[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by wasya152

There was nothing that could be changed to make it better. It was in S3 all the time.

I do keep the dct in S3 on the track. If I need a little softer shift, I'll modulate it with the throttle, but prefer the faster shifting and traction of.

Also did you car have mdrive pro?

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by TrentMeister

I can't speak to any CS car because I haven't had the pleasure.

But

I Drove an m5c really hard over the weekend.

Anyone who says the g8x is a "mini m5" is smoked out of their mind.

COMPLETELY different driving experiences.

Anyone saying otherwise is a bandwagoner just parroting what the read online or heard on YT.

Agree that it isn't a mini-M5 in reference to the CURRENT M5, but I still say that folk should look at the G80 as a modern E39 M5 if they want to compare it to cars of old. Size, weight, and wheelbase are all too far from the E46 M3 to use it as a comparison.

I've parked next to several E39's (though not an M5) and seeing the two cars next to each other makes the case. If a person didn't see any badges and didn't know BMW's all that well, they would likely assume they were just an old and new version of the same car.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by wasya152

My heart wants to keep the CS, but i keep thinking I'm going to be missing out if I don't get the new one for some reason.

As I said in your original thread about the CS vs g80, the CS is the right car for you based on what you want, but you're going to get the g80 anyway because it's new and you're forever on the lease treadmill.

[bmw noob]

Originally Posted by wasya152

There was nothing that could be changed to make it better. It was in S3 all the time.

I do keep the dct in S3 on the track. If I need a little softer shift, I'll modulate it with the throttle, but prefer the faster shifting and traction of.

Fair enough…just figured I’d ask.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by bmw noob

Fair enough…just figured I’d ask.

If I could, I would do anything. But as far as I know, it was on the best setting.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by akkando

As I said in your original thread about the CS vs g80, the CS is the right car for you based on what you want, but you're going to get the g80 anyway because it's new and you're forever on the lease treadmill.

I committed to the CS. 😊 Gave away my g80 allocation today.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Agree that it isn't a mini-M5 in reference to the CURRENT M5, but I still say that folk should look at the G80 as a modern E39 M5 if they want to compare it to cars of old. Size, weight, and wheelbase are all too far from the E46 M3 to use it as a comparison.

I've parked next to several E39's (though not an M5) and seeing the two cars next to each other makes the case. If a person didn't see any badges and didn't know BMW's all that well, they would likely assume they were just an old and new version of the same car.

It's funny, but in the beginning of the test drive, I actually did compare it to my old e39 m5. That was an amazing experience, especially with a Tubi Exhaust. ��

[akkando]

Originally Posted by wasya152

I committed to the CS. 😊 Gave away my g80 allocation today.

Well egg on my face then. Maybe get a deposit down on the g80 CS and revisit. Enjoy the f80 CS. It's on my short list of future car purchases.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by akkando

Well egg on my face then. Maybe get a deposit down on the g80 CS and revisit. Enjoy the f80 CS. It's on my short list of future car purchases.

Yeah, definitely interested in seeing what the g80 CS will be about.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by wasya152

So, I've had a G80x on order for a while. Was supposed to go into production on 12/8 then it got pushed back to 2/6, then to ???, and now it looks like i'm back to mid march production again. I have the car pretty much loaded up with everything except CCB which is not a great option if you actually track your car. I'm currently in the M3cs which I really really love, but the lease is due now. Having not driven the G80, i had a lot of anxiety letting it go. So after numerour attempts to drive one, meet up with someone that had one, at least experience it before letting go the CS, I finally found one at Carmax in almost similar spec that I wanted minus the carbon buckets. Turns out that Carmax will allow 24 hour test drives and does a 30 day return guarantee. To be honest, the process of dealing with them was super easy and nice. Big Props to them. No hassle, no bulshit, no pressure. This is how buying cars should be like to be honest. Anyway, got to spend a day with the car after some preliminary paperwork. Also, this is my 3rd car, my fun car, and I have much better daily's that I use normally to putter around town and work. I use this car primary for fun, destress, and "meditate".

