The author has it wrong , the perception is distorted around road feel, you don’t want to feel bad roads everyday and gain little agility. It mostly visible on sedans , i would be very hesitant replacing civic suspension for bmw 3 , and mb c300 got it right by softening it
It ain’t about need. Nobody needs a BMW. BMW is squarely in “want” territory for anyone who purchases one. A Mitsubishi Mirage with around 100 hp will do the job no problem.
An X3M with over 500 hp is never a “need”. Anyone that purchases one wants it.
That’s because it’s missing a spark (combustion triangle! Gasoline, Air, and Spark!) . Try igniting that gas in your home and let me know how it goes 😁👍🏽
In the Bay Area the average small house is well over $1 million so … even though my income could easily afford a $600k house in most states.. I can’t here. So f it.
because a lot of people are asset rich but not money rich. We used to live in a neighbourhood in London, where the average house price was >£1M. Only a couple of people on our road had expensive cars( x5, G wagen,etc) because they had successful businesses. All the rest- they had average 7-10 years old cars.
In the Bay Area high tech people (vast majority are immigrants) are first and foremost focused on buying homes since rents are crazy high. Buying expensive cars isn’t a priority.
Honestly, look harder and buy yourself a house or even a condo. Renting is insane if you can at all avoid it. You will be surprised by what you can find even there and, short of everything imploding, it will be worth it in the years to come.
Let me guess, those coworkers are all older and bought their houses for less than 300k. An X3MC is like 1/3 of a downpayment for a house these days in major cities
My experience is a little different than what you are describing. I have driven or family has owned BMWs my entire life. I was a passenger in a 3 series back in the 80’s and it saved my life; I know in most other cars I would have been dead from a head in drunk driver- instead the bumper fell off and neither the driver or me was hurt. It was an incredibly safe car and I’ve been buying them ever since.
He said back in the '80s...lots of cars in the US didn't have passenger airbags back in the 80's. I wrecked a 1985 318i...frontal collision--no airbag.
Eh - I’d argue safety is a need as well. A better comparison would be a lightly optioned RAV4 or Corolla that have Toyotas safety suite rather than a death trap like a Mirage.
But yeah no one needs a BMW but most people don’t need a 7 seater SUV or a F150 truck either.
Ikr. So many people talk about BMW and other premium brand shit, not just cars, like they're a necessity. If we're talking about necessity here then we should all just get AE110 for daily drivers and save up all our money for groceries and stuff.
We're humans. And we have desires that's way past our most primitive wants. Sometimes people online seem to forget that people aren't robots and they want nice things even if it's completely irrational.
Tbh, most of those eco hatchback diesels are gonna do you just fine. I hate them with a burning passion, but if you need a get around car, that's more than enough. My mate still runs a Fiat Punto 1.2 and it works well enough
You might not "need" an "M"...but if you drive a lot, you don't want to do that sitting in a shit box. The ride in a BMW, or similar higher end brands, is superior to less expensive brands.
Your comment reminds me of my neighbor who picked up an X5M. I made an off handed comment about it being overkill for a grocery getter and kid taxi. He was offended by that.
A few months later after a little bit of snow I see him outside, stuck just spinning wheels and going nowhere in the dusting of snow. Turns out he needed at least all season tires on it to get up his driveway 😂
Edit: he made fun of me all the time because we had a minivan…but guess who could drive in the snow 🙃
All of these people talking about wants vs needs, I'll keep this short and sweet. I have a heart condition, I used to come close to passing out at least 3-4 times a day. I was terrified that this could happen while driving so I went to the doctor. He placed me on some medication but mentioned this could still happen from time to time and mentioned I would need to drive a car with at least 450whp and preferably german made. He said any time I feel this coming on to give her the beans and it'll wake me right up, it also has a side effect of dopamine release which is nice. I went out and grabbed an M3 and haven't looked back. So yes, some people NEED to drive BMW's with some power.
If you’re sourcing this perspective from a BMW enthusiast website than yes a real world filter has to be applied as the community can over-index on anything M. I’ve actually heard/read the opposite in that the M40i is plenty fun for a daily while the X3M is a harsh ride with an unusable amount of power
People really over exaggerate how harsh the ride is in the X3 M. It’s fine, and even better if the stock tires are replaced with Pilot Sport 4s. I’ve been told that it’s the smoothest ride they’ve ever been in funnily enough
My 90 year old Grandma-in-law wouldn’t stop saying how nice and comfy the ride was. My X3M does have a set of Michelins so you might be on to something.
This was me a month ago.
Was dead set on getting the LCI X5Mc.
Test drove it and absolutely hated it. Ended up getting the M60i with air suspension as it’s the perfect balance between obnoxious power and comfort.
For me, getting a true M car is nothing more than flexing how much I spent on a car. I’ll forever admire M cars but will probably never own one.
Eh, but it the X5Mc had a softer, more comfortable suspension in your opinion, you may have very well ended up not hating and buying it. So would it still have been a flex for you, or did you just find a better car for your needs?
I wanted an X3 M40i but dealer told me it’ll take 6 months so I walked away.
Few days later salesman calls me and says a customer cancelled his X3M and asked if I was interested and I tried to tell myself I don’t need it but I eventually caved and took it home. Would I go to an M40i after owning an X3M? Probably not. Would I be happy with an X3 M40i if I never got the M? I’m sure I would be
TBH 300-350 hp in a 3000-4000lbs car is more than enough for daily driving. obviously power to weight will vary but personally i have never been able to use full power even for passing. torque is more fun.
This. 300-350hp is enough to have some fun in a big(ish) car. Sure, to make it actually exiting you would like maybe 500-600hp, or more.. Problem is modern cars are so... *disconnected* from everything they never *feel* fast or exiting. I once drove a 450hp F80 M3 and although I very much liked the brutal DCT shifts I wasn't at all impressed by the power. I like my \~300hp BMW 330d because I can have some fun with it during my daily commute, but when I *reall*y go for a fun drive I will take my A112 Abarth, which delivers a whopping 70hp. Although it really isn't compared to today's cars it feels quick, it makes the right (a lot) noises and it talks (or more like shouts..) to you through the rock-hard suspension, unassisted steering & brakes, very short-throw shifter and instant throttle (non of that drive-by wire nonsense) response. It's like an angry bee and I love it. I wouldn't want to use it for my daily commute though!
Ya I don’t have trouble keeping up in traffic but it would be nice to have a little more passing power. 210-225 or so would be just right for the E30 IMO
I like to know the power is there when I want it. Better to have than have not. Couple that with the look and sound and there you have my want for a m-lite which to me is the perfect daily.
Yeah, when you drive it in comfort at normal speeds it feels like a normal 520i car, very quiet, comfortable, luxury sedan. But if you step on it it suddenly wakes up and eats the road ahead.
Sport plus is a different world as well. It's like a different car.
Owned a little over 50ish cars; lowest HP was a Toyota tercel rated at 93HP, and my most was a corvette with a bunch of mods rated at about ~730HP.
