfort is pretty damn important. My normal commute includes a drive through a rock cut to drop the little one off at school, a quick 10 miles on the highway from her school to get to work, then 2 miles through the city to get back home, perfect for the F80. Really, I was fine up until the beginning of November, which happened to be when the residuals for the G80 were announced, but also when my X7 had to go in for repair which is my main highway duty car. Again, a completely different car, but after spending 3 weeks exclusively in the F80 with a few longer (~2 hr round trip) drives where I would have normally taken the X7, I was forced to realize the F80 isn't the all around car I always thought it was. I have taken the F80 on many long drives before, but they were because I wanted to, not because I had to, so the feeling of the drive is totally different from a mental standpoint. Driving the F80 on a longer trip out of necessity is just a bit annoying, you have the itch that makes you seem to want to push the car a bit more even though you'd really rather relax, you have the drone, road noise, etc. Again, this pushed me to test drive the M5, where all those annoyances went away but it was still very direct. Of course, it's at the expense of more numbness/insolation from what's going on with the car, but it's certainly still an M car in many aspects. I have said it before, but everything I love about the F80 causes everything I hate about the F80. I'm sure the G80 will be better in regard to comfort and road noise, to a fault for many, but why chance it when I'm not 100% on the looks, and can get an F9x for the same payment?

3. Presence/Appearance/Maturity - No, I'm not talking about the grilles, but more what the F80 has become over the years. I suppose this is true with most moderately produced performance cars, once they're out for 3 years or so, you could get a second hand car at a steep discount, making it more affordable for many who start to buy them cheap and mod the crap out of them. I'm definitely not against tasteful mods in both cosmetic and performance aspects, but half the F8x I see on the road anymore go way beyond that. The attention I get now vs 3+ years ago in the F80 is from a far different crowd. The assumption that I want to race everyone on public roads has certainly grown over the years as well. Where I used to just get the respectful nod or thumbs up a vast majority of the time, I now get excessive revving, people cutting others off to try to provoke me, etc (and my only visible mods are painted reflectors, a light tint, and HAS). I'm sure the G80 will be different at first, though the M performance parts catalog might suggest otherwise...