The quick and dirty summary is this: The g80, objectively, is a better car in a every single way, except, driving pleasure, which to me, is probably the most important thing about an ///M car. How does it make you FEEL driving it is just as important as how it does it. It was fast, stupid fast and really competitent, eats up road and bumps like a champ. I was going faster and more relaxed on the same section vs the CS. Up to 7/10 driving, it was awesome. BUT, and this is a really big But, it felt too clinical, too "computerized" and too smooth and composed to get my heart rate going. The ZF is a huge let down when it comes to that experience. It was great at puttering around town and driving causually, but on the highway or "Fun" driving, it really can't hold a candle to the DCT. I don't know if I'm getting old now, but I just don't care about the speed part as much as I used to. The CS and almost all performace cars these days, are already fast enough and maybe too fast to really enjoy. I don't need to go faster as I'm normally in tripple digit speeds a lot anyway, but I do want to feel like I'm getting a straight adrelanice shot when I push that M button. The CS, with all it's flaws and age felling compared to the G80, just feels so special when you drive it. The noises it makes, organically and naturally, going through the revs and gears, just sucks you in more and more. And then the DCT shifts.... what a pleasure. It makes going up and down the gears an occassion. You are waiting in anticipation on WOT to shift that next gear. It's like a "release of pleasure" when you finally do. Basically, when driving that car hard, it just puts a smile on my face and touches my soul doing it. It feels like "car" crack to me, honestly. I get in the car to go for a quick drive, and then end up in another state before I've had enough. It just sucks you in and the harder you push, the more enjoyable it becomes. Now that I had the opportunity to drive the G80, Harris' review kinda hits it right on the nail. I didn't appreciate it as much previously. It's amazing and compitent and a better car, but it doesnt feel special like the previous gen M3 did. Also, I'm super spoiled with the CS and that's my measuring stick, so that could be the issue as well.

I had the benefit of taking my car at the same time, having a friend drive it along and then just hop back and forth between the two cars back to back on the same sections of the road. I think if I didn't have a chance to do that, the G80 would have been been amazing. Like I said, it feels like a more grown up, more mature version of the car, more m5 than m3 at this point. It's quiter to drive, more insulated, and absorbs the road much much better. The interior and exterior feels like next gen cars too. Getting back into the CS, you really feel it's aged already. The g80 is a better daily.

But there's a lot of things that the new one doesn't do better, in my opinion too. The HUD is huge and has nice graphics, but it's totaly crap in M mode driving the car hard. It's like they designed it on a computer screen to looks nice and then forgot to actually properly test it. Again, in M mode, as I don't give a S**** about the other modes, it too big, too high up and too bright. It impedes the view ahead, especially at night, and I had a hard time seeing the road directly in front of the car when driving, which made me nervous and causious. Like why do I need the FN direction to be below the tech if i'm in M mode. I kept it in reduced height mode, but that just makes it feel castrated honestly. The M HUD should only show you 3 things: Revs, Gear, and Speed. That's it. That's all you need on spirited drives. On the F80, it's nice and low, just out of direct view in front, but still in your eye sight. It feels compact and squashed down but still presents all the relevant information. The new one is so large, it feels like it takes up like 1/3 of the windshield. My cousin has an X3m and good friend has M5c and both complain about the same thing.

Secondly, I really missed the hood bulge when looking out the windshield. That's been a M3 trademar since the e46 came out. It makes you feel like your in something special when you see that and that it has something special under the hood. In the CS in particular, with the dip to the vent, it looks huge.

The size of the car of the car was also noticeable. Although physically, the cars aren't that much larger, the CS and F80, feel like they shrink around you. When you are driving the car, it feels smaller than it seems. On the other hand, the G8 feels bigger than it is. Maybe, I'm just not used to it, but it definitely felt larger to me.

The looks are awesome. I love the way the G80 looks like. It feels like next gen and driving next to it, looked mean and aggressive.

As I've said it before, the transmission to me, was a huge let down in the car. All the reviews also mention it and I finally understand what they mean. It's very smooth and shifts quick enough, but the lack of the "drama" when pushing it is what was the let down. It is definitely better than the x3m and M5c that I drove. Feels more aggressive than those cars. But it's not as immediate, precise or instant as the DCT. It's like when you drive the F80, you actually have to "drive" the car. You are always aware of what you are doing and make little adjustment to compensate, like lifting off the throttle if shifting in corner (or not shifting at all to offset the car) and being aware when to shift and how hard to shift. In the G80, it's so smooth, you just click without thinking. Mid corner, no problem, full throttle, who cares. Even though this might be faster and better for lap times, it definitely not as exciting to drive. Also, the DCT handle is the perfect shape to fit just right in the hand. It's like they actually "engineered" it for driving. The G80, looks very nice, but it doesn't feel as nice to hold it. Again, it's like they "designed" it and didn't actually test to shift with it much. I guess with the ZF, most people will keep in D mode and that's probably not an issue. The way that this tranny shifts, I guess that makes a lot of sense. In my CS, i'm in manual mode 95% of the time. Around town, highway, etc. Having driven manuals for a long time, I appreciate the mechanical and clunky feel of the dct. it makes the car feels like a sports car.