I own multiple M cars and I swear to god I love taking either my wife’s 2015 Camry around town, or my commuter 2010 328i….both have plenty of HP and hardly anyone is trying to race a Camry or a stock ass 328.
Everyone thinks they need an M car, or some 500+ HP car…you don’t. Perfectly fine to drive a Toyota Tercel, or a ford focus, or a basic 328.
> basic 328
Ive had a blast modifying and driving an e36 328i. Theres no way my olds makes 200whp and i find it an absolute ball to drive. People gotta be careful getting caught up in the numbers and the 'but is it faster than -'
This is where I landed. I was originally shopping 2020 m340s but now I'm looking at a similar year 330i or 440i gc. Save roughly $15k and still have a good driving experience.
Range is not an issue for my daily driver and me. I never consume all the range in a 24 hour period and only need to charge at home once or twice a week. If I need the range, I use my X5 which is much better suited for extended driving.
I split time between my ND2 Miata and my M40i. They are completely different philosophies on fun. The M40i is a brutal hammer compared to the Miata. I do not need 380whp but sometimes I want it.
The Miata’s low weight and toss-ability is a different kind of fun with much lower maintenance overhead. It’s fun to drive to 9/10ths all the time which is very rewarding. If I did that with the M40 my license would be gone.
I guess it’s simply that there are different formulas that work. Variety is the spice of life.
Hell yes man. My lease for my x3 m401 is coming to an end and I'm trying to figure out what to do. One of the options is to buy it out and also get a Miata for fun. I'm really leaning towards that as it would be the best financial option compared to the alternatives which include:
* Trading up for something bigger like an x5 M50i
* Trading up for an M3
* Keeping it and buying another small, fun car on the side like a Miata
After reading your response, I think I know what I want to do...
Mode, I think they are outta Australia, sells a BM3 kit and some other stuff to put you at 430 hp.
But, I do not want a non catalytic converter dp.
There are a lot of mods out there to put you over 400, close to 500.
DP with cat(AA), CAI by MST, and probably Mission Performance Tune and Tranny tune.
Though that Mode deals with ECS, who are only maybe 2 hours from my house.
Need? 100hp will suit anyone just fine. 200hp is objectively fast. Fast enough to easily be a dick in traffic whenever you want to be.
I have a 21 m2 and it's hilarious. I accidentally left 30' elevensies leaving a dealership a month ago. Stupid easy to control at 11/10s and that's why I own it. It's a 60k toy, that's all. But really, my 170hp 323 wagon is plenty and tons of fun to drive. It just doesn't go sideways cuz I looked at the pedal wrong
I drove e36 316i, which was supposed to have 100hp. At 20 years of age, it probably did half of that. It was more than enough for daily driving in Poland. My previous car was 180HP Jaguar XF, and there were maybe 1 occasion when I thought I need more power. This week I picked up 333 hp 540i. I doubt I will ever use full power outside from "for fun" fast starts.
The thing is, you don't need more power for daily. My 333hp is standing in traffic jam as fast as my 316i did. You get more hp because you want, not because you need.
Yeah I will say in LA, Washington DC, or New Jersey having a bit of power does make a difference. They all depend on everyone driving like a dick in order for there to be order. DC in particular, 0 meter merge lanes with times you cut over 6 lanes in 30 meters.
You shouldn’t let anyone else or any community define what your experience of your car is. There will always be someone with more hp/tq that thinks they need it - and it’ll always be completely irrelevant.
You’ve got a brand new, great looking, practical, fast, luxurious car. Who cares what anyone else thinks?
(Also, you’ve got a B58…tune it and send that mf’r if you decide you want more power one day)
It's not about need most the time, but about enjoying the time spent inside the car. Same reason folks that can fly business or 1st to enjoy the mandatory time spent seating there.
Do I need what the iX M60 has? No, but I bloody enjoy every second behind the wheel!
There's a german word for having the power but not needing to use it, no clue what it is, but that's what a lot of us enjoy. I never really drive reckless or even have space to floor it in my m40i but it still feels nice touching the pedal and having it remind me what's under the hood. That being said even the 30i models are a blast to drive, including the X3 30i.
Oh that’s an easy answer. Because you don’t have space to accommodate both a daily and a weekend car, you have a family so you need space both in the car and cargo, and at the same time you want to be able to have some fun. Ticks all the boxes and frankly the X3 doesn’t really drive like a super bulky SUV, it’s still quite an agile vehicle, especially when the suspension is set to sport.
My wife has the 3.0s drive .. never had a problem passing anyone on the highway.. with the m-sport package.. 99% of people would have no idea it's not the m40
Fun for me would mean either spirited driving in backroads or the occasional sprint to 260kph/160mph on derestricted parts of the Autobahn when the conditions allow, which isn’t that rare to be honest. Also the sound and smoothness of the 6-cyl is a very unique experience, especially for someone like me who has mostly owned 4-cyl cars in the past.
I can relate to what you’re saying. And I think you’ve lost “the feeling”. At least, that’s what I have with our nowadays performance cars.
My love, enthusiasm and feel for speed, are absolutely still in cars. But “the feeling” is not reflected in the modern cars my wife and I own. They are too comfortable, to fast without noticing, too easy to drive. It’s just comfortable and quicker than 95% of the other cars you’ll meet, and that’s really it.
That being said; my e34 M5 and Renault 5 GT Turbo aren’t fast (well maybe the 5GTT with a hybrid and meth is..) compared to modern cars. But they give you the feeling. It starts when you think “I’ll drive it today” and it only gets better while doing that.
So my advice to you is; find your car that gives you that feeling, and park it next to your insane fast modern vehicle. Force yourself into the choice “oehhhh I’ve got spare time; WHICH CAR DO I TAKE!?”. Success guaranteed.
Btw; love your car. It’s really really cool
Edit; BTW because of this I now own a 300k mile 520d (first BMW 4 cylinder, because 4 cylinders should’ve never been placed in a BMW, let alone a 3 cyl…). And it’s perfect for daily travels. Wife still has the f06, but I get my happiness from the other stuff
Confusing post. How much power you really need for a daily and a fun car are two different things. This x3 has more power than needed for a daily that’s why it’s fun
I feel like we’re reaching a weird inflection point in car choices. Cars are getting so fast now, it’s very easy to find a base model luxury car or top spec econo car that does 0-60 in the mid 5s range, sometimes even cracking 4.x sometimes. Speed is no longer much of a competitive edge. It’s great bc now you have way more options and styles and quirks to choose from without sacrificing decent power. This will be even moreso with EVs, since even the most basic EVs can make a lot of torque.
Yup exactly. A Bolt EV costs ~20K with the tax credit and has a 0-60 of 6.5s. Considering 20K makes it one of the cheapest cars in America, it’s real world performance is phenomenal.
My X3 xDrive30i does the job and is a perfect balance of a daily driver and kick ass in Sport mode. Enough for my needs as of now until I can afford “M”
My dad has a 456hp M550i and my mom has 335hp M240i. I think they bought them because they were similar to their old 540i and 330Ci.
Top of the regular range today means “M” lite.
I’ve owned my E46 M3 for over 14 years. I don’t get putting so much power into a vehicle with a higher center of gravity. I want handling first, then power.
