Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyD^2
Did you really expect an M vehicle to have a non-M ride? BMW has made adjustments as comfort is more tolerable now than it was at launch but it's never going to get confused as soft or comfy. The X3M is for people that are used to the ride quality of M2, M3, M5. If you are looking for a vehicle to haul around your family daily the X3M is not really a great vehicle. Akin to choosing an M3 as your family hauler. If you came from other M cars and want an SUV that feels like an M car then look no further. The problem with the X3M is too many people coming from regular X and 3 series that aren't acclimated to the ride of M cars aren't prepared for the firm ride. I find it very tolerable and wouldn't change a thing but firm riding vehicles is my preference and what I have owned over most of my adult life.
|
Have you driven all the models you use as examples here? I drive them all day. In fact after driving the very first E30 M3 I was amazed at the handling and how the ride was even softer than the then-current 325is. M cars don't always have to be rough-riding. In particular the available adaptive suspensions make even today's M-cars quite tolerable for long trips. BMW even admitted back in the '80s that they used stiff Bilstein on the E30 325is on purpose because people wouldn't consider it a "sport" unless it had a rough ride. Then they used Boge on the M3 to show you could have great handling without beating you up. To many, the stock E30 M3 was too soft and they swapped out the stock suspension, but didn't improve the handling. Ask a knowledgeable E30 M3 owner which works better and the answer might surprise you! Stiffness for the sake of stiffness has nothing to do with performance. Just ask Alpina.
But when I delivered a new X3 M Competition to a customer 100-miles away, I felt the ride was simply unacceptable and could certainly have been offered in an alternative that would not have compromised the handling—at least up to the point where an SUV is still an SUV. If the ride quality is so inferior to an M sedan or coupe just to compensate for higher center-of-gravity and suspension travel required to be an SUV, then just get a track car for that experience and an SUV you can use the way an SUV is intended. I can't imagine driving one of the X3 M Competitions for daily use. I also can't imagine a situation where anyone who can afford an $80,000 SUV can't be happy with a $60,000 SUV and a $20,000 track car to scratch that itch. I can't turn an M2 into an SUV and no one should try to turn an SUV into an M2. Just my opinion but I scratch my head in wonderment as to what the point of the X3 M is.
When I wrote the first
Roundel article on the first X6, my title was "The Answer to a Question No One asked". If BMW has the capacity to produce niche vehicles like the X3 M Competition, you'd think they could also provide an M340 or M240i with a stick, or even a 2-series convertible. But instead they spend their engineering expertise creating a sow's ear out of a silk purse.
Of course if anyone wants one, of the six new cars we have in stock we can offer an X3 M Competition, an X6 M50, and an M850i Gran Coupe. Whatever blows your skirt up!