I'm so torn on the decision to be honest. On the one hand, the G80 is a better car all around. New tech and new gen. If it was my daily, it would be an easy pick. On the other hand, I think we all get ///M cars, to feel special and exhilarating when driving them. The G80 is so good as the regular daily and luxury stuff, that it no longer feels that special to drive it fast and hard, at least compared to the CS. It does the job exceptionally well, much better than the F80, but it doesn't suck in me as much as the CS does. At night, to be honest with you, when its dark inside the cabin, it hard to tell that you are not in a m340. As I mentioned before, cars are getting way too fast these days as is to really enjoy on public roads, and speed is not the highest priority. It should be how they make you feel while doing it especially now with everything going electric which will blow the performance out of the water soon. Even the noises it makes, although much better than before, doesn't feel like it has the same range of the natural noise that the CS makes. I think the noise and feel of the car is what makes it feel special in addition to how fast it can go. When I get in the CS, yes it feels aged, but when I start driving it, it feels special. Maybe I'm getting old now, but I also appreciate the "old school" mechanical gauges, the old school mechanical feel of the car. The new one feels like driving a computerized game almost. I thought I would really like it, but I really didn't. Like I said, the younger me would be all over that, but I'm kinda not so excited about it. I'm okay going slower, but having more fun doing it to be honest. I don't know. I kinda wish I had more time in the G80. I guess the 24 hours and 200 miles wasn't enough. It did grow on me, but to put it bluntly, "it didn't tickle my balls driving it like the CS does"

Yes, yes, yes. I have commented on other G80 vs F80 threads and basically said what you said in 3 lines or less (because I didn't have the time to fully explain the differences like you did). Having had 3 F80 generation cars, I do miss them. I also really miss my E92 M3 comp, but that is a story for another day. It's not that the G80 chassis isn't a great car, it is, but it is not the special car that the E92 and F80/82 were. It's easier to love the G80/82 if you never owned the E92 or F80/82. I do love my G82, but perfection would have been all of the G82 improvements with more of the F80/82 driving feel and, of course, a DCT. For those of you wondering why I didn't stick with my F80/82 cars, the answer is mileage. I put on 30k miles a year easy. I just didn't want a 5 year old M car with 150k miles on it. If I were a low mileage driver, I would have kept the F80/82.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by wasya152

I committed to the CS. 😊 Gave away my g80 allocation today.

Smart move.

[DS_BMW]

If you want a more raw feel. What about trying to find an M4 GTS?

[elitex]

I test drove a CS and thought it was a great car. Noticeable step up from competition. Felt as good as Guilia QV in driving excitement. Plus CS programming on DCT was so much better, noticeably snappier shifts.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by DS_BMW

If you want a more raw feel. What about trying to find an M4 GTS?

I like driving the kids in the back seats or friends when we are enjoying a drive together. I prefer 4 door m3 vs m4.

[MCM4]

If you want driving pleasure and 4 doors, go get yourself a CT5-V Blackwing 6MT. By all accounts, there is not another sedan that touches the Cadillac for driving enjoyment.

[Flying05]

Originally Posted by MCM4

If you want driving pleasure and 4 doors, go get yourself a CT5-V Blackwing 6MT. By all accounts, there is not another sedan that touches the Cadillac for driving enjoyment.

I'm all for American brands, but it's still a caddy/Chevrolet. Nothing special about that at all.

[moproblems]

Originally Posted by bri1042

Agree that it isn't a mini-M5 in reference to the CURRENT M5, but I still say that folk should look at the G80 as a modern E39 M5 if they want to compare it to cars of old. Size, weight, and wheelbase are all too far from the E46 M3 to use it as a comparison.

I've parked next to several E39's (though not an M5) and seeing the two cars next to each other makes the case. If a person didn't see any badges and didn't know BMW's all that well, they would likely assume they were just an old and new version of the same car.