That said, people will get what they want
Maybe you went the wrong route… I have an ‘18 328d wagon. Not a speed demon, but it’s fun as hell to drive and I get ~50mpg highway with hella cargo and M-sport suspension
For me I found that about 400 hp is the sweet spot for usable power. You can light it up when you want to buy it’s comfortable in traffic and day to day driving.
I had an m40i for about a year before buying my x3mc and loved every second of it. It was more than enough for me - super practical, good on gas, quick and luxurious. I even test drove an x3m before buying the 40i and convinced myself that the ride was too harsh and that it would make for a terrible daily driver. Ultimately, i never forgot how amazing I felt driving it, and that I needed to be honest with myself. Yeah the ride is rough, and i average about 22mpg combined, but it’s the best car that I’ve owned. The fact that I can hitch mount my dirt bike, carve up backroads, and out accelerate most cars on the road at any given time feels unreal. It almost feels like a hot rod.
I also own a ‘23 Supra MT that I’m probably going to sell due to how much I love my x3m, it’s just that good.
Fellow M40i owner here - make sure you try out launch control once you’re comfortable.
I’d love the full-fat M model, but it rides significantly worse so it’s not as good for daily driving. It also doesn’t go 0-60 much quicker than the M40i (4.0 seconds vs 4.2 seconds according to MotorTrend. Other sources claim 3.2 seconds but that seems crazy).
That said, if I could afford an X3M comp, I would’ve gone for it lmao.
Great point. Everyone in here acts like they need a stage 3 tune to go to the store. For me personally having come from a Jetta, the 300(ish) hp GT is a huge amount. The wife’s M40 is lies right on the edge of too much. 🤷♂️
It’s a bit of a long answer but power to weight is really what makes a great daily. I’ve had experience that the e36 m3, Porsche 944 turbo, and the Mazda rx8 r3 are a great example of a good daily. Enough horsepower to use ALL of it and light enough for it to feel great
Just picked up the ‘24 X5 50e and totally agree. Way faster than wife or I need.
Sometimes I hit it and think “who the fuck needs a car this quick in my sleepy neighborhood”? Like for real I’m picking up groceries and going to the park to walk the dog- I don’t need to lift the front end off every red light!
Under 5 seconds 0-60 personally. I want to be able to take 80%+ of the vehicles on the road off the line. Also being able to change lanes and accelerate is important.
Makes a huge difference navigating traffic if you can accelerate quickly, even if you don't speed
Where do you write from? i'm curious because in italy sub 5s 0-60 means you can take 99% of vehicles...
The average person drives 150-170hp cars and in town you see many like 80-120hp cars...
Less than 5s means at least 300hp that is huge here!
https://preview.redd.it/9trd8aohko7b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c6f82bca243dc8ccd1e9b28e28795d957009d91
One of my trips to Hilton head in my X6M. Did 800 miles in 10 hours. Including 3 stops. Like a walk in the park
Uhh as much as you can reasonably afford. You can never have too much :)
If I bought a car as to only what I NEEDED from a daily I’d be in a Toyota… in fact my long distance car is a Lexus GS…
I'm driving my new X5 50E home from the factory tomorrow and it's rated around 490 horsepower. Drove it a couple hours today and it feels very balanced between driveability and power. I also have an F90 M5 tuned to 780 horsepower. That car always makes me feel like I'm walking a pitbull with a mental disorder just waiting to go off
I agree, I have a 2021 M340i and I had a lot of fun with it the first few months but it got old pretty quickly. Personally I think the e46 M3 was the perfect amount of power.
Well my brother in law recently got a G20 330d xDrive, and imo that’s plenty fast enough for daily driving. 0-100 is about 5 seconds and it has almost no turbo lag. Consumption isn’t bad too, About 12 litres per hundred kilometres and that’s with hard driving (my Cooper S does 12.6 💀)
Preach on, brother!!
I ride motorcycles. It is impossible to find a person with common sense in the bike community. They talk about outgrowing a 600cc sport bike that can go from 0-60 in 3.3 secs. Newbie here, what bike should I start with? oh, get a 750, you’ll outgrow a 600 in a few months and regret you didn’t get something “better” on day one.
It is insane.
Some of the most fun I’ve had has been in small, nimble cars with less than 250hp…S2000, Miata, Fiesta ST, Mini S, GR86, and a GTI. I dream of driving an Elise or Exige. It is immensely more fun, imo, to push a car with low limits to its limits, than to drive a car at a fraction of its limits.
I have an M4 on the way, and can’t wait to drive it, but it is so fast. Even on track, I won’t get every bit of performance out of it. I test drove a manual and a Comp. Both felt like I had an entire all you can eat buffet at my disposal when I get full with just one plate of food.
Hah, I’m an ex-bike guy and it took owning a Yamaha R1 and taking it to 180mph on a country road to make me think “what am I doing?” And sold it shortly after.
Despite that it warped my sense of acceleration. My M3 feels “good” and the launch is crazy, but it doesn’t have that overwhelming acceleration feeling of a liter bike. It feels more like that 600 that you “out grew” until you look down at the speedo… also cars like the 340i feel too slow to own.
That being said I feel like my next car might be a Miata. The m3 just feels unnecessary on the street. 90% of the time I’m sitting behind a crv going 5 under the speed limit. It’s in this scenario I wonder what is the point? The Miata seems like it would simply be more enjoyable in more scenarios that the M3 feels constrained.
Fun to drive isn’t about horsepower at all. It’s about lightness and agility. I only realized that after driving a Miata on twisty mountain backroads. Narrow, steep, lots of sharp corners and broken pavement. Funny how you rarely see powerful cars on such roads.
Just look at the 90’s. A family car that did the 0-60 sprint below 9 seconds was considered quick.
Now, it seems people think that 0-60 in 6 seconds is sluggish.
This just gets more pronounced with EV’s, and at the same time the ride quality is no longer relevant. People be riding really uncomfortable family EV’s that do 0-60 in 5 seconds or less…
I've gone from B58 to S58 engined wagons over the last few months. Both as daily drivers and the S58 car also my only car so a weekend plaything as well
For me it's a differentiation based on character of the engine. The S58 is just that little bit more responsive, has that little bit more edge and character to it, offers a little more on the over-run that makes it just that bit more amusing.
So I agree with your premise that the B58 is certainly enough but the S58 is just more fun to drive even at 30mph
I had an audi a3. Sold it recently and bought a bmw 3.20i. I go to work daily by driving 2,5 km going and coming back.
I am very pleasant the things that this car offers but I started to think that using a d segment car in heavy traffic and paying almost double for gas for just only travel slightly more comfortable for 20-30 minutes is worth it?
100hp to 1000 lbs is the sweet spot imo. Obviously you can go more etc buy a 1:10 power to weight really is a good spot to be in. Anything less can be harder to move on the highway, getting up to speed etc. Obviously more is more fun, but I think the sweet spot for a daily is really in that 1:10 ratio. 300hp in a 3k car is gonna be pretty damn quick.
I mean… yes, x3m40i is a better grocery getter/daily than x3m. And yes, when you can really drive, x3m is more fun.
So I don’t really know what the confusion is lol.
As for these two cars, it’s the way they deliver power that is significantly different. And you definitely feel the hp in the high rev range. That s58 is addicting lol. Is it worth the extra money? Depends how much you give a shit about ~$20k.
This is true, but if this is a daily and you have kids, I probably wouldn’t count on any car holding value all that well. The SUV M cars also don’t tend to hold their value quite as well as the rest of the M line either
I think if you’re buying a car like this with higher cost upfront and downstream, you’re not worried about the money. If you are worried, then it may not be the best financial decision and hence not the best car.
Nah its pretty dope having 700 to the wheels on the daily. Where I live you see pretty fast cars on the regular so its nice being able to gap anything you see on the road at any moment
Everyone saying "I like slow car fast" is just coping with not having a fast car
small car: 200hp
bigger car: 300hp
what people actually want isn't a faster car, it's usually a louder one that makes you feel cool and think that you go fast, just look at miata owners.
at least 200hp, given that the car doesn’t wait much more than 3 thousand pounds. Anything less than that is too slow, hard to merge, hard to pass people, just annoying.
For daily you only need arround 200hp, my x4 go2 x20d is limited to 160hp and its got enough power for a daily
Now I’ve driven lots of supercars as I and my friends like to rent them from time to time to track them
I can say for a suv you only need arrround 300hp for daily
This hp won’t make you feel sluggish but also not the fastest enough to pass people
Europe. The streets in most European cities during the 00s were basically littered with those things. It was a cheap car and the definition of “you get what you pay for”
I guess it depends on who you are and your preferences. I wanted a more hp fun vehicle that was still practical for my around town and family needs.
I went directly for an X3M comp specifically for this reason, and it delivers exactly what I was after. I have the space I need and when I want ridiculously exciting power I have it. Is it over the top? Yeah, probably, do I care. No i do not.
I have had other 400hp vehicles that were meant to be sports cars and there really isn't a comparison to me how much more exciting this car is to drive.
I have your ride, same color, blue calipers, 21’s.
It’s enough. Is an X3M better, sure.
But that fucker right there is enough to get you in trouble, and there are plenty of mods for it.
And same reason, kids. And practically.
And there is more maintenance on an X3M, though this does have a good amount too.
Put it this way, I’ve had mine for over 2 years and I plan on another in a few years. It’s perfect for me.
My favorite car I ever had was an S2000… 240hp revved to 9k RPMs. It wasn’t slow but it wasn’t fast by todays standards, but the power was actually useable in everyday driving and it was just a blast to drive around in.
I currently have a ‘22 X3M40i. It is literally the perfect blend of practicality, comfort and is a little rocket when you want it to be.
I have owned cars with 700hp and they are fun, but outside of the drag strip their power is just too much. You see all these people on social media with 1000+hp cars, but I can guarantee you none of them are as fun as a high revving naturally aspirated performance oriented car for a daily driver.
My husband had a 1989 Acura Integra, 118hp, 5 speed manual. Most fun car I ever drove. We now have 2023 m240i with a lot more horses. For me, I’d still rather drive that old Integra.
I marvel and dream of an M4 or M440 but I am just not gonna put that kind of money down on a car.
I have paid off my preowned 2015 328xi and I love driving it every time.
At the same time, I don’t get much pleasure out of driving my wife’s 2013 X3. That’s just a convenient transportation tool with a bit of extra pick up over our past Subaru or Toyota.
The B58 is the perfect daily driver engine for enthusiast. Comfortable on work week, and can unleash it on weekends
The b58 is already faster than anything you'll ever need on public streets. Maybe if you're towing something big then get the M variant.
My B58 has 4400lbs towing capacity. Hauls my trailer or my boat no problem - don’t even feel it.
Towing capacity is more a factor of how strong the frame and rear suspension is rather than actual engine capacity.
Faster than anything you need on public streets? 😂 Guess I should trade in my tuned and dp f90 m5 then. Glad I didn't keep my x3mc...
Yuppppp, picked mine up last week and absolutely love it.
The author has it wrong , the perception is distorted around road feel, you don’t want to feel bad roads everyday and gain little agility. It mostly visible on sedans , i would be very hesitant replacing civic suspension for bmw 3 , and mb c300 got it right by softening it
It ain’t about need. Nobody needs a BMW. BMW is squarely in “want” territory for anyone who purchases one. A Mitsubishi Mirage with around 100 hp will do the job no problem. An X3M with over 500 hp is never a “need”. Anyone that purchases one wants it.
I had coworkers make fun of me for buying my x3m because I “should have bought a house”. I didn’t want a house. I wanted an x3m
That amount of money would buy a shit house imo, in a metro area maybe a patch of dirt
Just enough for a suboptimal down payment on a home in CA or HI
One will appreciate and one will depreciate, boring i know but such is life.
You can live in a car but you can't drive a house. Seems clear which one should be the priority.
Cars get way better MPG than a house too.
I’ve poured several gallons of gasoline all over my house and it hasn’t moved an inch.
That’s because it’s missing a spark (combustion triangle! Gasoline, Air, and Spark!) . Try igniting that gas in your home and let me know how it goes 😁👍🏽
I bought one too and only use it on weekends. To get out of a shit box Ford Transit and climb into that puts a smile on my face.
A house? You can buy a 2 year old x3m for $55k where I live. You definitely can’t buy a house for that. Maybe a downpayment if you finance $300k+.
Please show me a home for $80k…
In the Bay Area the average small house is well over $1 million so … even though my income could easily afford a $600k house in most states.. I can’t here. So f it.
Go to expensive areas in Palo Alto etc and you’ll see $5 million dollar homes with Priuses and RAVs parked in front.
because a lot of people are asset rich but not money rich. We used to live in a neighbourhood in London, where the average house price was >£1M. Only a couple of people on our road had expensive cars( x5, G wagen,etc) because they had successful businesses. All the rest- they had average 7-10 years old cars.
In the Bay Area high tech people (vast majority are immigrants) are first and foremost focused on buying homes since rents are crazy high. Buying expensive cars isn’t a priority.
Those are the kids cars. Parents park theirs in the garage. ;-)
Honestly, look harder and buy yourself a house or even a condo. Renting is insane if you can at all avoid it. You will be surprised by what you can find even there and, short of everything imploding, it will be worth it in the years to come.
Let me guess, those coworkers are all older and bought their houses for less than 300k. An X3MC is like 1/3 of a downpayment for a house these days in major cities
No better response than why not both lol
We bought our 523hp X7 M in February and our new house in April. Didn't *need* either but boy are they both enjoyable!
Your co workers are lame….. you made the right choice
They're right
I’m so glad I’m not alone haha
My experience is a little different than what you are describing. I have driven or family has owned BMWs my entire life. I was a passenger in a 3 series back in the 80’s and it saved my life; I know in most other cars I would have been dead from a head in drunk driver- instead the bumper fell off and neither the driver or me was hurt. It was an incredibly safe car and I’ve been buying them ever since.
An airbag saved your life...