And that's why I bought one! When I test drove the G82 it felt like stepping back into my old 540i Msport 6spd.

[Damage Inc]

Originally Posted by wasya152

hi, i did have a chance to drive the 6mt. I prefer the automated shifting for the type driving and needs that I have. It was very fun to be in a manual though.

G80 is designed to be a daily driver, especially with an automatic now in it. For a 3 rd car you want something special, an event. Plenty of $100k or less cars out these to fill that need. Used 911, R8, Z06, etc.

[MCM4]

Originally Posted by Flying05

I'm all for American brands, but it's still a caddy/Chevrolet. Nothing special about that at all.

The special part is the 668HP LT4 motor tied to a 6 speed Tremec transmission, and the resulting character and fun it yields for the driver. I hope to add one to my M4Cx.

[s58]

Originally Posted by MCM4

The special part is the 668HP LT4 motor tied to a 6 speed Tremec transmission, and the resulting character and fun it yields for the driver. I hope to add one to my M4Cx.

It really is hard to beat a supercharged v8. That whine is insane.

[wasya152]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

G80 is designed to be a daily driver, especially with an automatic now in it. For a 3 rd car you want something special, an event. Plenty of $100k or less cars out these to fill that need. Used 911, R8, Z06, etc.

I think that's something that makes the m3 cs so special is that it provides the raw excitment of a sports car but also practicality of a 4 door sedan at the same time. I love taking it to the track and next morning driving the kids to school in it. I've been driving around with booster seats in the car since last year. lol. I think I even had them in when I was at the track one time.

[ChrisM4]

Originally Posted by wasya152

But there's a lot of things that the new one doesn't do better, in my opinion too. The HUD is huge and has nice graphics, but it's totaly crap in M mode driving the car hard. It's like they designed it on a computer screen to looks nice and then forgot to actually properly test it. Again, in M mode, as I don't give a S**** about the other modes, it too big, too high up and too bright. It impedes the view ahead, especially at night, and I had a hard time seeing the road directly in front of the car when driving, which made me nervous and causious. Like why do I need the FN direction to be below the tech if i'm in M mode. I kept it in reduced height mode, but that just makes it feel castrated honestly. The M HUD should only show you 3 things: Revs, Gear, and Speed. That's it. That's all you need on spirited drives. On the F80, it's nice and low, just out of direct view in front, but still in your eye sight. It feels compact and squashed down but still presents all the relevant information. The new one is so large, it feels like it takes up like 1/3 of the windshield. My cousin has an X3m and good friend has M5c and both complain about the same thing.

As I've said it before, the transmission to me, was a huge let down in the car. All the reviews also mention it and I finally understand what they mean. It's very smooth and shifts quick enough, but the lack of the "drama" when pushing it is what was the let down. It is definitely better than the x3m and M5c that I drove. Feels more aggressive than those cars. But it's not as immediate, precise or instant as the DCT. It's like when you drive the F80, you actually have to "drive" the car. You are always aware of what you are doing and make little adjustment to compensate, like lifting off the throttle if shifting in corner (or not shifting at all to offset the car) and being aware when to shift and how hard to shift. In the G80, it's so smooth, you just click without thinking. Mid corner, no problem, full throttle, who cares. Even though this might be faster and better for lap times, it definitely not as exciting to drive. Also, the DCT handle is the perfect shape to fit just right in the hand. It's like they actually "engineered" it for driving. The G80, looks very nice, but it doesn't feel as nice to hold it. Again, it's like they "designed" it and didn't actually test to shift with it much. I guess with the ZF, most people will keep in D mode and that's probably not an issue. The way that this tranny shifts, I guess that makes a lot of sense. In my CS, i'm in manual mode 95% of the time. Around town, highway, etc. Having driven manuals for a long time, I appreciate the mechanical and clunky feel of the dct. it makes the car feels like a sports car.

Nice review, couple of thoughts.

- The manual is very engaging to drive and still quick for a street car. I came from an M2 with DCT and found the ZF 8 speed way less engaging than the DCT. (Manual transmissions are my favourite but the DCT is definitely a close second and way ahead of torque converter automatics)
- You can adjust the brightness of the HUD. It's definitely too bright by default and too large. Not a fan of the tach design either.
- I find the base M3, M4 the best of all worlds…luxurious, fast, lots of room, great driver engagement.