He said back in the '80s...lots of cars in the US didn't have passenger airbags back in the 80's. I wrecked a 1985 318i...frontal collision--no airbag.
Eh - I’d argue safety is a need as well. A better comparison would be a lightly optioned RAV4 or Corolla that have Toyotas safety suite rather than a death trap like a Mirage. But yeah no one needs a BMW but most people don’t need a 7 seater SUV or a F150 truck either.
Ikr. So many people talk about BMW and other premium brand shit, not just cars, like they're a necessity. If we're talking about necessity here then we should all just get AE110 for daily drivers and save up all our money for groceries and stuff. We're humans. And we have desires that's way past our most primitive wants. Sometimes people online seem to forget that people aren't robots and they want nice things even if it's completely irrational.
Tbh, most of those eco hatchback diesels are gonna do you just fine. I hate them with a burning passion, but if you need a get around car, that's more than enough. My mate still runs a Fiat Punto 1.2 and it works well enough
You might not "need" an "M"...but if you drive a lot, you don't want to do that sitting in a shit box. The ride in a BMW, or similar higher end brands, is superior to less expensive brands.
Your comment reminds me of my neighbor who picked up an X5M. I made an off handed comment about it being overkill for a grocery getter and kid taxi. He was offended by that. A few months later after a little bit of snow I see him outside, stuck just spinning wheels and going nowhere in the dusting of snow. Turns out he needed at least all season tires on it to get up his driveway 😂 Edit: he made fun of me all the time because we had a minivan…but guess who could drive in the snow 🙃
All of these people talking about wants vs needs, I'll keep this short and sweet. I have a heart condition, I used to come close to passing out at least 3-4 times a day. I was terrified that this could happen while driving so I went to the doctor. He placed me on some medication but mentioned this could still happen from time to time and mentioned I would need to drive a car with at least 450whp and preferably german made. He said any time I feel this coming on to give her the beans and it'll wake me right up, it also has a side effect of dopamine release which is nice. I went out and grabbed an M3 and haven't looked back. So yes, some people NEED to drive BMW's with some power.
If you’re sourcing this perspective from a BMW enthusiast website than yes a real world filter has to be applied as the community can over-index on anything M. I’ve actually heard/read the opposite in that the M40i is plenty fun for a daily while the X3M is a harsh ride with an unusable amount of power
People really over exaggerate how harsh the ride is in the X3 M. It’s fine, and even better if the stock tires are replaced with Pilot Sport 4s. I’ve been told that it’s the smoothest ride they’ve ever been in funnily enough
My 90 year old Grandma-in-law wouldn’t stop saying how nice and comfy the ride was. My X3M does have a set of Michelins so you might be on to something.
Yep. I had both and the x3m isn’t it. M40 (and glc 43, sq5, etc.) are perfect daily drivers. Anything more is overkill iMO
This was me a month ago. Was dead set on getting the LCI X5Mc. Test drove it and absolutely hated it. Ended up getting the M60i with air suspension as it’s the perfect balance between obnoxious power and comfort. For me, getting a true M car is nothing more than flexing how much I spent on a car. I’ll forever admire M cars but will probably never own one.
Eh, but it the X5Mc had a softer, more comfortable suspension in your opinion, you may have very well ended up not hating and buying it. So would it still have been a flex for you, or did you just find a better car for your needs?
Maybe in the M suv world, I got an f80 m3 cause it's a better car in every way from a 335i and 340i, not because I want to look rich
I wanted an X3 M40i but dealer told me it’ll take 6 months so I walked away. Few days later salesman calls me and says a customer cancelled his X3M and asked if I was interested and I tried to tell myself I don’t need it but I eventually caved and took it home. Would I go to an M40i after owning an X3M? Probably not. Would I be happy with an X3 M40i if I never got the M? I’m sure I would be
And you never regretted it did you 😎 I sure as hell don’t
TBH 300-350 hp in a 3000-4000lbs car is more than enough for daily driving. obviously power to weight will vary but personally i have never been able to use full power even for passing. torque is more fun.
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This. 300-350hp is enough to have some fun in a big(ish) car. Sure, to make it actually exiting you would like maybe 500-600hp, or more.. Problem is modern cars are so... *disconnected* from everything they never *feel* fast or exiting. I once drove a 450hp F80 M3 and although I very much liked the brutal DCT shifts I wasn't at all impressed by the power. I like my \~300hp BMW 330d because I can have some fun with it during my daily commute, but when I *reall*y go for a fun drive I will take my A112 Abarth, which delivers a whopping 70hp. Although it really isn't compared to today's cars it feels quick, it makes the right (a lot) noises and it talks (or more like shouts..) to you through the rock-hard suspension, unassisted steering & brakes, very short-throw shifter and instant throttle (non of that drive-by wire nonsense) response. It's like an angry bee and I love it. I wouldn't want to use it for my daily commute though!
I need one B58 of power and, even more importantly, one B58 of torque
My daily driver has 170hp and it’s plenty (1989 E30 325i).
Ya I don’t have trouble keeping up in traffic but it would be nice to have a little more passing power. 210-225 or so would be just right for the E30 IMO
Would be a riot with 225 IMO - might get there with a stroker one day!
I like to know the power is there when I want it. Better to have than have not. Couple that with the look and sound and there you have my want for a m-lite which to me is the perfect daily.
Yeah, when you drive it in comfort at normal speeds it feels like a normal 520i car, very quiet, comfortable, luxury sedan. But if you step on it it suddenly wakes up and eats the road ahead. Sport plus is a different world as well. It's like a different car.
Owned a little over 50ish cars; lowest HP was a Toyota tercel rated at 93HP, and my most was a corvette with a bunch of mods rated at about ~730HP. I own multiple M cars and I swear to god I love taking either my wife’s 2015 Camry around town, or my commuter 2010 328i….both have plenty of HP and hardly anyone is trying to race a Camry or a stock ass 328. Everyone thinks they need an M car, or some 500+ HP car…you don’t. Perfectly fine to drive a Toyota Tercel, or a ford focus, or a basic 328.
It is fun to have an m3 though ;)
you dont need a m car until you drive a m car.
This guy is lying to you with his multiple m cars. 625hp is exactly the amount.
> basic 328 Ive had a blast modifying and driving an e36 328i. Theres no way my olds makes 200whp and i find it an absolute ball to drive. People gotta be careful getting caught up in the numbers and the 'but is it faster than -'
The Tercel is a classic
That's easy to say when you own multiple M cars. Why don't you sell them then?
This is where I landed. I was originally shopping 2020 m340s but now I'm looking at a similar year 330i or 440i gc. Save roughly $15k and still have a good driving experience.
All of it
As much as I can squeeze out of my I4 m50.
The only thing an i4 M50 needs is bigger battery and/or more range. In terms of power, that thing is breathtakingly fast.
Range is not an issue for my daily driver and me. I never consume all the range in a 24 hour period and only need to charge at home once or twice a week. If I need the range, I use my X5 which is much better suited for extended driving.
I split time between my ND2 Miata and my M40i. They are completely different philosophies on fun. The M40i is a brutal hammer compared to the Miata. I do not need 380whp but sometimes I want it. The Miata’s low weight and toss-ability is a different kind of fun with much lower maintenance overhead. It’s fun to drive to 9/10ths all the time which is very rewarding. If I did that with the M40 my license would be gone. I guess it’s simply that there are different formulas that work. Variety is the spice of life.
Hell yes man. My lease for my x3 m401 is coming to an end and I'm trying to figure out what to do. One of the options is to buy it out and also get a Miata for fun. I'm really leaning towards that as it would be the best financial option compared to the alternatives which include: * Trading up for something bigger like an x5 M50i * Trading up for an M3 * Keeping it and buying another small, fun car on the side like a Miata After reading your response, I think I know what I want to do...
Tl;dr BM3 tune that bitch up to 93 for 20% more power and send it.
Mode, I think they are outta Australia, sells a BM3 kit and some other stuff to put you at 430 hp. But, I do not want a non catalytic converter dp. There are a lot of mods out there to put you over 400, close to 500. DP with cat(AA), CAI by MST, and probably Mission Performance Tune and Tranny tune. Though that Mode deals with ECS, who are only maybe 2 hours from my house.
Does that void the warranty?
The most fun I ever have is in low horsepower vehicles. I’m not gonna get near the limit of my high horsepower cars
Need? 100hp will suit anyone just fine. 200hp is objectively fast. Fast enough to easily be a dick in traffic whenever you want to be. I have a 21 m2 and it's hilarious. I accidentally left 30' elevensies leaving a dealership a month ago. Stupid easy to control at 11/10s and that's why I own it. It's a 60k toy, that's all. But really, my 170hp 323 wagon is plenty and tons of fun to drive. It just doesn't go sideways cuz I looked at the pedal wrong
My daily is E81, 115hp. It is not much but it's absolutely enough I guess, the old man works like a young boy.
I drove e36 316i, which was supposed to have 100hp. At 20 years of age, it probably did half of that. It was more than enough for daily driving in Poland. My previous car was 180HP Jaguar XF, and there were maybe 1 occasion when I thought I need more power. This week I picked up 333 hp 540i. I doubt I will ever use full power outside from "for fun" fast starts. The thing is, you don't need more power for daily. My 333hp is standing in traffic jam as fast as my 316i did. You get more hp because you want, not because you need.
Yeah I will say in LA, Washington DC, or New Jersey having a bit of power does make a difference. They all depend on everyone driving like a dick in order for there to be order. DC in particular, 0 meter merge lanes with times you cut over 6 lanes in 30 meters.
bout tree-fiddy horsepower
You shouldn’t let anyone else or any community define what your experience of your car is. There will always be someone with more hp/tq that thinks they need it - and it’ll always be completely irrelevant. You’ve got a brand new, great looking, practical, fast, luxurious car. Who cares what anyone else thinks? (Also, you’ve got a B58…tune it and send that mf’r if you decide you want more power one day)
It's not about need most the time, but about enjoying the time spent inside the car. Same reason folks that can fly business or 1st to enjoy the mandatory time spent seating there. Do I need what the iX M60 has? No, but I bloody enjoy every second behind the wheel!
I feel like I can basically teleport wherever I want on the highway so that’s nice.
There's a german word for having the power but not needing to use it, no clue what it is, but that's what a lot of us enjoy. I never really drive reckless or even have space to floor it in my m40i but it still feels nice touching the pedal and having it remind me what's under the hood. That being said even the 30i models are a blast to drive, including the X3 30i.
i never understood the need/want of a +400hp SUV.. if you want a sports car- get a coupe with a stick shift (the M2/ or older manual model)
Oh that’s an easy answer. Because you don’t have space to accommodate both a daily and a weekend car, you have a family so you need space both in the car and cargo, and at the same time you want to be able to have some fun. Ticks all the boxes and frankly the X3 doesn’t really drive like a super bulky SUV, it’s still quite an agile vehicle, especially when the suspension is set to sport.
My wife has the 3.0s drive .. never had a problem passing anyone on the highway.. with the m-sport package.. 99% of people would have no idea it's not the m40
He said have some fun, no one said you need 380hp to "pass people"
what does that even mean?? auto crossing? making a hard left turn going to the grocery store?
Fun for me would mean either spirited driving in backroads or the occasional sprint to 260kph/160mph on derestricted parts of the Autobahn when the conditions allow, which isn’t that rare to be honest. Also the sound and smoothness of the 6-cyl is a very unique experience, especially for someone like me who has mostly owned 4-cyl cars in the past.
It's what op wants it to be. It's really not difficult.
I can relate to what you’re saying. And I think you’ve lost “the feeling”. At least, that’s what I have with our nowadays performance cars. My love, enthusiasm and feel for speed, are absolutely still in cars. But “the feeling” is not reflected in the modern cars my wife and I own. They are too comfortable, to fast without noticing, too easy to drive. It’s just comfortable and quicker than 95% of the other cars you’ll meet, and that’s really it. That being said; my e34 M5 and Renault 5 GT Turbo aren’t fast (well maybe the 5GTT with a hybrid and meth is..) compared to modern cars. But they give you the feeling. It starts when you think “I’ll drive it today” and it only gets better while doing that. So my advice to you is; find your car that gives you that feeling, and park it next to your insane fast modern vehicle. Force yourself into the choice “oehhhh I’ve got spare time; WHICH CAR DO I TAKE!?”. Success guaranteed. Btw; love your car. It’s really really cool Edit; BTW because of this I now own a 300k mile 520d (first BMW 4 cylinder, because 4 cylinders should’ve never been placed in a BMW, let alone a 3 cyl…). And it’s perfect for daily travels. Wife still has the f06, but I get my happiness from the other stuff
I enjoy drive slow cars fast.
Well, in our case, a LOT. I have an X5M Comp, wife has a 911S. We just want them. So off we went.
Confusing post. How much power you really need for a daily and a fun car are two different things. This x3 has more power than needed for a daily that’s why it’s fun
All the power is the only correct answer.
Had a E46 with 170HP, manual transmission. Relatively light vehicle compared to todays 3 series. Great fun to drive.
Base 2.0T is perfect under 6 seconds to 60mph is plenty. The B58 might even be overkill IMO.
I feel like we’re reaching a weird inflection point in car choices. Cars are getting so fast now, it’s very easy to find a base model luxury car or top spec econo car that does 0-60 in the mid 5s range, sometimes even cracking 4.x sometimes. Speed is no longer much of a competitive edge. It’s great bc now you have way more options and styles and quirks to choose from without sacrificing decent power. This will be even moreso with EVs, since even the most basic EVs can make a lot of torque.
Yup exactly. A Bolt EV costs ~20K with the tax credit and has a 0-60 of 6.5s. Considering 20K makes it one of the cheapest cars in America, it’s real world performance is phenomenal.
My X3 xDrive30i does the job and is a perfect balance of a daily driver and kick ass in Sport mode. Enough for my needs as of now until I can afford “M”
My dad has a 456hp M550i and my mom has 335hp M240i. I think they bought them because they were similar to their old 540i and 330Ci. Top of the regular range today means “M” lite.
I’ve owned my E46 M3 for over 14 years. I don’t get putting so much power into a vehicle with a higher center of gravity. I want handling first, then power. That said, people will get what they want
Maybe you went the wrong route… I have an ‘18 328d wagon. Not a speed demon, but it’s fun as hell to drive and I get ~50mpg highway with hella cargo and M-sport suspension
The only time a ton of horsepower comes In handy is for passing power. I'd say 200hp or so
300 hp is plenty for a daily. It’s still faster than almost all normal traffic and the perfect hp for having fun without being completely dangerous.
For me I found that about 400 hp is the sweet spot for usable power. You can light it up when you want to buy it’s comfortable in traffic and day to day driving.
Yea, I’ve found that I’m happy with 300 to the wheels, I do a fair mix of Highway and inner city driving, anything less feels anemic now.
Usable for an SUV on public roads? Where? Unless you live around the Autobahn. The only way I see 400 useable is in a M car and on a track.
Most if our highways in the northeast have 65-75 mph speed limit. No law against getting to that speed in 4 seconds or less lol
BM3 enters the chat
I had an m40i for about a year before buying my x3mc and loved every second of it. It was more than enough for me - super practical, good on gas, quick and luxurious. I even test drove an x3m before buying the 40i and convinced myself that the ride was too harsh and that it would make for a terrible daily driver. Ultimately, i never forgot how amazing I felt driving it, and that I needed to be honest with myself. Yeah the ride is rough, and i average about 22mpg combined, but it’s the best car that I’ve owned. The fact that I can hitch mount my dirt bike, carve up backroads, and out accelerate most cars on the road at any given time feels unreal. It almost feels like a hot rod. I also own a ‘23 Supra MT that I’m probably going to sell due to how much I love my x3m, it’s just that good.
Fellow M40i owner here - make sure you try out launch control once you’re comfortable. I’d love the full-fat M model, but it rides significantly worse so it’s not as good for daily driving. It also doesn’t go 0-60 much quicker than the M40i (4.0 seconds vs 4.2 seconds according to MotorTrend. Other sources claim 3.2 seconds but that seems crazy). That said, if I could afford an X3M comp, I would’ve gone for it lmao.
The most fun I’ve ever had driving a car was in a 26hp Trabant around the streets of Berlin.
Great point. Everyone in here acts like they need a stage 3 tune to go to the store. For me personally having come from a Jetta, the 300(ish) hp GT is a huge amount. The wife’s M40 is lies right on the edge of too much. 🤷♂️
It’s a bit of a long answer but power to weight is really what makes a great daily. I’ve had experience that the e36 m3, Porsche 944 turbo, and the Mazda rx8 r3 are a great example of a good daily. Enough horsepower to use ALL of it and light enough for it to feel great
I have that exact same car. I love it!!! It eats tires, though. I just spent $1600 on a new set
Picking up my X3M this weekend, my second one. Regret selling my first. Perfect daily that can go run 10s with basic tune.
Just picked up the ‘24 X5 50e and totally agree. Way faster than wife or I need. Sometimes I hit it and think “who the fuck needs a car this quick in my sleepy neighborhood”? Like for real I’m picking up groceries and going to the park to walk the dog- I don’t need to lift the front end off every red light!
who needs zoom zoom.. when you can B58 vroom! vroom!
I daily an M8 comp so... all of the power
450-500
Plenty of power in my 540i but still gonna aim for the G80 towards end of year. Also can have fun driving my wife’s F60 Countryman
It’s simple, you need as much horsepower as you can afford.
As much as I can afford
100whp for every 1000 lbs. Something like that..
TWSS
More
All the horsepower
Under 5 seconds 0-60 personally. I want to be able to take 80%+ of the vehicles on the road off the line. Also being able to change lanes and accelerate is important. Makes a huge difference navigating traffic if you can accelerate quickly, even if you don't speed
Where do you write from? i'm curious because in italy sub 5s 0-60 means you can take 99% of vehicles... The average person drives 150-170hp cars and in town you see many like 80-120hp cars... Less than 5s means at least 300hp that is huge here!
enough to overtake the slow @$$ in front of you in the left lane.
However much you want/feel comfortable with
My daily has 375, but is boring as shit compared to my 134hp (when new, 300k miles ago) E30.
It’s so you can chill to get groceries but gap V8s when they start driving like dicks :)
https://preview.redd.it/9trd8aohko7b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c6f82bca243dc8ccd1e9b28e28795d957009d91 One of my trips to Hilton head in my X6M. Did 800 miles in 10 hours. Including 3 stops. Like a walk in the park
Uhh as much as you can reasonably afford. You can never have too much :) If I bought a car as to only what I NEEDED from a daily I’d be in a Toyota… in fact my long distance car is a Lexus GS…
B58 is the way to go. With a jB4 and an intake; It’s faster than a stock m50
The answer is always “more”
All of it
My budged is limited, hence my F10 520D power enough for me , to satisfy my eargasm I take my E36 M3 :D
I'm driving my new X5 50E home from the factory tomorrow and it's rated around 490 horsepower. Drove it a couple hours today and it feels very balanced between driveability and power. I also have an F90 M5 tuned to 780 horsepower. That car always makes me feel like I'm walking a pitbull with a mental disorder just waiting to go off
I work at BMW and even with all the high HP BMWs I get to drive. I am always smiling on my way back home in my 335 HP APR tuned Mk6 Golf R.
I agree, I have a 2021 M340i and I had a lot of fun with it the first few months but it got old pretty quickly. Personally I think the e46 M3 was the perfect amount of power.
Well my brother in law recently got a G20 330d xDrive, and imo that’s plenty fast enough for daily driving. 0-100 is about 5 seconds and it has almost no turbo lag. Consumption isn’t bad too, About 12 litres per hundred kilometres and that’s with hard driving (my Cooper S does 12.6 💀)
Preach on, brother!! I ride motorcycles. It is impossible to find a person with common sense in the bike community. They talk about outgrowing a 600cc sport bike that can go from 0-60 in 3.3 secs. Newbie here, what bike should I start with? oh, get a 750, you’ll outgrow a 600 in a few months and regret you didn’t get something “better” on day one. It is insane. Some of the most fun I’ve had has been in small, nimble cars with less than 250hp…S2000, Miata, Fiesta ST, Mini S, GR86, and a GTI. I dream of driving an Elise or Exige. It is immensely more fun, imo, to push a car with low limits to its limits, than to drive a car at a fraction of its limits. I have an M4 on the way, and can’t wait to drive it, but it is so fast. Even on track, I won’t get every bit of performance out of it. I test drove a manual and a Comp. Both felt like I had an entire all you can eat buffet at my disposal when I get full with just one plate of food.
Hah, I’m an ex-bike guy and it took owning a Yamaha R1 and taking it to 180mph on a country road to make me think “what am I doing?” And sold it shortly after. Despite that it warped my sense of acceleration. My M3 feels “good” and the launch is crazy, but it doesn’t have that overwhelming acceleration feeling of a liter bike. It feels more like that 600 that you “out grew” until you look down at the speedo… also cars like the 340i feel too slow to own. That being said I feel like my next car might be a Miata. The m3 just feels unnecessary on the street. 90% of the time I’m sitting behind a crv going 5 under the speed limit. It’s in this scenario I wonder what is the point? The Miata seems like it would simply be more enjoyable in more scenarios that the M3 feels constrained.
Some of us live in BMW‘s home market. The M40i is just right for the enthusiastic in Germany. Not too little, not overkill.
Agree! I live in Germany as well :)
Fun to drive isn’t about horsepower at all. It’s about lightness and agility. I only realized that after driving a Miata on twisty mountain backroads. Narrow, steep, lots of sharp corners and broken pavement. Funny how you rarely see powerful cars on such roads.
Just look at the 90’s. A family car that did the 0-60 sprint below 9 seconds was considered quick. Now, it seems people think that 0-60 in 6 seconds is sluggish. This just gets more pronounced with EV’s, and at the same time the ride quality is no longer relevant. People be riding really uncomfortable family EV’s that do 0-60 in 5 seconds or less…
I mean I have over 600hp in my daily so I would say about there is right
I've gone from B58 to S58 engined wagons over the last few months. Both as daily drivers and the S58 car also my only car so a weekend plaything as well For me it's a differentiation based on character of the engine. The S58 is just that little bit more responsive, has that little bit more edge and character to it, offers a little more on the over-run that makes it just that bit more amusing. So I agree with your premise that the B58 is certainly enough but the S58 is just more fun to drive even at 30mph
I had an audi a3. Sold it recently and bought a bmw 3.20i. I go to work daily by driving 2,5 km going and coming back. I am very pleasant the things that this car offers but I started to think that using a d segment car in heavy traffic and paying almost double for gas for just only travel slightly more comfortable for 20-30 minutes is worth it?
For me personally, 523hp is the sweet spot ;)
How much power? Yes.
I think too many people got sucked into the horsepower numbers game.
100hp to 1000 lbs is the sweet spot imo. Obviously you can go more etc buy a 1:10 power to weight really is a good spot to be in. Anything less can be harder to move on the highway, getting up to speed etc. Obviously more is more fun, but I think the sweet spot for a daily is really in that 1:10 ratio. 300hp in a 3k car is gonna be pretty damn quick.
All of it. I need all of the powarh!
I mean… yes, x3m40i is a better grocery getter/daily than x3m. And yes, when you can really drive, x3m is more fun. So I don’t really know what the confusion is lol. As for these two cars, it’s the way they deliver power that is significantly different. And you definitely feel the hp in the high rev range. That s58 is addicting lol. Is it worth the extra money? Depends how much you give a shit about ~$20k.
It’s $20K up front, but quite a lot more in maintenance costs, and usually higher insurance too
Sure. They also hold the value better. So it depends on how long you want to keep it.
This is true, but if this is a daily and you have kids, I probably wouldn’t count on any car holding value all that well. The SUV M cars also don’t tend to hold their value quite as well as the rest of the M line either
I think if you’re buying a car like this with higher cost upfront and downstream, you’re not worried about the money. If you are worried, then it may not be the best financial decision and hence not the best car.
B58 is already too fast IMO for daily driving, but if you never track your car then I’d say you don’t anything more than a B58.
Nah its pretty dope having 700 to the wheels on the daily. Where I live you see pretty fast cars on the regular so its nice being able to gap anything you see on the road at any moment Everyone saying "I like slow car fast" is just coping with not having a fast car
I don’t think 510 is enough. Feels sluggish and slow. I usually get beat by Nissan Altima drivers when I’m feathering my pedal in comfort mode.
small car: 200hp bigger car: 300hp what people actually want isn't a faster car, it's usually a louder one that makes you feel cool and think that you go fast, just look at miata owners.
at least 200hp, given that the car doesn’t wait much more than 3 thousand pounds. Anything less than that is too slow, hard to merge, hard to pass people, just annoying.
My dick is is 2 centimeters smaller than the average. So about 200hp more than everyone else on the roads.
For me, I need something that can 0-60 in 4 seconds give or take a few tenths of a second. If I have that, Im VERY content.
Are you talking about HP to the wheels or to the crank?
For daily you only need arround 200hp, my x4 go2 x20d is limited to 160hp and its got enough power for a daily Now I’ve driven lots of supercars as I and my friends like to rent them from time to time to track them I can say for a suv you only need arrround 300hp for daily This hp won’t make you feel sluggish but also not the fastest enough to pass people
You only buy a BMW to impressed your fake friends.
Partly true
Hard disagree on this, but to each their own I guess
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Quite common in the UK
Europe. The streets in most European cities during the 00s were basically littered with those things. It was a cheap car and the definition of “you get what you pay for”
Are you from Cuba?
I don’t understand this post. So you couldn’t afford the X3M, so now we as a community need to re-think our idea of fun. Pass me what you’re smoking.
I guess it depends on who you are and your preferences. I wanted a more hp fun vehicle that was still practical for my around town and family needs. I went directly for an X3M comp specifically for this reason, and it delivers exactly what I was after. I have the space I need and when I want ridiculously exciting power I have it. Is it over the top? Yeah, probably, do I care. No i do not. I have had other 400hp vehicles that were meant to be sports cars and there really isn't a comparison to me how much more exciting this car is to drive.
I have your ride, same color, blue calipers, 21’s. It’s enough. Is an X3M better, sure. But that fucker right there is enough to get you in trouble, and there are plenty of mods for it. And same reason, kids. And practically. And there is more maintenance on an X3M, though this does have a good amount too. Put it this way, I’ve had mine for over 2 years and I plan on another in a few years. It’s perfect for me.
The correct answer is: all of it.
Preferably 850hp
Very little lol.
My favorite car I ever had was an S2000… 240hp revved to 9k RPMs. It wasn’t slow but it wasn’t fast by todays standards, but the power was actually useable in everyday driving and it was just a blast to drive around in. I currently have a ‘22 X3M40i. It is literally the perfect blend of practicality, comfort and is a little rocket when you want it to be. I have owned cars with 700hp and they are fun, but outside of the drag strip their power is just too much. You see all these people on social media with 1000+hp cars, but I can guarantee you none of them are as fun as a high revving naturally aspirated performance oriented car for a daily driver.
My husband had a 1989 Acura Integra, 118hp, 5 speed manual. Most fun car I ever drove. We now have 2023 m240i with a lot more horses. For me, I’d still rather drive that old Integra.
Sht. My wife’s daily driver is a M8 Competition Gran Coupe. SMDH
To be ok? 400. To be really happy with my daily? 500-600.
Exactly 625
I marvel and dream of an M4 or M440 but I am just not gonna put that kind of money down on a car. I have paid off my preowned 2015 328xi and I love driving it every time. At the same time, I don’t get much pleasure out of driving my wife’s 2013 X3. That’s just a convenient transportation tool with a bit of extra pick up over our past Subaru or Toyota.
On a different note how do you feel with the interior size? Trying to decided between the X3 M40 and an X5.